The setting sun stained the plains red.
Blood.
Smoke.
Broken metal.
The war still roared across the western plain.
Horses crossed through darkened mud.
Soldiers vanished between shattered formations while banners fluttered beneath the wind heavy with the smell of death.
"Poom."
A man exploded in the distance.
The body was hurled against his own companions.
"Poom."
Another.
The enemy formation faltered.
Once again.
Always from the same direction.
The soldiers no longer searched for the enemy.
They fled from him.
Upon the brown horse, Roven watched everything in silence.
His dark brown hair moved softly beneath the wind.
His fingers still remained raised.
"Poom."
Another soldier fell.
A rider approached quickly.
"Lord Roven."
No response.
The dull brown eyes remained turned toward the horizon.
"Lord Kaizer has advanced even further."
The rider pointed ahead.
Far beyond the formations.
A single figure continued crossing through the enemy ranks.
Alone.
White-gray armor.
Crimson lines.
The enormous kriegsmesser carved red arcs through the battlefield.
Men fell.
Shields split apart.
The line retreated wherever he passed.
The rider tightened the reins.
"Shouldn't we send someone to ask him to fall back?"
Roven watched the distant figure for a few seconds.
A low breath escaped through his nose.
Almost a laugh.
Without humor.
"Fall back?"
"Yes, sir."
"It would be easier to convince a mountain to walk."
"..."
"Kaizer only retreats when he decides to retreat."
His eyes remained on the battlefield.
Calm.
Distant.
Like someone watching something he had known for far too long.
"And even then."
A small pause.
"He would probably ignore his own decision."
The rider remained silent.
Roven finally moved his eyes.
"The sun is falling."
"Organize the divisions."
"Do not allow the line to advance beyond what's necessary."
"Yes, sir."
The rider hesitated.
"And Lord Kaizer?"
"He knows how to take care of himself."
The man lowered his head.
"Understood."
The orders began spreading through the formation.
Horns echoed across the western front.
Messengers departed among the riders.
Roven watched everything for a moment.
Then raised his hand once more.
"Poom."
A soldier fell in the distance.
His eyes remained fixed on Kaizer advancing through the enemy lines.
On the other side of the battle line—
Arkhel's commander watched the same figure.
In silence.
The men around him no longer hid their nervousness.
"Sir..."
The soldier pointed.
"What do we do?"
The kriegsmesser tore through another suit of armor.
Another man fell.
Another.
And another.
The commander clenched his teeth.
"How many?"
"More than two hundred men lost on this front alone."
His eyes remained fixed on the enemy advance.
"Damned monster..."
A horn sounded behind the line.
Another answered farther away.
The commander turned immediately.
"Reorganize the formation."
"Archers to the second line."
"Spearmen to the front."
"Close the side corridors."
The soldiers departed immediately.
"Sir?"
The commander turned his eyes back to Kaizer.
Still advancing.
Still killing.
"Hold the line."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
His eyes narrowed.
"Maintain positions until reinforcements arrive."
A small pause.
"Do not give him the ground he's looking for."
Kaizer's eyes slowly moved across the enemy front.
Spearmen.
Archers retreating to the second line.
Side corridors being sealed.
A small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Ah..."
The voice came out low.
Almost amused.
"You finally stopped trying to win."
The kriegsmesser rested upon his shoulder.
He walked without hurry.
The soldiers ahead instinctively stepped back.
"Now you're trying to survive."
The smile widened only a fragment.
"That usually lasts longer."
BOOM—
The ground split beneath Kaizer's feet.
Earth and blood exploded backward.
He surged forward at superhuman speed.
"FIRE!"
SHHHHHKKK—
The rain of arrows rose.
Hundreds of them.
Darkening the sky above Kaizer.
He swung the kriegsmesser.
Only once.
WHOOOOM—
The air exploded.
The shockwave tore across the battlefield.
Arrows were shattered apart.
Others completely lost their trajectory.
Falling onto the earth long before reaching him.
And Kaizer kept advancing.
"SPEARMEN!"
"HOLD THE LINE!"
The men advanced.
Shields raised.
Spears pointed.
Kaizer smiled.
BOOOOM—
The impact tore through the formation.
Shields shattered.
Men were launched backward.
Mud exploded beneath his feet.
The kriegsmesser carved a crimson arc.
And the line simply ceased to exist.
A young rider remained frozen.
Eyes wide open.
The spear trembled in his hands.
Fear.
Pure.
Kaizer's dark red eyes met his.
Only for an instant.
Then—
SHHHHHKKK—
A blade of light descended from the sky.
Kaizer's eyes moved.
BOOM—
The ground exploded.
Kaizer leapt backward before being struck.
