"...up."

"...ther, wa..."

"Brother... up!"

Someone shook Malik awake.

"Brother, wake up!"

His eyes shot open, and he pushed himself up from the sand, quickly noticing the men dressed in armor standing above him... soldiers.

They wore hard faces and tired eyes but thankfully did not seem to be hostile.

One of them knelt down and offered a waterskin.

"Are you alright, brother?"

Malik took it and drank deeply, the cool liquid running down his dry throat.

Finally, he had gotten what he was so desperate for!

"What happened to you? What are you even doing out here all alone?"

Hearing the question, Malik kept drinking, his mind still foggy from the crash.

Eventually, when he had had enough, he was about to stop and answer—

Ding!

Only to be interrupted for the third time.

—

╔════════╗

║FEAR LOSS!║

╚════════╝

[Fear Points: 6 → 4.9]

—

’WHAT?!’

Water sprayed from his mouth, catching the soldiers off guard.

’How did I lose Fear Points?!’

Was it because these soldiers saw him lying on the ground like some helpless fool? Or was it because of something he did back there—something the system was only now calculating?

Ding!

The system chimed again, as if answering him directly.

—

╔════════╗

║FEAR GAIN!║

╚════════╝

[Your Fear Spreads...]

[Fear Points: 4.9 → 6]

—

’Oh, so it really was because of my fall.’

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten this second gain as well. Since it had to have come from the army to whom he revealed his might.

There was no reason for these soldiers to fear him; rather, it was the opposite.

Thankfully, the loss and the gain evened out, losing him only about one Fear Point.

And it seemed that the system took longer to process all of the results of his battle against the Fallen. It had decided to tease him with the loss first, making him panic for no reason.

’Whatever. At least I know how this system works now.’

While Malik stayed lost in thought, staring at what appeared to be nothing, the soldiers exchanged worried glances.

Eventually, they took a step back, giving him space.

The man before them had clearly hit his head hard and wasn’t in the right state of mind.

"We should really help him. He’s clearly injured."

A soldier, besides the whispering one, shook his head.

"It’s not the time. We’ve got bad luck today. A second wave is coming through. We can’t afford to drag around some random wanderer."

The nice soldier ignored them and moved towards Malik, reaching out a hand to help him up.

But then, right in front of him, Malik suddenly clutched his hand into a fist and raised it above his head, as if celebrating a triumph.

Blankly staring at that, the soldier paused.

He looked at Malik’s raised fist, then at Malik’s face, then back at the fist.

After a long, awkward moment, the soldier turned around and walked back to his group, leaving the strange man to celebrate by himself.

And indeed, it was a time for celebration. Because before Malik’s mind’s eye, a new screen had appeared, glowing in gold.

—

╔════════════╗

║UNIQUE REWARD!║

╚════════════╝

[You have defeated many millions of the Fallen, now commonly known as Demons, and are due a reward. The Fear System is connected to your Soul and is thus able to answer any of your questions. You can ask only three questions. Choose wisely.]

—

’This is exactly what I needed!’

Malik’s heart pounded.

He so desperately wanted answers to everything.

How had he gotten here? Why had he transmigrated into this Sultan? What was this world, these Fallen, this Corruption?

His old life... he didn’t exactly miss it. Not that he remembered much of it.

He wasn’t desperate to go back, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to know.

Still, as excited as he was, he didn’t ask anything yet.

Malik knew better than to waste questions. And he definitely wasn’t about to start asking them right next to these soldiers, who could interrupt him at any moment.

Oh, and speaking of soldiers—

"THE SULTAN HAS RETURNED!"

A soldier came running over a distant dune, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I REPEAT, THE SULTAN HAS RETURNED!"

Every soldier around Malik had their mouths hang open, and their eyes go wide.

For the longest moment, no one moved.

"Long live the Sultan!"

"Long live the Sultan!"

"Long live the Sultan!"

Then they erupted and raised their fists to the sky—to the second of the two Suns that ruled this strange world.

’...I really did transmigrate into the body of their Sultan, huh?’

It wasn’t lost on Malik.

The way they stared at the sky.

The way they worshipped that light.

The way they called him "Second Sun."

He was apparently the Sultan these people revered, the one they had been waiting for.

Malik tilted his head but didn’t say anything. There was no need for him to unnecessarily draw attention to himself, especially not when he felt this weak and confused.

’Better to stay quiet and observe.’

While the soldiers kept cheering, some had shifted from their display of reverence to talk amongst themselves, sounding excited, almost giddy.

