"It hurts..."
"But the commander is in a really grave danger... I need to stand up..."
I mustered all of my strength, pushing my burning face off the ground.
I look to the side and saw Commander Erika clashing with someone.
"Commander..."
I grabbed the fallen sword to my side, feeling the burning pain on half of my face. But it's not the time to dwell on it.
I slowly stands up, my legs trembling in exhaustion. I gripped the sword tightly with both of my hands, letting out a war cry before charging forward.
"Wraahhhhh!!"
The figure noticed me, but I don't care about them. All I care about is the safety of my commander.
I bring the sword down, feeling something slice.
I heard my commander shouting my name in concern. "William!" But I only smiled in response.
The sword in my hand fell. I felt something cold flowing in my stomach, and my vision gradually blurred. I saw the figure of my commander stepping in front of me before my sight was completely engulfed in flames.
****
When I opened my eyes again, there was nothing but darkness.
No sound. No pain. Just… emptiness.
"Was this death?"
Fragments of memory flickered in my mind—the clash of steel, Commander Erika's voice screaming my name, the burning pain tearing through me. And then… nothing.
A faint glow appeared in the void, pulsing like a heartbeat. I reached toward it instinctively, though my arms felt impossibly heavy.
Something dusty clutched my arm. Then, a cold stone wrapped around it, pulling me towards the light.
****
"Damn it, William..." Erika muttered.
She took a slow step forward, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her bloody leg. William was slung over her shoulder, half of his face burned. She continued her slow walk, ignoring the exhaustion clinging to her body.
"Why did you even bother saving me?" She whispered. Although, she knew that William wouldn't hear it.
Blood drips from the cut on her forehead. It reached her right eye, forcing it shut, but she continued ahead.
When she was far enough away from the burning battlefield, she laid the unconscious William down beside a tree, where she also suddenly collapsed.
She lifted herself up, leaning her back against the tree, clutching at her wound, her vision swimming from blood loss and fatigue. She let out a bitter laugh that caught in her throat.
"You're such an idiot… throwing yourself into death like that..." She whispered, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound steady. Her hand brushing against his burned cheek carefully. "But… thank you."
She closed her eyes, feeling the warm breeze touching her skin.
****
"Hah!"
I suddenly woke up. My whole body was sweating, and my heart was pounding. I looked around and saw that I was no longer in the burning place. I was under a tree. I instinctively reached for my stomach, but when I touched it... I didn't feel any wound. There's no pain at all. I quickly scrambled to my feet and realized that my body was light. Then, my gaze travels down to the tree.
I gasped in shock when I saw the bloody figure leaning against the tree.
"Commander!" I shouted in concern, quickly rushing to her side.
I checked her pulse, and when I realized that she's still alive, I released a breath that I didn't even know I was holding.
"Commander, hang on! I'll get you back to the fortress."
My hands shook as I pressed against her wound, the blood soaking through my fingers instantly.
Her eyelids fluttered.
Slowly, her gaze found me, hazy and unfocused. "...William?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes, it's me!" I said quickly, gripping her shoulder, desperate to keep her conscious. "Don't talk. Save your strength."
But she gave me a small, tired smile, as though amused by my panic. "First rule of my knights...?" She said, softly but commanding.
My eyes widened in surprise. "First rule...? Why is she asking me that right now?" I thought to myself.
Shaking my head, I slowly lifted her up to my shoulder. My own strength surprises me, but I shrug it off. Her head slumped weakly against my shoulder, and I feel her hard breathing on my ear.
I tightened my grip, gritting my teeth as I marched forward. My legs didn't tremble like before. My breath came easy, even though I was carrying both her weight and my own fear. Something was different.
The battlefield was far behind us now, its flames only a faint glow against the night. The forest air was cool, carrying the scent of smoke and iron. Each step I took was clearer than the last, as if my body had been reforged.
I risked a glance down at her pale face, the blood staining her armor. "Don't you die on me, commander!" I said, running off with surprising speed.
I was fast. The air brushing my skin. It feels like I'm floating—gliding. The earth seems to be helping me—guiding my way. It's paving a way for me.
My heart thundered in my chest as the fortress walls came into sight, faint against the moonlight. I'd expected to collapse long before now, but instead my steps only grew lighter. Almost effortless.
It made no sense. My body should've been wrecked, broken, burned. Yet I carried my commander as though she weighed nothing.
But in that moment, something strange stirred in my chest—a faint warmth, the same glow I had seen in the void. It pulsed with every beat of my heart, spreading through my limbs.
Commander Erika's blood dripped onto my arm, yet where it touched, the warmth pushed back the dread gnawing at me.
The fortress gate loomed closer. Shadows of sentries spotted me and shouted down, their alarm ringing across the walls. Torches flared to life as the gate began to rise.
I sprinted through, stumbling to a halt as knights rushed to meet us.
"Commander Erika!" One of them cried.
I lowered her gently to the ground. My breath caught as my vision blurred again.
