Alfred moved deeper into the dungeon, his footsteps echoing through the hollow silence. The flames of his torch flickered weakly against the stone walls, revealing nothing but emptiness. Every chamber he passed was bare, no monsters, no treasures, not even traces of a fight.
"It's all cleared out…" he muttered under his breath, lowering the torch slightly.
'They already looted it,' he thought grimly. 'They cleaned the place, then lured others in just to rob and kill them. A clever little trick, common among scavengers pretending to be adventurers.'
The air grew heavier the further he went, the smell of old blood faint but lingering. He could still see, in flashes of memory, the faces of the ones he had just killed, fearful, desperate, and utterly human. He exhaled slowly.
'I still have their badges,' he reminded himself, feeling the cold metal tokens inside his pocket. 'Should I tell the guild what really happened… or make something up?'
He stopped for a moment, considering. Then a thin, humorless smile crept across his face.
'Better not. If I tell the truth, I'll be the one branded a murderer. I'll say a monster got them… and that I barely escaped alive.'
The decision settled in his mind like a stone.
As he walked further, something caught his boot. He stumbled slightly and turned the torch downward. It was a jagged rock, no, not a rock. He crouched, brushed away some dust, and his eyes widened.
A tooth.
Large, curved, and sharp enough to cut skin with a touch. It gleamed faintly even in the dim light.
'This… belongs to something big,' he thought, rolling it in his palm. 'But there's no sign of the beast. Did it die here, or did it leave something behind on purpose?'
He searched the area again, but there was nothing else, no carcass, no scales, no footprints. Just scattered teeth, half-buried in the dirt.
Eventually, Alfred sighed and turned back. "Nothing but ghosts and lies," he said quietly.
After finding nothing useful, he left the dungeon behind. Outside, the cold air of the surface brushed against his face, a strange relief after the suffocating silence below.
He walked to the waiting carriage and climbed aboard. The reins creaked, and the horses began to move. Behind him, the dungeon mouth gaped like a wound in the mountain, swallowing the darkness once more.
He glanced at the badges in his hand, four small emblems glinting faintly in the torchlight.
"Proof enough," he murmured. "The guild won't ask too many questions."
As the carriage rolled toward Septon Kingdom, Alfred leaned back and closed his eyes.
'Another day. Another lie. That's how you survive in this world.'
Alfred reached the gates of the Septon Kingdom just as the sun began to set behind the walls. A long line of carriages and travelers stretched ahead of him. The guards were checking everyone thoroughly.
'I don't remember seeing this much security when I left,' Alfred thought, leaning back in his seat.
A man walking beside his carriage was loudly chatting with another traveler.
"I heard something strange happened here yesterday. They say the entire kingdom was crushed under a terrifying pressure, like the air itself was trying to kill us. If someone's aura alone could do that, imagine their strength!"
Alfred's expression didn't change, but a faint smirk crossed his face. 'So it really did affect the whole kingdom… and it was my doing.'
"Hey, you in the carriage!" a knight shouted as he approached. "Are you an outsider?"
"No, sir. I live here. I'm an adventurer," Alfred replied calmly.
The knight's attitude softened at once. "Oh, an adventurer? You may pass through."
'So, adventurers are respected here, huh?' Alfred thought as the carriage rolled forward.
But just before entering the gate, two other knights stepped forward and stopped him. "Who told you to pass without waiting in line? Can't you see there's a queue here?" one said sharply.
"A knight ahead told me to go through. I may not look like it, but I'm an adventurer."
The knight scoffed. "What rank are you? D rank, I bet."
The others laughed. "Yeah, he doesn't look like more than that."
Alfred sighed and held up his badge. "Actually, I'm a B rank adventurer."
Their smiles vanished immediately. "B rank?! That can't be right. You're too young for that!"
"See for yourself," Alfred said, handing over his badge. The silver shimmer confirmed it instantly.
The knights straightened, their tone changing completely. "Our apologies, sir. We didn't realize. Please, enter." They even gave him a respectful bow.
Alfred nodded and urged the carriage forward. As the gates opened before him, he thought with a faint grin, 'So that's how it works here, the higher the rank, the deeper the respect.'
Alfred pushed open the doors of the guild. The large hall was eerily quiet, empty chairs, unmanned counters, and not a single adventurer in sight. Only the faint creak of the door echoed behind him.
'So everyone's out… still searching for the one who caused that pressure,' he thought with a bitter smile. 'And they don't even know he's right here, walking among them.'
He walked straight to the counter. Behind it stood Susan, the same attendant who registered him before.
