VRRRRMMMM.
A deep, bone-rattling vibration tore through the space on the balcony.
Roya gasped as the world around them didn't just shift—it shattered. The memory fractured into a kaleidoscope of vivid, rapidly spinning glimpses. They were disjointed, beautiful, and completely chaotic.
She saw the interior of a breathtaking, cavernous cathedral with towering stained-glass windows. "No, I am not going to the Vatican," Silvia's voice echoed, sharp and defiant, bouncing off the vaulted ceilings.
The scene violently fractured again. Rain poured down on a muddy courtyard. "When will you return, Sir Kael?" Silvia asked, her voice much younger, watching a golden-armored figure ride away into the mist.
Another shatter. A lavish dining hall, filled with faceless nobles dripping in jewels. A harsh, booming male voice cut through the clinking of wine glasses: "You are a disgrace to the family."
Roya's head spun as the fragmented colors and sounds bled into one another. Then, with a final, heavy thud, the chaotic whirlwind stabilized.
Roya and Sam were standing in the bright, sweltering heat of the afternoon sun.
Looming before them was a colossal, wrought-iron castle gate, heavily protected by dozens of armed guards. The architecture was extravagant, screaming of immense wealth.
Standing just outside the massive iron bars sat a man on a heavily muscled warhorse. He was clad head-to-toe in breathtaking, intricately crafted golden armor that caught the sunlight and reflected it like a beacon.
"Open the gates this instant!" the golden knight roared, his voice carrying the authority of thunder.
The guards standing just inside the courtyard frantically gripped their spears, stepping forward in a desperate attempt to calm him down, though their hands were visibly shaking.
"Woah," Sam whispered, his ghostly form drifting closer to Roya. "Look at that armor. That's a Paladin of the Holy Church. They are the absolute pinnacle of knights. But why is he attacking a noble's estate?"
Before Roya could answer, the smaller side-gate creaked open.
A short, incredibly fat man waddled out into the gap. He was draped in ridiculously expensive silk robes, his fingers heavy with gemstone rings. He looked furious, flanked by his own elite guards.
"What do you think you are doing, Kael?!" the fat man spat, his double chin jiggling as he pointed a stubby, accusatory finger at the knight. "Just because you are a Paladin now, do you think you can do whatever you please?!"
Sir Kael slowly looked down at the fat man from atop his horse.
The ground suddenly began to tremble.
It wasn't a metaphor. The actual dirt beneath the horse's hooves vibrated violently. A tidal wave of blinding, golden Aura poured out from the cracks in Kael's armor. The sheer, suffocating magical pressure blasted right through the heavy iron bars of the gates, crashing into the courtyard like a physical storm.
The elite guards surrounding the fat man groaned, their knees buckling as they struggled just to stay standing under the crushing weight.
Roya gasped, taking a step back. She clutched her chest. Even as a ghost, totally detached from this memory, she could physically feel the sheer, suffocating heaviness of Kael's Aether. It was dense, furious, and terrifyingly vast.
"He's amazing..." Sam breathed in pure awe, staring up at the Paladin.
"Lord Loin," Kael spoke. His voice wasn't a roar anymore. It was a low, deadly rumble that cut through the oppressive wind generated by his own Aura.
Through the dark slits of Kael's golden helmet, two piercing, furious eyes locked directly onto the fat nobleman.
"THIS... is the last time I will be asking this question," Kael said, each word striking like a hammer blow. "Where is Lady Silvia?"
Lord Loin took a horrified step backward, his previous arrogance entirely evaporating.
"Before you reply," Kael continued, the golden pressure intensifying until the air itself seemed to crackle and burn. "I will say this. If I do not like your answer... none of you will see tomorrow. I swear my name on it."
Loin's legs completely gave out. He dropped to his knees in the dirt, heavy beads of sweat pouring down his pale forehead. The golden wind blasted against his expensive silks, tearing at the fabric.
"No... oh no, you can't..." Loin stammered, his lips trembling violently.
CLINK.
The sharp, terrifying sound of metal scraping against metal echoed as Kael placed a gauntleted hand on his hilt and slowly began to draw his broadsword.
"Alright! ALRIGHT!" Loin shrieked, throwing his hands over his head in utter terror. "I will tell you! But you have to promise you will leave after seeing if she is okay or not!"
Sir Kael paused. Slowly, he slid the broadsword back into its scabbard.
