Floating City of Paradise, Knight’s District: 936, April 4th, Wednesday, 12:00 AM.
At midnight, in a large and beautiful garden decorated with colorful flowers and statues of King himself, Theo and Loki walked together across a stone path under the bluish light of the moon—multiple iron torches buried in the ground illuminating the way ahead.
“How boring...” Loki exclaimed with a click of his tongue. “Why am I needed here anyway?”
The stoic knight beside him replied calmly, “Your majesty requested your presence. We do not question his orders, only follow.”
“Yeah, whatever... maybe a good one will emerge this time.” the smug knight smiled to himself.
Avoiding further conversation, the pair reached their destination after a short and silent walk. They approached a massive circular fountain—pridefully placed in the middle of the garden. More statues surrounded the structure, with one of them dedicated to the goddess Gladea in the middle—surrounded by an alluring crystalline water, its depths radiating with an azure glow under the moonlight.
King contemplated the scenery with his own two eyes, his feet submerged in the water—slightly above his knees. Both Theo and Loki approached him from behind, letting him know about their presence immediately after their arrival.
“We have arrived, my king.” Theo bowed.
“Can’t believe they all got wiped like that,” Loki claimed while keeping his eyes in the water—his indifferent gaze fixed in the glowing depths of the large fountain. “If it were me, I would’ve killed that Sebastian guy in a mere second.” he remarked with a cocky smile.
“Silence,” King calmly requested. The intense bloom radiating from his azure artery network joined in with the fountain—traveling across the water and into the goddess’ statue. “Rise up, and fulfil your oath as knights.”
With the end of his sentence, rapid bubbling splashes coming from below disturbed the once peaceful crystalline water—its hasty convulsive state similar to boiling water. The ritual continued, and from the depths of the fountain, rose the naked body of a tall and sturdy man—his azure eyes glowing fiercely. A woman of the same height of the man emerged soon after—her athletic body struggling to keep itself standing.
One by one, groups of gladean knights surfaced into the bright rays of the moonlight and—like a scene from a horror movie—the expressionless knights waddled their weakened bodies out of the water, dragging their feet and tumbling over to the ground.
“What a sad sight,” Loki couldn’t help but get a chuckle out of the situation. “I think I recognize some of them.”
Stepping out of the water, King faced both subordinates standing in front of him—towering over the already tall gladean knights. “Loki,” he addressed one of them. “You are the order’s champion... train them well.” his heavy voice demanded.
The pair stepped to the side to allow passage to their king—who made his exit with no further instructions. Theo looked at Loki, offering a short bow. “Make sure not to disappoint him,” he said before following King’s steps.
“Me?” Loki raised an eyebrow with an overconfident smirk on his face—witnessing the mindless knights stumble around. “As if... I will turn them all into real knights, an actual army of killers.” his smile grew wider—eager to mold the fallen warriors to his will. “They will be exactly what a knight should be when I’m done.”
Northern Region of the Deadlands, Cerberus Outpost: 936, April 9th, Monday, 10:00 AM.
Having received their new assignment, Bloodhound was stationed at a small outpost in the middle of the Deadlands—covered by a thick red fog to its entirety. Claire sat in front of a desk inside a tent, going throw an array of papers lying on top of it—she wore a white and gold uniform suited for the region, instead of her usual black and gold outfit.
“Hmm...” she hummed while carefully reading every detail in one of the documents. “Damn,” she leaned her back on the wooden chair and rubbed her neck—a frustrated sigh escaping her lips. “Nothing seems off about these reports...”
Taking a moment to relax, she led one hand under her shirt from the neck—pulling a silver necklace from inside with a pristine looking azure ring attached to it. In life, the ring belonged to her now deceased mother, and was given to her by Sebastian before he left to join Cerberus. That was the last time she saw her father, an event that motivated her to join the same company later on.
Interrupting the thoughts from her wandering mind however, was the voice of a man faking radio sounds with his mouth—speaking to her through an earpiece. “Is this Lionheart? Kkhh, over.” Sovereign playfully asked.
With gritted teeth and a visible vein popping from her forehead, Claire offered her reply. “Where is Yeon?” she managed to growl.
“She is busy, so it’s just you and me for this operation.” her gleeful assistant answered. “Aren’t you happy to have my help?”
Putting back her necklace under her shirt, Claire released some stress with a quick sigh before continuing the already tiresome conversation. “I assume you have something important to say?”
“I always do,” the man declared confidently. “Do you like mushrooms in your chicken p—”
“I’m cutting you off,” the lieutenant interrupted with a snarl.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop for now.” Sovereign claimed with little concern. “You have an assassin on your back, so watch out for that.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
With a one second delayed response, Claire’s eyes opened wide at the shocking statement from her assistant. “What did you say?” she kept and attentive ear on the call.
“Someone’s putting a target on you, but I’m not sure what they want exactly...” Sovereign began to explain. “Still, I don’t think they want you dead... at least not yet.” he continued—nonchalantly informing the lieutenant of the situation. “Who knows? Just don’t let it distract you from your mission.”
“Distra—” Claire almost exploded in frustration at the news. “Why didn’t you start with that?” she said with gritted teeth. “How do you know this is accurate?” she dug in deep for further details.
“I have my ways... she followed your steps very closely after breaking into the Deadlands.” a quick chuckle escaped Sovereign’s lips. “It was quite impressive to see actually.”
“Breaking in... you are telling me an assassin just broke in here without anyone noticing?” she asked skeptically.
“I saw it,” Sovereign replied with no concern.
“And you just let it happen?” another vein popped out from the lieutenant’s forehead—the blood in her veins boiling at high temperatures.
