Chapter 41: Nobody Wants to Be in the Spotlight Part 2

The words burned themselves into my vision.

They appeared without warning, shimmering in the air like heat haze over sun-baked stone. The letters were a stark, brutal black against the background of dusty library books. For anyone else, they were invisible. For me, they were a death sentence.

I stumbled backward, my hand flying to my chest. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat in the cathedral-like silence of the grand library. An ancient, heavy tome tumbled from the shelf I bumped against, hitting the polished floor with a deafening thud.

A few students looked up from their work, annoyed. I ignored them.

Eternal death.

The words echoed in my head, cold and sharp. I was used to dying. I had it down to an art form. But this was different. No respawns. No do-overs. This was the final curtain call, the big one. The thought sent a jolt of genuine, ice-cold fear through me, a feeling I hadn’t truly felt in centuries.

What event? The system was, as always, criminally vague.

I started pacing the narrow aisle between towering shelves of forgotten history. My boots were silent on the plush runner, but my mind was screaming. I had to figure this out. I had to remember.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to access the memories of past loops. The timelines blurred together, a tangled mess of blood, betrayal, and boredom. I pushed past the big, dramatic moments. This felt smaller. More specific.

Then, a flicker of a memory.

Music. The scent of wax and perfume. The sight of stuffy nobles in stiff, ridiculous outfits. It was a ball. A simple, boring, high-society ball held annually at the academy. In most timelines, I skipped it. It was a footnote.

Why would a stupid dance party carry an eternal death penalty?

I stopped pacing and leaned my forehead against the cool, dark wood of a bookshelf. The answer wasn’t in the event itself. The key was what had changed in this timeline. The variable.

My eyes snapped open.

The Demon King.

In all the other loops, Lucifer was still sleeping his eons-long nap. This time, he was awake. Not only was he awake, but his daughter was here. At this academy. And she was friends with the one person I was pinning all my hopes on.

Eksu.

A wave of nausea washed over me as the pieces clicked into place with horrifying clarity. I pushed myself off the shelf and walked numbly toward the massive arched windows at the far end of the library. Below, students milled about on the sun-drenched lawn, laughing and carefree. They had no idea what was brewing.

The ball.

Eksu would be there because I had just forced him to go. Elizabeth would drag him onto the dance floor. And Lilith, their new, weird, chaotic friend, would surely be with them.

And her father, the literal King of Demons, was known for being just a little bit jealous. Just a tad overprotective of his daughter.

I could see it all playing out in my head. Eksu, being his oblivious self, would probably do something accidentally charming near Lilith. Lucifer, watching from some shadowy corner, would perceive this as a threat. A challenge. A stain on his daughter’s pristine innocence.

His reaction wouldn’t be subtle. It would be apocalyptic.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I jumped, startled out of my grim daydream. Sophia stood there, a small stack of books in her arms. Her brow was furrowed with genuine concern. Just looking at her, at her calm and gentle smile, reminded me of what I was fighting for. A normal life. With her.

“Or maybe a demon.”

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. It was too close to the truth.

She gave a small laugh.

“Well, this is probably the right place to find either. Are you okay, Siegfried? You’re pale.”

I forced a smile. It felt brittle, like it might crack.

“Just thinking. Long day.”

“Don’t overdo it. I’ll see you later?”

Her voice was soft with a hint of a question.

“Yeah. Later.”

She smiled again, that easy, beautiful smile, and continued on her way. I watched her go, the quiet determination in my heart hardening into a cold resolve. I would not lose that. I would not let some possessive demon dad burn down the world and take my one chance at peace with it.

I turned back to the window.

The system wasn’t telling me to participate. It was telling Eksu to participate. The mission was for him. My mission was to make him do it. The system was forcing my hand to push Eksu into the fire.

Why?

It wasn’t about a fight. It couldn’t be. Eksu had zero attack power. He’d be useless in a real battle against Lucifer. A walking turtle versus a god. It would be an execution, not a fight.

So the system wants him there as a buffer. A target for the rage. A distraction.

And I was the one who had to make sure he walked right into that disaster. The reward was “Knowledge.” The system was dangling a prize in front of me to make me do its dirty work. It was using me. Again.

I sank into a heavy oak chair at an empty reading table, the reality of my situation settling over me like a shroud. I wasn’t a hero in this story. I wasn’t even the main character anymore.

I was just the guy who had to nudge the lamb toward the slaughter.

I had convinced Eksu to participate. Step one was done.

Now I had to figure out how to be a stage manager for the apocalypse.