I hated winter.
To be precise, I grew to hate winter due to acquired reasons.
When winter came, animals hid, and even people vanished from sight. In that freezing cold where survival was difficult for both beast and man, I sat with the children.
"…Seriously, I hate this so damn much."
"Hate what?"
"Winter."
Theresis and Theresa nodded in agreement. In these desolate backalleys teeming with Infected, where survival was already a struggle...
Winter was a season of plunder and slaughter. When food ran out or the cold became unbearable, people turning on each other was commonplace.
Still, even when we were on the verge of starving, we didn't stab others in the back or prey on those weaker than us.
It was a promise.
Let's not become like them. Let's be people who know how to give.
Two young children and one adult made that vow.
'Why did I want to become a knight?'
I turned my head to look back at the past once more.
Vaguely, simply.
The reason I wanted to become a knight was singular.
Memories of a distant past, now so far away I could barely recall them—memories of laughing with friends in college.
I wanted to gift that kind of life to these children.
I wanted to show them a dream, like the knights in fairy tales.
So I yearned for it. I couldn't lose in front of the children. The one who was supposed to bring them dreams and hope, to gift them a life they could admire, could not be broken.
That‘s how I learned about knights. It was similar to what I wanted to do, so I started mimicking a knight, leading the children.
In the name of chivalry, I punished the wicked and fought for the good and the children. Even listening to the stories of those I fought, too many had crossed a river of no return.
I sympathized. I thought it couldn't be helped. When children are starving and people are dying, who has the luxury to care for others?
But.
Still...
At least I.
At least we.
Let's not become like that.
Let's grow up to be people who give to others, so that the goodwill we pass on can reach someone else...
It was a dream I dreamed while feeding firewood into a drum can in the biting winter cold.
If I don't kill him, Yujin dies. Yujin swung his sword, carving the world apart. Memories of fighting without looking back surfaced.
Yuria Carend gritted her teeth and rolled across the ground. She was young, praised as a genius.
With her innate talent, she had risen to the rank of Darkiron at a young age. Even her grandfather guaranteed that with experience, she would surpass him in his prime.
Clang! Sword and bow clashed. Yuria stepped back, looking into Yujin‘s eyes.
To Yuria, the dangerous ones weren't the overwhelmingly strong or those in high positions of power.
They were the ones who could throw their lives into the fire without hesitation. Demons willing to sacrifice everything for victory.
Those who abandoned the path they had walked, with eyes that said they didn't care if they died fighting.
Monsters who looked barely human, possessing the will to kill the enemy staring back at them even if it meant their own death.
"Seriously—!"
Yuria roared. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't predict the trajectory of Yujin‘s sword.
Platinum light exploded from the tip of the blade. It cleaved the earth, looking ready to slice through Yuria‘s bow like a twig.
Arts, magic. Whatever name that power went by, for the man named Yujin, it was simply defined.
Faster. Stronger. So that his swinging sword could cut through everything.
Even now, Yujin‘s body was screaming. No matter how much he reinforced it with Arts, there was a limit.
Moreover, Yujin wasn't just reinforcing his body; he was pouring blinding platinum light from his blade. The energy flowing along the sword was sharp enough to cut just by touch.
It was a precarious tightrope walk. The moment the balance tipped, his body would break.
The current battle was the same. Like a taut string, the fight between the Darkirons and Yujin maintained a fragile balance.
But this situation itself was unfamiliar to the Darkirons. There was no one they couldn't kill. A single arrow pierced everyone!
Until now, the only enemies they couldn't handle were the Silverlance Pegasi, the walking fortress and strongest force in Kazimierz.
In fact, it was more like avoiding them than fighting. No matter how strong the Darkirons were, there were only three of them. If the dozens-strong Silverlance Pegasi decided to engage, they couldn't stop them.
So they couldn't understand. Why were they fighting a single knight who hadn't even reached his peak, yet finding themselves deadlocked?
