(Kaizen's POV)
The road from the capital to Drava weighs on me like an open wound. I've completed the mission, played my role as an "Imperial" as I was supposed to, but inside me there's nothing left of that.
I can still smell the corridors of the imperial palace in my nostrils: sweet perfumes, expensive wine, fearful sweat hidden under silk clothes. The nobles… fat rats, hidden in their palaces, living in webs of gold while outside demons burn entire villages. And me? I stood there as a guard, like a well trained dog.
I hate them. I hate them all.
I'm Imperial in name only. The armor, the oath, the rank… all of it is just chains. The truth is, I don't want to be one of them anymore. This isn't why I raised my sword. Not to guard palace gates and overstuffed banquet tables.
Each step toward Drava makes me think of the same thing: to leave everything behind. To throw my armor into the mud and disappear. There's no cause left here, no honor. Only orders given by those too afraid to lift a sword themselves.
But there's a way out. Myrion. The neighboring kingdom. Maybe it's not any more just, but at least it's not Ardyn. If I went there with Selene, I could break these chains. I could escape.
I arrive at my house. A simple construction, but here is the only peace I still recognize. The rest of the world can burn.
The door opens.
Selene appears in the doorway. The light falls on her like a warm cloak, and for a moment the hatred that blackened my heart recedes, like a wave breaking. For a moment the emptiness in me calms, as if her presence erases everything I've carried for years.
She looks at me with her deep eyes that seem to pierce the walls I've built around myself. Before her, all my masks fall.
— "You're here…" she whispers, touching my arm with a delicacy that completely destabilizes me.
I breathe heavily. I feel every beat of my heart and let my gaze fall to her, realizing for the first time that I don't have to be fearless, don't have to be the sword or the Imperial. I can just be Kaizen. Just me, beside her.
— "Yes… But I can't anymore, Selene. The demons manipulate more and more people and turn them, but I'm just a dog for the nobles… nothing else. I don't want to be their dog anymore. Not for ranks, not for titles. My father didn't die for this. All my sacrifices… everything I've lost… and for what? For fat nobles who see only their own gain? I'm thinking… we should leave. Let Ardyn collapse and go to Myrion. Together."
She looks at me silently, her piercing eyes fixed on me. At last, she speaks, her voice gentle but firm:
— "Kaizen… I don't know Myrion. I don't truly know Ardyn either. I'm not part of your kingdoms. I don't live among nobles or soldiers. My life… it's different. My home is outside these realms, in places where ranks don't matter. Maybe it would be better to go there, to build something of our own, instead of running from one kingdom to another."
I clench my fists, feeling the weight of all my days and battles pressing down on me. "Selene… it's hard for me to talk about this," I finally say, my voice trembling under the weight of emotions I've repressed for years. "I've carried so much hatred, so much loneliness… I've always only been the sword, the Imperial. But here, with you, I feel I can be someone else. Not their guardian, not a symbol of rank… just me. Just Kaizen, with you. And yet… I don't know if your world would accept me. I'm not like you, I haven't lived in your peace and light. I don't know if the people in your world could look at me without seeing all my shadows."
Selene smiles faintly, her step forward delicate but certain. She clenches her fist and strikes my shoulder, looking into my eyes with a warmth that pierces all my shadows.
— "Kaizen… my world doesn't need to change you, and it won't judge you. You don't need to be like me or try to fit. I see who you are, with all your shadows and scars, and I accept you exactly like that. You don't need to be the sword or the Imperial. You can just be you… just Kaizen. And for me, that's enough."
My heart feels lighter, as if an invisible burden I've carried for years begins to lift. Her eyes don't search for what I was forced to be, only for who I truly am.
— "Then… if I can just be me, with you… then I want us to be together there," I say quietly, voice heavy with emotion. "To marry in your world, far from everything that's held us prisoner until now. Even if I don't belong to that world… I would belong to you."
A warm smile blossoms on her lips, and she gently squeezes my hand, without words. In that gesture I feel complete acceptance, not only of me but of my past, my shadows, and my scars.