"Oh, you're here already," she said with a faint, welcoming smile.
Alfred didn't respond. His face was grim, shadowed by a sorrow that looked too real. Without a word, he took out four adventurer badges and laid them gently on the counter. The metallic clink of the badges filled the silence.
Susan's eyes widened. "T-These… are your teammates' badges?"
Alfred nodded slowly. His voice trembled as he spoke, "I was the only one who made it out. Something… something came from the darkness after we defeated the dungeon boss. It happened so fast, I couldn't do anything."
Susan froze. Her expression softened immediately. She stepped closer, her voice quiet and heavy. "I see… You don't have to blame yourself, Alfred. I told you before, an adventurer's life is uncertain. Anything can happen out there. You did your best."
'she fell for it,' Alfred thought, hiding the cold smirk that almost formed on his lips.
"I… I'm sorry," he said, forcing tears to gather in his eyes. "I shouldn't cry, but I can't help it."
Susan walked around the counter, her eyes full of sympathy. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, then suddenly pulled him into a soft embrace. "It's okay to cry," she whispered. "Just let it out. This world isn't kind to anyone, Alfred. You can't change fate by feeling guilty. All we can do is carry their memories and live on."
Her words pierced deeper than he expected.
'What… what am I feeling right now?' Alfred thought, his chest tightening. 'This can't be real.'
Tears ran down his face before he realized it. The sound of his quiet sobs filled the empty guild hall.
'Why am I crying? I shouldn't feel this way… Am I sad? Or just tired?'
"The ones I care about always end up dying," he whispered. "What did I do wrong? Why does this keep happening to me?"
'No. No, stop. That's not true… I didn't mean that. I never thought that way. Why… why am I saying this?'
A war raged inside him. His soul, hardened, powerful, and unshakable, was at odds with the heart that still felt pain like a child's.
An old man's words echoed in his mind:
A soul and a heart never desire the same thing. No matter how hard one tries to silence the other, sooner or later, one will break free.
And tonight, in the quiet halls of the guild, Alfred's heart had won.
Somewhere in the far northern reaches of the continent, the Templers' Castle stood tall, its towering spires piercing through the clouds, its walls echoing with the tension of war. Inside the grand hall, Hero Benjamin knelt before King Voldin Bravero Malvin, ruler of the artwine Kingdom.
"Our kingdom has fallen to the demons," said King Voldin Bravero Malvin, his voice tight with anger and despair. "i managed to survive alone from there and fled to here. We must take it back, Sir Hero Benjamin."
Hero Benjamin stood tall before the king Voldin Bravero Malvin, his armor faintly glowing under the torchlight. Despite the grim news, his expression remained calm.
"My king," he said, "there is no need to worry just yet. If the last report I received is true… then our kingdom has already been reclaimed."
The king's eyes widened. "What? That's impossible! Without one of the Seven Heroes, no army could have survived the demon assault!"
Benjamin folded his arms. "I heard that a hero appeared, someone not among us seven. They say he wielded light magic."
The king frowned deeply, confusion and disbelief clouding his face. "Light magic? That's… that's unheard of. The records are clear, there are only seven heroes chosen by the gods. An eighth? That shouldn't exist. Something is wrong here, Sir Hero."
He spoke, unaware that the name Alfred, the one his royal decree had condemned, was tied to the very miracle he now doubted.
Benjamin's gaze hardened. "Then we must go there and see it for ourselves. Whoever this new hero is, he destroyed an entire demon army alone. That kind of power… could turn the tides of this war, or destroy us all if it falls into the wrong hands."
He turned to his knights, his voice cold and resolute. "The Demon King's legions advance every day. Without new strength, we won't survive long. If this unknown hero truly exists, he could be our greatest ally."
Then his eyes narrowed, a faint glint of steel behind them. "But if he stands against us… then he is the greatest threat this world has ever known."
The king Voldin Bravero Malvin's crimson cloak fluttering. "Then let us go, Sir Benjamin. We will find the truth, about this so-called hero who saved Artwine, our kingdom."
The hero nodded firmly. The knights prepared their gear, their banners fluttering in the cold northern wind.
As the gates of the templer's opened, Benjamin's voice echoed through the air, steady, unyielding, and deadly.
"Whether savior or destroyer… I will judge him myself."
With that, the hero and several knights of the templer's Kingdom set out toward the Artwine Kingdom with its king Voldin Bravero Malvin's, unaware that their journey would soon bring them face-to-face with the very light they sought to control.
'A new hero who commands light magic… Whoever you are… I'll find out what you truly are, savior or monster.'