Kingdom of Heildin, Capital City: 936, November 5th, Monday, 11:00 PM.
In the cold streets of the once proud kingdom of Heildin—which saw its capital abandoned by most of its people, piles of snow covered ever house in a small and peaceful neighborhood, showered under the silver light of the moon as the cold winds of the north whistled in the air—announcing the approaching winter.
A boy trudged alongside the road by his lonesome, cloaked under many layers of clothing and a beanie hat protecting his head—leaving his trail in the snow as he moved under the street lights. He huffed white misty clouds with every breath, taking quick glances from over his shoulder once every few seconds.
His eyes caught the bright interior in one of the houses along the way, spotting a shadow that watched him through a glass window. The figure didn’t stay long to observe him however, rapidly pulling the curtains before turning off the lights. Afraid and under the harsh conditions of the night, no other presented itself in the boy’s mind as he pushed forward towards the entrance of the house—knocking on the wooden door as soon as he arrived.
“Hey, it’s cold outside…” he whispered while banging his fists in the door. “Can you help me? I’m cold.”
No soul would respond to his please however, forcing him to continue knocking with faster and louder hits. The boy shuttered with not just the cold, but a sense of dread looming behind his back. He rotated his body with chattering teeth, inhaling deeply while scanning the neighborhood with twitching brows.
“Ah!” a startled cry escaped the boy as the creaky door opened behind without warning, forcing him to fall on his back inside a pitch-black living room.
“Shh!” a person shushed at the boy while grabbing his hand, with haste before pulling him further into the house.
“P-please, let me go…” softly spoke the boy, reluctantly following the figure within the dark room.
“I’m going to help you,” claimed figure, revealing the voice of a young woman.
Despite his nervous shivering, the spirited confidence in the woman’s tone managed to calm the boy’s jitter state—pressing his fingers tightly in her hand. “Thank you…” he whispered.
A startling bang caused the young woman to stop in her advance, turning quickly to watch the entrance door being flung open with a blast. Its brass hinges were shattered by the force of the impact, and the door rattled its way inside the living—splitting in half at contact with the concrete wall at the end of the room.
“They are here…” the boy’s pitchy voice whispered.
“Dammit…” the woman cursed under her breath as she kneeled down with the boy, grabbing a steel handle on the floor behind a dinning counter. “This will lead you somewhere safe, but it’s dark… so be careful while walking in there.” She told him, peeking from above the counter to look at the now open entrance in the living room.
“No… I can’t… you have to help me.”
“Just go!” She scolded the boy with an angrier tone, still managing to keep her voice low. “I’m closing the door behind you, but you have to trust me… I won’t take long, got it?”
“I…”
“You are a brave young man of the kingdom, are you not?”
“What?”
“It’s okay to be afraid, but never allow fear to stop you from taking action.” The young woman said with confidence, her long black hair tide up into a high ponytail.
Fear steadily faded from the boy’s mind as his scattered vision focused on the woman, quickly recognizing the bright blue eyes of the eldest princess of Heildin—Eutychia. She smiled at him like a mother or an older sister would, maintaining a courageous smile that cleared out the despair he felt.
“Be strong for the kingdom you call home,” she told him. “That’s a direct command from the princess of Heildin.”
“…I… yes, be careful!” he advised the black knight with pumped fist and a reinvigorated spirit.
“Will not be a problem,” the princess claimed with a nod, her lips curving into a proud smirk. “Go! I’ll handle things here.”
Having no need to keep her voice low any longer, Eutychia’s command was quickly spotted by a tall figure lurking inside the living room—lifting a couch in one hand as it looked under it. He lowered the object back in position while turning his head to face the black knight, keeping his face concealed under the shadows of a lowered cloak.
“I’m getting tired of this… I will not allow you to hurt my people any longer.” growled the princess, pressing her fingers on the grip of a sword sheathed in her lower back. “Get that through your thick skulls already.” She pulled out her weapon in a single motion, pointing its blade at the floor next to her.
The figure uttered not a single word at the princess’ warnings, simply moving his robe aside to reveal the steel blade hanging from his hips. He led one hand towards the weapon’s grip, and slid the sword out of its sheath to confront the black knight. Responding to her opponent’s sign for battle, Eutychia wasted no time in making the first move of the fight—bending her knees slightly, and propelling herself forward against her foe.
Crossing her right arm over the left shoulder as she reeled her attack, Eutychia firmly planted one foot in front of the other once in reach of the cloaked warrior—slashing at his chest in a downwards angle. With a fast motion of his weapon however, the man effortlessly deflected her attack in a powerful clash between both blades.
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“Ugh!” Eutychia’s arm sprung back as her opponent’s raw strength triumphed over her own.
The cloaked warrior attempted to strike quickly at his staggered foe, skillfully twirling his weapon into position before striking with a lightning-fast attack—almost impossible to perceive at a quick glance. The princess threw her left arm at the sword in a desperate attempt to protect herself, saving her own neck from being swiftly severed from its head, but sacrificing her armor in the process, as its gauntlet shattered in impact with the attack.
Blood erupted from the wound caused by the steel blade of the figure, splattering the floor under the princess. The cloaked warrior continued with his relentless assault against his adversary, reacting with a series of multiple slashes of his sword—which the black knight met with fearsome strikes of her own.
The sounds of steel clashing with steel clanged all over the house and the open outdoors of the snowy neighborhood, emitting bright electric sparks on impact as Eutychia was forced to retreat with every attack.
