The demon's breath was already on my neck when time stopped.

Not slowed down.

Not distorted.

Stopped.

I could see every disgusting detail frozen inches from my face—the twisted grin carved into its mouth, the saliva hanging from its tongue, its claws ready to tear into me.

I wasn't the hero.

I wasn't important.

So why was I about to die first?

In the absolute silence, my eyes moved on their own. Across the ruined plaza, I saw Hiroshi. Calm. Unmoving. He met my gaze and gave a slight nod, as if he already knew how this would end.

Before I could think anything else—

Three hours earlier…

My name is Alex, and I never asked to be a hero. In fact, I had absolutely no intention of getting involved in all this madness.

It all started like any other day at school. Well, except for the part where my friends and I were suddenly summoned to another world, as if we were in some kind of role-playing game.

Honestly, I couldn't care less. Saving a world in crisis? No, thank you. I just wanted my normal life back—my room, my video games, and peace and quiet.

My plan was simple: stay with my friends, keep a low profile, and wait for everything to end.

That plan failed immediately.

When we arrived in this new world, a woman who was clearly the queen greeted us and explained that our mission was to save her kingdom. I wasn't really listening. I was more concerned about finding something to eat.

What surprised me was how easy it was to stay unnoticed. While my friends stepped forward with dramatic speeches, I stayed in the back, as always. Drawing attention wasn't my thing.

Emi disagreed.

"Alex, come on!" she shouted, dragging me forward. "This is our chance to do something amazing!"

"I told you, Emi," I sighed. "I'm not the hero of this story."

She ignored me, as usual.

Later that day, we faced our first threat of the day—a shadow demon rampaging through a nearby town. Emi was at the front, fighting without hesitation. I stayed behind, hiding near a broken fountain, waiting for everything to be over.

The chaos was deafening. Magic lit up the plaza, stone shattered, and shadows twisted unnaturally.

Then everything went wrong.

The noise faded.

The air turned cold.

A primal instinct made the hairs on my neck stand up.

"Alex, look out!" Emi screamed.

I turned.

Inches from my face, something born from pure darkness smiled at me.

Time didn't slow down.

But it stopped.

The creature's claws hovered in the air, frozen just short centímeters of my face. In the absolute silence, my heart forgot how to beat. My eyes drifted sideways, and that's when I saw him again—Hiroshi. Calm. Certain. He nodded once.

The world snapped back into motion.

A violent torrent of water slammed into the demon, ripping it away from me and smashing it against a distant wall. The shockwave drenched me completely, knocking the air from my lungs.

"You're welcome, Alex-chan."

Ayumi stood gracefully amid the destruction, smiling as if she hadn't just saved my life.

The battle resumed instantly.

"Alex, cover me!" Emi shouted.

Time didn't slow down.

But it stopped.

The creature's claws hovered in the air, frozen just short centímeters of my face. In the absolute silence, my heart forgot how to beat. My eyes drifted sideways, and that's when I saw him again—Hiroshi. Calm. Certain. He nodded once.

The world snapped back into motion.

A violent torrent of water slammed into the demon, ripping it away from me and smashing it against a distant wall. The shockwave drenched me completely, knocking the air from my lungs.

"You're welcome, Alex-chan."

Ayumi stood gracefully amid the destruction, smiling as if she hadn't just saved my life.

The battle resumed instantly.

"Alex, cover me!" Emi shouted.

I panicked. I didn't have flashy powers. I wasn't strong. I wasn't special.

But I did have one ability.

I discreetly activated it, focusing on Emi. Nothing dramatic happened—at least, nothing visible. Her movements became sharper, her magic brighter, her reflexes faster.

She didn't notice.

The demon did.

Its attack missed, giving Emi the opening she needed to finish it.

When the battle ended, no one paid attention to me. Hiroshi and Ayumi were called away by the queen. Emi thanked me like I'd done everything.

I just nodded.

That was fine.

Staying in the shadows was always safer.

Or at least, that's what I thought.

As we walked toward the next town, Emi smiled at me.

"I have a feeling this journey is going to be interesting," she said.

I am sighed.

For someone who didn't want to be the protagonist, trouble sure loved finding me.

---

FLASHBACK - Two Years Ago

A pounding headache. The nausea of an unwanted journey through... nothing. I open my eyes. I'm kneeling in an intricate chalk circle, alongside three others.

To my left, Ayumi. A girl with a tall, aristocratic bearing, her elite school uniform still impeccable. She holds her temple, disoriented, but her displeasure is evident.

To my right, Hiroshi. A serious face, hair black as jet, already analyzing the surroundings with a chilling coldness.

And in front of me, staggering but with eyes already sparkling with curiosity, Emi. My best friend. The girl who, while we were studying for our history exam, touched a strange medallion that "shone pretty" and brought us to... here?

We're in a majestic hall, with towering stained-glass windows. The symbols on the floor still smoke. It's not a hall. It's a summoning altar.

A woman with a platinum crown and a presence that crushes the air rises from her throne. It's the Queen. Her words echo in my dazed head:

"Heroes from another world. I have summoned you. Our kingdom is dying under the yoke of the Sephirah."

