Vincent Asagrim

Vincent Asagrim, commonly known as Vincent, was the mayor of the towns of Lapithos and Helheim and a resident of Fortuna and Silvay. He was raised by the Asagrim Clan and later the Karolian army. After turning 20, he joined Silvay and a year later became a High Priest. When he turned 22, he founded Lapithos, a town he owned.

Appearance
He had blue eyes and brown hair. He wore clothes for the cold since Lapithos was located near a mountain range and it was cold there. He also wore a cherry-red scarf. Despite being an Aasimar, Vincent looked like a human and was sometimes confused with a human by other people. In the Siege of Fortuna, he wore a Karolian military uniform.

In Roar of the Dark Being, most of Vincent's left arm turned completely black. In order to avoid people from seeing his arm and worry, he bound it up with white cloth.

Personality
Vincent's personality varied through the years he lived in Karolium and Fortuna. When he lived in Karolium, he showed respect for people and had relations with many of the Karolian soldiers in the battlefield, but after switching sides, he became more introverted as years passed. Nonetheless, he still respected people and wanted to make his own circle of friends, and had only one thing in mind: Curiosity about knowledge.

While this is unmentioned, Vincent prefered to enjoy the present rather than dwelling about the past and the future, but retained a mindset of possibilities when he made a decision. This made him intelligent, but not for long-term situations. When he wrote books, he usually exaggerated fantasy in order to give thoughts of otherworldly creatures and lore and give interest to the reader, although most of the time this did not work.

Vincent was also very generous regarding humans, and considered himself a member of human society despite not being a human. In Lapithos' Holidays, he showed appreciation for humans and even organized a festival for humans, the Day of Benevolence.

Childhood
Vincent was born in Miklagard. When he was still 2 years old him and Melancton were sent to Fortuna to learn philosophy with Flavius as both Melancton's and Vincent's guardian because Hávi couldn't take care of them, as Miklagard was under constant bandit attacks and both of them needed an education. While both of them were traveling towards Fortuna, several bandits coming from the south surprised attacked the coach and killed everybody except Vincent and Melancton, who were taken to a camp in the south.

Vincent in the Karolian Army
The camp was eventually attacked by Karolian forces and took both Vincent and Melancton to their base in Holy-Terra, where they grew up and were conscripted to the army when they were old enough, because of an upcoming battle to re-take Fortuna. One day, they saw Fern, one of the Karolian soldiers doing strange things and they followed him up, and to their surprise, he was talking with the enemy side. Because of the harsh treatment they received from the Karolian government, they decided to keep this event secret and had drinks at Fern's bar outside of Fortuna, as the war went to a close. When the battle started, most of the Karolian forces were killed and had to retreat to Holy-Terra. Vincent and Melancton decided to go to an abandoned city instead to hide. Meanwhile, Fern was negotiating with Fortuna to switch sides.

Devotion to Fortunism
At the age of 20 he had joined Silvay, the state Fortuna joined in. In that city he trained his swordsman skills even more, and learned other abilities such as mining and fishing. He was later converted to the religion of Fortunism, and eventually became the most loyal citizen to this religion, to the point of being named High Priest of Fortunism in his 21th birthday. As the high priest, he made new decrees and gave a new meaning to this religion. When he was wandering around the south to search for new resources, he discovered something astonishing; an ancient ritual place. The first thing that came through his mind is Fortuna, in retrospect to the Fortunan flag's symbol, and the other demi-god symbols. He realized it was time to expand the Fortunan religion to other places, so he named this new settlement 'Lapithos' at the age of 22.

Reunited family
As he had joined Silvay, he met many people but assumed his clan already left the country to travel; he was wrong. He traveled to the ruined city he tried to walk to when he was 16 by foot and while walking in the wild taiga forests, he remembered when he and his brother got lost. When he thought he would arrive to the ruined city it wasn't ruined anymore, but instead the walls were repaired, new buildings were constructed and it was all fixed. He saw some people in the city until he realized his father, Hávi Asagrim was there, and was glad to reunite with his family after a long time.

