Rain poured heavily across the ruined battlefield. The sky itself seemed to mourn. Countless corpses covered the mud-filled ground.
while broken swords and shattered banners lay scattered everywhere.
The once proud soldiers of House Draven now rested silently beneath the cold rain.
At the center of the battlefield, a young man stood barely breathing. Blood continuously flowed from the sword piercing straight through his abdomen.
His silver armor had long been stained crimson. His body trembled weakly, yet his eyes no longer carried fear.
Only regret. "So this is the end... Kael," Kael Draven slowly raised his head toward the dark sky.
The rain washed across his pale face as memories began surfacing endlessly inside his mind.
The first face he remembered was his little sister, Elena Draven. Only ten years old, she was too innocent and too kind.
She died crying while hiding behind burning rubble during the civil war.
Even until her final moments, she waited for her brother to save her. But he arrived too late.
Kael slowly closed his eyes, and then another face appeared. Leon Draven, his older brother.
The man who always stood in front of him and protected their family until the very end.
Kael still remembered Leon covered in blood while fighting dozens of enemies alone just to buy time for him to escape.
Even after losing an arm, Leon still continued swinging his sword until he finally collapsed, dead.
Then came his mother, Seraphina Draven. The gentle woman who always smiled warmly toward her children had died protecting civilians inside the collapsing estate.
Even as flames consumed the manor, she still worried about her children more than herself.
And finally, the last face: his father, Baron Aldric Draven.
The strongest pillar of House Draven, he was the man who fought until the very end against overwhelming enemies.
Kael still remembered his father standing alone before the gates while enemies surrounded the estate from every direction
A lone warrior against an army. Even after countless wounds, Aldric never kneeled, never begged, and never surrendered until his final breath.
Kael's trembling hand slowly gripped the sword piercing through his abdomen as his vision gradually blurred. "I couldn't protect anyone..." Thunder roared across the battlefield as Kael slowly fell onto one knee.
His strength had already disappeared.
All around him, the battlefield remained silent as only rain continued falling endlessly.
Kael weakly looked toward the distant burning remains of House Draven, and then slowly, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"If... If I had another chance..." His body finally collapsed into the mud.
The rain continued falling upon the dead battlefield, and the final heir of House Draven closed his eyes as darkness consumed everything.