"Sister Selenia! Sister Selenia!"

The loud voice in my ears along with the shaking of my shoulders wake me from the fog in my mind. As I open my eyes, a soft blue light enters my eyes reminding me of what we once lost. It is a familiar light, one I've seen probably a thousand times, even tens of thousands of times. It is the light of the Holy Starsilver, spinning slowly above the magical altar made by the now extinct azure mountain people.

"What - where..." I look around the room, recognizing a chamber that I haven't seen for a long time.

It is a chamber that I haven't entered for at least six years. This chamber shouldn't exist anymore. Six years ago, this place was attacked and ransacked by the demons of fire and the demons of blades that killed all the priestesses and burned the entire temple complex down. Even the Holy Starsilver that had adorned this chamber for the past 600 years was taken away to gods know where. Only a handful of priestesses and Knights of the Holy Starsilver survived the sudden attack. I was one of those who survived and had to escape alone.

The sister breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you are awake. You suddenly lost consciousness during dawn worship. Are you alright, sister?"

"Sister Eryes?" I ask in disbelief. Sister Eryes was one of those who sat in worship during the attack on the Hall of Stellar Radiance. In this very hall. She should've been the first to die. How can she still be alive?

"Yes, Sister Selenia. Greetings of dawn. If you are feeling unwell, you should've told me. It is not good to pray with an ill body."

"No... no, I am fine. Is this a dream?"

"A dream?" Sister Eryes seems to fall into deep thought before she hit the palm of her left hand with her other fist, "Indeed! Life is a dream. A dream that speaks of our worth before the stars. I have finally found the answer!"

"Uh? What?"

Sister Eryes falls to her knees facing the giant crystal of the Holy Starsilver. She closes her eyes, clasps her hands at her chest and says, "Oh Radiance of the Night, I thank thee for thine guidance. Please continue to guide this humble self forever more, until this dream ends and this humble self returns to the stars."

A door behind me opens. "Sister, I heard you collapsed. What happened? Are you alright?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

It is the voice of someone who should not exist anymore. It is the voice of someone I have missed so very much. Someone who should've already been dead long, long ago.

"Kal-Kaldar?" I turn around, looking at the face that I haven't seen for six long years.

"Yes, it is me. Is something wrong, sister?" Kaldar answers as he gets on his knees with a face full of worry.

"Kaldar!" I cry aloud, my feet push me toward him in a sudden jump.

Caught off guard by my sudden move, he instinctively opens his arms, allowing me to jump into his embrace. His body covered in chain mail is hard and cold, but this... knowing that behind it Kaldar still breathes and his blood still courses through his veins, is such a great comfort that my tears can no longer be stopped. Kaldar is here.

"Kaldar! Kaldar!"

This Kaldar who followed me when I was chosen as a trainee priestess of the Holy Starsilver. This Kaldar who said he would protect me from the mean senior priestesses. This Kaldar who pledged he would protect my chastity and purity. This Kaldar who swore that he would be my knight once he passed the selection ceremony for the Knights of Starsilver. This Kaldar who trained alone in the woods, fighting wolves, imps and kobolds from the age of 5 to the day he turned 13. This Kaldar who did everything for my good and supported me throughout my whole life. This Kaldar who I remember more than my own parents. This Kaldar who abandoned his own family to walk by my side when I was sold to the sanctuary.

This Kaldar who swore to protect me for as long as I live.

This Kaldar... who said he would protect me, but he lied. He swore to be my shield, promised to be my sword for as long as I lived, but he lied. His promises were empty. His vows were not fulfilled.

Despite swearing to be my knight, he perished right after swearing the oath. With his own strength nurtured for years in the wilderness, he alone took me out of the burning temple complex into the hidden path under the Hall of Repentance. He alone fought off the pursuing demons of blades, dozens of them, against his single might. Yet he did not complain, he did not tire. He simply fought them one after another. And in the end, he sent me off with a smile as his broken body spilled its lifeblood on the ground.

Kaldar, what was the use of saving me, if you were not there to walk with me? What was the use of saving me, if you perished soon after? What was the use of saving me, this useless me, if you died in my stead? Why was I the one alive? I who was useless, and always useless to the end of days. It was you who should live. You who were called The Shield of the Stars.

Had it been you, instead of me, Entou would not have fallen in vain. Had it been you, Erle would not have died that day. Had it been you... if it was you... if you only you were alive...

"Kaldar! Kaldar! Kaldar!" There is no other word to say. My mind can no longer form any words. Kaldar is alive.

Kaldar is alive! The feeling of helplessness when Kaldar gave his life for me. The regret of not being able to do anything when Kaldar could only smile to sooth my heart despite the pain in his body. The despair of seeing him hacked into pieces and beheaded by the blade demons. The feeling of being unworthy of such a sacrifice. It is now undone. If this is a dream, this is a wonderful dream.

Now Kaldar is alive again! That is all that matters!

Kaldar is alive!