The sky was burning.
Not with the flames of war, but with something far more devastating: the sunlight concentrated on a single man. Escanor floated in the air, his body radiating such intense heat that the very air around him distorted. His power had reached its zenith, "The One," the ultimate form he could only maintain for one minute at noon.
But one minute had been enough.
The Demon King lay defeated, his dark form dissolving into particles of black light that vanished into the wind. The battle was over. The world was safe.
And Escanor was dying.
" ESCANOR!" Ban's heart-rending cry cut through the air as the immortal ran towards where his friend was slowly falling from the sky, his power fading like dying embers.
Meliodas reached him first, catching him before he hit the ground. The captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, the one who had led the kingdom's most feared sinners, had tears streaming down his cheeks .
—No... no , Escanor, resist. We can... we can find a way...
"Captain Meliodas," Escanor's voice was barely a whisper, but it maintained that unwavering dignity that had defined him his entire life. "Don't cry for me. I have lived... with pride."
One by one, the others arrived. Diane, tears the size of pearls rolling down her giant face. King, his spear slipping from his trembling hands. Gowther, whose normally expressionless eyes held what might have been pain. Merlin...
Merlin knelt beside him, his usually serene face now broken by a raw emotion he rarely showed.
"Escanor, I..." Her voice broke. The most powerful sorceress in Britannia couldn't find the words.
Escanor smiled, a small, melancholic smile. His hand, now thin and fragile, rose to gently touch Merlin's cheek. She shuddered at the touch.
"Lady Merlin," he said, his voice filled with infinite tenderness. "Don't blame yourself. You... were always the reason my sun shone so brightly. Even if that sun was never meant for you."
"Don't say that," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. "Please, Escanor. I... I should have told you..."
"Shh," he interrupted gently. "There's nothing to regret. I loved with every fiber of my being. I was loved by my comrades. I died protecting what I love. What more could a man ask for?"
Merlin's tears fell upon Escanor's hand, shining like diamonds in the light of the setting sun.
"You're a fool," she sobbed. "A proud and noble fool. And I was an even bigger fool for not seeing..."
"No," Escanor interrupted, his voice weakening. "You were perfect. You always were. And I... I was lucky to have known that love, even if it wasn't reciprocated. Because true love demands nothing in return. It just... shines."
Ban slammed his fist into the ground, the sound echoing like a dull thud of thunder. " Damn it! It's not fair! I'm the immortal! I should be the one to—"
"Ban," Escanor turned his head slightly, his smile widening. "Take care of Elaine. Live for both of you. That is... your curse and your blessing."
"Escanor..." Diane's voice broke into a sob.
"Lady Diane, King King," Escanor continued, looking at each of them. "Be happy together. Gowther... keep learning about the human heart. Captain... protect everyone. Elizabeth... take care of the Captain."
Elizabeth wept silently, her hands clasped in prayer.
The light in Escanor's eyes was beginning to fade, like the sun at the end of the day. But in that moment, his smile was the brightest thing on that darkened battlefield.
"It was... an honor," he whispered. "To serve alongside all of you. To call you... my friends. My... family."
" No!" Merlin cried, his composure finally breaking completely. "Don't go! Escanor, please!"
But Escanor could no longer hear her. His hand gently fell from her cheek, and his eyes closed for the last time. The smile remained on his face, serene and peaceful.
The Lion of the Sin of Pride had fallen.
The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by the sobs of those who had been his comrades, his brothers and sisters in arms. Merlin held Escanor's lifeless body to his chest, his shoulders trembling with a grief he had held back for far too long.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again and again. "I'm so sorry, Escanor. I loved you. I loved you, and I was too cowardly to say so. Forgive me. Please, forgive me..."
The sun completely disappeared below the horizon, as if the sky itself were weeping for the loss of the man who had embodied its power.
But somewhere beyond time, beyond space, beyond death itself...
Escanor opened his eyes.
He wasn't on the battlefield. He wasn't anywhere he could recognize. All around him stretched an infinite white void, neither cold nor warm, neither dark nor light. He simply... was.
" Where...?" she began, her voice sounding strangely clear in that echo-free space.
—Escanor, Lion of the Sin of Pride—a voice resonated from everywhere and nowhere at once. It was neither male nor female, neither young nor old. It was simply absolute.—Welcome.
A figure began to materialize before him. Or perhaps it had been there all along, and only now could he perceive it. It was impossible to describe its appearance, as if Escanor's mortal mind simply couldn't process what it saw. He could only feel its presence: vast, ancient, infinite.
" Who are you?" Escanor asked, and for the first time in a long time, he felt something akin to genuine amazement.
"I am known by many names," the entity replied. "The One Above All. The One Who Is About to Be."
