Have you ever heard of The White Reaper? This name strikes fear into the hearts of all in the world of Atlas. The public first learned of his lethal skills when he was caught slaying the Lycan Queen during her ceremony. Since then, he has taken down leaders of all ranks, ages, and sizes, each time raising his threat level. What's truly terrifying is that there seems to be no pattern to his kill list. No one knows who he will strike next. It's no wonder that many live in fear of his deadly blade. Which is why even her father warned her about him.

There was even a fear based on his reputation among children, as he was rumored to be a monster that watched them until they did something wrong and took them away to eat. Whether if Yasuline still believed that would not be something that will easily get an answer.

The White Reaper is also known to be an omen. Those that catch a glimpse of him often end up experiencing something horrific happening to them. There were just as many stories like that as the amount of lives he had taken.

The destruction he brings and the deaths he takes are well known. And yet, Yasuline just witnessed the sheer cold fact that her life was saved by him. Not only that...

A moment of silence followed Yasuline's speechlessness, signaling to him that his time was up and he needed to leave. As he leaped onto the roof with ease, he vanished over it, his white coat disappearing with him.

The shock of the encounter left with him and she found her breath once more. But her mind was still in shock.

'The White Reaper? Why? Why did he save me?'

Announcing it aloud recollected the very last moments of that second before she blacked out, she recalled how someone attacked her and her own family. And that individual turned into none other than the White Reaper.

As she gazed at her hand, she couldn't help but feel unsettled. It had just been in contact with a real-life serial killer - someone she should have never crossed paths with. It was a strange situation, considering she was told to be mortal enemies: the assassin and the target. "This is all too confusing." She thinks aloud. Looking up at the roof, she was determined again to follow behind.

Back on the railing, she starts to go, this time, being more careful than usual. By being observant this time, she noticed how the edges sunk more on the other end of the railing side. Shifting sides, she found it much easier to get on the roof.

For a brief moment, she felt proud of herself for successfully escaping. Being on the roof gave her many options and ways to get into the castle again. But that wasn't her goal now. She looked around her to find any hints of where the White Reaper went. The Adventure Guilds all should have quests that ask the very best to hunt down the White Reaper. His bounty is in every pub. Anyway, that can show how the world would be better off without him, it was done.

So with so many possible people hunting him, how was she going to fare any better? Just as she was pondering on where she should search, a faint blue glow caught her attention, she looked around again to find the source of the glow. It was one of the towering pillars of the castle. Just when she looked at the tower, the glow faded away. Almost like it was especially signaling to her his location.

The specific tower was thankfully one she knows by heart. Some of the stones were quickly placed and some stuck out perfectly to grip onto when she climbed on it. Only on a really bad day would she slip and fall.

She takes a deep breath before she begins to scale the tower. She ensured to look at the stone she was going to grab first and always made sure her feet were on a firm stone to step on. By the time she paused to rest, she was already near the top. With one last push, she managed to get to the top.

The wind was harsher than below. Likely because she was higher up than ever before. Wind always gets stronger the higher you go, Yasuline learned firsthand long ago. She paused once more. That man was standing there in front of her again. She didn't get a good look at him before, but now. He was still like a portrait. He didn't look at her, he was staring down at the capitol that its lights were still on. Some even were moving slowly and in grids.

The being donning the pristine white coat stood before her, appearing quite youthful and potentially around the same age as Caliber himself who was in his mid-twenties. However, she couldn't definitively confirm his age since his hood masked a good portion of his face. His skin tone, darker than the others she had encountered at the castle, contrasted beautifully with his hair, which she could only partially see. It was a brilliant shade of white, matching his coat, which served as his most identifiable feature. The coat flowed behind him like the flags atop each turret of the castle, and upon closer inspection, she noticed blue flames adorning the coattails with a faint, almost mesmerizing glow. The design was so intricately sewn that the flames appeared to be dancing and flickering, almost akin to real flames. However, she couldn't help but wonder if the faint glow was playing a trick on her eyes.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Seeing him there, she struggled to think what to do. Now that she encountered the White Reaper again. 'Should I attack him? Should I talk to him?' Attacking him may seem rude, but she needed to know if he didn't intend to hurt her. Not that she wanted to hurt him, but test him. But talking to him would also display a chance for diplomacy. Something her parents often spoke about was a fundamental need for a ruler.