For the first time in a long while, I feel my chains loosen. Not completely, but enough to understand what true freedom means: the freedom to choose, to be myself, and to be with the one I want.
A loud noise erupts outside, the neighing of horses and their hooves shaking the silence. The door bursts open, and Hiro, one of my most trusted men, rushes in, his eyes wide with fear, his mouth trembling:
— "Kaizen! You must move now! It's… a demon… it has reached the city of Korin! I beg you, Kaizen… you must come. This demon… it's far stronger than anything we've ever seen, Hikaru and the army can't hold it off!"
The name "Hikaru" hits my heart like a shock. My blood surges, my muscles tense, and everything I tried to keep under control, my calm, my peace, shatters. Hikaru… my right hand, the man who's always been at my side, supporting every decision, following me into every madness… is in danger.
I breathe heavily, reality tearing me from the moment of peace I had with Selene. All the hatred, fury, and protective instinct that come naturally to me surge to the surface. I rise, eyes burning, ready to leave, but before I can take a step, Selene intervenes:
— "You won't go alone, Kaizen. I'll come too. You know you need me, you know I can use my powers for more than just your weapon and armor."
Her gaze is determined, her voice calm yet firm. I try to stop her instinctively, fury and worry mixing in a wave of protection:
— "Selene, no! I won't let you be hurt to… to… to protect this kingdom. I won't allow it!"
— "You can't stop what I feel, Kaizen! If you're in danger, I can't stand aside. We both know what I'm capable of!"
I stop, caught between my desire to protect her and the need to fight. Her eyes don't waver, and in them I see a trust and determination I've never encountered before.
After a second that feels like eternity, I take a deep breath and give in:
— "Fine… but if something happens to you, I don't know what I'd do."
— "Nothing will happen. But you must focus on what you have to do."
A heavy weight mixes with resolve in my chest. In that moment, the decision is clear: we leave together. The fight is no longer mine alone; it's ours.
I take my sword and head out, with Hiro and another soldier on horseback beside me, and Selene following, ready to wield her magic. Fury, determination, and protection mix within me, but now I am no longer alone.
We gallop at full speed. Our horses barely keep pace, our breathing heavy, ragged. Every second brings me closer to Korin, my heart hammering like a blacksmith's anvil. Selene rides beside me, focused, but I can feel the tension in every fiber of her body.
As we approach, the first signs appear: piles of corpses. Imperials… comrades, men I once knew. Some bodies crushed, others… mutilated. My eyes widen, my blood runs cold. I can't comprehend how it came to this—what kind of demon is in Korin?
— "No… this can't be real…" I murmur, my voice losing strength.
Hiro clenches his teeth, trying to keep calm, but the tremor in his hands betrays him. The other soldier stares ahead, fighting to temper his fear, but he too is exhausted.
Selene looks at the bodies, her eyes wide, shock written across her face. She's never seen anything like this before. Instinctively, she clutches my arm, as if seeking support and protection.
My heart tightens. Fury, fear, shock, and responsibility crash into me in a violent avalanche. How did it come to this? How did so many die before I could get here to help?
— "Selene… stay close to me. Don't let go… don't look too long…" I whisper, my voice trembling but resolute. "I don't want to lose you now."
For a second, I feel paralyzed. But I know I can't stop. We have to reach them, have to help. I must do something for Hikaru and for the rest of the army.
Each gallop brings more horrors: burned bodies, crushed corpses, mutilated by the demon's claws. A knot of dread forms in my stomach, adrenaline forcing my mind into razor focus. Everything I've learned through years of battle, everything I've lost, everything I've loved—it all fuses into one single will: to get there before all is lost.
We reach the edge of Korin, and what I see rips the breath from my lungs. The city is a field of ruins: burned buildings, collapsed walls, roads covered in corpses. Smoke and the stench of burned flesh choke the air.
In the midst of chaos, I see Hikaru. His body torn, armor shattered, blood streaming from chest and arms. He leans heavily on his sword, eyes wide and full of pain.