“Ngh…” she grunted while deflecting another slash from the warrior’s assault, gasping as she felt her lower back hit the dinning counter behind—having taken her final step away from the warrior.
The cloaked figure fiercely lunged at the opportunity to take down the princess of Heildin, throwing back his arm before thrusting it forward against the black knight’s abdomen. His superhuman reaction proved too unreasonable of a task for Eutychia to handle, unable to find the time to protect herself from the man’s fatal attack. The princess’ eyes widened as she felt the steel of her opponent’s blade puncture her flesh, only saved by a fortunate blinding light that stunned both her and the cloaked figure.
“…!” ignoring her blinding state, Eutychia slapped the man’s sword away before leaping to the side—utilizing both arms to protect her head as she rolled over the wooden floor. “Dammit…” she cursed under her breath while kneeling down, noticing the broken state of her armor plate—quickly turning her attention back to the cloaked man.
The blinded man protected his eyes under one hand, shaking his head quickly before pulling down the cloak. His eyes glowed with a fierce azure light, illuminating part of his face and short blonde hair.
“Hmph!” scoffed Eutychia, concealing the top half of her blade inside its scabbard. “Come at me!”
Receptive to her taunts, the warrior propelled himself against the princess while crossing one arm under the other—slashing at his foe with another rapid strike. Eutychia would remain in place despite the approaching threat however, bending her knees slightly as she inhaled deeply with a tight grip on her weapon.
Just mere seconds before the blade of her foe could reach her however, another blinding light suddenly burst inside the kitchen a second time—stunning the man for a short second. Already anticipating the flash, Eutychia closed her eyes while covering her face with one arm—rapidly pushing the rest of her sword inside its scabbard.
“Time to end this…” she muttered with scrunched brows, pressing her fingers tightly around the grip of her weapon.
“…” the silent warrior recovered quickly recovered from his blinding state, lunging back at the princess like an animal that is guided only by instinct.
With a quick motion of her hand—as the emotionless figure stepped in reach for her attack. The black knight forcefully pulled out her sword from its scabbard with an inverted grip, which caused many crackling sparks of azure to flare out from within. She continued the motion while lunging forward at her opponent, vanishing from view for only a fraction of a second as a trail of light followed behind her.
The speed and power behind her attack was followed by a sharp whistling sound, splitting the air in half during its trajectory. Eutychia’s strike proved too much for even a warrior of Paradise to handle, being forced to stumble backwards as the azure light of the princess’ blade sliced his torso in a mere instant.
The man limped while trying to maintain his balance, eventually succumbing to the fatal wound that separated his body in half from the waist. He plummeted down with his face hitting the floor, and his body vanishing with particles of azure not long after. His body illuminated the kitchen for a second, which faded away into the shadows of the night as his life came to an end.
“Hah…” Eutychia sighed with relief while resting both hands on her knees, her cold breath huffing out a white cloud of mist. “I have to do better…” she growled to herself.
As she rested from the fight, a smaller figure cloaked in shadows casually strode its way into the kitchen. Her shoes clacked across the floor as she confidently stepped in front of the princess, placing one hand near her face to reveal a small rock she held in between her fingers.
“What?” said Eutychia with a raised eyebrow—eyes fixed solely in the object.
“…” as silent as the husk warrior of Paradise, the figure rapidly spun around to hurl the rock into the nearest wall—smacking a small switch adhered to it.
The ceiling bulbs snapped back on at the switch being flipped by the rock, finally bringing light to the kitchen. Eutychia protected her eyes from the abrupt change, slowly lowering her arm to look at a masked woman standing in front of her. She wore a tight white suit with multiple harnesses all over it, carrying multiple small bags, and blades of all types—her mask resembling a human skull.
Offering no words, the masked woman simply presented Eutychia with a white board she held in both hands. ‘You are lucky I was here to help,’ she had written.
“Tsk!” the black knight clicked her tongue while lowering her gaze, running a finger through the fissure in her armor—pilling some of its broken steel in the process. “Hah… thanks.”
‘You are welcome.’
“How do you write that fast?”
‘Practice.’
“…!” Eutychia’s eyes widened with a gasp, remembering her words to the distressed boy she saved. She stormed behind the counter before pulling the trapdoor open, only to fix her gaze in the dark hallway underground.
‘He should be safe,’ Bianca tapped Eutychia’s shoulder to present her with a new message—receiving an acknowledging nod from the black knight.
“Yeah, I know.” Replied the princess, falling into silent contemplation for a second before speaking. “Did he pay you to help me? You don’t hang around for long unless money is involved.”
Her words caused the girl to tilt her head to the side, whatever puzzled expression she held being hidden under the mask. ‘Who?’ she wrote.
“Forget it,” Eutychia shook her head before jumping down into the underground hall—landing on her feet before gazing up at the girl. “You should abandon the area yourself, who knows how many of them are lurking around.” Her voice echoed.
Nodding in agreement, Bianca silently slammed the trapdoor behind her—casually sliding a rug on top of it, and turning the lights back off. The girl hurried back into the dark and desolated streets, and like a ghost that haunted during cold and lonely nights, her presence would camouflage within the white storm of snow, vanishing from view without a single trace.
Inside the dark underground hallway, with a tired black knight striding across its stone walls. Eutychia huffed through her lips while contemplating not only her situation, but that of the kingdom she insists in calling home. Her jaw clenched and brows furrowed, stretching her aching shoulders as she proceeded to walk along the dark cave.
“I have to be strong for my people…” she whispered. “This madness must end… and it will not be over until my father is dead.”
END OF CHAPTER