Body spinning through the air.
Landing several meters away.
Smoke spread across the lines.
Kaizer's smile did not disappear.
It grew wider.
A figure slowly crossed through Arkhel's line.
Light armor.
Golden hair.
Kaizer raised his head.
"It's been a long time, Alaric."
Dark red eyes met blue eyes.
And for a brief instant—
the rest of the battlefield seemed to disappear.
Kaizer slowly straightened his body.
The kriegsmesser rested on his shoulder.
The white horse continued advancing.
Without hurry.
The blue eyes remained upon Kaizer.
"It has."
The voice remained calm.
Almost indifferent.
"I see you're still difficult to kill."
For an instant—
there was silence.
Kaizer began to laugh.
"Hah..."
The sound grew.
"Hahah..."
Until it exploded across the plain.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The laughter tore through the battlefield.
Soldiers turned their eyes.
Some instinctively stepped back.
Others merely remained still.
Unable to understand.
The laughter ceased.
The smile disappeared.
Slowly.
Kaizer's eyes narrowed.
CRAAAK.
Red lightning spread through the air around him.
Like cracks tearing across space itself.
The earth trembled.
The wind seemed to change.
Men began falling to their knees.
Across the entire battlefield front.
Some vomited blood.
Others clutched at their own throats.
Blood streamed from their eyes.
From their noses.
From their ears.
Upon the brown horse, Roven watched the scene.
Without surprise.
Only with silent irritation.
"Shit."
The rider beside him paled.
"Lord Roven..."
"Fall back."
The voice came out loud.
For the first time without a single trace of calmness.
"FALL BACK NOW!"
The horns began to sound.
"Get the men out of the area!"
"If they stay exposed they'll die screaming!"
The riders immediately spurred forward to spread the orders.
The dull brown eyes remained fixed on Kaizer's figure.
The red lightning kept crossing the plain.
Like roots growing beneath the sky.
Roven turned sharply.
"You."
A rider straightened himself in the saddle.
"Yes, sir!"
"Go to the third flank."
"Find Garrick."
"Tell him to come immediately."
The rider hesitated.
His eyes moved to Kaizer.
Then to Alaric.
Understanding the gravity of the situation.
"Yes, sir!"
And departed.
Roven remained still.
His eyes stayed fixed on the battlefield ahead.
The screams spread through the formations.
Like a disease crossing an army.
The horses grew restless.
Soldiers stumbled into one another trying to escape the affected area.
And the red lightning kept advancing.
Ahead—
Kaizer raised the kriegsmesser.
The tip of the blade pointed directly at Alaric.
The red lightning continued spreading across the plain.
"Speak, Alaric."
The voice came out low.
His eyes remained fixed on Alaric's.
"Give me a single reason."
"Just one."
A pause.
"One reason that makes all of this worth it..."
The silence grew heavy.
The blade's tip remained pointed at Alaric.
"And I'll ride beside you again."
Kaizer's eyes did not waver.
Not even for an instant.
"But if you can't..."
The red lightning exploded, cracking the ground around them.
"I will bury you."
One final pause.
"Together with the rest of my dead."
Alaric did not answer immediately.
His eyes slowly moved across the plain.
Toward the soldiers falling.
One after another.
They lingered on the agonizing men.
He slowly raised his right hand.
A small sphere of light began to emerge within his open palm.
Illuminating his face and reflecting across bloodstained armor.
For a brief instant.
The red lightning around Kaizer faltered.
"Ljós fylgi þeim."
The voice crossed the plain.
Low.
Serene.
The wind seemed to change.
Small luminous fragments slowly began falling upon the soldiers.
Like golden snow.
Silently.
The soldiers raised their eyes.
The particles passed through bodies.
Through armor.
The red lightning began weakening wherever the light passed.
The convulsions ceased.
The screams diminished.
Men who had been agonizing began breathing again.
The glow slowly spread across the battlefield front.
Alaric kept watching.
Without changing expression.
"Fall back."
The voice was not loud.
But it crossed the formation.
"All men."
"Now."
The horns answered immediately.
Soldiers began abandoning the area.
The wounded were carried away.
Horses were led backward.
No one argued with the order.
No one hesitated.
Then four riders advanced through Arkhel's line.
Light armor.
White cloaks moving beneath the wind.
The symbol of the Radiant Sun pierced by a sword shone across their breastplates.
They did not look at Kaizer.
Nor at the soldiers.
They simply continued onward.
Each taking a different direction.
North.
South.
East.
West.
When they reached their positions—
they stopped.
The swords descended.
CRAAAK.
The blades pierced the earth.
The four raised one hand.
And began to recite.
The ancient words spread across the battlefield.