— "Kaizen…" he murmurs, his voice faint, trembling. "…we'll die… all of us… we won't make it… you… you shouldn't have come here…"
My heart clenches, every fiber of me screaming that I cannot accept this. I run toward him, but every step feels heavy, as if reality itself is trying to hold me back.
— "You should have… disappeared from this land, gone with Selene… not exposed yourself… you shouldn't be here!" he continues, his voice trembling with fear and anger, but most of all, despair.
I look at him, unable to speak. His pain strikes me harder than any wound. My stomach twists, fury and guilt building into a paralyzing storm.
— "Hikaru…" I finally say, my voice heavy, "I can't… I can't leave you like this… I can't run, not now. I can't leave knowing you'll die… that they'll all die."
Hikaru's eyes flash, his breath ragged, struggling to hold his stance.
— "Kaizen… if you had left… if you had fled this land with Selene… maybe we wouldn't be here now…"
His words hit me like a fist. His eyes plead, his body torn, but his voice speaks more than pain, it speaks of fear, of his inability to protect them all. Fury, guilt, and horror churn together inside me.
I breathe deeply, gripping my sword so tightly I feel every joint straining. "No… I won't stand here and watch everything perish," I whisper, my voice heavy but resolute. "I won't let you die, Hikaru. I won't let Korin fall."
Selene grips my arm, her eyes full of resolve and magic, her energy supporting me, as if absorbing the tension around us.
— "We have to fight. Together. Even if everything seems lost, I won't give up."
Hikaru nods slowly, accepting my decision, though pain and despair fill his eyes. In that moment, every corpse, every destroyed building, every scream becomes fuel driving me forward, toward the fight, toward salvation, toward what must be done.
— "Selene… heal him now. Quickly," I say desperately. "We can't lose him."
Selene nods and begins focusing her magic on Hikaru. A blue light envelops his wounds, blood coagulating, tissue slowly knitting back together.
Meanwhile, I take out a vial of demon blood I'd kept from a previous battle and splash it across my armor. I feel the dark energy seep into every fiber of my body, mixing with the fury and determination already burning inside me. A cold shiver runs down my spine, but instead of weakening me, it sharpens me, propelling me into the chaos.
— "Selene… after you heal him, follow me. I must face the demon now. To the west, where the last part of our army still holds… that's where I'll find it," I say, my voice cold and determined.
Selene looks up at me, her eyes filled with resolve and concern.
— "Kaizen… be careful… I don't know what this demon is truly capable of."
— "This isn't the time to stop for fear," I reply. "Heal Hikaru and follow me. Don't stop."
Before me, the demon and a few remaining survivors of our army fight with their last reserves of strength. Every step, every sound is amplified, every strike vibrating through my body like a shockwave. In that moment, I know everything depends on each move, each decision, each shred of strength I still have.
The vial of demon blood pulses through my armor, its dark energy making me faster, more brutal, more precise. With an explosive leap, I smash through a wall of ruins, vaulting through fire and corpses, and slash with my sword in a lightning-fast sequence. The demon's claw crashes against my armor, but the dark blood absorbs the blow, turning fury and pain into a weapon.
The screams of soldiers and the howls of the demon merge into a roar that shakes the earth. Each strike of my blade cuts the air with deadly precision, breaking through the demon's guard and shattering its limbs with a force I didn't think I still possessed. In one moment, I leap above it, driving my sword through its side, and feel its shriek of pure agony pierce the sky.
But the demon does not fall. Its eyes burn with fury, its darkness growing denser, more menacing. Around us, flames rise, corpses collapse, and the city's remains become an infernal battlefield. In the heart of chaos, I feel my adrenaline and rage fuse into an unstoppable force.
I breathe deeply, feeling the demon blood pulsing in my armor, and lift my gaze toward where Selene and Hikaru must be. Their hope, their lives, still depend on me. In that moment, my loneliness, fury, and pain transform into something greater: pure determination.
I know the fight is only beginning, but here and now, amid the roar of fire and the demon's scream, I feel myself becoming the legend that will echo long after this night is over.