I WAS The Rank–1 Hero

The moment I stepped out of the door of endless, the outside world greeted me.

Well technically I was not outside but inside the ocean.

The transparent dome shaped wall reflected the blue light scattering from it, and on my left I saw Red Skull's warship anchored in.

"We're back…" Ruby let out a heavy sigh, "Lily must be lonely, I wonder what she was doing?"

The first thing she worried about was Lily. To be fair, I'm too.

As soon as I took another step, a familiar voice rang in my head.

''Human…?' Sera's voice whispered gently in my head. 'I… I can reach you again.'

She didn't stop.

'What happened?! I thought… I thought I was sealed once again. I felt nothing, no response, none of your thoughts. There was a wall… as if your mind was refusing me.'

"That's because it was." I murmured.

Then a soft folded flicker pulsed on the back of my hand.

Sera sensed it too, and her tone shifted.

'What is that? There's something else inside you.'

"Yeah, about that—"

A high-pitched voice echoed loudly across the empty plains.

"FINALLY! I can speak freely! Ugh, being quiet for five minutes was torture!"

Ruby and Maria walked ahead of me while I followed them.

Sera flinched.

'…Who. Was. That.'

The glowing DNA helix on the back of my hand pulsed.

"I'm Mue~! The Relic of Null Fate, youngest daughter of Lord Karton, favorite child, certified divine artifact, and also Zane's super shiny partner!"

'...'

Sera was quiet for a beat.

'…Zane.'

"Yes?"

'Why do you always pick up the weirdest things? And where the hell did you even get this?!'

"Trust me, I don't do it intentionally."

'I doubt that, so, what's the lore?'

"Long story, but know that she's a divine relic of Lord Karton."

'Hmm… she seems cute.'

Well let's just wait for a few more seconds and see if Sera still calls her cute.

Mue piped in again.

"You must be Sera! The internal whisperer, right? I felt your Essence. You're cozy. Kinda like an old granny living in his brain."

'...'

"Pfttt, hahahahaa!" I laughed, "so, is she still cute?"

'Did she just—' Sera's calm cracked.

'Did she call me granny?'

Mue giggled.

"A really nice granny! The warm kind! I will call you Granny Sera from now on. Mue likes you!"

'Human…I don't like her.'

There you have it.

"She's not going away," I muttered under my breath.

'You let this inside you?'

Now wait a second…

"I didn't let anything, she stamped herself onto my DNA!"

Mue hummed mid conversation.

"Actually, I chose you. Be grateful. Normally, I'm picky with my vessels."

'Vessels?!' Sera hissed. 'He's nobody's vessel! He's a person!'

"Relax, Granny." Mue's voice sparkled across the air. "I'm just here to guide him, protect him, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Too late for that," I sighed.

I really wish I didn't enter the door of Endless.

Ruby turned around, and blinked between me and my glowing hand.

"Are you talking to Sera? Wait… did you introduce Mue yet, to her?"

"Apparently."

Maria didn't even look surprised. She crossed her arms.

"As I said. You'll get used to her."

Easier said than done.

In which case, I offered a proposal to Maria.

"Miss Maria, you can have this relic if you want."

To my offer, she halted on her steps, glanced at my face then to my hands, before she shook her head.

"I decline."

"But why?! Didn't you want it?"

She did look desperate that time, so why was she refusing now.

"Let's just say, my mood changed." She answered.

"So, will she stick with me forever?"

Maria nodded. "Even if you chop your hands off."

Well, thanks for the clarification Miss Sailor uniform. I really wished we had never met.

"Sigh, so, anyway Sera… this is Mue, your new roommate."

'I want to leave.'

"You're in my soul. Where would you go?"

"Sigh, this is gotta be a dream…"

Mue seemed super friendly, and also annoying at the same time. But the thing I am most worried about was Mue's loud voice.

I can't just allow her to speak when I am in the presence of others. This will lead me to do a lot of explanations.

As I walked, Mue interrupted again.

"Excuse me Granny Sera, do you have a moment to listen about our lord and savior, Lord Karton."

'No,' Sera replied flatly.

Maria waved toward her warship.

A mechanical whirr followed as the ladder descended from the deck.

Clang—

"Let's move," she said.

We climbed up one by one.

The moment my feet hit the wooden floor of the Red Skull's deck, I felt an odd sense of familiarity.

One of the maids bowed before Maria.

"Welcome back, my lady. As per your instruction, we will set course for the island."

Maria gave her a short nod.

"How long were we gone?"

The maid blinked. "Approximately fifteen minutes, my lady."

"…What?" I blinked hard. "Only fifteen? It felt like an entire day in there."

Maria shrugged. "Time runs slower in the Door of Endless."