Mayorship of Lapithos
When he founded the town, he knew he wasn't very experienced in leadership, but he knew it was his mission to spread Fortunism. He built a dock and helped with the walls, and overall planned the town's infrastructure. The only ancient thing that's left in Lapithos is the Fortunist Ritual Place, the most visited place in the town. But as the town grew, Lapithos was also drifting from Fortuna's culture due to its lack of communication. After 10 years of work as a High Priest, Vincent decided to resign as his mission was done and he managed to make big advancements for the religion. One day, as he was getting resources one of his citizens, Mr Fern asked him if he could get to build in an island north-west of Lapithos, inside the Lapithos Lake. Vincent accepted and the Bronzekreuz Castle began it's construction. 2 years later, Mr Fern decided to leave the city due to disagreements with the citizens, and Vincent decided to keep his castle as a relic of Lapithos, alongside the statue of Fortuna and the Fortunist Ritual Place.

Vincent's Absence
When Vincent was checking the Lapithos Market prices, he began coughing loudly until he fell unconscious for a couple of hours until Melancton woke him up. When he went to a doctor, he was told he got a rare disease which progressively killed him, starting by his lungs. Vincent was shocked by the time he heard this, but he still retained hope for living, so he asked the doctor if there was a cure for this. The doctor responded that the chances of living are low, but not null. Vincent, despite seeing his chances to live, was still relieved that there was some hope left, so he decided to rest in his bed. After a few days, he began coughing blood, and his face turned red, and he was unable to walk. But it did not progress from that point, because the disease was disappearing slowly from this body. This entire process lasted 2 years before he could walk again. Coincidentally, the day he left the hospital was the same day he turned 34.

The new mayor of Miklagard
As the party was close to it's beginning, Vincent arrived early to help with the last preparations. In the meanwhile, he congratulated Melancton for mayorship of Miklagard, and asked about Helheim's fate. Melancton, in response, told Vincent that he made a deal with another member of Silvay. Vincent, alongside the Asagrim Clan and other guests, arrived to the meeting place. Hávi Asagrim announced that the party was to begin, and everyone drank, except Vincent and Flavius. In the end, everyone in the party had fun and they celebrated Melancton's ascension.

Lapithos' Holidays
After the party in Miklagard, a new holiday in Lapithos was approaching. Many citizens of the town waited for the reputable ceremony of Benevolence. Some days before it started, Melancton approached Vincent to ask him about the holiday. Vincent responded with the following: "The ceremony of Aisat the Benevolent, or the Day of Benevolence by most is a holiday whose purpose is to celebrate an ancient Lapithosi Legend about Aisat the Benevolent, a hero who defeated the powerful Evil Rakshasa, a high, evil power menacing humanity's dominion in Rathnir. The hero was already known as benevolent, because of his kindness towards the poor and weak. When he defeated the Evil Rakshasa, his soul faded in the view of a curse given by the villain. This holiday in question is also a symbol to believe in humanity's dependency from Her almighty protection.". For this specific party they invited Stephanie Justinianus, a Fortunan noble living in Lapithos who helped the town's progress with her architectual experience and became a close friend of Vincent and Melancton. The holiday began, and every house in Lapithos was surrounded with green and white lights. The people danced and enjoyed the night. When the party was about to end, Vincent decided to make a speech for the people of Lapithos, which stated the following: "I have seen many things happen in this city, especially it's foundation. We've grown to become a shining village within the depths of Cymru. Thanks to the progress we've all made, and thanks to our good deeds to our goddess Fortuna, we've grown more than ever. This party was to celebrate our standing dependency and show how us followers can fight off the evil alone. That's why I want to thank every citizen from here for assisting to this party, and I sure do hope our town is an everlasting progress.". After those words were spoken, the party was over and so was a memorable day of hope. While he was leaving the party, he thought of visiting his old friends more often.

The Sudden Helheim Promotion
When Vincent was writing a book, he received his daily newspaper, and the headline surprised him. In Helheim, they were holding elections for mayorship, so he participated. At some point, he thought it would be a nice prank to pull if he became a candidate for mayor in Helheim, knowing he was not going to be elected. When the elections started, only two candidates showed up. In the end, the other candidate won, and when Vincent was about to leave the stage, he received news that the other candidate had fell sick and resigned to mayorship immediately. His mind was in shock, because he thought that if he was a mayor of two towns, he would be punished. Despite that, he had to accept the mayorship because nobody else wanted to be a mayor. As the days passed, nothing happened, everyone was fine with Vincent being the mayor of Helheim. In the end, this was one of the weirdest moments in his life.

