The demon lifted the lantern and placed it upon one of the tree's branches. With a sudden burst of force, he hurled his body upward, spread his wings, and took to the skies, scouring the land below.
"Do not die on me, kiddo," he said, before vanishing at sonic speed.
The trees swayed violently, their branches groaning as the lantern nearly slipped free, teetering on the brink of shattering against the ground.
"What do you mean by that?! Demon, come back!" Oscar cried out, but there was no answer. The demon was already gone.
Trapped within the lantern, Oscar believed himself alone. Yet moments later, he felt another presence stir beside him. It was the original Lightkeeper.
In a hoarse, brittle voice, the spirit addressed him, speaking of the island and the burden of the Lightkeepers.
"This island was once the land of seafarers. But when the knights fell, creatures from the abyss rose in their wake. The graves were violated by night-crawlers, yet we Lightkeepers remained. We fought the abominations of the sea until the very end, until we ourselves became part of the grave."
A pause followed.
"I was resurrected by the abyss, condemned to serve as a Lightkeeper for eternity."
Sorrow weighed heavily upon his words.
"I wandered across seas and lands alike, seeking freedom from this endless curse. In the end, all I achieved was the wasting of time."
A guttural wail escaped his husky voice.
"I regret ever being born…"
Oscar felt the sorrow and regret woven into those words. He remained silent at first, but the weight of the moment pressed upon him until he could no longer endure it.
"What is your name, Lightkeeper of the Forenight Lights?" he asked.
The answer came without hesitation.
"Isaac Tsar."
Oscar froze. That name belonged to one of the emperors.
"Are you a descendant of the emperor?" he asked immediately.
The voice delayed its response. The silence stretched, growing heavier with every passing second, until it finally spoke.
"Yes."
'Why would a prince become the Lightkeeper of some remote island?' Oscar was perplexed. He could not understand how such a fate had been allowed.
In the age when the Emperor of Mankind still held absolute power, the safety of imperial bloodlines was treated as sacred law. Every empire maintained a special knightly order tasked solely with guarding royal descendants. This rule was mandatory. Even if an emperor wished otherwise, the court would never permit it.
Princes were guarded within palace walls at all times, let alone sent to lands where death could arrive at any moment.
'Did an emperor send him here when the apocalypse began?' Oscar wondered. 'That would make sense…'
Yet the thought left an uneasy weight in his mind.
He then asked, "What is the name of your kingdom?"
Issac replied immediately. "Leon, of the Southern Sea."
Oscar remembered that name.
Leon was an empire inhabited by demi-human races, most notably those with leonine features. It was known for its lush green forests and vast open savannahs, a land where both habitats blended seamlessly. Many demi-human races resided there.
Yet despite this diversity, the empire was ruled by humans alone. Pure humans.
A strict ban was enforced against demi-humans ascending to the throne, as they were believed to have a higher susceptibility to corruption by the Wandering Curse.
There was a pause. Then Isaac asked, "What is a corrupted knight doing in the Forenight Lights?"
Oscar was caught off guard, but he did not waver as he explained his situation. "I was wandering. I am traveling toward the Northern Continent. I am searching for something."
Without delay, Issac voice reverberated again.
"How did you retain your consciousness, Knight?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.
It was a miracle for anyone to retain their consciousness after the apocalypse. Moreover, Oscar himself was curious as to how Isaac had managed to do the same.
He began with a solemn nod, though as souls neither of them could see each other.
"When I was killed by the Sanctuary Knights and resurrected," he said, "I was given time. Time to retain my consciousness. I used that time to bind it to a knightly virtue I possessed when I was human. My valor."
Abyss-bound souls were immortal, trapped by the Abyss in an endless, perpetual cycle of resurrection, forced to serve its feral desires. For that reason, all who were connected to the Abyss were effectively immortal. It was only a matter of time before they returned once more.
Oscar questioned Issac in return about his own method of maintaining consciousness. He wished to know more, for if such a path truly existed, he might be able to restore the Knight Roundtable Hold and usher in the age of humanity once again, driving the corruption of the Abyss back into the gaps from which it had emerged.
Issac's voice felt closer now, as though the bond between their souls had deepened. Oscar could sense emotion and warmth emanating from him.
Issac began, "When the light was taken by the abyss, I was left stranded. But instead of corruption, the abyss cast me into another realm, a place where time itself was dead. There, a Timekeeper endlessly hunted the one who had killed it and…"A faint amusement surfaced within Issac's soul, and Oscar could feel it."The one it hunted was itself. For eternity, it sought its own killer, only to repeat the cycle again and again."
"That was where I avoided corruption. In that realm, every cycle reset itself. Because of this, I was eventually able to bind my consciousness into an eternal loop, suspended forever alongside the Timekeeper that chased itself."
Oscar absorbed the revelation. He had learned of a realm beyond their world, something wholly unnatural.
"When I returned to my physical body," Issac continued, "the abyss tried once more to corrupt me. This time, it succeeded. I began to transform into one of its creatures."
"But my consciousness remained safe, far away. Because of that, I still endure. I still search for an end."
His voice darkened.
"But listen to me, Valor Knight. I failed. There is no end to corruption. I have roamed the world for centuries, and I have seen the truth. There is no one who can stand against the abyssal disaster."
"The men who dwell within the Sanctuary will fall soon."