The Superior Rebirth: A Hero's Awakening

The Beginning of the End

The tension in the grand hall did not ease. Emperor Thorfine leaned forward, eyes sharp.

"But Emperor Graviil, how would you even know this is Percival's doing? Do you possess any reliable proof that what you claim is true? Did you witness the Great Titan Julius with your own eyes in London?"

Graviil exhaled slowly.

"The source of my knowledge comes from someone reliable."

Thorfine's gaze hardened. "And who is this 'person'?"

"I cannot tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because their identity is confidential."

Thorfine's voice thinned, nearly a thread of irritation. "You are willing to reveal everything else, yet you hide the identity of the person who supposedly informed you?"

Graviil fell silent. His mind raced—he could not reveal Alcmena. The presence of a Dragon King in the human realm would ignite global chaos, threaten diplomacy with the Dragon Kingdom, and plunge both realms into irreversible conflict. That outcome could not be allowed.

Finally, he spoke.

"If I were to reveal this person's identity, I would be jeopardizing their safety—and the safety of those they care for."

"And how can we trust that the information this unknown individual provided is even trustworthy, Your Majesty?"

Graviil closed his eyes. Then, with solemn conviction, he placed his right hand over the Ivanovich family crest on his chest.

"I swear by my life as King of Russia, and upon the honor of my family's name, that what I speak is the truth. And I am willing to face death to defend the words entrusted to me."

The courtroom froze.

Eyes widened. Mouths fell open.

A king swearing upon his lineage and crest—under the silent witness of God—was a rarity bordering on madness. Such an oath was binding, unforgiving, and absolute. No monarch would take it lightly, and none would dare make it falsely.

Emperor Thorfine swallowed, a nervous, uneasy smile tugging at his lips. If Graviil's oath was genuine, then humanity faced two impossible catastrophes: a devil capable of wielding forbidden Sorcery... and the resurrection of the Grand Herrscher of the End.

A being the Seven Great Heroes barely managed to defeat. A being whose return meant only one thing:

They were doomed.

A hand lifted from among the leaders.

"If what you said is true—and judging by your oath, it seems it is—then how are we expected to deal with such threats? We could never hope to defeat the Lord of Apocalypse without the Seven Great Heroes."

Before fear could spread further, a voice finally entered the chaos.

Calm. Soft. Yet carrying the weight of destiny.

"There is no need for any of you to worry," said Empress Lee Seonhwa, the Queen of Shifting Tomorrows.

She sat with perfect serenity, her gentle smile unshaken by the panic around her.

"The Great Heroes may be long gone, but their legacy stands. And through that legacy... a new era of heroes chosen by fate has already begun."

The hall erupted.

"New heroes?!" "Chosen by fate?!" "Since when?!"

Seonhwa lifted her teacup, sipping with graceful ease as if she had simply commented on the weather. Her words drowned the minds of all present in turmoil. Even Graviil felt his heart drop.