Her anger was reciprocated with a laid-back chortle however, as the unpreoccupied assistant answered her question. “I could’ve handled it a little better I’ll admit, but... maybe I’m just curious to see what will happen.” his voice switched to a lower tone during his last sentence.
“You don’t seem bothered by all of this, anything else I need to know?” she asked, her sharp eyes now vigilant on every corner.
“If anything comes up, you’ll know about it.” he assured her. “I have full faith in you, think you can handle it?”
“I’ll figure something out,” Claire replied calmly—keeping the new information in mind.
“So, about that chicken p—” the call was cut out abruptly.
Kingdom of Heildin, Heaven’s Castle: 936, April 9th, Monday, 10:00 AM.
Eutychia strolled through the stone path of one of the castle’s interior gardens, beautifully decorated with flowers from all over the world—the stone walls adorned with carvings of gladean knights, and the windows with azure curtains. She wore her casual clothing instead of her armor, rocking a short sleeve black tunic and khaki trousers—her hair as messy as ever, with her bangs covering one of her eyes.
In her mindless walk to clear her mind, the hybrid knight spotted her younger sister kneeled on the grass while looking at the ground. She wore a white and pink lace up dress falling down to her ankles, a flower crown in her head, and expensive leather shoes—an elegant look adequate for Heildin royalty.
“Euthemia?” the black knight—in her casual getup—called out as she approached her sister.
“Ah!” the princess jumped in surprise, letting go of a tiny ladybug in her hand. “Eutychia!” she cried nervously. “Don’t scare me like that...”
The eldest girl smiled tenderly, feeling somewhat guilty for giving her sister quite a scare. “I’m sorry, I was just curious.” she claimed. “What were you doing?”
Euthemia picked her ladybug from the leaf of a flower, presenting it to Eutychia in her palm. “I made a new friend today, see?” she giggled. “I named her Claire, what do you think?”
“It’s quite the beauty,” she told her sister—the name however, reminded her of a previous encounter she had with a certain Cerberus officer. “Claire... Isn’t that the name of that girl from Cerberus?” Eutychia asked, genuinely curious about the origin of the ladybug’s name.
A loud gasp escaped the young princess’ lips as she covered her mouth with one hand. “You are right, but...” her lips curved downward into a sad frown. “It’s such a beautiful name, and my new friend loves it too.” she said, peering into her older sister’s eyes with a pleading expression. “Do you think it’s wrong of me?”
Patting her in the head, Eutychia simply smiled and reassured her sister. “Of course not, it is your friend after all.”
“Thank you!” Euthemia lunged at her—locking her into a tight bear hug.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough.” The black knight smiled and untangled herself from her sister’s embrace. “I’ll go patrol the hallways a little, call me if you need anything.” Eutychia said while making her way towards the exit.
The ladybug in hand, Euthemia stood in place as she watched her sister leave the garden—her innocent smile turned into a raging frown as soon the black knight left the scene. “She will suffer!” the princess forced her hand into a fist, which crushed the tiny insect inside her palm—turning the poor ladybug into a small pool of yellowish liquid. “Rejecting me like that, and then having the nerve to touch my sister!” her wide furious eyes moved to the mangled bug in her hand—drawing a smile back into her face. “Heh, you look so adorable like this... my precious Claire.”
Kingdom of Heildin, Capital City: 936, April 9th, Monday, 12:00 PM.
A couple of hours after her patrol through the castle, Eutychia decided to leave for fresh air and relax in her home city—the capital of Heildin. Its previously bustling streets, full of crowds and interesting restaurants, clothes shops, and many attractions to visit have mostly closed down and left to rot. After the expansion of the Deadlands, many residents with the capital and resources decided to move out completely—Either to the empire, or further south towards Pelkesk. Most people abandoned their homes and previous lives without a second thought, as living near the specters caused uncontrollable panic over the city.
The streets were mostly abandoned, closed businesses and empty buildings populated the once prideful capital. A frown enveloped the princess’ face as she strolled around the desolated area—the home she grew up in, and held close to her heart.
“I won’t allow this to stand, no specter will ever harm my home and its people.” she promised to herself—taking the cold breeze that gently swayed her high ponytail. “Even if it’s so empty now, this is still my oath as a knight.”
“That’s great to hear,” a feminine voice said from behind her, prompting the black knight to turn and face it.
“You... I remember you.” Eutychia said, coming face to face with Yeon—who wore her usual Cerberus black office suit.
“I’m glad to hear that, saves us both the introductions.” she calmly stated.
The frowning princess is not as carefree about the situation however, her intense glare fixed on the casual Yeon. “Why is Cerberus here? Last time you visited...” she pointed to the empty streets with her chin. “This happened,” she concluded with a threatening tone.
“I am not a danger to anyone, lady Eutychia.” Yeon claimed, fixing her glasses. “I am simply here under a... personal request from an acquaintance of mine.”
Her words caught the princess’ attention, her wary yet curious expression softening slightly. “Speak,” she demanded.
“While I can’t tell you what it is directly,” Yeon pulled a small letter from her vest—promptly handing it over to the hybrid knight. “I can give you this instead, and please... do not read it in public.”
Taking the letter, Eutychia inspected the envelop carefully—finding nothing unusual about it. Without going into details, Yeon told the princess about a small personal favor for a friend of hers—leaving Eutychia on her own with a quick farewell right after.
Watching the Cerberus employee enter her car and drive away, the black knight redirected her attention to the letter in hand—opening the envelop. “What is this?” she opened her mouth slightly, staring with puzzled eyes at the small white flower she received alongside the letter.
END OF CHAPTER