The silence between them stretched for a while. Which only made Yasuline feel very awkward. She never behaved like this with anyone. Not to the other champions, not to any visiting kings, or princesses. She never felt intimidated to speak her mind to anyone. It was more of a problem for everyone but her.

It was the White Reaper who made the first move, just him turning to look at her was enough to make her shiver with nervousness. She subconsciously placed a hand on the handle of the sword she still had on his hip. However, the gesture didn't appear to affect him in any way. She failed to detect any emotions from his blue eyes.

His hand stuck out from under his coat pocket. She looked down to find some kind of thing resting on the palm of his hand. She can't recognize it for the rest of her life. It looked like one of the treats that the chefs often made for her, but it was less decorative than that. The wind made it hard to smell what it was.

The White Reaper was impressively patient with her as she cautiously studied the dark-brown substance. She gazed at it, sniffed it, and stroked it before inevitably taking the smallest nip of a corner to finally taste it. As she slowly suspected, it was some kind of chocolate. The smell was lighter than the ones she had, it was more inviting. Her stomach growl signaled her to 'just eat it.'

It was fairly sweeter than the ones she had, which meant she loved it even more than the castle variations. 'No offense to the chefs.' She apologized.

The White Reaper tucked his hand and pulled out a larger quantity of the chocolate, which Yasuline didn't hesitate to snatch from him and nibbled on the goods. Each bite only made her feel more comfortable with him.

"Can't distrust someone who saves me and feeds me, yummy sweets, huh?" She says loudly, half to herself and half to him.

He half-shrugged in response to her question.

More silence came up. Though it wasn't because she was intimidated by him, but more so that she was unable to find something she was settled on saying first.

"So...do you normally carry around chocolate with you?" The reply to such a casual question was a no. The two quieted down once more as he continues to stare forward, she follows his gaze. The rooftops of the city surrounding her home were a familiar sight, yet they never lost their wonder. However, the first time she saw them, they took her breath away. And now, she was experiencing that same awe once again.

Once the moment had set in, the White Reaper begins to sit down on the roof. And the princess accompanying him mimicked the action. The question also seemed to open the floodgates in her mind as she asked various other questions. And each one had the White Reaper shake his head or nod or make an odd gesture as he struggled to give a good answer to her.

"You here to kill someone?" No.

"You here to steal something from the castle?" No.

"You here to see your secret lover?" No.

"You here for our delicious food?" Maybe.

"Are you here for the ceremony?" He turned his hand about, making it impossible for her to read it as a yes or no. He continued to be bombarded with questions from the princess. The only time she paused was when the White Reaper offered her another chocolate bar. In return, he was able to peacefully stand by while she spoke, which was rewarding.

"You know, it's still pretty surreal." She says suddenly after swallowing down her fourth chocolate treat. She wasn't looking in his direction when she spoke, she was now looking at the view of the capitol with him. "To think I would just be sitting up here with the world-famous White Reaper. Who saved me no less."

"I mean, you are an actual assassin, right?" She could see him nod from the corner of her eyes. "And you've killed a lot of people, right?" Again, another nod as an answer.

"But then you saved me. Why?" The White Reaper appeared to be at a loss for answers for her this time. He glanced at her to let her know he wasn't ignoring her but he still had no response for her. When she was about to press him further for it, a new noise broke out in the air. Yasuline looked around to see what it was, but nothing was there. As she turned to the White Reaper for an answer for it, he too was gone.

"What? Where did you go?" She called out to him, but no answer. Her ears picked up the noise once more and she climbed back down the tower to find the source. As she moved toward the more vacant area on the roof, she then heard it more clearly. It was cackling. Standing before her were two hooded beings.