"If laughter is the armor of fools, then I am the mightiest knight." – Kazuki Amano, probably after falling down a mountain again
The wind howled.
Not dramatically, not with the power of some epic mana storm—it howled because Kazuki had once again opened a cursed door without checking for traps.
And now he and Smile were falling.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" Smile shouted with genuine glee, spinning like a jelly pinwheel.
Kazuki, meanwhile, was in a very professional state of flailing.
"AUGHHH—WHY IS THERE A PIT UNDER THE GUILD LIBRARY?! WHO DESIGNS BUILDINGS LIKE THIS?!"
The answer, of course, was Smile.
They landed with a splat-thump into a pillow of glowing moss that sighed when sat on. Yes—sighed.
"Did that moss just moan?" Kazuki blinked. "Smile, please tell me we didn't land on some sort of sentient fungus kingdom—"
"Noooope!" Smile said, squishing up beside him. "It's just haunted."
Kazuki sat up slowly. "Oh, great. Just haunted."
The Hidden Library Beneath the Guild
The cavern they'd fallen into glowed with a pale violet light. Massive root-like formations of crystal jutted out from the walls, pulsing softly like a heartbeat. At the far end was a pedestal, and on it… a mask.
It wasn't just any mask. This one was ancient, ornate—smooth porcelain with black feathered designs, a smiling mouth that never quite reached the eyes. A crack ran through its left eye.
The moment Kazuki looked at it, something shifted inside him. A sense of déjà vu—no, deeper. Recognition.
Smile stopped bouncing.
"Oh…" the slime said in a tone far too solemn. "I forgot I left that here."
"You what?"
"That's the Mask of What Was," Smile murmured. "I made it from the last hero's regrets. I mean, not all of them. He had a lot."
Kazuki approached slowly, every instinct in his body screaming this is a trap. But his feet kept moving.
He wasn't alone.
Behind him, Aurelis had caught up, brushing moss off her boots with quiet disdain.
"You didn't wait for me." She crossed her arms. "You fell through a hidden floor again, didn't you?"
"Yes," Kazuki said. "But in my defense—Smile told me to open the door."
"I said, 'Touch it gently with your soul.' You kicked it."
"I thought that meant kick it with confidence!"
Smile shrugged.
The Vision
The moment Kazuki's fingers brushed the mask, the world around him shattered.
He stood in a void. Not dark—not light. Just… empty. A wind that didn't blow. A silence that hummed.
And in front of him stood a man in black robes with silver eyes.
"You are not him," the man said.
Kazuki blinked. "Uhh, excuse me?"
"Not the Void Scholar. Not the Beast. Not even the Sage or the Blood. Just… the mistake."
Kazuki narrowed his eyes. "Thanks for the pep talk, creepy faceless memory guy."
The figure stepped closer. A ripple of Essentia—ancient mana—brushed against Kazuki's soul.
"You are the echo between worlds. A fragment dressed in laughter. You were not supposed to wake."
Kazuki opened his mouth.
Then shut it.
Then opened it again. "Am I… like, a reincarnation or something?"
"No."
"Oh. Cool. So just a walking glitch?"
The figure cracked slightly—like it wanted to laugh but couldn't remember how.
"You will break the pattern," it said. "Or… become it."
And then the vision ended.
Back to Reality (Unfortunately)
Kazuki stumbled back from the mask, gasping.
Smile stared at him. "You saw him, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"Creepy guy. Silver eyes. Talks in riddles like he swallowed a prophecy book, right?"
Kazuki nodded. "That's the guy."
"Yep. That's the Architect. One of the Old Ones. We don't talk about him at parties."
Aurelis frowned. "Kazuki, what did he mean? That you're the mistake?"
He took a deep breath. For once, his usual smirk didn't surface.
"I think I'm not the hero because I was meant to be one. I think I'm the hero because I shouldn't be."
A beat of silence.
Then Smile began bouncing. "WELL! Existential dread complete! Who's up for pancakes?!"
Later That Night…
While the guild was asleep (except for the sentient teapot, who never slept), Kazuki sat on the balcony. The stars above shimmered in strange constellations tonight.
From behind, a shadow shifted. The wolf.
Regulus.
His newest companion.
"I don't suppose you know what any of that meant?" Kazuki asked.
Regulus simply growled softly—acknowledging, but not explaining.
And then a strange sound drifted through the air.
The cry of a bird—not one that belonged in these skies. Faint. Distant. Majestic.
Aurelis heard it too, elsewhere in the building. Her hand paused over her blade. A strange tension coiled in her chest.
Somewhere… a new bond was forming.
And far away, in a shattered mirror realm, the silver-eyed figure turned its gaze.
"They gather," it whispered. "The accident… is waking the others."