Of course it does.

"I will have to take us up again, go back inside your cabin."

She gestured to her maid.

"And also," Maria turned to me, "we will be meeting Lord Karton next."

She walked off without another word.

Two other maids guided Ruby and me toward one of the inner cabins.

I followed quietly, my boots tapping softly against the wooden floor. Ruby walked ahead, silent since stepping back onto the ship.

She must be missing her…

We stopped before a small, warmly lit room.

One of the maids opened the door for us.

"Please take some rest, sir, mam. I will call you when we reach the island."

We nodded, and went inside.

Apparently, that Island which we were about to visit was where Karton—The God of Time invited me.

Closing the door behind me, I looked towards a queen size bed in the middle of the room.

And there she was.

Lily.

She was asleep on the bed, curled up under a thick blanket.

Her chest rose and fell slowly, her brows relaxed in peaceful rest. Her hair had flopped over one eye.

Ruby stepped in first. Her gaze stopped on her, and she let out a long breath she'd clearly been holding.

"She's okay," she whispered.

I nodded.

"She's sleeping, and it's been only fifteen minutes for her."

Ruby walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, brushing a loose strand of hair from Lily's forehead.

Her fingers lingered for a second.

"Good," Ruby murmured, almost too quiet to hear.

I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching the two of them in silence.

"Were you worried?" I muttered.

Ruby didn't look up.

"Mhm," she said, her hand still resting on Lily's head. "She has no one but us, and I don't want to leave her all alone again."

Ruby seemed relaxed now. But the memory of her face when she walked out of that trial, sobbing, trembling eyes wide like she'd seen something she never wanted to, they kept playing in my head.

I sat beside Lily, who was still sound asleep between us.

Ruby noticed my gaze, tilted her head slightly, and asked,

"What is it?"

I didn't answer.

Rustle—

Instead, I reached out, placed my hand gently on her shoulder, and pulled her a little closer.

"Erm…" She blinked, clearly surprised, but I didn't let go.

"Lily will wake up, you know?"

"Yeah," I murmured, "I'm being careful."

She rested her head against my shoulder.

I brushed my hand over her hair, feeling the soft weight of it.

"You won't ask what I saw in the trial?" she whispered.

"I won't," I replied.

"Then you won't ask why I was terrified?"

"No."

"What about how I cleared it?"

"At the end, you made it. That's all that mattered to me."

She paused.

"…Why?" she asked, almost inaudibly.

I exhaled softly.

"Because some stories hurt more when spoken. If silence helps you heal… I'll choose silence."

Ruby's gaze widened slightly. Then, in a voice so soft it barely reached me, she whispered.

"Thank you."

We stayed like that for a few more minutes.

Then Ruby spoke again.

"Zane… can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"What would you do… if someone snatched away the person you held dearest to your heart?"

Her tone didn't change, but the weight behind her words did.

There was something deeper there, something that felt too personal.

I didn't press it.

"Then I'd bring them justice," I answered.

I'd lost Elise in that timeline. I knew how it felt. And my guess was, Ruby… might've seen something similar.

"Justice, huh?" she muttered. And as she did, her teeth clenched.

"Ruby?"

"Oh, um… it's nothing, really." She smiled, but not the kind that eases anything. "…"

It hurt, seeing her like that.

"But," she went on, "what if the world stands against you? What if no one wants to hear your truth… what will you do then?"

That one hit deeper than I expected.

My mind paused for a beat.

What had she gone through to ask me something like that?

I wanted to know. And at the same time… I didn't.

I looked down. My voice came out low.

"…What did you lose, there?"

She brushed her red bangs from her eyes, tucking them behind her ear, staring right at me, she said.

"My everything."

She didn't say anything more after that.

I didn't speak either.

But I shifted slightly, turning to her. Her eyes met mine.

Crimson color, tired and staring at me.

Slowly, I leaned in.

Our breaths mingled. And then, with the quietest pause I pressed my lips to hers.

She didn't flinch, she was still.

But in that stillness, I felt everything.

The heat of her breath. The trembling in her shoulders. And the faint taste of cherries on her lips.

For a second, my heart skipped.

"Mhm…Haah…" she let out a soft whisper. "Zan—Mhhn… hey—"

I was so engulfed in her, that my ears went numb.

"Mmh, haaaa…hey! Lily… she will wake up."

Then, a golden light shimmed from the back of my hand.

"Wow, my vessel is bold." Mue said, with an embarrassing tone, "I..umm.. I underestimated you."

'Hey! Don't ruin their moment!' Sera scolded her.

"Ah…!" This brings me to my senses.

Ruby, after hearing Mue's voice, pushed me off the bed.

"Oouch!" I hit my head on the desk behind me.