Standing atop a small mountain of corpses, the bloodied figure of a young man could be seen. His eyes were bloodshot as he leaned on his sword panting. The rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the shore was strangely calming as he stood there catching his breath.

"Good work as always, Ari. I gotta say are all knights as terrifying as you back in the academy?"

Ari turned to glare at the middle-aged man who approached him with an icy gaze causing the latter to raise his hands in the air.

"Whoah, sorry. I forgot you don't like to be associated with them anymore."

Ari released a deep breath and flicked the blood off his sword before he placed it back inside its sheath. His eyes studied the scene of carnage before him with no change in emotions.

It has been a while since he left the academy and went to wander around the continent as a sword for hire. And it has been even longer since that dreaded incident.

Looking at the broken, half-sinking pirate boats in front of him seemed to trigger a dormant memory. One he almost wished he could forget. Alas, life was not that forgiving. Every night he would wake up drenched in a cold sweat. The nightmares did not leave him.

The figure of Jana laughing by his side for one second, and then- that blue monster coming out of the sea and eradicating their boat. He survived, albeit barely. But he survived nonetheless.

With her gone, however, his light, his purpose was gone with her. What was he supposed to do? At first, the thought of revenge clouded his mind. He hated the academy for cowering away in fear, he hated their defensive attitude, but most importantly, he hated his own weak self the most.

But after a while, the anger slowly subsided leaving behind nothing but endless grief. His heart was hollow, and so he jumped from battlefield to battlefield.

He no longer cared about his life, if anything he wished for the sweet release of death. At least then-then maybe he could see her again. But as if by some cruel joke, the more recklessly he fought, the more renowned and stronger he became.

He even earned himself a nickname, albeit not a very pleasant-sounding one; 'The dead man'. He didn't know but at some point, his story became well-known. In some parts, it was exaggerated beyond belief.

What could he do, however? People tended to believe whatever they wanted. Some said he fought the Dragon valiantly but fell short in the end, others said he even managed to injure the beast.

"Ridiculous." He mumbled as he thought back to some of the stories he had heard on the way. None of them knew how terrifying the creature was, he knew. He knew it all too well.

How could he be a match for a creature that had destroyed an entire kingdom overnight?

Shaking his head, Ari stepped away from the battlefield and made his way back to the village chief's building to get paid. They had survived the pirate's attack thanks to him this time. The promised reward was sure to last him for a while.

****

Leaving the small seaside village behind, the lone knight continued his aimless journey. His heart was full of complicated emotions and pain, yet his steps were firm and steady.

He had heard from some of the villagers that there existed a strange cave to the north, closer to the borders of the Lumia empire. Most of the hunters said they tended to avoid that place like plague ever since a group of them fainted by the entrance and died.

Some of the survivors mentioned hearing strange whispers that almost turned them mad causing them to flee from that place. Ever since then, no one dared to approach the cave. They had already asked for the governor's help, but the dynasty hardly cared about small-time villages like theirs so no help ever came. That was until Ari arrived.

Curious about what the abnormality was, he slowly followed the path described by the villagers and approached the cave. The terrain slowly changed, from an ancient forest to a large mountainous region.

He was already very close to the borders. His steps were light as he began his climb. With his trained body, the trip wasn't very hard. The second the entrance was visible, however, shivers ran down his spine.

Ari glanced down at his hands only to find them shaking. He didn't know why, but whatever was inside the cave brought him so much horror, almost similar to that dreaded day...

"I-Is it a dragon?" He mumbled before he gritted his teeth and walked forward.

The sudden whispers assaulted his mind abruptly causing his steps to stagger. The language was not something he could understand. Just listening to it was driving him crazy. He quickly circulated his powers and instantly felt a lot better.

The whispers seemed to subside but did not disappear completely.

"Just what the hell-"

He slowly drew his sword and nervously stepped inside the dim cave. His heart palpated with every step he took. The deeper he walked the harder it became for him to breathe.

Yet before long, Ari found himself standing face-to-face with a large ancient door. It was an ancient brown-colored door, with all sorts of strange ruins carved into It, strange letters were etched at the very bottom and very top of it.

The second his gaze landed on the door, Ari's eyes widened as he hurriedly turned to face away from it. He barely caught a glimpse of the door before decisively turning around. His aura hurriedly rushed to strengthen his body as his sword began to glow brightly.

It was then that the sound of the ancient door opening was heard. Ari's heart threatened to leap out of his chest as he hastily closed his eyes. He didn't know why he did it, only that he would die if he caught a glimpse of whatever that thing was.

The temperature in the cave seemed to plummet as his teeth chattered as he struggled to stay standing. It was then that the whispers came back. Only this time stronger, much stronger.

He did not understand the words, but somehow, Ari seemed to be able to understand the intent behind them. Whatever creature it was, it was trying to entice him. It promised him power while It kept showing him visions of Jana dying, of the blue dragon, and of him laying helpless in the water.

Yet, although he was terrified, Ari gritted his teeth and spoke: "Fuck off!"