Building Season in Lapithos
It was a sunny day in April, when Hávi summoned Vincent to show him the surroundings of Viodoxa City, and to ask him a favor, to help him change some of the buildings to something nicer. For this occassion Vincent called Stephanie to help, because she was Lapithos' best architect. They had been working for over two months when they finally finished improving the houses. Since they were paid over 20k (which was a lot for Vincent at the moment, he was low on money) he wanted to work more towards the rebuilding of Viodoxa City, so he and Stephanie renewed the Spheniscidae Bridge which connected the two big islands. Once they finished it, Stephanie approached him to ask him permission to expand the city, since they had enough budget to do it, and she had many ideas in mind. After some thought, Vincent accepted and the third large expansion of Lapithos began, and it featured a new mountain at the side of the city, which included a mini-cave and and an artificial river to the side. Moreover, they decided to expand over the taiga hills to the north-east.

Neko Virus Epidemic
Right when nobody expected it, a new virus which was named Neko Virus. Those infected were transformed into catgirls and had the ability to infect others. This became a national emergency for all Viodoxans and panic spread. Many cities were affected from this disease, but Lapithos was amongst the non-infected cities that survived the whole process of fear and anguish. Immediately as the news was worldwide, Vincent set the entire city in a quarantine process, and checked all those who entered from the outside and left from the inside. In the end, no infected were confirmed and Lapithos stayed as a virus-free town.

A visit from Fjörgyien's Mayor
While Vincent was discussing economics with a customer, a guard came to tell Vincent that the mayor of Fjörgyien, Maximal Teutonicus zu Atlantis, had come to visit him. Vincent allowed him in and waited for him. He arrives and opens the office’s door, looking at the office’s aesthetic and luxuries. Maximal then sits on a chair to talk with Vincent. Press [Expand] for dialogue M(Maximal): Hello, my fellow mayor. Do you have any infected with the virus in your wonderful town?

V(Vincent): So far, no citizens have had symptoms of this virus. What about your town?

M: We also had no infected, thank Fortuna. Though I saw one from a distance.

V: Oh, really? We really need to be careful with these infected, may Fortuna save these infected people.

M: Yes, I heard that it even infected the royal family, only Flavius was spared.

V: That must have been a hard time for him. I hope all of this ends soon.

M: We all hope this, to get infected is a fate worse than death!

V: If a cure isn't made soon, these people might get worse fates than they already have.

M: Yes, a cure is needed and we need it yesterday rather than in a week, there can be no time lost.

V: Speaking of cure, I have heard some rumours in Fortuna about a newfound cure.

M: That would be great news! Please tell me more. V: What I heard is that snorting Fortunan Lapis lazuli and cocaine will cure the disease.

M: Please tell me details, maybe that's the solution to the virus.

V: I don't really have any more information to provide, these rumours are usually messy and do not provide all the details. One day I might ask Flavius for more details…

M: Okay, thank you for the information, may Fortuna help us.

- Maximal looks at his hand watch, and notices it is almost late to return, so he says goodbye to Vincent.

M: I need to go back to Fjörgyien now, my wife awaits me for dinner and I dont want to be late. Till we meet again.

V: Till we meet again.

Researching Process
He joined a research team with it's headquarters in Fortuna, and he collaborated with the members, including Kogan, but after a week in the research team he had to leave because of how the researching teams were fighting each other instead of searching for a solution to the disease. Vincent Asagrim continued a period of quarantine in Lapithos but lifted the lockdown. Eventually the Neko Virus was finally extinguished and everyone continued their daily lives.

Silvish Lore Guild
One day in Lapithos, Hávi Asagrim knocked on Vincent's office door. He wanted to offer him leadership for the Silvish Lore Guild. At first Vincent was skeptical about this because of possible long-term effects in his free time and how much he wanted to take care about the town, but in the end he accepted, inviting people in. The Lore Guild consisted in three main goals: make history of Silvay, write novels and hold provincial festivals. Vincent was offered a seat in Miklagard and he accepted it, walking up the stairs of the tallest tower in Miklagard to get to the Guild office. It seemed like some lazy thing to travel many kilometers just to work in the office but he thought it was worth it because he could now hold festivals as a whole.

Change of Mindset
As the mayor woke up on a rainy day in the faraway abode, he prepared himself to be at the workplace in Miklagard. He was in a rush because he woke up late, but as he was running down the stairs, he fell off because of his half-asleep behavior. After 5 minutes of being unconscious, he woke up to realize he was already late, but then looked at his broken bone in the arm, to only worry even more. After all, he was treated by doctors, but as he went home, thoughts about the unlucky morning clouded his mind. Just like a chain of ideas, he ended up complicating notions about physics, relating them to the fall that happened only hours ago. This accident became the trigger for Vincent’s investment in the study of physics, which lasted for a long time. As time passed, the only thing that could really get in Vincent’s mind was physics. No matter what he was doing, no matter what he was thinking, it was all related to physics. It was a change of perspective of everything. Some people even rumoured that Lapithos’ mayor was deranged, sometimes even obnoxious. In the end, this really changed his life, unknown whether to the better or the worse, but there was one thing for certain, he stopped going to the guild’s office for weeks. Soon after, his obsession didn’t stop, but his sanity was recovering as he was coming back to office.

