Sacrifice studied him carefully.
The silence stretched between them before she finally spoke.
[Sacrifice]: …He disappeared. Let me make sure I understand. Four Great Oathkeepers. Three are dead. One was Avenger.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
[Sacrifice]: Who were the others?
Farchaser stood very still.
For a moment, he did not answer.
The darkness of the Black Crown seemed to breathe around them.
Finally, he spoke.
[Farchaser]: The others were called Emperor… and Hero.
His voice was quieter now, as if the names themselves carried ghosts.
[Farchaser]: Avenger… you already know.
His gaze drifted somewhere far away.
[Farchaser]: He chased a monster into the sea.
A faint smile touched his lips, though there was no joy in it.
[Farchaser]: Some say the creature never existed.
A pause.
[Farchaser]: But Avenger never cared whether the monster was real.
His expression darkened.
[Farchaser]: He only cared to see his blade aimed at it.
Silence returned for a moment before he continued.
[Farchaser]: Emperor was different.
His voice carried something heavier now.
[Farchaser]: He believed the world could still be fixed.
A faint, tired breath escaped him.
[Farchaser]: He tried to build a nation where people would never need Oathkeepers again.
Farchaser lowered his head slightly.
[Farchaser]: A place where kings ruled with justice… and no child would grow up learning the language of war.
His hand slowly clenched.
[Farchaser]: He burned himself away trying to create it.
Sacrifice frowned faintly.
Farchaser nodded.
[Farchaser]: Emperor believed power could shape peace.
His voice grew bitter.
[Farchaser]: So he spent every piece of his strength protecting that land. Cities. Fields. Villages. Every day, his oath grew stronger. And every day it consumed more of him.
A pause.
[Farchaser]: When the enemy armies finally came… the people he had protected made their choice.
The darkness seemed heavier now.
[Sacrifice]: What choice?
Farchaser's eyes hardened.
[Farchaser]: They surrendered him.
A long silence followed.
[Farchaser]: They believed that if they offered their king… their protector… the invaders would spare them.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
[Farchaser]: They built a pyre.
Another pause.
[Farchaser]: And carried him to it themselves... He cried blood from sadness.
The air felt colder.
Sacrifice said nothing.
Farchaser exhaled slowly.
[Farchaser]: They were wrong.
A faint shadow crossed his face.
[Farchaser]: Unfortunately for them…
A small, sharp smile appeared.
[Farchaser]: Avenger was still alive.
His eyes flickered with something dangerous.
[Farchaser]: And his blade was still sharp.
The smile vanished quickly.
[Farchaser]: As for Hero…
His voice softened again.
[Farchaser]: Hero was loved everywhere.
A quiet breath escaped him.
[Farchaser]: He saved villages, stopped wars, healed the wounded… wherever he went, people believed salvation had arrived.
A faint sadness entered his expression.
[Farchaser]: Which made him very inconvenient.
Sacrifice tilted her head slightly.
[Farchaser]: To kings.
His tone was flat.
[Farchaser]: To emperors.
A pause.
[Farchaser]: To anyone who built power on fear.
The darkness stirred faintly.
[Farchaser]: Eventually… the nations of the world agreed on something.
Sacrifice waited.
[Farchaser]: Hero had to die.
The words echoed in the empty void.
[Farchaser]: So they gathered armies.
Farchaser's voice slowed, each word measured.
[Farchaser]: Not one nation. Not two. A coalition of kings from all over Terra.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
[Farchaser]: All to kill one man.
Sacrifice leaned forward slightly.
Farchaser's expression grew distant.
[Farchaser]: Hero fought them.
A beat.
[Farchaser]: For five days.
Another pause.
[Farchaser]: Five days of armies breaking against a single oath.
He shook his head slowly.
[Farchaser]: And still… they could not kill him.
The silence deepened.
Then Farchaser spoke again.
[Farchaser]: On the fifth day… a man arrived from Yan.
[Note: Guess who the man was]
His eyes darkened.
[Farchaser]: He challenged Hero to a duel.
Sacrifice frowned slightly.
[Sacrifice]: And Hero accepted?
Farchaser nodded once.
[Farchaser]: He had no choice.
A small pause.
[Farchaser]: Something about the man's challenge… bound Hero's oath.
His voice carried faint confusion even now.
[Farchaser]: For reasons I still do not fully understand…
[Farchaser]: Hero could not fight back.