She shows an illusion: beings of angelic beauty, with wings of light and perfect faces. But then the image distorts, revealing their true nature: bio-androids of a nacreous, cold substance. She explains they turn their victims into obedient monsters, a plague that for five years has devoured borders.

"Your gods have granted you gifts for this task," says the Queen.

An orb of water dances over Ayumi's hand. She gives a superior smile. Hydrokinesis. Before Hiroshi, an ethereal hourglass spins. His expression darkens. Temporal Manipulation. A colossal, dangerous power.

And to Emi... the light from the stained-glass itself leans toward her, forming a small sun in her palm. Her laugh fills the hall. Photokinesis. "I see it! It's beautiful!" The Queen nods solemnly. The most versatile and powerful gift.

Then, Emi turns. She sees me, still half-dizzy and out of place. She grabs my arm and pulls me up, as if presenting an odd find.

"And for him?" she asks, nodding towards me. "What gift?"

A sepulchral silence. All eyes—the Queen's, the guards', the other heroes'—fix on me. The confusion is total.

"Who is this young man?" the Queen asks, frowning. "The ritual was for three. Only three."

All heads turn toward me. Hiroshi looks at me with pity, already imagining the reason for my presence. Ayumi with amusement. Emi with pure curiosity.

A deep sigh, the first of many, escapes my lips.

"Blame her," I say, pointing at Emi with my thumb. "She dragged me along. Literally. She grabbed the medallion and didn't let go of my sleeve."

A murmur runs through the hall. The Queen observes the rune of the summoning circle beneath my feet, which flickers erratically, as if defective. There's no gift for me. No god assigned me a mission. I'm a transmission error.

After a hurried consultation with her mages, the Queen approaches. There's no "gift" in her arsenal for an uninvited summon. Only, as compensation for the "inconvenience," they give me a support rune engraved on the back of my hand. They explain, almost apologetically, that it can slightly increase the capabilities of those around me. A support power. A reinforcement.

Next to the gifts of Ayumi, Hiroshi, and Emi, it sounds like a participation trophy. A power for the one who was left over.

And I wasn't wrong. The three were... amazing. In less than two months, they did what the royal army couldn't in five years: they swept away the Sephirah. They were a whirlwind of water, time, and light. My rune was only used on the first day, while they were still fumbling with their powers. Since then, it has lain inert. A tattooed reminder.

But Emi... Emi never left me behind. On every "mission" (which for her was an adventure), she'd drag me along. "Don't stay alone, Alex!" "Come on, it'll be fun!" And I, like a damned puppet, followed.

---

The remeber fades, leaving me back in the dusty square, with Emi's smile before me and the echo of the villagers' applause.

"Alex, seriously," she says, her voice dropping to a more intimate tone. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You're always there when I need you most."

The weight of her words is a slab. It's not her fault. She only sees a friend. She doesn't see the invisible thread that held her up today. She doesn't see the useless rune that suddenly wasn't.

I just want to live in peace. Why can't I disappear from all of this?

But as we head back, moving away from the cheers, a figure stands out at the edge of the forest, on a high cliff.

It's not a villager. It's a man in dark, simple clothes. He isn't celebrating. He isn't moving. He's just watching. And his eyes, sharp as daggers, aren't fixed on the triumphant heroine.

They are fixed on me.

A visceral shiver runs down my spine. It's not curiosity. It's recognition. It's as if he saw through the shadow, through the façade, and witnessed the exact moment my power flowed.

Who is he? How did he know? And what the hell does he want with a hero who doesn't want to be one?

Emi continues talking beside me, oblivious to everything. But I'm no longer listening. I only feel the gaze of that stranger weighing on me, a cold reminder:

Has my shadow, for the first time, been discovered?

The afternoon sun filtered lazily through the skeletons of burned houses. A harsh wind kicked up dust and dry leaves, dragging them through the silent streets of the ruined village. In the center of the square, the surviving villagers formed an expectant semicircle, their faces etched with fear and hope. They were waiting for their heroine.

Alex walked three steps behind Emi, as always. His steps were measured, his breathing controlled. Everything about him screamed "don't look at me." The air smelled of ash and despair, a scent that was starting to become all too familiar.

"Don't worry!" announced Emi, her voice bright and strong as a trumpet, cutting through the gloom. "I'll take care of this! Alex, stay back, I don't want you getting hurt."

He nodded, a minimal gesture, and melted into the shadow of a ruined wall. The same routine. She acts, I observe. She shines, I disappear. If only I could just evaporate...

A guttural roar, seeming to rise from the very bowels of the earth, shook the ground. Emi didn't hesitate. Her ash wand appeared in her hand, and she began to weave the twilight light into an offensive spell.

"Come on, beast! Today you learn the power of a true heroine!" she shouted, hurling a spear of solar energy into the forest's darkness.

The creature that emerged made even the bravest villagers step back. It was a mass of twisted black scales, with eyes like wells of burning tar. Emi's spells, which usually shattered rocks, only left superficial burn marks on its hide. THWACK! THWACK! The impacts resonated, but the beast advanced, unstoppable.