The suffocating golden pressure instantly vanished. The wind died down. The heavy iron gates began to groan as the terrified guards rushed to winch them open.
VRRRRMMMM.
The memory vibrated and warped.
The gates dissolved, and Roya and Sam were instantly transported back to the familiar, luxurious palace balcony.
But this time, it was quiet. Sir Kael stood before Silvia. He had removed his golden helmet, tucking it under his arm. He was strikingly handsome, with long, soft brown hair that blew gently in the afternoon breeze. His furious, terrifying demeanor from the gates was completely gone.
He was looking down at Silvia with an expression of overwhelming, heartbreaking gentleness, holding both of her small hands in his armored ones.
Silvia, now looking around eighteen, had tears steadily dripping down her cheeks. "You should leave," she wept softly, refusing to look him in the eyes. "You shouldn't get involved in this, Sir Kael. You will throw your life away."
"Listen to me, Lady Silvia," Kael interrupted softly, squeezing her hands. The afternoon sunlight reflected brilliantly off his golden chestplate, bathing them both in a warm, ethereal glow. "I will only ask one thing of you. Tell me truthfully."
He leaned in, his voice barely a whisper. "Do you want to leave this place?"
Silvia kept her head down for a long, agonizing moment. Then, a fresh tear fell against the marble floor.
"Yes."
VRRRRMMMM.
The scene violently shifted for just a fraction of a second. Roya saw Lord Loin standing in the courtyard, his face purple with rage, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"You can't do this to me Kael, you bastard!" Loin shrieked at the retreating backs of Kael and Silvia as they galloped away on the massive warhorse. "Quickly! Inform the Vatican!"
The chaotic glimpse shattered, dropping Roya and Sam back onto the quiet balcony.
Roya watched the tragic sequence of events unfold, completely in awe. Suddenly, a voice—filled with an ocean of profound, ancient pain—whispered directly into Roya's ear.
"I wish I had refused Sir Kael that day."
Roya whipped her head around. "Are you Silvia?! Who are you, and why do you say that? He came to save you!"
The disembodied voice didn't answer her directly. It simply kept narrating the tragedy as the scenery around Roya began to rapidly blur and shift.
"Sir Kael took me," Silvia's voice echoed mournfully. "We ran. Towns after towns... kingdom after kingdom. We kept running until there was nowhere left to run. We reached the Romero Kingdom, the very edge of our continent. Before us was the Abyssal Wall. No way ahead."
"But you could have gone to other kingdoms!" Roya spoke up to the empty air, her strategic mind working flawlessly even in a memory. "From Romero, you could cross the border to the Kingdom of Vael, or the Kingdom of Solas!"
"We did try that..." the voice wept. "But as we were going through the Kira Forest... we were ambushed."
The bright balcony shattered into absolute, pitch-black darkness.
Roya and Sam were suddenly standing in the middle of the Great Kira Forest. It was the dead of night. The canopy was so thick that not a single ray of moonlight pierced the gloom.
SPLASH! THUD!
The frantic, heavy galloping of a horse tore through the silence. Sir Kael came tearing through the underbrush, riding his massive warhorse, Michale, with Silvia clutched tightly in front of him.
Suddenly, a blinding explosion of fire erupted directly in their path.
The flames roared into the sky. Michale shrieked—a horrifying, desperate horse scream—kicking both of his front hooves high into the air in pure shock and fear.
"Come on, buddy! We can't give up here!" Kael roared over the flames, desperately pulling the reins and forcing the terrified beast to veer sharply into the dense, dark woods.
THWACK. THWACK.
The terrifying sound of arrows piercing solid wood echoed from the darkness behind them.
Suddenly, the pitch-black forest lit up. Arrows and spears, completely coated in blinding, lethal white Aura, shot through the trees like deadly shooting stars. The glowing projectiles illuminated the horrifying reality: they were completely surrounded.
"No! Sir Kael!" Sam shouted, completely forgetting he was a ghost, reaching his hand out as the lethal streaks of light rained down on the fleeing horse.
Roya's heart hammered against her ribs faster and faster. The scene was both breathtakingly beautiful—a deadly light show of magic in the dark forest—and utterly, hopelessly terrifying.
VRRRRMMMM.
The memory vibrated violently one last time.
The dark forest vanished. Morning light hit Roya's face.
