A man wearing a black cloak stood before another man whose hands were tainted with blood. His sword that was once a blade of hope and prosperity of the kingdom was now dripping with blood of his own colleagues and the one they serve, the King himself. From the tip of his bloody sword, Reigies slowly looked up at the cloaked man. As usual, his face was not visible to him. All he could see beneath his hood was darkness. It was as if he was staring at an abyss everytime he would stare at him. A feeling of a strange familiarity enveloping his heart.

"You need not have to do this..." The cloaked man said, disappointment filling his voice. "Catherine wouldn't be happy if she was here."

For a moment, Reigies stared at the man before letting out a soft chuckle that turned into a menacing laugh. After a while, he sighed. "Why? Would she have preferred if I was the one lifelessly lying on the ground?" He grinned.

"That's not what I meant, Reigies."

Reigies did not reply. Instead, he continued staring at the man with that grin not leaving his face. However, his hazel eyes that were once filled with anger were now lifeless. He was tired. All those memories that were not his own but also his, kept on haunting him ever since that day he had swung his sword at his sister, causing her death. Upon realizing his mistakes, discovering truths that were buried for years and regaining memories that were part of his soul..He felt like he  was going insane every minute that would pass by.

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'My foolishness... Again and again--- Why do I keep on repeating the same mistake?' He agonized.

Without realizing, tears started streaming down his face as he felt his chest tightening. It was as if  his heart was being gripped tightly.

"It hurts." He whispered, his hushed voice somehow echoing in the whole place.

"I know how you feel." The cloaked man solemnly replied.

"Hah!" Reigies scoffed. "Really now?" He sarcastically said standing up, dragging his sword as he approached the cloaked man. "You? A suspicious person who would just appear out of no where from time to time?" He then raised his sword, pointing its tip at the cloaked man's chest. "Should I also just kill you here and now?"

There was a moment of deafening silence before the cloaked man spoke. 

"I know you more than you yourself. No one knows how you feel more than I do. You thought you've seen all of it but in fact, you have only seen less than half of it. I am not blaming you, however, I can't help but think how unfair things could be. The further I go, the more that I lose myself." He then raise his right hand, his palm facing Reigies' forehead. "This is how far I go, Reigies. I've come a long journey and finally, I have the power in which we've always wanted to have." Before Reigies could react, a ball of light had already blinded him.

"At least once, make that child smile."