It came like a storm on a sunny day; The end of my very being, and the beginning of my removal.

The battlefield was bloody and dark. The sun was in the cloudless sky, but its light never reached us. I stood in the face of danger, standing with my only remaining friend. Her ash-blonde hair was stained with red, her signature outfit was torn and covered with mud, and her fair, pale skin was cut, bruised, and deeply injured. The smile I loved so much was gone, and her bright eyes were dark and filled with both rage and horror. It pained me, seeing her this way.

But who wouldn't look that way when they lose their family?

Everyone was gone. All of our friends had either fled or died. We were the only ones left to fight the enemies. But only two people? Normal people would say we couldn't do it. But we were still protecting our family, and we wouldn't back down.

"Hey," my friend spoke, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Do you think we can do this?"

"We have to try," I replied bluntly, my deep brown eyes turning to the blotch of black on our land.

I could still feel her caution flying off of her, even if I wasn't looking. Her eyes were staring right into me. I knew she was trying to figure out what I was feeling, like she always was. I sighed and turned back to her, clutching my fists together. "This is our land. Those evil people are trying to take it."

"I know, and it infuriates me, too," she replied, noticing the increase of my tension. "But the guild has left us. We don't have anything to protect except the village."

"They will come back." I looked towards the mountains with hope in my eyes. "They were all too tired. They left to prepare."

She walked closer to me, her tone raising to a squeal as she spoke. "Then we should be with them! We shouldn't be out here, death awaiting us, while everyone else is going to gain strength!"

"And allow those beasts to take our home? That's what they want." I could sense her worry still overflowing. I gave her a teasing smile. "You are acting so worried and afraid. I thought the Master was supposed to be the calm one."

I received a harsh yet playful shove. "Oh, shush." I smiled when I saw her annoyed face, seeing the girl I became friends with all those years ago. But the face fell and was replaced with the shadow of sorrow. "I might be the Master of our guild... And I might be the leader of this battle... But it doesn't feel like it. I'm probably the only one that is still terrified of fighting out here. I'm scared stiff!"

"As am I."

She stared at me with disbelief in her eyes. "You? Scared? You're braver than most of the men!"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not. I'm always scared I will die in my fights. But I always push myself anyway, because I know it's the right thing to do." I smiled brightly at her with encouragement in my eyes. "Now, let's go see if we can kill some more enemies!"

My friend hesitated before nodding, her happy smile returning for just a moment. "Sure! Okay!"

So much red. Everything I looked at was stained red. No, my eyes were stained with that color. The color of blood.

I couldn't move. I was numb and cold, laying limp in the dead, bloody grass. My best friend and guild master laid beside me, completely drenched with the awful color. Her hand was trying to reach mine, trying to grab hold of me. She appeared to be crying blood, but I knew it was just my eyes making it look that way. She was in pain, meaning she was to live.

I, however, didn't gain the luxury of life.

She managed to grab hold of my hand, but I couldn't feel her grip. Her lips moved, but I couldn't hear her. It took me a long moment to realize that I was crying; it explained why my vision would blur and grow more red until I blinked. I strained hard to hear the crying girl beside me. I didn't pick up all of her words at first, but I did gain my hearing by the end.

"... were all such idiots."

I forced my mouth to open, but instead of words coming out, I moved into a harsh fit of coughing. A lot of blood came out, which worried her. But I did manage to form words afterwards. "Did... We get them all?"

She stared at me with sad eyes before shaking her head. "One is left. The real threat. It got us when we didn't see it."

I felt my entire being sink. I sighed, closing my eyes half way. "So we couldn't even protect our home."

She shook her head again. "No, we couldn't. And now we're both going to die."

I managed to get out a soft chuckle at her words. "No. You will live." My hand then began to move, even though I couldn't feel it. It opened up from how it looked as a broken fist, revealing a silver necklace. On it was a glass version of our guild's mark. I grabbed her hand and put the insignia on her palm. I smiled as it glowed a color I assumed was pale yellow - her magic's color.

Her eyes widened with horror as the glass began to fill with a pale yellow light. "You... You didn't-!"

"I finished it last night," I said with a smile. "I was planning on giving it to you after we won, but..." I gave her a wink. "Looks like you need it more right now."

"But you're the one at risk of death!" she protested, her voice a shrill of disbelief. "If you give it to me, you will die!"

My smile didn't waver, which obviously shocked and displeased her. "But if I keep it, you'll end up dying. And believe me, I think the guild needs a master instead of a strong member."

She stared at me with broken and depressed eyes, beginning to weep and shake with sobs as the light filled the entirety of the necklace. I just kept smiling at her, watching as my vision began to blur. It was a few moments before she spoke to me, her voice broken. "You aren't in pain... Right?"

"No," I said in a weaker voice than before, putting more effort into talking so it could be audible. "Not physically, no. But I am sad."

"Of course you would be sad! You're... Dying..."

"That isn't why I'm sad." I lowered my smile and closed my red eyes, too tired to even move my face around. "I couldn't protect you, Mavis. I couldn't protect you or our guild." I let my smile return, unable to do anything else. "But you can. Master Mavis, protect the family... Just like you've always wanted to..."

The last thing I heard was my name. Mavis had screamed it. Her voice was so broken, so sad. For some reason, my name had a little ring to it. Victoria. The way she said it - maybe her slight accent - made it sound better. Of course, it could have been because I was dying. I wouldn't know.

There was a light, then darkness. Then a sound came - a sound I didn't know I would hear. Thunder.