The sky darkened beneath the flight of countless crows.
Black wings crossed over one another, hiding the sun for brief moments.
CRAAAH.
CRAAAH.
Their cries spread above the plains.
Below them...
The five fronts continued to tremble beneath successive impacts.
Craters scarred the earth.
Blood flowed through the mud.
The smell of blood lingered on the wind.
Far above the plains...
Upon the walls of Arkhel...
Oryn remained motionless beneath the pavilion erected at the highest point.
The long dark cloak moved subtly beneath the wind.
His hands rested joined behind his back.
His blue-gray eyes silently swept across the entire expanse of the plains.
A knight stood a few steps behind him.
His head remained lowered.
Not a single word had been spoken.
Oryn continued observing the battlefield for a few more moments.
"Speak."
The knight kept his head lowered.
"We received confirmation from all five fronts, Lord Oryn."
"Of the hundred thousand sent..."
"Ninety-seven thousand have already been confirmed dead or devoured."
Oryn remained silent.
The knight breathed quietly.
For the first time...
He hesitated.
"Some of the wounded are gathered before the gates..."
"They are begging for them to be opened."
Oryn did not take his eyes off the plains.
"The battle is not over yet."
The knight quietly clenched his hands.
"But, Lord Oryn..."
"Keep the gates closed."
The knight remained silent.
Oryn slowly turned his face toward the knight.
His eyes met his.
The knight's black eyes lost their firmness for a brief moment.
He lowered his head.
But his fists remained clenched.
His voice came out almost in a whisper.
"My brother..."
"Is among them."
No emotion crossed Oryn's face.
"Until the last man, each shall fulfill his role."
His voice remained calm.
"That was the oath they all made when they put on this armor."
The knight remained motionless.
His fingers tightened so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"As you command, Lord Oryn."
Oryn continued staring at the knight for a few moments.
"Tell m—"
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
The shout crossed the wall.
Oryn immediately turned his gaze.
Several crows had landed upon the parapet.
Their black feathers stirred only enough to follow the wind.
CRAAAH.
One of them slowly tilted its head.
Its black eyes remained fixed on Oryn.
Oryn subtly narrowed his eyes.
For a moment...
Neither of them looked away.
Then...
The crow opened its wings.
FWHOOSH.
It took flight.
He followed its movement for only an instant.
"They say no one notices when you arrive..."
"I see that rumor was true."
Oryn slowly turned around.
A young man stood motionless a few steps behind the kneeling knight.
The black armor remained marked by the blows of the recent battle.
Even so, it fit his body like a second skin.
The narrow plates of matte steel formed sharp and precise lines, joined by dark leather that eliminated any sound during movement.
There were no unnecessary adornments.
Every detail seemed forged for speed, precision, and silence.
Upon the breastplate...
The head of a wolf with a ferocious gaze stood out in a discreet relief.
The black fauld fell to knee height, divided into panels that naturally followed the body.
The sheath rested angled beside the left side of his waist, secured by a black leather support that favored a quick draw.
The katana remained in his hand.
The blade possessed a deep black color, similar to polished obsidian.
Only a thin crimson-red line crossed the center of the blade, extending from the base to the tip.
The tip of the katana remained pointed at the knight's neck.
A thin thread of blood slowly ran down his throat.
The knight had not even noticed when that blade reached his neck.
Oryn slowly raised his gaze.
Pale skin contrasted against short black hair, whose longer strands subtly reached the nape of his neck.
Those black eyes...
Deep.
There was no hostility.
There was no haste.
Only absolute silence.
Neither of them looked away.
The wind seemed to cease for a brief moment.
"I heard many rumors about you during the last two years..."
Oryn's voice came out low.
"Your Highness, Éon."
His eyes remained upon Éon.
"Some tell how you earned the title of Black Wolf."
"Others claim that those marked never perceive your presence before the first cut."
His gaze slowly descended to the katana.
"But among all of them..."
"The rumor that piqued my curiosity the most was the one about your katana."
His eyes remained on the black blade.
"They say it acquired that color after drinking the blood of countless enemies..."
A brief pause.
"...and that it is not satisfied with blood alone."
"They say it devours their shadows as well."
A faint smile appeared on Oryn's face.
"I confess..."
"I am beginning to believe that some of those rumors may be true."
Éon remained staring at him for a few seconds.
Then he answered:
"I've heard about you as well."
Oryn's smile did not fade.
"While hunting the traitors of the North..."
"Your name appeared often."
Oryn slightly inclined his head.
"If you came to visit them..."
"I suppose none of them survived to tell that story again."
Silence once again occupied the pavilion.
Éon spoke soon after:
"They all made the same choice."
His eyes remained on Oryn.
"I want to know..."
A brief pause.