"William, what happened out there—?" One of the knights began, but his words were drowned out by the sound of blood rushing in my ears.
I staggered back, clutching my chest. The warmth surged once more, burning brighter, sharper—like it was carving something into me. And then the world shattered into white.
****
Inside a large building within the fortress...
The knights hurriedly emerged from their sleeping quarters upon hearing the shouts of one of the Generals in the fortress.
Clutching their weapons, they arrived at the gate to find no enemy. Instead, they were confronted with two unconscious figures on the ground. General Zoren was shouting:
"Get them both to the medical quarters immediately!"
The knights immediately dropped their weapons, and rushed to Erika's side. But she was already getting up, her arms trembling in pain.
"Help... William... first!" She forcefully shouted. "He has... awaken... his magic..."
She falls to the ground, finally passing out.
The knights hurried off, William's limp body carried carefully on a stretcher. His breathing was shallow, uneven—yet each exhale seemed to carry that same glow, faint ripples of light flickering in the air around him.
****
I gasped awake. The white shroud of light faded, leaving me drenched in sweat. My chest heaved, every breath sharp, but… I was alive.
I blinked, adjusting to the dim lantern light above me. Wooden beams stretched across the ceiling, herbs and strange charms dangling from them. The scent of medicine stung my nose.
"Where…" I whispered hoarsely.
My eyes widened when I finally realized that I am inside the medical quarters.
I quickly sit up, glancing at my hands. Then, I turned sharply to my side.
Commander lay unconscious on a bed across from me. She looked weak, her head bandaged and her body wrapped in fresh cloth.
A firm hand pressed against my shoulder, pushing me down on the bed.
"Rest easy, boy."
I turned my head to see General Zoren himself seated beside the bed. His sharp, weathered eyes studied me like a blade.
"Erika is safe." He said, clutching his fist with his palm. "But... what the hell happened in the meeting?"
My throat tightened at his words. Relief washed over me, and I let out a trembling breath, but his question snapped me back to reality.
"The meeting..."
Images flashed in my mind—the ambush, the sword plunging into me. I clutched the blanket with trembling fingers.
"There was no meeting, general..." I said, voice low. "We got ambush by them on our way to the palace... they never want a peace treaty... they want us to disappear."
General Zoren's eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening at my words.
"So… it was a trap."
I nodded slowly.
"We were outnumbered. They were waiting for us. If Commander Erika hadn't—" My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard, forcing the words out. "If she hadn't fought back, none of us would have made it."
General Zoren leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking under his weight. His weathered hand stroked his beard as his gaze shifted briefly to Erika's sleeping figure.
"We should have seen it coming..." He muttered under his breath. "But instead, we allowed ourselves to be swayed by the sweet words of the Colderians!"
General Zoren slammed his fist against the arm of the chair, the sound echoing in the quiet chamber.
I tightened my fists against the blanket, the faint warmth in my chest pulsing again, like it was answering the general's fury.
"They killed everyone…" My voice trembled as the memories rushed back—knights I had trained with, friends I had spoken to only hours before—all cut down. My head dropped. "All of them… just gone."
General Zoren's eyes softened for a brief second, but his tone remained sharp, steady. "Not all, William. You and Erika survived. And that means the enemy failed."
I glanced at him, confusion furrowing my brow.
"Failed…?"
The general leaned forward, his gaze boring into mine.
"Erika told me what she saw... before the head healer pushed her to rest. You should've been dead. That strike—" His eyes flicked toward my abdomen, "—would've killed a normal man instantly. But something dragged you back from the abyss."
The warmth in my chest flared again, spreading into my arms. I swallowed, suddenly remembering the glow in the void, the pulse that had pulled me toward life.
"You've finally awaken your magic. Which means... you're not a squire of Erika anymore—no... as the General of this fortress, I'm now officially declaring you as part of the knights under Erika."
I swallowed hard. The room felt smaller, the air thicker.
"But… I couldn't even protect them. Everyone died. How can I be a knight if—"
The general cut me off with a glare sharp enough to silence me.
"Because you stood back up. Do you think Erika would entrust her life to a coward? Do you think that light inside you would've answered a heart that was willing to surrender? No, William. You bled, you burned, you died, and still you rose for her."
The words struck deeper than any blade could. My fists clenched around the blanket as my throat tightened.
Across from me, Erika shifted in her sleep, her lips moving faintly as though whispering my name. My chest ached at the sight.
"From this day forth, you are William Gold, knight of this fortress. And the magic burning in your chest will be the blade you carve your destiny with."
I felt my pulse quicken, the warmth inside me flaring as if in answer to his decree. My vision blurred again, but this time not from weakness—my body trembled with resolve.
I am no longer a squire. I am officially an Adelian's knight. The awakening of my magic is the reason I became one. And I will use it to protect the people that I cherish. I will no longer run from any fight, and I will continue to rise.
My name is William Gold, and this is the start of my story.