A biting cold seeped into the trench beneath the night sky. A knight clad in silver armor abandoned the defensive position in front of the castle gate he had been guarding and vanished into the darkness. His fellow knights watched him with a mixture of fear and awe, but none dared to stop his path.
He stopped in a wide clearing barely illuminated by the moonlight. The clearing was silent, and a sinister aura lingered in the darkness, as if something might leap out at any moment.
The knight's gaze fixed on a single point. Beyond the darkness ahead, he saw the faintly glowing castle of a kingdom long lost. A tangle of emotions shadowed his eyes, and after a moment, his gaze lifted to the round moon above. Tears streamed down his moonlit eyes.
It was then. From behind him, a shadow approached. Instinctively, the knight turned, gripping the hilt of the greatsword at his waist with his left hand.
As he charged toward the shadow, an unexpected sight unfolded. The owner of the shadow was his superior, standing there holding a glass from which a gentle wisp of smoke rose.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Truly a peculiar fellow," the superior laughed, his voice echoing through the empty clearing. The scent from the magical cup reached the knight.
"Here, take it. I know you don't like it… but this isn't a simple drink. It contains my heart, meant to warm your body under the moonlight."
The knight accepted the cup with both hands, silently waiting for his superior to speak further.
"Your squad leader reported again. They said you left the defensive line without notice and acted on your own. But I came, just in case. I knew you'd be alone under the moonlight."
The knight nodded, still gazing at the moon.
"This war we've endured… it's not a mere conflict between kingdoms. The Glaveron Alliance, which ignited this war and drenched the continent of Karbanis in blood, our kingdom Beldoras, the allied Bronis Kingdom, and even the Rubenis Kingdom, once our brethren… The clash of ideologies and military might has set Dravanis ablaze with magic and weapons."
A dark shadow fell across the knight's face, carrying memories of countless battles and brushes with death.
"You survived this war as well. Through dozens of battles, you always survived alone. That is why people call you 'Embracer of Death.'"
The knight quietly closed his eyes, letting past memories seep in as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"In the final battle, you leapt into Bronis' Helfrism assault… and yet you survived. I asked you why you did it, and your answer pierced my heart."
The superior continued,
"Then I realized. You are a being who cannot die, even if you wished to. You had been in contact with our Beldoras' Saint Leana for a long time, and already foresaw this war… you knew that Karbanis would suffer a devastating Helfrism attack, be engulfed in flames, and ultimately collapse."
The knight knelt on the ground, clutching his chest. His superior stroked his head and spoke.
"The negotiations between the Glaveron and Bronis alliance have already failed. Glaveron began withdrawing the Bronis forces in exchange for abandoning Beldoras."
As the knight remained silent, the sound of jets slicing through the sky reached them. Without doubt, they were Glaveron's aircraft.
"They've finally arrived. Glaveron's jets are cutting through the sky above us."
Amid the roaring jets, explosions, and burning magical blasts, the superior smiled and delivered his final words:
"It was an honor to speak with you. I wish you success."
Soon after, with an explosion, the clearing was engulfed in flames, and all trace of the two vanished without a trace in the moonlight.