Today was the Fourth Prince’s fifteenth birthday celebration, but the celebrant was currently missing from the party hall. Earlier, the prince had greeted personally the guests who arrived and gave their well-wishes. Unfortunately, at the height of the celebration, the prince suddenly felt ill and asked for leave.

As the Fourth Prince left the hall, an ominous rumor spread quickly among the guests like wildfire. There was a spreading illness within the northern lands, and the rumormongers inferred that the prince had also caught this sickness.

“I’m fine, father. Please, entertain my guests for me,” Ervan said as he was put to bed with the assistance of Cenia.

A worried look was on King Arkas’ face, but seeing his son’s smile, he couldn’t help but accept his son’s request. He took out a small box from under his robe and handed it to the prince.

“Happy birthday, son,” he said as prince Ervan took the box.

“Thanks, father. Can I open it?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

Ervan’s hands slightly shook as he opened the box. It seemed like just moving his fingers took a lot of effort.

Within the box was a simple necklace. Its string was made of woven dried plant fibers, but the pendant was a clear crystal engraved with strange runic marks.

“I had Darxis make this for you,” the king said.

“Is it enchanted?” Ervan asked with widened eyes, excitement glinting within them.

“It’s more of a lucky charm.”

The two laughed before the king left and went back to the party hall. Only the prince and his knight was left in the room.

“Ah… how pitiful. This is so uncool,” the prince grumble as he turned to face away from Cenia. He held the necklace in front of him and observed the beautiful engraved marks on its surface.

Cenia remained silent as she sat on a chair in one corner of the room. She watched the prince’s back and it looked frail and lonely.

“Fourth Prince…” she called out in a low voice but the prince did not respond. She bit her lower lip and did not proceed with what she wanted to say.

Earlier in the hall, her fiance, a successor to one of the noble houses in Lygandoria, had come and introduced himself to the prince. She saw that Ervan had no reaction to the man’s words but after that, she felt that he had started treating her coldly.

***

Five months passed since the Fourth Prince’s fifteenth birthday celebration. The king had been leaving the capital almost every week, returning after five to six days before leaving again, taking a group of elite knights and soldiers with him as well as the court magician.

News of villages and towns from the north falling to a strange illness was spreading within the capital, rousing a sense of fear and urgency among the citizens.

Cases of people falling ill have been reported daily and the capital’s medicine houses were quickly running out of supply. Trade caravans went in and out of the capital forming heavy traffic within the main highways all over the kingdom.

The prince had also never left the palace since his birthday celebration. Then, tragic news shook the entire capital.

Fourth Prince Ervan Lygandoria at fifteen years old, due to illness, had died.

“None of this is your fault, girl,” Darxis said as he suddenly appeared behind Cenia. She was in the prince’s bedroom, standing still near the entrance with a blank expression.

On the bed was the prince’s lifeless body, and kneeling by the bedside was the weeping king. King Arkas III had always shown a strong front to everyone, except for Darxis, and this was the first time that she had seen him in this state.

Cenia had been by the prince’s side these past five months despite his cold attitude towards her. She had seen him gradually weaken over the passing days. His illness was strange and something she had never seen before. Rot and pus slowly spread all over his body, originating from the presumable birthmark on his back. He had vomited black blood, and his hair fell off strand by strand. By the time he breathed his last, he looked like the corpse of a person who had died long ago.

“If only I had watched over him more…” the female knight gritted through her teeth.

“You are not to blame. There were things that the king and I kept secret from everyone else regarding the prince. His death was something that we already expected. Trust me, we did everything we could to prevent this tragedy, but it seems like the Gods truly wouldn’t let mortal men play with fate.”

The old man’s words shocked Cenia. There had been a lot of things going on within the kingdom outside the light of day and the eyes of many, and this fact just now dawned on her. And it also seemed like the prince was involved in one of those secrets kept in the dark.

“Even the prince didn’t know about it. Sometimes, I wonder if the decision that I and Arkas chose was truly the right one,” as he spoke those words, his eyes fell on the crystal resting on the prince’s chest.

It was already night by the time the king left the prince’s side. He was dejected and without strength as he walked out of the bedroom. When his gaze met with Cenia’s, she saw that the king had no disdain nor disappointment towards her. Instead he only whispered a few words, “Thanks for taking care of my son.” The king then disappeared through the dimly lit hallway.