Horror-struck
As Vincent was writing a novel, he heard a noise in his head. Unsure of what it was at first, he ignored it, but it resonated with more strength every time. No matter what he was doing at that moment, it kept resonating and distorting for each time it vibrated inside his head. He then saw a hand being summoned from the book, and it was trying to pull him into that book, stronger and stronger... Until he woke up; he fell asleep while writing the novel. It was already sunrise and the birds were singing the morning tone. As he walked downstairs, feeling the cold from the loud wind, he prepared breakfast, dressed to go work at the Silvish Lore Guild, and when he was about to open the door, a thunderous noise invaded his head; it was the same noise in his nightmare, but this time, it was more intense than ever, so much that he passed out. A neighbour came to visit him, but they saw him laying on the ground through the window, the doctors were called and he was brought to a hospital, where he was treated. After several days, Vincent was finally conscious again, but he saw what was least expected: His left arm was turning dark, and it was the same arm seen in his nightmare. He was horror-struck from the frightening, dark color of the arm. The first thing that came upon his mind was: "What could have caused this to happen?"

Parasyte
As the days passed, the arm's darkness expanded, worsened, and it was aching, while Vincent could still hear the voice in his head, leaving a delayed period of insomnia. He was scared from death, thinking that many things had to be accomplished. Soon a doctor walked into the room, claiming he experienced what he did. The touched his arm, only to startle at this discovery. He had a long talk with Vincent, but what mattered the most from this is that what he was having was no other thing than a parasyte that consumed his body slowly. He was staggered at this new discovery, but all he cared about was, of course, surviving. After the diagnosis, he decided to name this parasyte "Dark Being". 1 month after the examination, the arm stopped it's growth for unknown reasons, and so the noises did also stop. He was later discharged and could live a normal life again, the only exception being his now dark left arm, which was bound up so no one would affright upon seeing him.

Prologue
It was a rainy day, the crying clouds symbolized what seemed like a bad day for Vincent. He was frustrated, as his novel idea did not please his philosophy. He was desperate for ideas and inspiration, but they were lacking.

«Reality seems so boring and mundane.. No matter what I do, no ideas come up to my mind. Every time I have good ideas, they just come naturally.»

At that moment, he had an idea. His brother Melancton was on a vacation to Grandia, in the Archduchy of Azuria. Visiting him was the perfect method to let his mind produce the perfect idea for the novel, but he had much larger ambitions. In case he was going to die from the growth of the corrupted arm, fulfilling one of his dreams was the way to go. He was about to begin a trip to visit most of Southern Rathnir, but he could not do it alone, because of the dangers the outside world might bring, so he invited Stephanie Justinianus, one of his most loyal guards, to dive with him into possibly one of the most dangerous trips, visiting over 16 countries in over 1 entire year. She willingly accepted this risk, for she was curious about many cities that Vincent had planned to visit. As they were leaving the Bronzekreuz Castle, Vincent was worried about the moon's state, and prayed to Fortuna for both saving the innocents from the current events in both Rathnir and Eldham, and protecting him and Stephanie during the trip. At first, he feared that wolves would attack them during the full moon period, but his determination to stay alive and attain his dreams left Vincent motivated to finally start writing novel ideas.

Coldness
As they reached Southern Cymru's jungles, it all complicated in the middle of an eternal night, as they could barely go through the biome with two torches, armor, and backpacks. In the end, they managed to go past it, and the clear water was on sight, the moon's silhouette was visible from the ocean's reflection. After a few hours on boat, they encountered a large octopus in the middle of the ocean, but they were able to escape without being hit. In the midst of the sea, they were able to see the frozen hills of Sørligste. Both of them landed in Tortuga, seeking to follow the southern border of Rathnir, and go north after crossing half of the continent. There were no complications in the end, and they had the chance to take many pictures of cities covered in snow, ancient monuments, and especially megastructures unimaginable to them. One of the most important cities they visited in this part of the long trip is both Not Venice and Port Leon. While they followed the coast, the first ideas came to Vincent's mind, who was at the same time gazing the oceans. Before arriving to Sørligste's last parade, Lorent, Vincent sat in a cliff to watch the moon stand above the horizon, while Stephanie was still visiting the town of Windcliff.

