Xavier L'Amour had always believed that he was someone extraordinary.
Not because he was the strongest.
Not because he was the smartest.
And certainly not because he was the most diligent.
But because—
the world always let him win.
Or at least,
never truly allowed him to lose.
---
"Run, idiot! RUN!"
The voice came from behind him.
Panicked.
Hoarse.
Filled with fear so real it felt tangible.
Xavier glanced back.
It was Alain.
His classmate.
Alain's face was pale.
His eyes were trembling.
And behind him—
something was chasing them.
The monster was too large to be called a living creature.
Its body was like a fusion of a wolf and a rotting deer, with black bones protruding from its own flesh.
Its eyes were empty.
No anger.
No instinct.
Only hunger.
A hunger with no reason.
"XAVIER!"
Alain stumbled.
His leg got caught in a tree root.
His body fell to the ground.
The monster did not slow down.
Did not hesitate.
Did not think.
It opened its jaw.
Too wide.
Impossibly wide.
As if its jaw did not care about the limits of form.
And at that moment—
Alain looked at Xavier.
Begging.
Not with words.
Not with sound.
But with something far more honest.
Hope.
Xavier stood still.
His brain worked quickly.
Not to save Alain.
But to calculate.
Distance.
Speed.
Probability.
If he ran now—
he could survive.
If he helped—
he might die.
Might.
And Xavier did not like the word might.
He preferred the word certain.
And the most certain thing—
was himself.
Sorry.
The word appeared in his mind.
But never reached his lips.
He turned around.
And ran.
---
The sound came one second later.
The sound of flesh being torn.
The sound of bones breaking.
The sound of something ceasing to be human.
Xavier did not look back.
Not because he did not want to.
But because he did not need to.
He already knew.
And knowing was enough.
---
He kept running.
Tree branches clawed at his face.
His breath burned.
His legs were about to give out.
And then—
the ground ahead collapsed.
Xavier had no time to stop.
His body fell.
The world flipped.
The sky disappeared.
The earth slammed into him.
Hard.
His breath vanished.
Pain exploded throughout his body.
He could not move.
Could not breathe.
Could not—
CRACK.
The sound came from above.
Xavier looked up.
And saw the monster.
It stood at the edge of the small cliff.
Staring at him.
Not angry.
Not hungry.
Nothing.
As if Xavier was not prey.
Not a threat.
Not anything.
The monster jumped.
Its body fell straight toward Xavier.
Too fast.
Too close.
Too—
—
The monster screamed.
Not a scream of rage.
A scream of pain.
Its body stopped midair.
An arrow.
A single black arrow pierced its head.
The monster fell.
Right beside Xavier.
Still.
No longer moving.
Xavier stared at it.
Then stared at the arrow.
Then stared at the sky.
And laughed.
Softly.
Weakly.
But sincerely.
"Heh…"
He did not know who fired it.
Did not know why.
Did not know how.
But he knew one thing.
He survived.
Again.
---
A few minutes later,
a man appeared at the edge of the cliff.
Wearing a hunter's cloak.
His face was rough.
His eyes were sharp.
He looked at the monster.
Then looked at Xavier.
"Did you kill it?"
Xavier opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then smiled.
A little awkwardly.
"…Luck."
The man snorted.
"Luck is not a skill."
Xavier shrugged.
"Still worked."
The man did not reply.
He extended his hand.
After hesitating for a fraction of a second,
Xavier took it.
And was pulled out of the cliff.
---
When his feet touched flat ground again,
Xavier looked at the forest behind him.
Dark.
Silent.
Empty.
No sign of Alain.
No sign of anything.
As if he had never existed.
Xavier stared for a long time.
Long enough to pretend that he cared.
Then he turned around.
And walked away.
---
That night,
Xavier lay in his bed.
Staring at the ceiling.
He raised his hand.
Opened his fingers.
Closed them.
Opened them again.
Still alive.
He was still alive.
While Alain—
was not.
A strange feeling emerged in his chest.
Uncomfortable.
But not painful.
Like a small stone inside a shoe.
Annoying.
But not enough to make him stop walking.
"…Not my fault."
He whispered.
No one answered.
No one heard.
And that made it easier.
Xavier closed his eyes.
And smiled.
Tomorrow—
he would still be alive.
And that was enough.
---
Far away.
Very far away.
In a place that had no name.
Something—
was observing.
Not with eyes.
Not with thoughts.
Not with consciousness.
But with something that did not even have the concept of observation.
It was not interested in strength.
Not interested in potential.
Not interested in fate.
But—
it noticed something else.
Probability.
A small probability.
A fragile probability.
A probability that—
should not exist.
And for the first time—
that probability
had a name.
Xavier L'Amour.
---
Xavier himself did not know.
That one day,
his luck
would become the reason
why the world loved him.
And also—
why the world
would come to hate him..