Veer sat on horseback, motionless except for the slow tightening of his grip.Far ahead, the horizon was wrong—darkness there twisted as though stirred by an unseen hand, pooling around Drudar like a living tide.
He stared into it for so long that Sythris, riding beside him, finally turned her head.Her navy-blue armor bore long cracks across its surface, yet she maintained the composed grace of a knight who had already accepted the burden of command.
At the front of the column rode the Grey Knight commander.Usually, her very presence pressed on the air like a blade, but today her movements carried a muted heaviness—as though something had drained her certainty.
Hundreds of knights marched behind them, their steps orderly but faintly hollow. The tension spreading through the ranks felt like an invisible weight settling onto their shoulders.
Sythris glanced at Veer again, then let out a quiet breath.
"Veer… are you alright?"
He nodded, but his eyes never left the distant dark.
At that moment—something brushed across him.
Not wind.Not killing intent.Something far more delicate, like a fingertip trailing across the surface of his mind.
Veer's pupils tightened.He turned sharply toward the Drudar Kingdom.
His expression held a rare uncertainty.
As though somewhere… impossibly far… someone was watching him through a window he could not see.
Something that carried warmth—but also an unfathomable depth.
Behind them, the younger soldiers carried on obliviously.
"Whoever fought the commander must've been terrifying," Kerin muttered, staring at the cracks in her armor.
Another girl grinned nervously."I bet it was some hidden expert from Breaven. Maybe they got crushed too. Wouldn't that be poetic?"
Her laugh rang hollow.
Kerin glanced again at Veer—who still looked toward the distant kingdom, as if listening to a whisper only he could hear.
...
A soft ripple spread across the mirror's surface, distorting its reflection like a faint breath drawn in reverse.
A girl stepped out.
Her blonde hair fell like strands of liquid gold, her eyes deeper than the ocean's trenches—serene, but carrying a quiet gravity that made the surrounding air feel thinner.Her gown shimmered faintly with colors difficult to name, as though the fabric itself resisted mundane description.
Eryssa halted by the tall window.
Her gaze drifted far—so far it seemed to pass through walls, through distances, through the very boundary that separated kingdoms.The corner of her lips curved in a gentle, inexplicable smile.
A cluster of priestesses hurried in, their hurried steps breaking the silence.
"Princess Eryssa, Your Highness—are you well?"Their voices overlapped, trembling with concern.
Eryssa blinked, as though their presence reminded her she was meant to exist here, not in the faraway place where her mind had wandered.She opened her mouth slightly, puzzled. Something tugged faintly at her senses—a thread she had brushed a moment earlier.
Before she could speak, her expression shifted.Her brows knitted by an almost imperceptible degree.
Without warning, a slash cut through the air.
The marble wall behind her cracked open silently before collapsing in a rain of dust. A powerful figure stood among the debris—a Grey Knight, his armor stained with dust and blood, his eyes devoid of ordinary emotion.
The priestesses screamed.His sword was already descending toward Eryssa.
She moved.
No flourish, no panic—just a light tap of her fingers against the blade's flat, and she stepped back as though performing a practiced dance.
The enormous force meant for her rebounded.The Grey Knight stumbled, a thin line of blood spilling from his lips.
Around them, the priestesses collapsed one by one—some unconscious, others buried under the fallen stone.
A faint emerald glow draped itself across Eryssa's body, as though something unseen had answered a call she never voiced.
The knight let out a ragged laugh.
He reached into his armor and produced a small fruit—simple, unassuming—yet familiar enough to twist fate itself had Veer been present to witness it. It was the same fruit he had taken from ruins for Alicia.
Holding it aloft, the knight whispered hoarsely:
"Emerald… daze…"
The words scraped the air like a curse.
The emerald glow around Eryssa flickered for the first time.Her eyes widened a fraction—then lost their focus.
The world tilted.
Her knees gave way, and she collapsed like a marionette with cut strings.
The knight caught her gently, almost reverently, lifting her in his arms before turning away.
As he carried her through the ruined hall, the dust began to settle.
From the shadows of the fallen rubble, three priestesses stirred.Their eyes opened in perfect unison—cold, lucid, aware.
"It is time," they whispered, their voices melding into one.
"To rise."
…..
Eleana was barely able to move after all the fighting. A number of knights — more like puppets now — were clinging to her ankles, and even when she cut them down, they kept moving. Strange strings were joining the dead knights together as chaos unfolded.
John was running back toward the boundaries of the Drudar Kingdom, as were the other knights. Darkness was spreading as the dead bodies began their march toward the surviving knights.
The battle had become nothing more than a desperate attempt to escape, everyone scrambling for their lives. Whoever died joined the dead, and the enemy only grew.
From the massive hand formed in the darkness, strange sounds echoed as the shadows devoured Drudar. It clung to the strange core of Merissa as the darkness spread. The dead continued to fight the living. Eleana and John fought side by side, flinging puppet-like corpses everywhere. Soon they were joined by Nyelle, Vridga, Marvis, Ryelle, and all the remaining captains—except for the dead ones and Merissa.
