The air was heavy.Thick with tension, choked by unshed tears, smothered by the weight of betrayal.
Above, the night sky loomed vast and merciless. The silence was unbroken, save for the mocking brilliance of the moon—bathed him in light far too pure for such a cruel end.
Arthur's breaths came ragged and shallow, scraping against his lungs as though even the air itself refused to accept him. His body trembled uncontrollably. Not from wounds of the flesh—no, the torment ran deeper. It was the kind of pain that could not be seen. The kind of pain that shredded the soul.
Betrayal.Sharper than steel. Heavier than chains.
Why? His mind screamed. Why must my story end like this? What sin have I committed? What crime warrants this fate?
He clenched his jaw, teeth grinding, as tears of rage brimmed in his eyes.I gave everything. Every breath, every ounce of strength, every dream—I offered it to the kingdom, to my people. I bled for them, killed for them, abandoned my humanity for them… And this? This is what I receive in return?
His gaze lifted. Slowly. Painfully.Toward the figures standing before him.
Faces he once trusted. Companions he once cherished. Those who had basked in his unwavering loyalty, those who had stood at his side as if bound by fate.
His eyes, hollow and bloodshot, locked onto them with a sorrow so raw it could tear the heavens apart.
"You… bastards…" His voice cracked, trembling between despair and rage. "Not a flicker of guilt. Not a shred of regret. You watch me fall—and not a single one of you even flinches! To you, I was nothing the moment I ceased to be useful. Nothing but a burden. Nothing but… a threat."
Silence.No words of denial. No cries of remorse.
Only the whisper of the night wind brushing past, cold and indifferent.
Their gazes were empty. Void of warmth. To them, Arthur's existence—his struggles, his sacrifices, his very life—was nothing. A shadow fading into nothingness. A tool discarded the moment it dulled.
A bitter laugh slipped from his lips. Broken. Hollow.
"I see it now. Every promise of glory, every vow of brotherhood—it was all a lie. Strings of deceit spun to keep me obedient. In the end, I was nothing more than a weapon. A sword wielded without thought… and thrown aside once blunt."
Steel gleamed.The blade pierced his chest.
The warmth of life spilled forth, staining the earth beneath him. His body sagged, heavy with finality.
His breaths grew weaker. Shallower. Until they were almost gone.
And yet—his expression twisted into something grotesque. Not sorrow. Not rage.
His lips stretched into a grin.Exaggerated. Sharp. Broken.
A smile that mocked the world itself.