Low.
Rhythmic.
Like a forgotten prayer.
Lines of light emerged across the plain.
Faint at first.
Then brighter.
Connecting the four points.
Until they formed a single luminous perimeter around Kaizer.
The glow slowly rose.
Like a translucent wall.
Separating him from the rest of the war.
Kaizer watched everything in silence.
Alaric dismounted.
His boots touched the mud.
He handed over the reins without even looking.
And began walking.
Slow steps.
Firm.
Across the battle-scarred earth.
Until stopping a few meters before Kaizer.
The wind crossed the space between them.
"Kaizer."
The blue eyes remained on his.
"If there is anyone in this world who should already know my reasons..."
A small pause.
"It's you."
Kaizer's smile disappeared.
Completely.
"After all these years..."
The kriegsmesser lowered a few centimeters.
"You're still chasing ghosts."
Alaric closed his fingers.
"I refuse to forget."
"You saw the same world I did."
"Buried the same dead."
His gaze hardened.
"And even so..."
"You chose to become one of them."
The air seemed to grow heavier.
A band of light began forming in Alaric's hand.
First a glow.
Then a golden line.
Until it took the shape of a sword.
Kaizer's fingers tightened around the kriegsmesser's hilt.
"I thought you'd gotten over this already."
His head tilted slightly.
His eyes burned in deep red.
"In the end... this is how everything ends."
Alaric's blue eyes remained fixed on his.
"It ended the day you accepted the king's blood."
Alaric advanced.
Mud exploded beneath his feet.
The sword of light was already descending by the time Kaizer noticed the movement.
CLANG—
The kriegsmesser rose at the last instant.
The impact sank both of them several centimeters into the earth.
The barrier of light trembled.
Their eyes met.
Kaizer felt the pressure immediately.
It was not strength.
It was technique.
Alaric had not struck to kill him.
He had struck to control his guard.
The blade of light slid along the kriegsmesser.
Changing the angle.
Seeking his neck.
Kaizer twisted his wrists.
The sword moved with it.
Deflecting the cut by centimeters.
Alaric was already beside him.
Second strike.
The sword of light returned immediately.
From below upward.
Seeking the ribs.
Kaizer lowered the kriegsmesser.
CLANG—
The blades collided.
But Alaric did not try to overpower the strength.
His wrists turned.
The golden sword slid along the side of the kriegsmesser.
The tip emerged toward his neck.
Kaizer tilted his head.
The cut passed grazing him.
Several dark strands spun through the air.
Alaric's feet slid through the mud.
A short step outside the sword's line.
Keeping himself beside Kaizer's right shoulder—
exactly where the kriegsmesser had the least space to accelerate.
The sword of light thrust forward again.
This time in a stab.
Directly toward the armor joint beneath the arm.
Kaizer twisted his torso.
The golden tip scraped steel.
Sparks scattered between them.
Kaizer's eyes narrowed.
The sword of light returned.
Straight for his face.
Kaizer tilted his head.
The cut passed grazing his cheek.
A red line appeared across the skin.
Alaric advanced together with it.
His left foot sank into the mud.
The sword spun.
Seeking once more the opening beneath the arm.
But this time—
Kaizer rotated the kriegsmesser.
CLANG—
The heavy blade slid along the golden sword.
Guiding it away from his own body.
Kaizer's feet advanced at the same time.
A single step.
Short.
Direct.
Invading the space Alaric had created.
The blue eyes narrowed.
The kriegsmesser was already rising.
From below upward.
Seeking the center of the guard.
Alaric twisted his wrists.
CLANG—
The two swords collided once more.
Golden sparks scattered between their faces.
But this time Kaizer did not allow him to escape to the side.
The kriegsmesser changed direction in the middle of the movement.
Horizontal.
Fast.
Far faster than a weapon of that size should have been.
Alaric leaned backward.
The crimson tip passed centimeters from his nose.
The wind of the strike scattered his golden hair.
Mud exploded beneath his feet.
He retreated half a step.
Kaizer advanced immediately.
Giving no space.
Giving no time.
The kriegsmesser descended.
Vertical.
Alaric received the strike.
CLAAANG—
The barrier of light wavered around them.
The impact rippled across the plain.
The earth sank beneath both their feet.
For an instant—
the swords locked against one another.
Then both pushed at the same time.
BOOM—
The shockwave scattered mud and dust in every direction.
Both slid backward.
Several meters.
Stopping almost at the same time.
The kriegsmesser rested low beside Kaizer's body.
The sword of light remained firm in Alaric's hand.
Neither advanced immediately.
The wind crossed the luminous barrier.
Around them—
the war remained silent.
As though even the battlefield itself was waiting.