"Will yours be different?"
A faint smile appeared once more upon Oryn's lips.
"I see the last report was true..."
"You really do offer your enemies a choice."
His eyes never left Éon.
"I'm afraid that would be a wast—"
FWHOOOSH!
Éon disappeared.
BOOOOOOM!!
The front edge of the pavilion exploded.
Wooden beams split in half.
Fragments tore through the air.
CRAAAH!!
The crows perched upon the wall took flight at the same time.
The roar echoed across the wall.
The soldiers immediately turned toward the explosion.
None of them understood what had happened.
For a brief instant...
Only dust.
When it began to settle...
Oryn was being violently pressed against the parapet of the wall.
Blood slowly ran over the cracked stone.
Before him...
Éon stood motionless.
His right arm fully extended.
The katana remained buried in Oryn's body.
Neither of them moved.
The soldiers' eyes widened.
"LORD ORYN!!"
Twelve knights advanced at the same time.
Some drew their swords.
Others were already raising their spears.
Éon did not even turn his face.
Oryn's expression had not changed.
His right hand remained closed around the black blade.
Blood slowly flowed between his fingers.
The tip of the katana had been diverted by only a few centimeters.
Instead of his heart...
It was buried deep within his left shoulder.
Oryn held Éon's gaze.
A faint smile remained upon his lips.
"I hope they told you this as well..."
"I am considerably difficult to kill."
The knights did not hesitate.
Blades came from every direction.
One aimed for his throat.
Another for his flank.
Spears sought Éon's back...
He pulled the katana from Oryn's shoulder.
SCHLK.
Blood scattered through the air.
At the same instant...
His body disappeared.
FWHOOSH!
The blades passed through nothing but emptiness.
"What...?!"
The knights' eyes widened.
CLANG!
The sole of Éon's boot landed upon the extended blades.
With a single push...
His body crossed the space above the men's heads.
When his feet touched the wall again, he was already several meters away.
The black katana rested low beside his body.
The knights immediately turned.
They formed a barrier between Éon and Oryn.
Some kept their swords raised.
Others pointed their spears.
Behind the barrier formed by the knights...
Oryn slowly rose.
His hand remained pressed against the pierced shoulder.
Blood flowed between his fingers.
Even so...
His breathing remained exactly the same.
His blue-gray eyes remained fixed upon Éon.
The black katana spun once in his hand.
FWHIP.
The blade returned to rest beside his body.
Then...
Éon began to walk.
One of the knights tightened his grip around the sword hilt.
"Lord Oryn, the alarm has already been sounded..."
His voice came out low.
"The reinforcements are coming."
Oryn nodded.
No other order was necessary.
Ten of the knights advanced in perfect synchronization.
Éon continued advancing.
His eyes traveled across the formation only once.
Four spearmen held the front line.
Six swordsmen advanced along the sides, protecting the flanks and preventing any opening.
Behind them...
Two knights remained close to Oryn.
A disciplined formation.
Each man possessed a function.
Each position had a purpose.
But all of them shared the same certainty...
They believed they were protecting one another.
The first spearman thrust.
FWHISH!
Éon did not retreat.
His body sank beneath the spear tip.
The steel passed close to his hair.
In the same movement, his left hand slid along the shaft.
He guided it only a few centimeters out of line.
The katana traced a short arc.
SCHLK.
The knight's two hands separated from the spear.
Before the body could fall...
Éon had already driven his foot into the man's chest.
BOOM!
The body was hurled backward.
It crashed violently into the other spearmen.
The formation lost its alignment.
Two soldiers advanced at the same time.
One horizontal cut.
One vertical.
Éon did not answer with the katana.
His foot found the shaft of the spear that had just fallen.
With a single push...
His body rose.
The two swords passed beneath him.
During the jump...
His right foot landed upon one swordsman's shoulder.
Then upon another's helmet.
One more push.
His body crossed above the entire battle line.
The knights raised their heads.
Too late.
Éon had already landed behind the formation.
One of the men protecting Oryn advanced without hesitation.
The sword described a powerful arc, attempting to prevent any approach.
Éon advanced at that same instant.
A single step shortened the entire distance.
The katana traveled through a tiny arc.
SHHK.
The black blade passed through the man's throat.
His eyes widened.
The sword slipped from his fingers.
The body collapsed heavily upon the wall.
The other man moved to close the line between Éon and Oryn.
At the same instant...
The swordsmen turned almost simultaneously.
"Protect Lord Oryn!"
Blood was still running over the stone when they broke their own formation.
Two knights advanced from different directions...
Trying to surround him before he reached Oryn.
Éon reacted immediately.
His body slid exactly through the gap created between two knights who were still trying to reorganize their positions.