The following days, the king refused to leave his own room. He was accompanied only by his most trusted friend, the old court magician, Darxis.

But misfortune doesn’t come alone. Beast and human corpses rose from the dead and marched south from the northern territories of Lygandoria. For every town and village they passed, they increased their numbers. Soon, they turned into a horde and quickly swept towards the capital.

Within the capital, a similar event was occurring. People who died from the strange illness rose from their graves and started attacking anyone nearby. Chaos quickly ensued within the capital. With the king in his current state, there was no one to lead the people through this disaster.

***

“It’s a huge mess outside,” Cenia said in a carefree tone. She was currently alone with the prince’s corpse in his bedroom. It was the king’s command that no one was allowed to remove the prince from his bed. It was as if the king treated him to be only asleep despite his appearance of a rotting corpse.

The situation within the kingdom was turning worse by the moment. The king finally recovered but the situation was still dire. The horde was already outside the capital and pushing their way through the barred gates.

“But you’re still here sleeping without a care for what’s happening. You’re already a grown up, so be a bit more responsible, Fourth Prince.”

Cenia was talking to the prince’s corpse. She knew that he couldn’t hear her anymore, and she knew even more that there was no way that he would respond. Still, it did not mean that she didn’t long for such a miracle to happen, no matter how impossible it may be.

It takes one to lose something before realizing how important it was. This was how Cenia felt at the moment. To her, she had always treated the fourth prince like a little brother even though she knew how he felt for her. After she had set that condition ten years ago, the prince had rarely mentioned it to her. Instead, he showed it through his actions. He pursued both sword and magic, and took to heart the lessons on ethics and nobility that the royal tutor taught.

He did his best in all of those to gain her approval, but that was the wrong way to go about it. One must not act to impress. If a person wanted to change himself, he should do it for himself and not for another’s impression.

On that night during the prince’s birthday, when he found out about her engagement, what she felt from the prince was not anger towards her but disappointment and loneliness. Since then, they have drifted away. The prince would rarely talk to her and would most of the time dismiss her. He gave her too many days off despite her wanting to stay by his side to take care of his illness.

“Maybe, if I chose to disobey your orders and stayed by your side all those times, you wouldn’t have died…” she muttered, but quickly shook her head. All that had passed was past, and there was nothing she could do about it anymore. Wallowing in regret would not help anyone and it surely wouldn’t bring the prince back to life.

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Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. If it was either the king or the court magician, they would just immediately enter the room. Thinking that, Cenia stood and opened the door. Outside was a young soldier in a harried state.

“We need every manpower we have. Please, assist us in defending the castle!” the soldier said.

“What’s the situation outside?” Cenia asked. As the retainer knight of the deceased prince, she still held a higher rank than this ordinary soldier.

“The undead had already broken through the capital’s northern gate and are quickly flooding into the city. It won’t be long before they make their way to the castle.”

“I see. I’ve received the message and will be heading out shortly.”

“Thank you very much!”

The soldier saluted and ran through the hallway, presumably passing the same message to other able-bodied fighters within the castle.

After closing the door, Cenia went back to sit beside the prince’s bed. With a warm expression, she smiled and fixed the blanket on the prince.

“I will be leaving for a while,” she said. “When I return, I’ll tell you stories of my feats of valor in this battle. Do you remember? You always asked me tell such stories to you before you go to bed, but I had none to tell. After this, you better listen well, alright?”

She then left the prince’s side and headed for the door. With one last long look, she left the room. Outside was an old man dressed in magician’s robes. Held in his hands was a wooden staff. It was Darxis.

“Prepare for the worst,” he said.

“I am prepared.”

“Then, let me tell you more about the prince on the way. There had been too many secrets that the king and I had kept, and speaking to you about some of those will be like lifting a huge burden from my heart.”

“I am listening.”

The two walked along the corridor as Darxis spoke in a voice like a whisper. As they left, there was a small movement within the prince’s room. No one was there to witness it.

As the crystal pendant on his chest faintly glowed, one of the prince’s fingers twitched.

***

A kingdom’s fall was news that none could ignore. It brought an uproar that shook the heavens and the earth, more so that it happened in such an unexpected manner. It was brought about by a horde of creatures that resembled risen corpses which was referred to as the undead, a never before seen abomination.