"Why... isn't it working...?" Emi panted, a drop of cold sweat tracing her temple. The confidence in her eyes was beginning to crack.

Alex, from his hiding spot, clenched his fists. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to participate. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn and leave. But another part, deeper, more stubborn, watched Emi's staggering back and felt an iron knot in his stomach.

It's not your problem, he told himself. She's the summoned one. The Chosen One.

But then, the beast reared up, preparing a final charge that would shatter Emi's defenses. And without thinking, almost as a reflex, Alex extended his will.

A ray of energy left him, invisible and intangible, and coiled around Emi like a reinforcing cable. He wasn't even fully aware of having done it; by now it was like breathing, an instinct he had learned to suppress, but which activated on its own in moments of extreme danger.

On the battlefield, Emi felt a sudden warmth in her chest, a mental clarity that swept away her fatigue. Her next word of power wasn't a shout, but a declaration.

"LUX FINALIS!"

The spell she unleashed was no longer a beam of light. It was a miniature sun. The blinding explosion struck the monster squarely, piercing its scales and detonating its core of corruption from within. The beast disintegrated with a howl that faded into a whisper of black dust.

The silence was absolute. Then, cheers erupted.

"You did it, heroine!" the people shouted, surrounding Emi, who smiled, exhausted but triumphant.

"Thanks to my magic, we defeated it!"

Alex sank deeper into the shadows, the taste in his mouth sour. It wasn't envy. It was the familiar, weary discomfort of being a useful ghost.

"Alex, we did it!" Emi made her way through the crowd and planted herself in front of him, her smile a beacon of genuine joy. "Thanks for always being there!"

"It was nothing," he murmured, averting his gaze. "You just did what you had to do."

His words sounded hollow even to his own ears. Emi looked at him with that intense gratitude that always made him feel like a fraud, and a thought ran through his mind, bitter and tired:

How the hell did I end up wrapped up in this?

---

The throne room was spacious, with high ceilings adorned with frescoes of ancient victories. The sunlight bathed the queen in a golden glow, but Alex couldn't bring himself to pay attention.

As usual, he had stayed in a corner, trying to go unnoticed.

While his friend Emi—the main heroine of this world—enthusiastically recounted her success in the village mission, Alex only nodded silently. He didn't want to draw attention.

"We did it!" Emi said, radiant, addressing the queen.

"I'm glad everything went well," the sovereign replied in a voice both soft and full of authority. "Many will breathe easy knowing the danger has passed."

Alex looked away, thinking of the other summoned heroes. Who along with Emi were the ones who actually did everything, he thought with an internal sigh, reviewing their abilities.

Hiroshi. Time manipulation. Absolute power, a cold gaze... he mostly goes on missions only because he doesn't want to harm others with such a troublesome power, to his own taste and mine.

Ayumi. Water control. Dangerous and carefree, she's like Emi—a girl who in our world of origin was one of the most popular, with hundreds of guys after her, but also a girl from a high-class background who acts eccentric, as she likes to use her power for everything and show it off, though she doesn't seem conscious of it, as she's also a girl who likes to make others smile.

Emi. Light control. There's not much to say about her—you'll see during this journey, since she's, in my opinion, how I like to refer to her: the protagonist. And also, strangely enough, she's my best friend—not by my own choice, obviously. Always smiling, always in the center of everything.

And then there was him. Alex. His power was to strengthen others. Silent support from the shadows. Something he preferred not to reveal.

His reflection was interrupted by a cold voice.

"It's interesting," said the prince, his eyes fixed on Emi with a hint of disdain that Alex caught instantly. "All the important heroes have missions in other kingdoms. Strange that someone like you stays here so... quietly."

The queen raised an eyebrow in disapproval.

"Each one has a role to fulfill," she clarified patiently. "Including Emi, who will soon travel to face new challenges."

Finally, thought Alex with relief. If Emi leaves, there won't be any complicated missions for me. I can return to my anonymity.

The thought lasted a second.

Suddenly, Emi rushed up to him. Before he could react, her arms wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Don't worry, Alex!" she announced in her cheerful tone, but looking at the queen. "You're coming with me on this journey too! Whatever comes, we'll face it together."

Alex froze. The sigh of relief got stuck in his throat.

To the side, Princess Leona clenched her jaw, her perfect expression cracking with a mix of jealousy and contempt. She watched as Emi—disheveled, informal—won everyone over effortlessly.

With a mocking smile directed at Leona, Emi added:

"Her Majesty already said it! With Alex on our side, everything will turn out fine."

The queen nodded.

"Of course. I have no doubt about either of you."

Trapped in Emi's hug, Alex could only let out a resigned sigh. His fate, once again, was sealed.

Princess Leona watched him with resentment. The prince looked at Emi with frustration and desire.

And Alex, the support hero who just wanted to go unnoticed, understood the truth: no matter how hard he tried, his place was—and always would be—by Emi's side, in the eye of the storm.