The darkness seemed to tighten.
[Farchaser]: And yet he accepted the duel.
Sacrifice's voice was quiet.
Farchaser stared into the abyss.
[Farchaser]: Because that {Sarkaz ancient curses} oath bound him, and Oathkeepers.
A pause.
[Farchaser]: They follow their oaths.
His voice lowered further.
[Farchaser]: Even when it kills them.
Silence.
[Farchaser]: The man from Yan crushed Hero's heart.
Another pause.
[Farchaser]: And the war ended.
Sacrifice spoke after a moment.
[Sacrifice]: Avenger allowed that man to live?
Farchaser nodded slowly.
[Farchaser]: Avenger found him later.
A faint shadow crossed his face.
[Farchaser]: He carved wounds across the man's body. Again. And again. And again.
His voice turned quiet.
[Farchaser]: But he never struck the final blow.
Sacrifice studied him.
Farchaser's answer came after a long pause.
[Farchaser]: Because Avenger understood something.
The darkness seemed to settle around his words.
[Farchaser]: Killing him would not undo Hero's death.
Another pause.
[Farchaser]: And sometimes…
His voice grew almost tired.
[Farchaser]: The cruelest revenge… is letting a man live with what he has done.
A faint shadow crossed his face.
[Farchaser]: Especially when he knew exactly what kind of thing that man truly was.
Silence returned to the Black Crown.
The darkness seemed to settle again, like dust falling over old graves.
After a while, Farchaser spoke once more.
[Farchaser]: It saddens me.
His voice was quieter now.
[Farchaser]: There was a time when the name Oathkeeper could be heard everywhere in this world.
A pause.
[Farchaser]: In cities… on battlefields… in the stories people told their children.
He exhaled slowly.
His gaze drifted into the endless dark.
[Farchaser]: I would be surprised if even five of them are still alive.
Another long silence followed.
Then he spoke again, more thoughtfully this time.
[Farchaser]: Sometimes I wonder…
His voice carried an old weariness.
[Farchaser]: If Scholar had not chosen to disappear… what would have become of the Oathkeepers?
His eyes narrowed slightly, remembering something distant.
[Farchaser]: Would their fate have been different?
A small pause.
His voice dropped almost to a whisper.
[Farchaser]: Will the future he once showed me… still come to pass?
The Black Crown did not answer.
The silence that followed felt heavier than before, like the weight of countless watching kings pressing down from the darkness.
Farchaser let out a slow breath.
[Farchaser]: Looks like your time is up, little kin.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
[Farchaser]: Have a safe journey.
He turned slightly, already beginning to fade back into the endless dark.
[Farchaser]: And remember…
His voice softened.
[Farchaser]: We will be watching your path.
Then his expression changed.
Instantly.
The calm vanished from his face.
First confusion.
Then realization.
Then pure horror.
The word tore from his throat.
[Farchaser]: RUN.
A heartbeat later—
CRACK
A gunshot shattered the silence.
The darkness of the Black Crown split apart as if pierced by lightning.
A glowing bullet tore through Sacrifice's stomach.
It passed clean through her body and slammed into something unseen behind her.
The impact echoed like metal striking stone.
A voice spoke from the darkness.
Calm.
Curious.
[???]: So… people like her are called Oathkeepers.
A quiet chuckle followed.
[???]: How interesting.
—
Sacrifice's eyes snapped open.
Cold air filled her lungs.
Pain burned through her body.
The Black Crown was gone.
Instead, she saw firelight flickering above her.
The smell of smoke and roasted meat filled the air.
Three mercenaries sat around a crude campfire.
For a moment, none of them moved.
Then one of them noticed.
The man froze.
His knife slipped from his hand.
Because the corpse they had been using as a spit over the fire—
Had just opened its eyes.
Sacrifice slowly turned her head.
The mercenaries stared at her in absolute horror.
One of them whispered shakily.
[mercenary 33]:...She was dead.
Another stumbled backward, knocking over a pot.
[mercenary 34]: Boss… tell me you're not angry.
Sacrifice blinked once.
Her voice was weak, but perfectly calm.
[Sacrifice]: I believe…
She looked down at the wound in her stomach.
Then back at them.
[Sacrifice]: You were cooking me.
Silence fell over the camp.
Then one of the mercenaries screamed.
[Chapter end]