Above. The Presence. But names are irrelevant. What matters, Escanor, is that I have observed your life.
Your sacrifice. Your love.
Escanor felt a tightness in his chest as he recalled those last moments. Merlin's face, her tears... "Then I'm dead," he said simply. It wasn't a question.
"You are beyond death," the entity corrected. "I have seen your soul, Escanor. You have loved without expecting anything in return. You have fought not for glory, but to protect. You have lived with pride, but never with arrogance toward the weak. You have been a true hero."
"I wasn't a hero," Escanor murmured. "I was just... myself."
"And that is precisely what makes you extraordinary," the voice seemed to smile, if such a thing were possible. "That is why I offer you a choice, Escanor."
Escanor looked up, confused.
— An election?
—You can rest. Your soul can find eternal peace, reunite with those who have gone before you, exist in a state of endless bliss. Or… —the entity paused meaningfully— you can be reborn.
" Reborn?" Escanor's heart , if he still had one, skipped a beat. "In my world? Could I go back to them? To Mer...?"
"No," the interruption was gentle but firm. "Not in your world. That chapter is over, Escanor. But there is a different world, one where darkness looms once more. A world that needs a sun to shine in its darkest hours."
Escanor remained silent, processing the words.
—If I choose to be reborn... will I forget?
"You will forget the details," explained The-One-Above-All. "The faces, the names, the specific moments."
But the essence of who you are will remain. Your personality, your noble pride, your willpower. Your power, Sunshine, will be yours again. Your sacred armor and Rhitta, your faithful axe, will be with you. And this time... this time I will free you from your night curse.
" No weakness?" Escanor could hardly believe it.
"Without physical weakness," the entity clarified. "You will be able to control your power at will, maintaining your strength both day and night. But Escanor... the price is that you will not consciously remember those you loved. That love will remain in your soul, shaping you, but their faces will fade like dreams upon waking."
Escanor closed his eyes. The image of Merlin filled his mind: her secret smile, the way her hair caught the light, the few times she had shown genuine surprise at his actions. The pain of that unrequited love had been as intense as the power that burned in his veins.
But he also remembered his comrades' smiles. Ban's laughter. Diane's gentleness. King's wisdom. Gowther's clumsy jokes. Elizabeth's kindness. The Captain's leadership.
Could I let them go?
Could I live without remembering their faces?
But then he thought: if there was another world suffering, another world in need of hope, another world where darkness threatened to consume the light... wasn't it his duty, his pride as the Lion of the Sun, to answer that call?
He loved without expecting anything in return. He fought without seeking glory. He lived protecting others.
That was his nature. That was his truth.
And that truth didn't need memories to exist.
"I accept," Escanor said, opening his eyes. His voice resonated with the same unwavering determination he had shown in life. "If there is a world that needs light, then my sun will shine for them. Even if I forget the faces of those I loved... I will carry their love with me. It will be the flame that never dies in my heart."
The One-Above-All seemed... pleased.
"You have chosen wisely, Escanor. I will send you to a place called Middle-earth. You will be reborn, retaining your name and title as the Lion's Sin of Pride. Your power will be yours to command. And when the time comes... when the deepest darkness threatens to consume that world... you will be the light that dispels it."
—Wait—Escanor raised a hand—. One last question.
-Speaks.
—This new world... is there sun there?
The laughter of The-One-Above-All echoed like celestial bells through the white void.
—Oh, yes, Escanor. There is a sun. And under its light, you will shine like never before.
Escanor smiled, that characteristic smile full of noble pride and unwavering determination.
—Then there's nothing more to say. I'm ready.
"One last thing, Escanor," the entity said, its voice now soft, almost tender. "In your previous life, you loved without being loved in return. It was noble. It was beautiful. But in this new life... allow yourself to be loved in return. Not out of obligation or duty, but because you deserve it. Will you?"
Escanor blinked, surprised by the question. Then, slowly, he nodded.
-I'll try.
—That's all I ask.
The light began to shine around him, growing brighter and brighter, consuming the white void. Escanor felt his consciousness begin to scatter, like sand slipping through his fingers. The last vestiges of his memories began to fade: Merlin's face blurred, the voices of his companions vanished into distant echoes.
But something remained.
The warmth in his chest. The feeling of having been loved by loyal companions. The memory of a deep and unconditional love that had given meaning to his existence.
I would never forget that. I couldn't, even if the details faded away.
Because that love was part of her very soul.
"Goodbye, Merlin," he whispered as the light consumed him completely. "In another life, in another time... perhaps we will meet again. And perhaps then... you too will be able to see my sun."
And Escanor, the Lion of Pride's Sin, disappeared from the universe he knew.
To be reborn in another.