"Can you imagine how the Queen will react when she finds out?"

"Lady Layla... I heard much of her hair had gone white since the Sultan left."

Their faces were bright with hope.

"Really? I thought it was only streaked a little."

"No, my cousin saw her just last month. White as the North. She probably hasn’t slept properly in years."

"Yeah, the Lady never stopped waiting."

"And his daughter..."

One soldier laughed warmly.

"She’ll finally have their father back. Can you imagine that reunion?"

Another nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, imagine the shock on Lady Amal’s face. Hearing that her father, who sacrificed so much for her, was finally back? She’d die of happiness!"

While the group of seasoned soldiers acted like a bunch of schoolgirls, Malik repeatedly blinked his eyes, trying to process just what he was listening to.

’I have a wife?! A daughter? Wait, Amal is my daughter?!’

The second part of that sentence took some time to fully register in his brain.

Or rather, the other aspects of it. Namely, what the blue-haired young man said earlier.

’That blue-haired bastard was romancing my daughter?!’

Aladdin, the army’s commander.

The one who knelt in the sand and shouted "Second Sun" while tears ran down his face.

That same kid had mentioned an "Amal" before the battle, asking his owl master to tell her he loved her if he died.

And that Amal was apparently Malik’s daughter!

For a reason he couldn’t quite explain, a spike of anger shot through his chest.

He didn’t even know this girl, but the thought of some blue-haired pretty boy courting her made his fingers twitch.

Malik didn’t let it show, of course. His face remained flat, but still, the feeling was undeniable.

After a few more moments of listening to the soldiers chatter and calming himself, he finally decided to join the conversation.

He needed information to stay ahead of anyone who might come searching for the Sultan—for him.

"So, where do you think the Sultan went?"

The soldier who had brought the news shrugged his shoulders.

"Nobody knows. He disappeared too fast."

"Are they searching for him?"

Malik asked, and the soldier shook his head.

"They can’t. Since the second wave of Demons is arriving, they can’t afford to send anyone to look. I agree with that decision. We have to protect Devil’s Maw first."

His expression grew serious.

"No matter how the Sultan feels about us now, we know that this is what he wants. Protecting our home comes before everything."

’Yes. That’s exactly what I want. Don’t search for me!’

Malik kept his face neutral, but inside, he was breathing a sigh of relief.

The last thing he needed was a bunch of devoted soldiers dragging him back to a palace full of people who expected him to be someone he wasn’t.

"The Sultan was... indisposed for many years. Our best died one after another, joining him wherever Fate took him. But we, his children, remain. We kept fighting, even when the entire world turned against us."

Another soldier spoke up, an older man with a scar across his cheek.

"We will not let them through until all of us are dead. That is the promise we made the moment we took on his mantle. Every single one of us swore that oath. Never forget this, brother."

Listening to that, Malik felt his chest begin to stir.

These people were far beyond mere believers or fanatics. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Loyal to a man who had apparently sacrificed everything for them.

Obsessed with upholding what he last asked of them.

’They’re good people. I quite like them.’

But after listening to them talk, hearing just how much they knew about the Sultan, his history, and his family, Malik couldn’t help but question something.

If they were so knowledgeable, how come they didn’t recognize him?

He was standing right in front of them, and his appearance certainly wasn’t subtle.

The golden hair, the golden eyes, and the giant build.

Sure, his royal black tunic was now ruined, but still.

They treated him like just another lost wanderer.

’Am I different, somehow?’

He raised his arm and looked at it.

Almost immediately, his eyes widened.

’...I am.’

His body had changed.

It wasn’t close to being as muscular as before. The powerful frame that had stretched his tunic to its limits was gone. He had shrunk. His arms were thinner, his shoulders narrower.

’Did my face change too?’

Sure enough, he touched his face, feeling much rougher and thinner skin.

’Old skin... Have I somehow grown old?’

Malik ran his fingers through his hair.

’It’s white.’

His hair had turned completely white.

’Is this the backlash of using that Soul Glyph?’

He shook his head as soon as that thought crossed his mind.

No, that couldn’t be it.

The glyph had given him power, but it hadn’t aged him.

This felt different.

Perhaps this was his body returning to its true age. The Sultan’s true age.

The age he would be if he had never acquired any Runes or unlocked any power.

After all, his Soul Glyph was spent, and now the years were catching up all at once.

’Wait, but that means...’

That fact had Malik realize another truth, and this one made his blood run cold.

’If I don’t quickly unlock my Runes, I’ll die of old age before any sword reaches me.’

His life itself was nearing the limit!