Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 26: The Story Untold

"First, you should know that you are far from the only person to have been brought here by the Storyteller."

Ezra's eyes widened.

"This is her world. I'm sure you think you're the one who sought her out, but you'd be wrong. She found you. The rumors you heard about her? The way to find her? She wanted you here, so she contrived it all."

There was no way what Rav was saying could be true. He learned about the Storyteller of his own volition. He wanted a new life. He'd given up his entire existence and his immortal soul for the opportunity to be here...

"There's not a single person in this world who didn't come here from some place else."

"...WHAT!?"

Rav smirked. "Well, perhaps that's a little facetious. I was born in this world, but the first Ferin were from another world. Those who wished to be human-animal hybrids. They documented their secrets and passed them down through the generations. As the hero of the Ferin, I am privy to this knowledge, naturally."

"If that's all true, then what is the purpose of this world? Is it just the whims of that creepy skeleton?"

Rav clicked his tongue. "What's the purpose of any world, really? But let me tell you this. Money, power, pleasure - everything you could ever want is attainable in this world. Call it the promised land, or call it a prison. But opportunity is king here. And the Storyteller is the queen."

Ezra clenched his fists. "Desire is king in this world, isn't it?"

Rav's tail flicked. "That's right. All who live here shall have their desires fulfilled. You shall only be stopped by those whose desire eclipses your own."

The cat boy's tail drooped.

"That's why I'm talking to you, Ezra, and not Alcor. He rejected his desire...and look what the Storyteller did to him. She found someone else to play his part."

"I..."

[It's true, Ezra. You and I were once from the same world. The places you see in your mind... They're familiar to me. You're from the other 'Earth'.]

Ezra clutched his head as Alcor's voice crawled through his brain. It was all much to take in.

"What did you do, Alcor?" he asked out loud. Rav narrowed his eyes, realizing what was happening.

"He defied her fate. She tempted him to become a Harbinger. He left his life behind and had that awful thing installed in his heart...and then, in his last moments, he refused to see his job through."

[It was my destiny to be killed by the Magician Oberyn. And his destiny was to bring about the end of this world. A fate I couldn't allow.]

"Judging by the look on your face, I assume Alcor has told you what he told me yesterday."

Ezra shook his head. "No...Oberyn isn't the type of guy that would end the world. He's..."

[The heart in your chest is destined for him, Ezra. That is the fate she has written for you. But if we kill him, Ezra, we can defy that fate - together.]

"No!" Ezra shouted. The presence lurking in his mind retreated for the moment.

Rav smirked. "Seems the Storyteller has pitted you two against each other. She must want to find out which of you has the stronger will. Quite the situation you've been swapped into, Ezra."

"Oberyn...will end the world?"

The man who he'd spent the last few days pining over, thinking of constantly? Is that why he felt so drawn to Oberyn? Is his destiny truly to determine whether or not Oberyn ends this fantasy world?

Rav took a big, deep yawn.

"Hell if I know. I never met the Storyteller, just heard the...well, stories."

Rav collected himself, suddenly looking quite serious.

"But I do know if she dragged you all this way here and swapped you into Alcor's body, there's a reason for it."

"I asked for an exciting life," Ezra recalled. "And to know what it feels like to be in love."

"Sounds like she's already made good on her end, then," Rav smirked. Ezra was so caught in his head he didn't even deny it.

"All that's left is for you to decide what comes after. You didn't ask for a happy end to your love story...just a love story. You'd be wise to remember that."

Ezra grit his teeth. "The love I want is everlasting, eternal. True love. I haven't found that yet, and I won't ever know I have until my dying breath."

Rav seemed impressed by Ezra's statement.

"And if you find someone, dedicate yourself to them, only to find out later that they weren't 'the one'. What will you do, then?"

"When it's the right person, I'll know."

Rav smiled wide. "Ah, to be young again. So full of hope. I had a desire, once. I dreamed that I'd save the world. And what do you know? It happened. The Storyteller is done with me, my friend. I've played my role."

"Aren't you only a couple years older than me?"

Rav clacked open his fan and covered his face. "That's beside the point. Ferin age quicker than humans."

Ezra contemplated the conversation. Destiny itself. He had a role to play, given to him by the Storyteller. To side with Alcor, or to defy him.

To decide whether or not Oberyn would end the world...

"There's also the matter of your System," Rav said. "All of you from the other world have one, built just for you. I'm supposing you've not yet seen yours?"

"Deek showed me my level, class, and stats. Do you mean that?"

Rav's eyes were alight with curiosity. "That's just the surface," he purred. "The true system is - "

A deafening crash shook the garden, sending birds scattering. Something red streaked through the sky, hurtling straight toward them.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Ezra turned, his breath hitching as he saw the wreckage of crimson feathers and torn flesh sprawled against the stones.

His chest clenched.

Oberyn.

The Nephilim barely lifted his head, eyes half-lidded, blood trickling from his temple.

"Found... you," he rasped.

Ezra's world stopped.

What the hell happened to him?

[Quest Activated - True Love]

[System Updated. 'Desire Meter' Unlocked.]