Even pulling the bowstring, he deflected it with a single stroke. The sight of a spear-sized black arrow bouncing off weakly and embedding itself in the ground felt wrong.
Yujin knew the tension of the balance. If this dragged into a long fight, he wouldn't last.
"Heh..."
A hollow laugh escaped him. The man Yuria called Uncle widened his eyes.
Instinctive movement. Even the Darkirons were startled, looking at Yujin‘s sword.
Light bloomed from the tip of the blade. Faint lights gathered to form a star, drawing a constellation at the sword's point.
Yujin raised his sword to the sky without hesitation. As if it were the only thing he could do.
Why did the two connected stars at the tip of the sword seem to shine in the sky as well? Yuria instinctively rushed at Yujin.
Panicked, her body moved before she could think. If I don't stop him, we die. Acting on that intuition, she charged.
Starlight illuminated Yujin. He, too, simply moved as his body dictated.
When the first star rose, Yujin recalled the conversation he had with the children in winter.
['…Let's change it.']
['What?']
At those words, Theresis looked at him as if he were spouting nonsense again. Theresa looked at Yujin with wide, round eyes.
['Let's try changing the world. The Sarkaz, Kazdel, this world.']
It could be dismissed as the rambling of childish brats.
But in Yujin‘s eyes, looking at a world already twisted and wrong...
He wanted to change it.
Usually, Theresis would have dismissed it as nonsense, but seeing the seriousness in Yujin‘s eyes, he knew Yujin was sincere. Yujin was dreaming of a world Theresis couldn't see.
So, although Theresis had grown up too fast, he answered Yujin like a dreaming boy.
['…Alright, let's try.']
It‘s a dream because it‘s unreachable. It‘s a dream because we wish for it forever.
['Yeah, let's try. Let's not become like those people.']
Theresa had said with a faint smile. Yujin couldn't forget that look, that scene. Even if it was absurd, even if it was a wish he couldn't reach, he couldn't let go because it was a dream.
Promise and Dream.
To reach the ideal.
The sword pointed at the sky fell to the earth. As it embraced the first star, the sword howled. Literally glowing, the sword fell straight down without any interference.
A single swing from heaven to earth, devoid of any trickery.
Arrows were fired. Like meteors from the sky, like pillars rising from the ground. Arrows flying simultaneously from heaven and earth, laden with massive Arts, sought to break Yujin‘s sword.
The Righteous Path (正道).
The first star held the promise. That promise symbolized the belief that the world could be changed.
Thus, Yujin walked the Righteous Path. It looked foolish to anyone else, but it was the right way. He never stopped reaching out in accordance with what was right.
Standing before Theresa and Theresis, Yujin had to be upright and true as a knight. He had to prove it not with words, but with actions.
Now, Yujin proves that path with his sword.
A sky full of stars where the city lights had vanished. Yujin‘s sword cut through. As the sword neared the ground, wind—the flow—was pushed away.
The displaced flow swelled to the bursting point. The wind, having lost its place, became a storm and spread outward.
Following the trajectory of the sword, the world was bisected. The moment the tip touched the ground, the earth split, and platinum light poured out. The torrent of platinum light tore through the earth, flying toward Yuria who was rushing to stop it.
Before reaching Yuria, the two fired arrows collided with the phenomenon created by the sword and shattered. As if to destroy anything blocking its path, the platinum light moved straight forward.
Yuria gripped her bow. She had to block it. But could she?
Looking at her own feet already rushing forward, Yuria saw the beautiful platinum light and smiled faintly.
Ah.
This is my end.
Behind the brilliant platinum light, she saw Yujin, breathing heavily, looking at her.
Upright eyes. Eyes with unbending conviction.
Sensing her end, Yuria closed her eyes. In that fleeting memory, for some reason, she dreamed a vain story. Acting exaggeratedly, showing interest in Yujin. Maybe she...
Crack.
Bone broke, flesh tore.
The last sight Yuria saw was the world, including herself, splitting in half and crumbling down.
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