The eastern gardens of the kingdom...
It was one of the areas that had been recovered after the war. The flowers had withered, the stone paths were cracked, but peace could be felt, even if only for a short while.
Zero and Lyria walked side by side.
The dim light of the sun made the silence between the two more meaningful.
They needed each other, perhaps this brief moment after the wars was a reward for them.
"Sometimes I wonder," Lyria said with a slight smile, "If I hadn't tried to kill you when we first met... would things have been different?"
Zero laughed lightly.
"No. We would have found each other again. Only the road would have been a little quieter, maybe."
The two smiled, but at that moment, Zero's eyes suddenly narrowed.
A pang in his chest, an echo in his brain...
— Danger.
The sixth sense... had been silent for a long time. But now, it seemed to have suddenly exploded.
Time slowed down, their breaths deepened.
Zero grabbed Lyria's wrist and pulled her to the side.
At that moment, a black object fell where they were—the ground shook.
Not an explosion, but a silent impact… but deadly.
"Ambush!" Zero shouted.
Two silhouettes emerged from the trees. Their faces were covered, their armors as if woven with dark magic.
Their hands held some kind of cursed energy woven with shadows.
Lyria immediately took up defense, forming a magic circle.
Zero felt the ice power within him.
A coldness ran down his fingertips.
A power that had been suppressed deep within for years was now resurfacing.
"So you've returned…" he whispered.
He grasped the air with his left hand, blue ice crystals emerging from between his fingers.
One of the enemies hurried forward.
Zero's sixth sense had already given him the direction.
He stepped aside, deflecting the attack with an ice shield.
The other turned toward Lyria—but Lyria had already prepared her spell.
"You may have been born from fire, but..."
He released his magic, knocking the enemy back.
"I am one of those who train the flames."
Zero focused on the second enemy in front of him.
He quickly strengthened the ice magic in his left hand, pressing it down to the ground.
The frost enveloped the entire area—feet, weapons, torsos… slowed.
"Crystal Bind."
The enemy's ankles and feet were enveloped in ice, his movements halting.
Zero immediately lunged forward, his sword reaching up to the shadowy creature's neck.
"Who sent you?" he said, his voice cold for the first time.
The enemy smiled, and answered in a voice half-human, half-cursed:
"The lord of shadows is awakening… This is only the beginning."
Zero narrowed his eyes.
"This is not the work of the Shadow…"
Lyria slowly approached Zero.
"It is not only the curse that is watching us now, but also the darkness of this world."