The katana traced an ascending arc.
SHLK.
The first swordsman's armpit opened.
Without interrupting the turn of his hips...
The cut returned.
This time horizontally.
The second had his throat opened before he could even complete his charge.
The two bodies fell.
The remaining spearmen finally managed to turn around.
The spears lowered almost at the same time.
The distance was sufficient.
Not for Éon.
Instead of advancing...
He launched his body against the wall's own parapet.
His body gained height.
The three spears crossed beneath him.
During the fall...
The katana remained drawn close to his hip.
Only at the instant he crossed the line of the spear tips...
Was it unsheathed.
SHHHLK!
The black blade described a single arc.
The three spearmen remained motionless for a brief moment.
Then...
Three red lines appeared simultaneously across their necks.
The heads separated almost at the same time.
The bodies fell while still holding the spears.
Before they even hit the stone...
Two swordsmen advanced.
The swords descended from opposite sides.
Éon landed.
His body spun close to the stone, using the momentum of his own fall.
The katana described a low arc.
SHLK.
The black blade passed through both swordsmen's legs at shin height.
Both lost their footing at the same instant.
The screams echoed across the wall.
The formation was gone.
For a brief moment...
Only silence remained.
The two remaining knights of the former formation stood motionless.
Their eyes traveled across the bodies scattered upon the wall.
The hesitation lasted only an instant.
FWHISH!
Éon was already moving.
The katana described two short arcs.
SHLK.
SHLK.
Their throats opened almost simultaneously.
The bodies fell before the swords even slipped from their hands.
Éon did not even watch them fall.
He continued advancing toward Oryn.
The last knight remained motionless.
His sword steady before him.
Unlike the others...
He did not advance.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Only determination.
Oryn watched Éon's approach.
Soon...
His left hand came to rest upon the man's shoulder.
"Lord—"
The voice barely left his lips.
At that same instant...
A coldness spread through his entire body.
Strength abandoned his muscles.
His skin paled.
His breathing failed.
"You fulfilled your function."
Oryn's words remained calm.
As they were spoken...
Éon was already crossing the final meters separating them.
When the distance became short enough for a single advance...
Oryn slowly raised his right hand.
His fingers moved in a single gesture.
FWOOOOM!!
An invisible force exploded between the two.
The stone of the wall shattered.
Éon was torn from the ground before he could even complete the final step.
His body crossed the parapet like a projectile.
BOOOOM!
Fragments of stone followed his trajectory.
Without looking away...
Oryn moved his hand only once.
The man's body was torn from the ground and thrown beyond the wall.
As both of them plummeted toward the plains...
Oryn's blue-gray eyes remained fixed upon Éon.
"The last report I received placed you at Kharadun Fortress."
A brief pause.
"The distance to Arkhel is not small."
"And yet..."
"You arrived sooner than you should have."
A faint smile appeared upon his lips.
"I observed each one of your movements during the confrontation."
A brief pause.
"And in none of them..."
"Did you use Eso even once."
Another brief pause.
"That leaves only two possibilities."
"Either you were underestimating me..."
"Or you consumed an absurd amount of Eso to get here."
The smile remained.
"Judging by your first strike..."
"You did not seem like someone who underestimates his enemy."
No answer came.
Éon continued falling.
His black eyes remained fixed upon Oryn.
CRAAAH.
One of the crows detached itself from the flock.
Its wings folded against its body.
The bird dived.
Faster and faster.
Cutting through the air toward the plains.
Meanwhile...
The distance between Éon and the ground rapidly diminished.
The crow was already approaching the plains.
Only a few meters remained.
Éon's lips moved for the first time.
"Reversum."
FWHOOSH.
In a single instant... their positions were reversed.
The crow appeared where Éon had been a moment before...
At the same time...
His feet touched the ground without producing more than a faint sound.
His eyes remained turned upward.
Far above...
Oryn still remained beside the parapet.
No surprise crossed his face.
Calmly...
His hand disappeared beneath the cloak.
When it returned...
It held a small black whistle between his fingers.
He brought it to his lips.
FIIII...
The sound was low.
Almost imperceptible.
Even so...
It silently spread across the plains.
Oryn slowly lowered his hand.
His eyes met Éon's one last time.
"I hope you appreciate the reception, Your Highness."
Without waiting for any answer...
He turned away.
And began walking away from the parapet.
Éon remained motionless.
THOOM.
A vibration traveled through the ground beneath his feet.
Then another.
THOOM.
THOOM.
The earth began to tremble.
Éon's eyes slowly shifted toward the horizon.
In the distance...
Enormous silhouettes began to emerge.
Coming from different directions.
Each step made the plains tremble.
Éon remained motionless.
Simply watching.
The horizon seemed to be moving toward him.