She was floating just above a massive, perfectly flat expanse of shallow water. She looked down. Beneath the crystal-clear liquid was a smooth, flawless stone floor. Looming directly in front of her were the massive, towering dark gray walls of a colossal castle.
(Wait...) Roya's eyes widened as she took in the layout. (This is...)
SPLASH. SPLASH. SPLASH.
Roya looked back. Michale the warhorse was staggering out of the treeline and into the shallow water, dragging his hooves.
Sir Kael was slumped over the saddle, barely holding on. As the horse passed right through Roya's ghostly form, she saw the horrifying truth.
Four thick arrows were buried deep into Kael's golden backplate. Blood was pouring down the armor. Silvia, clutched in his arms, had a single arrow jutting from her shoulder.
Michale stumbled to a halt in the center of the flooded courtyard, right next to the pristine stone altar.
Kael slid off the saddle, his boots splashing into the water. He carefully lifted Silvia down. He turned back to the massive, exhausted beast and gently patted its sweat-drenched neck.
"You have done well, Michale," Kael whispered, his voice incredibly weak. "Now rest."
The moment the words left his mouth, the massive warhorse's legs gave out. It collapsed heavily into the shallow water, creating a massive splash, and went completely still.
"What... what happened to it?" Roya asked, her eyes wide.
"He's dead," Sam whispered softly, his voice thick with a knight's solemn respect. "That horse ran until his master finally got off... thinking he finally got his master to safety."
Roya looked away, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood. "But it couldn't," she thought, clenching her fists tightly. "And Sir Kael probably knew that his horse's life force was already drained... that's why he stopped."
Kael fell to his knees in the water, gently laying the semi-conscious Silvia onto the stone altar. He gripped her pale hand tightly.
"Silvi, wait here," Kael said, slowly forcing himself to stand back up.
Silvia reached out, her fingers weakly trying to grasp his golden gauntlet to pull him back, but she was too weak. Her hand slipped away.
Kael turned his back to her, looking toward the treeline. "I will deal with them. Once and for all."
Roya floated closer to the altar, looking down at Silvia. Her sharp, medical mind instantly processed the young woman's pale skin, the dark, rotting veins spreading from the arrow wound on her arm, and her shallow breathing.
(Sir Kael...) Roya thought, a profound tragedy crushing her chest. (Lady Silvia hasn't got much time. She is obviously poisoned by that arrow. Even if you win... it's already too late.)
SPLASH. SPLASH. SPLASH.
Dozens of fully armored knights emerged from the dark shadows of the Kira Forest, stepping into the shallow lake. They marched in complete silence, their steel weapons glinting in the morning light. They completely surrounded the altar.
At the front of the formation, riding a fresh, pristine warhorse, emerged their leader. He wore striking golden armor, nearly identical to Kael's. His face was entirely hidden behind a heavy golden helmet, rendering his expression unreadable, but his posture radiated sheer, arrogant authority.
"I, as a Paladin, declare this!" the golden rider shouted, his voice echoing across the water as he pointed his spear at the bleeding knight. "Sir Kael! You are a disgrace to the Paladins! But our God is benevolent. Surrender now, and your life will be spared!"
The rider tightly clenched his spear. "And if you DON'T..."
A massive, violent geyser of white Aura gushed out of the armored rider. The sheer force of his magic built a small, localized tornado of wind beneath his horse, sending massive ripples of water crashing outward in all directions.
"...you will face the wrath of Goddess MATIA!"
Sir Kael stood completely silent in the shallow water. Four arrows protruded from his back. He was bleeding, exhausted, and cornered.
Slowly, Kael looked up. Through the dark slits of his helmet, he stared straight into the opposing rider's visor.
A terrifying, earth-shattering wave of golden Aura exploded from Kael's broken body.
"Ha... HAHAHAHAHA!" Kael's laughter roared across the lake, echoing with the absolute, unhinged fury of a man who had nothing left to lose.
"YOU BRAT!" Kael roared, raising his broadsword. "You think you can take me down that easily?!"
The two catastrophic pressures—golden and white—crashed against each other. The impact lit the entire lake up in a blinding flash of light. Massive waves of water violently pushed back the foot knights, their horses screaming and rearing up against the sheer magical pressure.
The opposing Paladin gripped his spear, leaning forward aggressively as he pointed it high into the sky.
"CHARGEEE!"