Chapter 16 – A Hero’s Totally Sad Story

The cabin door creaked open all by itself.

I jumped back, my heart hammering against my ribs. A voice, calm and deep, drifted out from the darkness within. It was the kind of voice you’d expect to hear narrating a movie trailer.

“Come in, boy. Don’t just stand there gawking.”

Taking a shaky breath, I forced my legs to move. I stepped over the threshold and into the cabin. The inside was surprisingly simple. There was a dusty wooden table, a single stool, and a man sitting on it as if he’d been waiting for centuries. The air was thick with that weird energy, buzzing like a live wire.

“Are you Siegfried?”

The man sighed, a deeply theatrical sound that seemed to shake the dust from the rafters. He tilted his head, and even though a strip of black cloth was tied firmly over his eyes, I felt like he was looking right through me. He looked exactly like the hero from an old video game—chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, and a messy mop of golden-blond hair. He was a total anime protagonist.

“It is me. Apparently, the lower world has already forgotten my name.”

His voice was full of so much tragedy it was almost funny. I wracked my brain. Siegfried. Nope, nothing. I’d never heard of him. Was he some kind of old-school celebrity?

“Forgotten?”

“Ah, the ignorance of youth.”

He leaned forward, propping his chin on his fist.

“I was the hero. The one and only. I journeyed across the land, gathered the legendary companions, and faced the Demon King of my era in his dark fortress.”

He paused for dramatic effect. I was kind of getting into it.

“And did you… win?”

“Of course I won.”

He said it with a shrug, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“But alas, my victory was my undoing. The people I saved grew fearful of my power. They praised me in the streets and plotted against me in the shadows. I was betrayed by those I swore to protect.”

He sighed again, even more dramatically this time.

“It’s a very sad story. So tragic. We’ll skip it, you’d just cry.”

I stared at him, my mouth slightly open. He’d just dropped a huge lore bomb and then acted like he was skipping a boring part of a movie.

He clapped his hands together, the sound echoing in the small cabin. His whole vibe changed from tragic hero to excited guy showing off a magic trick.

He raised his empty hand into the air.

A faint light started to shimmer in his palm. It swirled and solidified, stretching out until it formed the shape of a sword. The light faded, leaving behind a weapon so beautiful it didn’t look real.

“Behold! The Blade of Endless Light!”

The sword was insane. It was made of a polished, silvery metal that seemed to drink in the dim light of the cabin. Glowing blue runes were etched along the blade, pulsing with a soft rhythm. The hilt was wrapped in what looked like black dragon scales, and a massive, perfectly cut sapphire was set into the pommel. It was a legit legendary item.

“Whoa.”

“This is a legendary sword!”

I couldn’t help it. The word just burst out of me. It was like something straight out of a fairy tale.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

He held it up, admiring the way the light glinted off the edge. He actually puffed his chest out with pride.

“Total junk, of course. No use to me anymore.”

With a flick of his wrist, the legendary sword dissolved back into shimmering light and vanished completely. My heart sank. I wanted to at least hold it.

Siegfried pointed a finger right at my chest.

“But that piece of scrap you’re holding? The broken one? It’s the exact same class of weapon.”

I looked down at the rusty, busted sword still tucked in my belt. The hilt was just dirty cloth wrapped around a metal stick. The blade was snapped in half. It was the furthest thing from the Blade of Endless Light I could possibly imagine. This was a joke, right?

“What?”

“Leo is a great soldier, but he has the emotional range of a rock. He doesn’t know how to explain things. So I’ll be direct.”

He leaned forward again, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

“You have the equivalent of a hero’s sword in your hands. Cool, isn’t it?”

A grin spread across my face before I could stop it. My piece of junk was a hero’s sword.

“Yes!”

His smile vanished. His face went dead serious in a split second, giving me whiplash.

“But you’re weak.”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

“You are comically weak. Weak as a wet noodle. Weak as a day-old kitten. If a strong wind blew right now, you’d probably end up in the next town over. If we send you back to your world with a divine weapon like that, it will be stolen in about five minutes. Then we’ll have to go through the massive headache of getting it back.”

A shiver traced its way down my spine.

The way he described it, all casual and annoyed, made it sound a thousand times scarier. These people weren’t kidding around.

“So… should I give it back?”

I asked the question, my hand hovering nervously over the hilt of my not-so-junky sword.

“You can’t.”

Siegfried shook his head, the blond hair flopping into his face.

“The Master chose you. There are no take-backsies in the divine item game. It picked you for a reason, even if that reason is completely baffling to everyone here.”

He stood up, stretching his arms over his head. The meeting was clearly over.

“Which means you have only one option. You’re going to train. You will train until you are minimally worthy of holding that blade. You will train until Leo stops looking at you with pity in his eyes.”

He walked toward the door, his hand resting on the frame.

“I’ll talk to Elizabeth about what to do with you long-term. For now, go back to your training.”

My stomach dropped. Back to Leo. Back to the mountain and the air that wouldn’t breathe and the condescending instructor.

My personal hell had just gotten a renewed subscription.