"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
So I wasn't dead after all? The cheers that began to echo from somewhere shook my senses. In an instant, all of my five senses were shredded, and though I wanted to spring up and create a commotion with those shouting, my lazy nature wouldn't allow it.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
I turned around, covering my ears with both hands, but my patience finally reached its limit due to the persistent cheering. Annoyed, I stood up, ready to lash out.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
But the moment I stood up, I froze like a stone. I stared blankly around me. This wasn't the valley where I had passed out. Had someone brought me into this tent? Cautiously, I rose from the bed where I had been lying.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
I cautiously moved toward the entrance of the tent, in the direction of the source of the cheering. At that moment, a woman with an exotic appearance entered. She wore golden armor, and her long, straight hair flowed down along her waist. One side of her breastplate was engraved with a dragon ascending to the heavens, and on her back, she carried a large bow, its long, sharp blades attached to both ends..
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
She smiled brightly as she approached me, but I didn't move. When she came close enough to stand just a hair away from me, she smiled again and extended something toward me. It was armor identical to what she was wearing, and with practiced hands, she began helping me put it on.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
As she dressed me in the armor, I caught a glimpse of myself through it. Unkempt brown beard, silver-gray hair covering half my face, and pink eyes struggling in the darkness—that was the reflection the armor cast back at me.
Why? How? The fleeting moments passing before me felt strangely familiar. I definitely knew her, yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall exactly who she was.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
In a short while, she finished putting on the armor for me and stepped outside the tent with a bright smile. I followed her, and as if waiting for my emergence, the sun hung high in the cloudless sky, blazing down intensely. Shielding my eyes with one hand, I looked straight ahead and saw a vast expanse of land filled with soldiers shouting.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
For a moment, she started walking slowly, and I once again followed behind her. She stopped in front of a large dais with flags fluttering, and a stately man stood by the steps leading up to it. He, too, wore golden armor and carried a large, heavy-looking spear on his back.
The man slowly drew the sword at his waist and approached me, but I didn't flinch. He extended the sword toward me while pointing to the dais, and naturally, I accepted it and ascended the platform.
The soldiers, who had been shouting incessantly, fell silent as if by mutual agreement. I raised the tip of my sword high while looking at them.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!"
The cheering erupted once again, loud and resonant, shaking the sky and the earth. Dark clouds quickly gathered in the clear sky, ready to unleash a downpour. The woman who had helped me with the armor approached and pointed below the platform.
Three horses awaited there. Guided by her, I mounted a horse, and together we rode through the cheering soldiers. In front of us, countless enemies came into view. We rode toward them.
"Ugh!"
"Krak!"
Arrows and flaming stones began raining over the heads of both allies and enemies, and the surroundings instantly turned into a battlefield of screams and corpses.
"Ugh!"
"Krak!"
Whether because I was a demon or aiming to become one, I slashed at the enemies relentlessly, like a frenzied bull, and my body and armor were stained with dark red blood.
"Krak!"
"Ugh!"
The clouds that had covered the clear sky began weeping endlessly, and the rain soaked my body and armor. While slashing madly, I saw the enemy commander directing soldiers from a hill, and with the two others, I charged toward him.
"Krak!"
"Ugh!"
Countless enemy soldiers blocked our path, yet before our overwhelming force, they fell like petals in an untimely wind. After cutting through the masses, we reached the enemy commander.
He stared at me with eyes that seemed devoid of fear, standing his ground. As expected, the leader was different. I swung my sword to strike his neck, and just as the blade was about to meet him…
An enemy soldier wielding a long spear appeared between us. The sudden soldier thrust his spear swiftly and precisely toward my chest, and the spear pierced my armor as if lying to defy reality.
"Ugh! Aaah!"
I screamed in response to the alien sensation and intense pain, gripping the unmoving spear with both hands as I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
The two who had ridden the battlefield with me laughed while crossing their arms, and the commander did the same. I stared at the enemy soldier. His eyes and face were already twisted with madness and murderous intent, and he laughed at me repeatedly.
Soon, thick raindrops began to pour from the sky without pause. Thunder and lightning struck relentlessly, and the enemy soldier slowly lifted me while leaving the spear embedded.
Ah… were my eyes shedding tears of blood? Everything I saw, avoiding the soldier's gaze, appeared red. As I reached toward the moon high above, a brilliant beam of light shot down toward me from the sky, and I slowly closed my eyes.
A quiet silence enveloped me, and leaving my unease behind, I opened my eyes. I struggled in pitch darkness, unable to see a single ray of light. Overcome with indescribable fear and terror, I closed my eyes again.
The silence returned, and still unwilling to witness myself floundering in the darkness, I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Screech."
The sound of a door slowly opening came, and I wrestled with conflicting emotions, keeping my eyes shut.
"Click."
"Thud, thud."
After the door closed, footsteps approached, and I slowly opened my eyes. I was lying on an operating table, feeling extreme pain in my legs. Clenching my teeth, I turned my head to see a table with surgical instruments and a small sink for washing hands. The operating room wasn't large, entirely white.
"Thud, thud."
Turning toward the source of the footsteps, the man and woman who had entered earlier approached. Dressed in white surgical attire, they smiled brightly at me and stopped near the table with surgical tools.
"Clatter, clatter."
The man received surgical tools from the woman and began operating on my leg with practiced hands. I stared at the white ceiling, waiting for the procedure to end. As his hands moved busily, the pain from my wound gradually diminished. The surgery finished, and the pain in my leg completely disappeared. While the man washed his hands at the sink, the woman approached me, smiling brightly. She put something in my mouth and pressed her lips to my forehead.
Slowly, my eyes began to close, and my body became like a single leaf. Wanting to give my final farewell, I looked at the man and woman, but they were already far away. The woman smiled brightly at me, holding a white piece of paper in both hands.
On the paper were the two characters for "Time." I smiled and gave my last farewell. I became a complete leaf. A cold chill ran through my back, and I slowly opened my eyes with a smile. The sky was filled with pure white snow, and the harsh winter wind still battered me. No matter how I looked around, the puppy that had snuggled into my arms when I fainted was nowhere to be seen.
"Heh."
As I tried to stand, intense pain shot from my wounds, and I let out a short cry, staring at them. The wounds remained unhealed, but somehow my body felt light, as if I could fly.
Clenching my teeth, I slowly rose using the only thing I could wield—my all, the Guidance Sword. I walked for a long time, enduring the pain. Emerging from the valley, I could see a distant, ruined city. The cold and lonely city looked as desolate as I did, hiding countless untold secrets. Without pausing even for a moment, I continued walking toward it.