The Desert that connects Continents
After 3 months of trip, they arrived to the historical city of Lumaire. The city was the entrance to a large desert that connected Sørligste and Haven, and some megastructures could be seen from the distance. Vincent was astonished with the effort other people made around the world, and decided to stay in the astounding place for a while before finally entering the deserts of Haven, to what used to be Uldarash. Meanwhile, Vincent was asking himself whether he regretted this decision or not, but he later discarded it. In the middle of the city, they encountered one of the nobles of Lorent, Koekie, who wished them good luck on their trip. After leaving the city, they continued the trip by paying for a carriage to Alfheim. It lasted for a few hours until Chervonstad could be seen from the distance. It was a large city, it had a peculiar look, since there were skycrapers everything, but then Vincent remembered that some Asagrims lived in that zone, so he decided to go look for them. Sadly for him, none of them were in the city, so he had to continue with the trip as usual. The next stop was Terroja, the capital of Montroig, an attractive city in the north of Haven. Next, they were about to depart from Haven to Alteniquia. While Stephanie collected the photos, Vincent was wandering in his mind when Stephanie called him, nervous, to see the photos, and the only thing Vincent said was:

«... Fuck.»

Half of the photos they took were lost and their food rations were running out. Despite this, Vincent maintained a sense of hope and decided to hurry in their way to Lirgal to get more food rations. This meant that they would skip several cities in the way.

The Lunar City
After a short boat travel, they arrived to Kush. A series of islands followed next, until the many cities in southern Alteniquia were visible. They landed and hurried towards Lirgal. After a few days, they arrived to the city and bought some food to continue the trip, and visited a llama café in the way. Because Stephanie was exhausted, they took a break and gazed at the dark oak buildings. The eternal night looked more beautiful than ever with the lights in the incandescent city. After a week at the lunar city, they packed up everything to continue the other half of the journey. Asitir, Lirgal's religion, inspired Vincent to make the moon one of the main elements in the novel. As they reached the gate of Lirgal, Stephanie wondered whether the moon would go back to it's normal state, since it had been over a year, and 5 months since they last saw Lapithos. Vincent, confident that everything would go back to normal, told her that whatever was happening to the rest of the world, he knew it would end eventually. As they were getting closer to Carn's coasts, Vincent felt a deep ache in his arm, and he knew it was going to endure with him the rest of the journey. Stephanie was worried about it, but then he assured her that everything was fine, although it was on the contrary.

Visiting a Brother from Afar
On the 6th month of travel, Stephanie and Vincent finally arrived to Grandia. On the gate, Melancton was waiting for him, and he wasn't happy at all. He had received news from Lapithos that their mayor had left and he had a suspicious arm bandage. The moment Vincent talked to his brother, he took off his arm bandage, and to both Stephanie and Melancton's surprise, it was already bigger than the arm itself. They immediately tried to take him to a clinic in Grandia, but then Vincent complained:

«You don't even understand, do you? I am as much scared as you, but I would never bring panic to both my friends and family. This corrupted arm has been hunting me for almost a year, and I have never accepted it. There is a true reason, a purpose to come to commit myself to this long, dangerous travel: I want to fulfill my dreams before I might die from whatever this arm has been consuming from me. That's the entire reason I hid it from you, and I'm sorry for not letting you worry so much about me!»

His brother and Stephanie's reactions described what he imagined: Affright and worriness. While this made him think about his mistakes, shortly after, his brother changed the topic as he wanted to help Vincent fulfill this dream of his. They visited the entire city, including the port. After a week of stance, they said their goodbyes to Melancton and went traveled back to Lapithos. 5 months later, they finally saw the city of Lapithos after 12 months of visiting cities around the southern hemisphere. Despite having enjoyed the entire journey, Vincent felt uneasy. Stephanie left to her house and he went to his. But then that uneasiness became fear, for his arm had gone worse.

