CHAPTER 33: PROPHECY OR CHANGEABLE DESTINY

When the image changed again and Luke returned to his study, he looked at Felipe and said, "So my life has already been written."

"No, sir, a prophecy is merely a prediction. It is what the three Fates and Destiny themselves bestowed upon the exalted Andromeda. Whether to approach her or not was your choice, and you made that choice," Felipe replied.

"Then why are you behaving as if you were worshipping Liam?" Luke asked.

"To reach the young man in the prophecy, sir. We do not know what the future will bring, and there is no way for us to know, but... Since the beginning of their lineage, the Hieras have been loved by the Chaos-Born, that is, those descended from the Creator. Starting with Andromeda Ariadne Hiera, they all were loved. I do not know the reason, but that is the truth," Felipe replied and continued without pause:

"But there is one thing I know. It is that I must serve the young man in the prophecy with my life, as commanded by Andromeda Ariadne Hiera. I do not know what the future holds for me, and even if the entire world were to burn and be destroyed, it would not matter to me. The words of my ancestors and our waiting for your arrival, your being here, your servant, Callum, being as powerful as foretold in the prophecy. They are all asleep. Every step you take, every breath you take, and every beat of your heart has brought you here. What comes next is up to you."

When Luke heard these words, it was as if he had been struck not by a slap but by a fist. He had not only seen Andromeda, but also the Ancient Dragons, whose majesty he had fallen in love with just by looking at them. He had heard the prophecies spoken about himself.

"So that’s why you’ve been protecting this entire region. Your purpose wasn’t to protect the village and its inhabitants... It was to protect the region shown in the prophecy by the Chaos-Born... Until the prophecy is fulfilled... No, until the prophecy begins, right?" Luke asked.

"Yes, sir," Felipe replied, quite normally.

"I’m not a hero, Felipe. I’m just a young man abandoned by his father, left to fend for himself. A young man who exiled himself. Even if these words were spoken by my ancestor Andromeda, even if the three Fates and Destiny themselves bestowed the prophecy, I don’t care." Luke had said, and without pausing for even a second, he had asked the following question:

"Are you disappointed?"

Felipe hadn’t hesitated for even a second. He immediately shook his head from side to side and said, "My ancestors have been under the command of the great Andromeda since she gave her orders, and we have waited for Liam to come for generations in the forest. He played his part in the prophecy, and with your arrival, the prophecy began. I am not disappointed because my lineage and I are at your command. If you wish to see the world burn, I am willing to set it ablaze for you; if you wish to save it, I am at your command."

Luke simply nodded as if he understood and said, "No one can know, Felipe. I command you and your lineage: you shall not tell anyone unless I wish to tell them myself."

Felipe nodded as if he understood and disappeared through the hole in the wooden wall he had come through.

With the discussions about the Prophecy and the Chaos-Born’s region, everything had come together in Luke’s mind at a certain level of understanding.

In the cold north, there were dragon mountains that no one dared to enter. It was a region where everyone who approached it disappeared, and even the strongest dared not enter. Who knows, not only normal dragons but even Ancient Dragons might have existed there.

There were fairies in the eastern forest of the region.

People lived there.

The lake was so deep it seemed to have its own universe, carrying dozens, even hundreds, of marine creatures within it.

There was a Sun Tree in the forest.

It was as if everything had been prepared for Luke, but something was different. It was just as Felipe had said, and Luke had realised this with a brief moment of thought.

Every step he took, every breath he took, and every beat of his heart seemed to shake the course of his actions and the reality of this prophecy.

Because, as the prophecy stated, Luke had already chosen the first of the two options he had seen. He had chosen to fight for himself and his loved ones.

His fate had changed uniquely from the prophecy, yet it remained somehow connected to it.

It was as if... Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, and Moros, the three fates and the destiny, the Chaos-Born themselves, had told Luke that he could do anything and that he had to write his own destiny within the prophecy with his gift.

Even in a world where he had been abandoned by his father... the person he valued most besides Zoey, there was no limit to what he could do.

The Otherworldly Shopping System... It had been given to him by Nyx, the goddess worshipped in the Church of the Night, the main religion of the Holy Empire, in Nyx’s temple.

The Hiera blood beloved by the Chaos-Born would shine with a splendour it had never before attained.

When the invasion of monsters emerging from the magical monster gates ended, Luke had dealt with the reports coming in and had not mentioned the prophecy that had come to pass in his name to anyone, including Zoey.

There was something he wanted to do. He wouldn’t do it now, but once he had fully developed the area and turned it into a city, he would go to the northernmost point, the region of the dragon mountains, and climb the lone mountain that rose above the clouds.

[One Mountain]

Before all of this, there was something else he wanted to do.

After opening the shop panel, he bought some paint, a few high-quality canvases, and brushes, then spent two weeks working on it, and by the time December turned into January, he had managed to complete Nyx’s portrait.

He went to the enormous room in his mansion that received the most sunlight, even more beautiful than his room, which had been converted into a library, and took down the painting on the column in the middle of the library and hung Nyx’s portrait there.

Luke was not a very religious person, but since being called a ’Saint,’ he had become slightly attached to Nyx’s religion.

The sending of elves to the Saint and many other things demonstrated Nyx’s trust in him.

The gift Nyx had given Luke... Luke had always hated it, even after learning how to use it.

This also indicated that he had made a mistake.

He should apologise and then thank her.