The Devouring Knight

Just as Lumberling was about to return to his quarters, the soft echo of footsteps reached him through the stone halls. A familiar figure appeared in the dim torchlight, a young man, blonde, carrying himself with the calm ease of nobility.

He strolled casually in Lumberling's direction, though his steps were unmistakably leading toward the underground prison where Kairo had been kept.

"What brings you here, Heir Arden?" Lumberling greeted, his tone polite.

Lucian blinked in faint surprise, as if he hadn't expected company. "Lord Lumberling." He paused, then let out a small smile. "Ah, nothing of importance. I woke and couldn't sleep again, so I thought a walk might help. Fresh air clears the mind… or so they say."

His eyes shifted briefly toward the prison door. "Though… oddly enough, I felt something pulling me here."

Lumberling's thoughts sharpened, but outwardly he remained calm. "Is that so? I doubt there's anything here that would be of interest to you, Heir Arden."

Lucian chuckled softly, waving it off. "You're probably right. Maybe it was just my imagination… or perhaps" his gaze flicked to Lumberling with a disarming smile, "it was simply your presence I felt."

He laughed lightly at his own words, as though making a harmless jest, and inclined his head. "Good night, Lord Lumberling. Rest well, we'll have our hands full when the sun rises."

With that, Lucian turned and walked away, leaving only the soft trail of his steps and the faint unease of his words lingering behind.

Lumberling's gaze followed him. Then, without a word, his icy blue eyes shone faintly.

The world dulled to shades of grey, silence pressing in. Only Lucian remained vivid in his sight. Not just vivid, he was glowing. Shining so brilliantly that the faint light he'd seen from Skitz seemed like a dying ember in comparison. Even the fragments of memory he inherited from Agathis, her encounters with so-called Children of Luck, none of them came close.

This glow was overwhelming, blinding in its brilliance.

Lumberling's expression became solemn, his thoughts heavy.

"A Child of Luck."

…..

Lumberling returned to his room with a thoughtful expression, the weight of what he had just seen pressing down on him.

'How did I end up mixed with people like this?' His brows furrowed. 'Will this turn out good for me… or will it bring nothing but trouble?'

He let out a long sigh loud enough to echo faintly in the quiet room. 'This is getting messy. But… they're not my enemies, at least not now. Maybe it can even work in my favor.'

He walked to the window, his blue eyes drifting toward the wing where Lucian and the others stayed.

"Let's see…" he muttered under his breath.

Drawing in a steady breath, Lumberling decided to test the other gift he had taken from Agathis. Fate Glimpse, and his target, Lucian.

This time, he didn't need to see the man in person.

Closing his eyes, he recalled how Agathis had once used the skill. He guided the strange divine energy from his core, letting it spread through his body. At once, his vision began to blur, a sharp pressure building in his skull until pain ripped through his mind.

"Urgh…" He clutched his head, knees nearly giving way.

The world twisted, warped, then dissolved into nothing.

When he opened his eyes again, his room was gone. Instead, he stood in a realm that felt unreal, colors bleeding together like wet paint, shapes shifting, voices echoing from nowhere.

Blurry images flooded his vision.

He saw what looked like a soul kneeling before a towering, faceless entity. Its voice boomed through the void.

"Become a hero."

The scene broke apart like shattered glass.

Another vision took its place. A newborn cried as it was lifted into the world, born within a noble's house. The mother's face was blurred, yet her long, golden hair stood out clear as sunlight.

Again the vision cracked and shifted.

This time, a young blonde boy, Lucian, knelt before a priest. The priest's face was hidden in haze, but his voice rang with certainty as he placed a shining sword in the boy's hands.

"Rise. You are destined to save the empire, to end the war, and to prevent the coming calamity."

The words struck like thunder in Lumberling's mind.

The vision trembled, fragments breaking apart. His head throbbed harder, each heartbeat sending cracks through the unstable sight. The world of colors splintered, then collapsed.

Darkness swallowed everything.

And then, silence.

Lumberling's eyes snapped open, dragging him back into his room. Sweat clung to his skin, his heart hammering against his ribs.

He gasped for air, chest heaving, vision swimming. Then he felt something hot sliding down his face. When he touched his cheek, his fingers came away smeared with blood, dark tears dripping from his eyes.

"Ughh…" He groaned, clutching his head as the pain stabbed deeper. Each throb pounded through his skull, sharp and merciless, as if his mind was being torn apart from the inside.

He stayed like that for what felt like forever, hunched by the bed, hands digging into his hair, breath ragged and uneven.

Then, slowly, the pain began to ease. His breaths came rough and uneven, leaving behind only exhaustion.

"What… was that?" he muttered, his voice hoarse.

But he already knew the answer. The skill he had invoked, Fate Glimpse had shown him its price.

"Side effects… so this is what it costs to peek at fate itself," he whispered as he wiped the blood from his eyes with the back of his sleeve. His sight was still hazy, every edge blurred, but he could feel his body's natural recovery already knitting away the damage.

The divine energy within him was gone, drained dry as if burned up for fuel. Yet beneath the emptiness, he could sense it slowly stirring back to life, recovering bit by bit.

He leaned back, steadying himself, his mind slowly settling. "Fate Glimpse… it doesn't just show the future. It shows the past too."

His gaze turned toward the window again, the night air cool against his heated skin.

"So that's it…" Lumberling murmured, a faint curve tugging at his lips, his eyes glinting with quiet amusement. "Lucian, you're a transmigrator too… the Protagonist of this world."