Epilogue
When he came back home, his mouth began spitting blood. He immediately went to the closest hospital to ask for a diagnosis. As he arrived to the hospital, everybody was looking to his worsened state and began to panic. In his mind, everything crumbled to pieces and it was all hopeless, but his heart told him to go beyond the limits. A doctor attended him, and he was not surprised upon seeing his arm. Vincent was curious about his behavior, but he still asked the doctor if he could diagnose him. The doctor apparently knew already about his arm's condition, and was coincidentially the same doctor that attended him more than a year ago. He then began explaining a story that blowed Vincent's mind:

«As far as we know, there's nothing we can do about this. There was once an ancient story about the once called 'Mad King', whose name was Domitius, but historians haven't really bothered including him in the history books. He was an ancient Fortunan king, who for decades had massacred thousands of Fortunan people, until a 'Brave Hero', whose name was Tydides, killed the maniac who painted this period in blood. The interesting thing about this is, there was once a legend that stated this Mad King would eventually be back through the power of darkness, infiltrating the host's body as a parasyte and to later consume it, and come back to commit all those attrocities once again.»

After the doctor finished explaining, there was a deep silence in the room, a silence of worriness from Vincent, and a silence of lament from the doctor. Vincent then left the room to come back home to finish his novel. While he was coming back home, his mind was clouded by both hopelessness and desire to get rid of the parasyte, which he now called Domitius.

Legacy
As some people from Rathnir got used to the eternal moon, it also made people lose their notion of time, but Vincent was well aware 2 years had now passed since his left arm had gone rogue, and got consumed by one of the most evil former kings of Fortuna: Domitius. Throughout the months, many letters were sent to family, friends and Lapithosi citizens by Vincent to bid farewell, as the arm had encompassed his entire left arm, a part of the torso and the legs, which made him unable to walk. He was sent to a hospital, where he rested for a long period. Vincent had lost all hope. He achieved so many things throughout his life and it was all going to waste, because of one single obstacle. In his mind, only one thing was certain, that he only had two ways out: Recovery or submission.

«How could one survive an ordeal like this?» Vincent thought. It was only a matter of time whether Fortuna decided his fate. At first, he doubted the story the doctor told him. It could all have been a hallucination, but before realizing, his mind had fallen unconscious for a few minutes. The clock was ticking on the now hopeless Vincent, who feared for his life. But then, something came across his memories, the precious and most valuable treasure. Lapithos, which he had grown over the past 21 years. «Ah... time flies, doesn't it?» He thought. Vincent remembered about his friends and family who helped him grow, both as a mayor and a person. «Was it all worth it?» He asked himself, but not even he could answer this question.

Contact
Vincent could not stop thinking about his past life. But suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a black silhouette who made him enter his own consciousness. At first, he believed this to just be a hallucination, until the silhouette presented himself as Domitius. The first thing Vincent did was curse him.

Press [Expand] for dialogue «That wasn’t the best presentation of yours, wasn’t it?» Domitius smirked. «This is how every citizen met me back then.. But of course, I am just used to this.»

«Is… Is your entire story true? You killed so many Fortunans… for your own gain?» Vincent asked curiously.

«We never wanted Fortunans to exist in the first place. At the time, we were fighting endless wars to conquer the entire region, but… because of their greed and Tydides, our culture had gone extinct, and now they’re going to erase our entire history!» Domitius yelled, as Vincent was about to yell too, in response to his statement.

«Why is war the only excuse for achieving things? If you wanted to unite all Rasennans under a banner, why did you kill Fortunans? You’re pathetic.» Vincent said.

«You do not even know what we have gone through. You were not even raised by Fortunans! You use your own city as an excuse to make yourself faithful to Fortuna.» Domitius said. Vincent was silent after he said that, and that made him start remembering something. Then, Domitius laughed and said:

«As I expected… You will be the perfect sacrifice for Fortuna. I picked the right body for this position. I shall make sure you stay devoted to Fortuna, forever.»

«I… I will make sure you’re dead on the spot, Domitius. I won’t let you commit all those crimes again.» Vincent said, nervous about what Domitius said earlier.

«We will see that on the final judgement.» Domitius said, as Vincent was gaining his consciousness back. When he was awake, Melancton was waiting for him. The first thing Vincent did was to tell him what happened in his mind.

Doubt
As he finished explaining the entire situation to his brother, Melancton left the room nervously, but not even Vincent knew why. He was wondering whether it was possible to have a miracle or not. He remembered what Domitius questioned about his faith in Fortuna. He then recalled how faithlessness brought him to believe in a goddess. Vincent has a flashback about his life in Greater Karolium. A Karolian soldier asks Vincent about his religion, so he answers:

«If there was really a God, why would they let the good people die, and the evil people live? Why would they let all these wars happen? Having faith is for the ignorants, really.» Vincent said, with a serious manner.

He then remembers forward, when he switched sides. Vincent was praying in Fortuna, for the first time in his life. His regret for everything led him to this very moment.

