Deep in the redwood forest, far away from the three dragon killers a man moved through the brush beneath the gargantuan trees covered in their distinctive red bark stretching into the sky. Moving almost completely silently like a shadow fleeting through the forest, a small distance parallel to the road, he acted almost as if he were searching for something.
Coming upon a massive wall of thorns, he hesitated for a moment before parting the brambles and pushing his way to the other side untouched, even his dark cloak was still pristine.
"Impressive." A voice spoke once he reached the other side.
Looking up, he couldn't believe where he was, standing in the middle of a natural garden blooming with redwood sprouts and colorful flowers. It all was bathed in the glowing yellow light of the sunset, and most likely the only spot in the forest that was. This was however, not the most astonishing thing in this place; standing in the center was a man admiring the apple tree in the center, as if radiating light.
This was no ordinary man, dressed in an open white robe cut off a few inches below his waist and loose white pants tucked into white boots, and with the finest gold showing symbols and outlining his clothing. It was like he had already known that the cloaked man was coming through the thorns without ever turning his head.
"What is your name, assassin?" the man in white asked pointedly.
The cloaked man lowered his hood, showing a pale face with spiky brown hair, wearing a calm look across his face. "My name is Alexios, and yours?"
He still did not turn his head when he answered, "I am the one who walks with humanity. Tell me what is your purpose here, avoiding the beaten path and crawling through the brush like a rodent?" Alexios's expression turned to anger at the sound of the disrespect and raised his tone slightly, "It is none of your concern, now leave this place or else I'll have to make you leave."
The man in white turned to face him, showing nothing but a calm expression, and Alexios noticed for the first time that he had a glowing ring hovering over his head and assumed it was magic.
"I will do as I wish, and I wish to tell you that if you are here to attempt to kill those three that are headed in this direction, then I must ask you to turn back."
It was clear Alexios had never experienced anything like this in his life, and he could not hide the look of pure bewilderment on his face. "Are you threatening me!? You do know what I am capable of, and my success rate alone? I have only ever let one target go, and that is because I was sabotaged." The man's expression did not change,
"I do know some of your 'accomplishments' however, I would not classify them that way. Death is severance and you kill for money, an ultimate act of disrespect towards the philosophy, the journey, and the spiritual meaning behind it. Breaking that cycle is not within your authority. But I will give you this one chance to escape and live another day so that I might not have to put an end to your story before you can face redemption."
The lecture only hardened Alexios' resolve: "I never break a contract and will risk everything on the integrity of my work, now prepare to die for your foolish morals!" Alexios drew a long, red curved sword with a handle wrapped in red cloth from his baggy garments and took a peculiar fighting stance.
"I gave you a choice, and by your free will, you will die for it. I have done all I could, but I cannot let you kill any of those three." The man in white raised his arm as if he were holding a sword, and in that moment, materializing out of thin air with a flash was a golden straight blade with one edge and a white ribbon attached to the end of the handle.
"Neat trick, but it won't help you now." Alexios charged straight at him, only for his blade to strike the air, and he hit the ground with a thud.
The man in white was standing over him now, his golden blade raised and catching the dying light of the sun in the final moments of Alexios.