Kaiser scrambled to the top of the Waterfall of Two Paths, his heart hammering against his ribs. He looked left, then right, but the plateau was empty. "Rei! Where are you? Rei!" he screamed, his voice echoing off the damp rocks. He didn't know that Rei hadn't simply walked away. While Kaiser was climbing, a group of passing bandits had spotted the unconscious, blonde-haired boy and dragged him off into the shadows to see what he was worth.
Deep within his own mind, Rei was drifting in a dark, silent void. He was no longer aware of the physical world. Instead, he was lost in a sea of questions. Who am I? What am I? Why am I even here? he wondered. Would it have been better if I never existed at all? What would the world look like without me?
As Rei pondered his own existence he was unaware that without his leadership, the world was a bleaker, more restless place, trapped in a cycle of endless noble wars.
In this alternate timeline, Rei, Sentry, and Hella were not leaders, but mere recruits who had joined a group of anti-imperial Rebels. They spent their days training in a dusty camp. Rei practiced the Central Sword Style's Earth Form, focusing on a rock-solid defense. Sentry had developed an unorthodox "Beast Sword Style" that relied entirely on raw animal instinct, while Hella focused on high-impact martial arts.
One afternoon, a rebel leader named Kevin watched them spar. "Hey guys," Kevin said, leaning against a tree. "How about you come with me on the next mission? We found out there's going to be a skirmish between the Heinz and Walts noble families. It's the perfect time to strike."
"We're ready," Rei said, sheathing his practice blade. "We've trained long enough."
Their instructor looked worried. "Is this wise, Kevin? They're new. We don't even know if we can trust their intentions."
"We're rebels," Kevin replied with a shrug. "Our whole job is being at risk. Besides, I have a weird kind of faith in these kids."
The next day, the team set out. Alongside the trio and Kevin was a girl with a sharp, dangerous aura. "Who is she?" Sentry asked.
"I'm Mabel. Nice to meet you," she said shortly.
Kevin explained the plan "we are going to steal food supplies while the two noble families were busy killing each other. We split into two groups. I and Rei will take the left flank, while Mabel will lead Sentry and Hella to the right."
At the same time, in a distant, crowded bar, Ben and Lyla sat with the navarion Reynard. Without Rei's guidance, they were aimless. "We need someone powerful on our side," Ben sighed, looking at his drink. "Who do you think would join us?"
"I have no idea," Lyla admitted. "I was just a village girl. I don't know any legends."
"Don't worry," Ben said. "Let's just focus on getting stronger first." Reynard barked in agreement, and they went back to their basic training, far behind where they would have been if the Revolutionaries had ever existed.
Back at the noble skirmish, Rei and Kevin crouched behind a stack of crates. "I don't think we can move any further without dealing with those guards," Kevin whispered.
"Let me handle it," Rei said. He stood up and walked calmly toward the soldiers. "Central Sword Style, Earth Form: Verse Three."
The soldiers lunged with their spears, but Rei was like a mountain. Unlike the Northern Style which relied on speed, his style focused on conserving energy and maintaining a perfect defense. He parried every thrust with minimal movement, letting the soldiers tire themselves out. While Rei kept them busy, Kevin began picking them off with poison darts. When the soldiers tried to run, Rei cut down those who turned their backs, and Kevin finished the rest.
On the other side of the camp, Mabel was a whirlwind of violence. "I'm not patient like Kevin," she hissed, charging in with daggers and metal knuckles. She tore through the guards with brutal efficiency.
"I guess we should help her," Sentry muttered, drawing his sword.
"Ugh, I should have gone with Rei," Hella complained, but she didn't hesitate. Sentry used his Beast Style to wildly clash with the guards, his unpredictable movements keeping them off balance. Hella leaped over them, using her attacks to deliver bone-shattering kicks to their heads. They secured the food supplies and quickly met back up with Kevin to retreat into the woods.
In a different part of this world, Daina and Sigil were traveling through a dense forest when they were surrounded by bandit mages.
"Give us your stuff and we'll let you live," the bandit leader sneered.
"Master Sigil, what should we do?" Daina asked, her hand on her hilt.
"Stay focused, Daina," Sigil said calmly. "I'm going to use these fools to teach you how to cut through magic."
The bandit leader grew purple with rage. "Mages! Attack!" The bandits began a synchronized chant:
"The Fire King marched where embers learned to bow,A crown of ash and dawn upon his brow,His lance burned long, a spine of living heat,Each step a forge, each breath the drum of beat.
He drove the spear through shadow, scale, and steel,The world grew red around his chosen line,Wherever flame could wound or truth could seal,His reign was written point by burning point
Fire Lance!"
A barrage of flaming spears shot toward them. Sigil moved in a blur, his sword whistling through the air as he literally sliced the flames into nothingness. "Now your turn," Sigil commanded. "Cut the magic!"
Daina closed her eyes for a split second, feeling the flow of mana. She slashed, and the next wave of fire dissipated like smoke.
"What?! How?!" the bandit leader screamed. "Everyone, run!"
"Take care of them, Daina," Sigil ordered. Daina didn't miss a beat. Using her Northern Sword Style, she moved with such elegance and speed that the bandits didn't even realize they had been cut until they hit the ground.
Meanwhile, in a barren, rocky wasteland, Kaiser and Levi were wandering together. Kaiser clutched a massive, mystical sword named Gram. He had recently learned that the blade could transform his internal Qi into raw energy.
They stumbled upon a massive battlefield where two noble armies were clashing. "Can I try the sword on them?" Kaiser asked, his eyes gleaming.
"Go ahead," Levi said. "But be careful."
Kaiser rushed into the fray. When the archers fired a thousand arrows at him, he swung Gram. A massive wave of golden energy erupted, vaporizing the arrows and the front line of soldiers in an instant. "Everything can be solved with overwhelming power!" Kaiser shouted. He sent wave after wave of energy crashing into both armies until the field was silent and covered in craters.
Kaiser suddenly slumped over, his face pale. "I feel... so weak."
"Of course you do," Levi sighed. "You spent all your Qi at once. Even with your qi factor, you have limits."
"I have to train harder," Kaiser wheezed.
As a year passed in this world without Rei's leadership, things changed. Zen, a man who tried to train a prodigy named Kacie to kill the space demon of the branch of Devil Holders, failed in his dark plans, and both of them died in obscurity.
Daina perfected the art of cutting magic with her blade. Kaiser learned to master the overwhelming power of Gram. Lyla and Ben developed their own versions of the Verdant Sword Style and magic, though they remained lone wanderers.
And in the heart of the Rebel movement, the team of Rei, Sentry, and Hella became one of the best teams. They were known across the land as the most effective unit the Rebels had ever seen, though they were still fighting for small supplies and petty noble feuds, unaware of the true demon threat that was slowly growing in the shadows. As for Emilia she lived a hunter's life hunting to live peacefully without any grand ambitions.
Rei still unaware of these thought would the world be better without me, without my presence