«Fortuna, please… I regret everything I have done. I was so naive to believe there was no God. The killings, the suffering… I can’t bear this pain anymore. I swear I will never doubt  you. I will be faithful to destiny.» Vincent was stuttering while praying. He then understood the point of believing in a deity. They weren’t there to stop wars, but to comfort, forgive and enlighten the people.

As Vincent wakes up, he finally understands the worthiness of life, and how it is based on regret after regret, mistake after mistake, but in the end, he is the only one who fixes them, by moving forward and never giving up. This gave Vincent the last sense of hope before destiny decided his fate. Will it be death? Will it be survival? In the end, the very last thing he wanted was to hurt his loved ones while being possessed by Domitius.

Preparing for the Worst
The weather was clear, the people were in joy, but Vincent had no clue why. As he looked over the window, the sun was rising from the horizon. The eternal moon was no more, and the day-night cycle resumed for both Rathnir and Eldham. Later, he got the news about Lux's success in reverting the hellish effects that Segra had caused. This did not satisfy him however, for all he cared about was surviving. A few minutes later, he observed the city as his citizens were celebrating. The first topic that came across the mind was whether he could stand as a mayor or not. As he was thinking on candidates, Mr Fern entered the room:

Press [Expand] for dialogue «Mayor, did you hear the news? The sun has risen again in the horizon, this means the coldness is finally gon-»

«I'm aware, I-...» Vincent couldn't even finish the sentence. Fern noticed something strange with the mayor.

«Is there anything wrong?» Fern asked, while brooding on the fact that Vincent's health was decaying.

«Don't worry about me... Anyway, now that you're here, I should ask you this... Do you see yourself fit as a leader?»

«I... I do.» Fern answered, unsure of what he means.

«I'll get straight to the point. I want you to be my successor.» Vincent said firmly. Fern was in shock for a couple of seconds, but even after that, he was still unsure of what to respond. As soon as he was ready to say something, he did not hesitate to say:

«Isn't this offer a little too... direct? I mean, what if you survive out of this?» Fern tried to stay as calm as possible.

«I am not going to survive... I've watched death at my doorstep too many times, and it's not going to stop anytime soon. The best I could do is hand my legacy to you.» Vincent said. There was a deep silence in the room for a few moments, until Fern finally made his decision.

«I- I accept. I will fix our mistakes, I will lead the people.» Fern answered firmly, but nervous.

«I made no mistake in giving you the lead, my friend.» Vincent finished the conversation. Fern left the room in shock of what he had heard.

A doctor came into the room. It was the same doctor who told Vincent about the ancient legend. He was appalled to inform Vincent on news about the parasyte, and they were really bad news. The only way to stop Domitius from taking over his body was killing the host, who in this case, was Vincent. However, the mayor was calm. Not because he was used to bad news, but because he was expecting this for so long. The very only thing Vincent spoke with the doctor was:

«If it's to protect my own people... I prefer to be killed rather than having my legacy destroyed by a madman.»

The doctor was in shock, and left the room to inform everybody about the mayor's decision. The citizens' happiness over the end of the night calamity became worriness over their mayor's health.

A visit from the Basileus
The air was filled with fog, a concerned Flavius slowly made his way towards the city of Lapithos in his royal carriage flanked by Fortuna's most fearsome guard. News had arrived of the failing health of the prefect which worried the king. Flavius arrived at the city and stayed at a temporary royal villa before setting off to meet Vincentius. The royal guard encircled the area while Flavius slowly entered the room. Press [Expand] for dialogue "I have heard of your present ailments, I came here as quickly as I could to discuss certain things and enjoy some time together while you are still with us." Flavius said sorrowfully

"Nice to see you here, we have not seen each other for a while, did we?" Vincent answered with an exhausted voice

"Stresses in the city have made me occupied there for eternity, I always enjoyed the smaller environment of your lands for the very brief and sparse times I did visit" Flavius replied in a tired manner

"Thank you, I always liked my city's infrastructure and I have always tried to improve it. By the way, how is your city doing?" Vincent responded

"The city is always a busy place, with the current crisises about the night resolved iam happy that the city has calmed down a bit. Since then I rested in my palace and spent some time with some others I love. As soon as I got news of your sickness I rushed here" Flavius responded, by the dark pits under his eyes it was seen that he was lying

"I am glad that your city has overcome this crisis.. I barely got to see any of this and I fell sick to this parasyte inside me. At least my successor may do better than me." Vincent answered, calm as ever because he accepted his fate.

