In the eastern base of the Legion, deep inside cold stone walls, the General called for a meeting. Only a few knights were chosen. One of them stood out from the rest. He didn't speak much. He never smiled. They called him The Reaper.
No one knew everything about him. Only pieces. Whispers. His wife and daughter had been killed during the Tyrant King's rise to power. His hometown was one of the first to fall.
Since then, he had become a man with nothing to lose. He didn't fight for fame. He didn't fight for glory. He fought to make the royal family pay. The Reaper never asked questions. He just followed orders and left enemies dead behind him.
That day, the General stood before the knights with a mission.
"You will meet a woman outside the base. She claims to know a secret path to the capital."
Three hours east, the knights arrived at the meeting place. There, waiting for them, was a woman in a long dark cloak. Her eyes were sharp. Her voice, calm but serious.
"I'm the one who will guide you to the capital. You can call me The Guide. But I'll only help you if you agree to one thing."
"What is it?" the General asked.
"There's a small town near the capital. It used to be beautiful... before the royal family took it. It's my hometown. Now it's just a prison covered in blood. I want your help to take it back. In return, I'll lead you to the capital without being seen."
The General stayed quiet for a moment. Then he nodded.
"What do you need from us?"
"Kill the Tyrant's son. He's the one controlling my hometown now. Do you have a man who is willing to do that, the one who is ready to take his life for me... for my city. A warrior who has nothing to lose."
The knights looked at each other. No one moved.
"I'll do it."
Everyone turned. The Reaper sat under a tree, his eyes were fixed on the sky as he answered calmly.
"Are you sure?"
"I've already lost everything...there's nothing left to fear."
"There's a tunnel beneath the earth, one the only few know about. It'll take you straight to the prince. In return I'll lead you to the capital."
The Reaper nodded.
The journey was set for the next day, so the knights turned in for the night. But The Reaper couldn't sleep. He hadn't rested since the day his world was destroyed. That same nightmare always returned.
William returns from work. At home, his daughter runs up to him joyfully, shouting the word Papa. His wife, cooking dinner, calls him to the table. The whole family sits together, laughing, sharing funny stories.
A knock at the door. William opens it. A knight stands there. Confused, William turns back toward his family.
Two lifeless bodies, heads slumped, still sit at the table.
The same dream. The one that reminds him of their deaths... and who caused them. The moment in his life when the name William was buried forever and The Reaper was born. The moment true hatred was born.
His eyes snapped open. The path to vengeance had begun.