They had heard that the kingdom of Lygandoria had been suppressing troubles further north but not a single one expected those to be something so dark and evil. A horde of undead was something that brought images of horror and fear to all.

There were still many survivors from Lygandoria, mostly those that lived near the southern borders. They fled towards the nearby kingdoms to seek refuge from the approaching horde. At first they were quickly accepted as the other kingdoms had good relations with Lygandoria after all, but when investigations were conducted and it was found out that the undead had risen from those who had died from an unknown illness, the other kingdoms increased their state of wariness.

The refugees suffered discrimination as they were feared to carry the illness that brought the fall of Lygandoria. At the first sign that they were sick, even if it was just the common cold, they were either thrown out of the kingdom or killed on the spot. It was terrible sight to behold.

Jenika Bershifa couldn’t believe everything that had happened. The fourth prince fell ill and died. Then the kingdom of Lygandoria fell. It was all too much to take in. Just a few months ago, she had seen the prince during his fifteenth birthday celebration, and now she could never see him again.

At first, when they were young, she had bullied him because of his timidness. As he grew up, he became more valiant and attractive. He was intelligent and strong, and did not take long for her to fall for him. Although she was two years older than the fourth prince, it was just a small gap in age and it would be negligible by the time they grew older.

She was his betrothed and this had been agreed upon even before he was born. She had the advantage and was the most likely to become his first wife if no unexpected accident occurred. She had seen how the prince looked and acted towards the knight retainer that was always by his side since they were young, but she didn’t treat her like a rival.

“There’s no way for a knight retainer and their master to ever be together,” was what she thought.

She never expected that even she herself wouldn’t be able to be with the prince either for he had died too early and too unexpectedly.

“Princess,” a middle-aged female cleric entered her bedroom. She was the princess’ tutor on the holy arts. The kingdom of Bershifa was one devout to their religious beliefs and practices, and many fair maidens within the kingdom chose to become clerics and priestesses.

Jenika, as the second princess, could be married to another prince in a different kingdom. There was no reason to stick to the engagement now that both the fourth prince and the kingdom of Lygandoria were gone. Yet, she refused being engaged to another. Instead, she chose to dedicate herself to the Gods.

“Are you sure about this, princess?” the tutor asked. She had been the only one who knew of the princess’s plan to join the religious circle. She had only declined the engagement offers and had not stated her reason. Today, the entire kingdom of Bershifa would be made known of her decision.

“Yes, I am,” she said. “If he is truly dead, then maybe, if I show the gods my determination… they would let me see him again.”

The tutor was shocked by the princess’ words but she was in no position to deny her. In fact, many of those maidens who chose to join the circle were also those who had lost their loved ones, hoping to see them again by dedicating themselves to the gods.

“Then, let us be off,” the cleric said after regaining her composure.

The second princess of Bershifa nodded silently and followed her towards the ceremonial shrine of the gods.

***

A lone figure was walking north from the ruins of an old castle. His flesh was rotting but was covered with cloth bandages underneath his tattered robes. He was an undead like many others around him, but he was also different.

They were all heading south… no they were fleeing the north, while he was heading towards the opposite direction. Sensing that he was different from them, the other undead would approach and attack him.

Those who tried to approach him were quickly dispatched off. In his hands was a longsword stained with rotten blood and flesh. He held it firmly as if afraid to let it go. He had taken it from the corpse of a woman in the place he had woken up in.

When he woke up, he could not remember a thing. He was attacked multiple times by the undead but easily fended them off with the sword in his hand.

He found out that he was in a castle filled with corpses. There were no signs of life, only the occasional undead wandering about or lying down pretending to be dead only to sneak behind him as he passed by.

As he left the castle, he felt a strange sensation coming from the north and that was why he decided to go in that direction. He had walked for days without rest. He need not sleep. He need not eat. It felt somehow strange yet natural to him. It was something he could not understand nor explain.

Every now and then he would stop walking and just gaze around him. Everything felt so familiar yet he could not remember. Sometimes he would end up frustrated and confused and just swing the sword around in a fit of madness. At that time, a strange crystal hanging around his neck would faintly glow. It filled him with warmth and he would feel calm again. He would then grip the cold metal in his hand and feel a sense of security.

To the north, he continued his travel.