"It is honourable to be resigned to your fate in this manner. Have you gone through purification rituals?" Flavius asked in a curious manner, "one must enter Elysia clean"

"I did, in fact. I wish I could have lived longer... I hope I left a valuable legacy behind." Vincent replied with confidence

"The Goddess works in mysterious and cruel ways at certain time. It is a shame for you to leave us so early. Say, do you have a family? A son?" Flavius replied

"I do not have any children, sadly. I tried my best on making Fortuna proud of me, and I wish so happens." Vincent responded

"So be it, worry not about this for now and try to enjoy your last days on this earth with company. I will surely remain here with you for the duration of the time you have left. About succession I already recieved word on your suggestion and will be gladly accepting it" Flavius patted the bedridden man on the legs

"Yeah... I have a petition to ask you, though." Vincent answered

"Well, spit it out" flavius responded in a joking manner

"This might seem a little too sudden but... I would like you to do the honor of ending my suffering." Vincent asked, nervous whether he was going to accept or not

"In my entire life I have not ordered or personally commited the execution of any man, even though I have the right to do as I like there is a set of code that we Kings must follow in the name of Fortuna. The Goddess frowns upon a king who kills. My concious does not allow me to end the life of a man I loved and tutored. If you wish to go out on your own terms I suggest painless poison." Flavius replied, his mood changed for joking to sorrwful as he realised the true nature of Vincentius's sickness

"I see... It's fine, I understand. Anyone would refuse a request like this.. No one would bare the guilt, even if they were requested to do so. But I will not drink any poison, for I consider that a dishonorous way of dying." Vincent was truly committed to his own philosophy, decided to choose his own end.

"If you wish you could suffer till the very end, that is also an honourable way to leave this earth. Suffering will teach you wisdom and help you in Elysia. Once I whipped myself to learn more about the nature of pain. If you wish to go out with a sword then you could request it from your guard" Flavius replied in a sad voice

"I know what to do. You do not need to worry about me, Basileus." Vincent replied with confidence yet again

"I will stay here with you and keep up correspondence until the day comes. I will not let you die alone and with no one by your side" Flavius responded, shedding a single tear

"I am glad people will not look down upon me... Thank you." Vincent responded

Vincent dismisses Flavius with a smile in his face before the Basileus could leave. He was ready to do the next step.

The Nineteenth Chapter
Just a few hours left for him to be possessed by Domitius, and he was running out of options. He tried calling Melancton to do the honors of killing him, but he refused almost immediately out of fear. As disappointed as Vincent was, he wanted to think it all might just be futile, so he rethought Flavius' suggestion of drinking the painless potion. But then, something else appeared on his mind: "Was there any other way out?" he thought. But then, somebody opened the door that kept him locked, and it was not any other than Stephanie. She was calm despite of the deep sorrow that surrounded them. Vincent meanwhile, was processing how he would ask Stephanie the same question he did to Flavius and his brother.

«Stephanie.. this might seem like a very hard decision for you, but-»

«I will.» Stephanie responded to Vincent, interrupting him.

«You-... you what?» Vincent asked, confused.

«I will end your life, if that's all you want. T-this might seem a little too hard for me, but... I will carry your legacy just like Fern, and the others will.» Stephanie responded.

«Heh... this is a surprise. Just on the 21st anniversary of the town's foundation, I will be succeeded by someone else. This really... is a surprise.» Vincent answered.

«I will do it with one condition, though.. Let me look away. The guilt from killing you is way too much for me.» Stephanie demanded.

«Ah, of course, I don't really mind... Go for it.» Vincent gladly replied.

Everyone who came to see him was outside the room, waiting for Stephanie to do it and finally end his suffering. She was doubtful whether Vincent would suffer from this or not, so she decided to aim towards the neck rather than the heart. She then pulled her dagger.

Meanwhile, Vincent was remembering back everything, his entire life. His careers as a Karolian soldier, as a High Priest, as a Mayor, as a Builder, many things had he done in his life. Right before Stephanie could stab him, he showed a smile and looked to the ceiling, which was blurring as his life was vanishing. Eventually, the life of Vincent Asagrim ended in a flash, but he was glad everyone was saved, and his guilt, his pain, his sorrow were finally over.

Trivia

 * Vincent's name is of Latin origin and it means "conquering".
 * Vincent's surname, Asagrim, is one of the many names for Odin, a god in Germanic mythology. It means "Lord of the Aesir".