They were heroes.
They had protected the kingdom.
Saved it from the Curse's grasp.
But the reception they received…
Was not that of heroes.
When they entered the capital, the people recoiled from them.
As if they themselves were cursed.
The very citizens they had protected no longer saw them as human.
Only as cursed beings whose sole purpose was to protect others.
They called them ... Bearers of tainted blood.
Then, when Mathius and the others reached the royal hall…
They were not given a single word of gratitude.
Only orders.
Their next orders.
Having halted the Curse, the King of Ardyn commanded them to join his army.
To wage war.
Against other human kingdoms.
Mathius was among the strongest of his generation.
His selection was inevitable.
From fighting monsters…
To killing men.
And killing humans was different.
It weighed upon him in ways he had never known.
The generals of Ardyn's army always placed the Heart at the front lines.