The enemy captains glanced toward the Drudar captains, silently fending off the undead as they moved. Everyone knew this was not the time to speak. John muttered, "You guys actually did it… was this the queen's idea?" Everyone ran as Neigrel and Sethsi nodded. The battlefield had already turned into a horrific, blood-soaked nightmare. The atmosphere was chilling enough to grip even the captains' hearts.
Once they had been enemies, but now the enemy had changed. As they pushed forward, the darkness felt endless. Nyelle's punches shattered everything in their path, but the undead army only grew larger. They managed to rescue nearly a thousand knights as they neared the outer edge of the battlefield. The knights were terrified, muttering, "What is happening…?" Many were crying, but they continued following the captains. The captains did not console them—they themselves were the most confused of all.
Eleana slashed again, sending a cluster of undead sprawling back. Knights behind her chanted, "Thank you, my lady… your grace…"
John was ahead, doing something strange again. Marvis guarded the left flank, protecting the rescued knights. Eleana held the rear, Nyelle took the left, and Rhaelle and Symon defended the right, forming an almost impenetrable formation.
Suddenly, John thrust his sword into the darkness surrounding them. Up close, the darkness looked like a swarm of hollow insects to the captains. As John pushed forward, the darkness slowly cleared, revealing a narrow path leading outside the battlefield. But no one felt relief—outside, the darkness was spreading as well.
"Let's go," John said in a heavy voice.
One by one they moved out, still fending off the undead, who continued to pour in. When they finally emerged from the giant mass of darkness, John looked at the sky and said, "It'll spread soon… it'll swallow Drudar. Only His Majesty can save us now…" He turned to the Breavan captains and shouted at Vridga, "You bastards… what have you conspired?!"
"We can't wait. Let's go!" he ordered.
Just then, a violent burst erupted ahead as the darkness exploded from above. They were so close to escaping the dark shroud. As the shadows cleared, Eleana's pupils shrank.
"It's him… the knight from back then…"
Vridga, Sethsi, Neigrel, Kandra, and the other surviving Breavan knights froze and shouted, "Prince! Princess!"
John's expression hardened. "The situation is still escalating… prepare yourselves."
Five figures stood in their path, blocking their escape. John looked back to see undead crawling out of the darkness. The situation was worsening by the second.
The tallest Breavan prince laughed heartily. "Sister… he'll be here soon. You can have him in a moment. But where is my princess? I can't find her."
The tall girl beside him laughed in a provocative tone. "Ahhh… finally. After such a long wait…" Her robe fluttered as she pulled out a long scythe. The prince raised a glowing book, its pages flipping rapidly on their own.
Another familiar figure appeared. Nyelle screamed, "Bitch, you came again!"
The reply echoed from the other side. "I came to give you a present, sister."
Noelle glared furiously.
Another presence approached—veiled, obscured by the remaining darkness.
Eleana's gaze snapped to the veiled woman."She feels familiar…" she whispered.
The Breavan captains murmured with trembling voices, "Why this… my prince… princess…"
The princess only smirked. "Trash doesn't need to know everything."
Her scythe suddenly extended, and she appeared right in front of Vridga. Before he could react, a streak of blood splashed as he collapsed, dead.
Nyelle threw a barrage of punches, but the princess vanished and reappeared beside her brother. Catching her breath, she looked down and asked him, "Will he like this, brother?"
He nodded and stepped forward. As he walked, the darkness raged around them.
"I will take what I desire," he declared. "By the command of Breavan's hearts—I, William Bartekier Breaver, summon the ancestral protector of my kingdom, the spiraling drake… the one who rivals even the Aetherials…"
He vomited blood but continued, "For the destruction of Drudar… and the coming eve of our goddess… we pray for your descent."
The darkness screamed as light burst forth. Something enormous began to emerge. The entire land shook. Eleana and the others looked up to see a coiled figure descending from the sky. As it drew near, their knees buckled and they almost collapsed. Even the prince crawled backward in the sheer pressure. Noelle, and the princess gasped but the veiled woman remained unmovable.
Suddenly, a burst of emerald light flashed — the spiraling drake vanished before fully materializing. The skies cleared slightly, and two colossal manifestations appeared above: a yellow coiling dragon, and an emerald bow.
The prince stood, laughing. "I knew it! The bow awakened — that's why we had to do all this!"
There was a emerald arrow on the ground that snapped like breaking into glass pieces the next second.
In the next instant, another Eleana appeared behind the princess and slashed her. Both the prince and princess screamed. Blood dripped, but before the blade could go deeper, a hand caught Eleana's sword. Far away, the real Eleana coughed blood and collapsed. The phantom Eleana was covered in strings — a puppet — and it reappeared behind John, attacking.
John was prepared. With precise movement, he dodged and destroyed the puppet of Eleana's clone.
The other knight leapt forward, landing near John. He drew his sword. John raised his own to parry but from his stance his confidence was low— but their blades never met.
A new figure had stepped between them.The figure was a woman knight and had parried the heavy strike that shaked the ground.
The commander had returned, with reinforcements.