So, after a while I ended up writing this thing. I am really lazy with fanfics lately and I also have a project that I need to work on, so yeah, this is probably everything I will do for a while.
Anyway, this was supposed to be a full fledged fanfic, but since I will probably not have time to write it, I just made this specific part. Sadly, some things may feel out of place without pre-existing information, but I hope it is not too much of a problem.
The swords clashed, making sparks lit the dark room. At one side, a red-haired youth with a scarlet eyes and knight armor. His breath was loud and fast, as he was trying to regain it during the little pause of his opponent, a man with gray hair, dark armor and a dark sword that looked as it was absorbing the young man's soul at each slash.
"So, if you just give up now, I can maybe be merciful in killing you." The man said, pointing his sword to the young one. "We have been through this before. You are no match for me, no matter how much you have improved since then."
The red-haired did not even answer, clinging more to his sword. He gave a look to his back, where a few bodies were laid next to the wall. Bodies of his friends and companions, who had already been left unconscious by the man, and were going to die if he lost this battle.
He could not lose. The consequences were too big.
With a sprint, he lung forward, trying to pierce the knight with his sword, to which the older man just reflected with his own sword, sending the boy to the ground.
"Hurgh…" He once again looked at the wall. A dark-haired girl with blue-eyes was doing her best to keep her eyes open, looking at the boy. "… I can't let it happen…" He murmured to himself before getting up again.
"I think I shall end this." The older man went to the knight's side, grabbing him by the neck. "I am sorry. Understand that my hands are forced here."
And with a thrust of the sword, he pierced the knight's chest.
The knight's eyes widened, he did not had enough strength to yell, and the only thing he could hear were his companions who still had consciousness yelling his name. He was dying.
"How ironic for you, of all people, to die in the cathedral. I never saw you as fitting for the life in Prontera." The man took the sword off the boy's chest, letting his body fall to the ground. He turned to the other ones, who were still leaning in the wall. "I will make your deaths quickly, too. No need to worry—Huh?"
"So I am dead, huh?"
He could only see darkness. His arms and legs were not responding. And the only emotions in his pierced heart were sadness and regret.
"I guess there is nothing I can do now. Just… Accept it."
His thoughts were betraying him. Deep down he knew that what he wanted the most was to come back and save his friends. To get stronger as to protect the ones he cared for. He would stay more in this cycle of deny if…
"What…?!"
A light appeared in front of his eyes, which made him able to feel his body again. However, it was not a simple light.
In that light, a city started to form. The cathedral, the shops, the people. It was as if the city was truly alive.
"Prontera…" He murmured. Of course he knew the biggest city on the continent. It was there where he met many of his greatest friends and faced many challenges. It was also where his body now laid, killed by a man who he could have never predict to do it.
However, the city and its surroundings were not the focus of the light. Three young men talked in the middle of the scenery. The first, wearing blacksmith robes that went on with his spiky blonde hair, spoke loudly:
"Very well, you two! Our journey is about to start! Let's hope to make it a good one!"
The two others, a dark-haired priest with a calming gaze, and a red-haired swordsman with a confident smile laughed at their partner, following him through the city.
The knight knew very well those persons.
"That… That is me and… Them…"
Right before him, his old memories kept showing. The memories from when he first departed on this journey, from when he met each one of his companions and enemies. The memories that he treasured. Right now they were working like a link to the reality, the only thing still making him feel alive.
"I… I can't die here!" He yelled, looking at the memories. "I… I cannot leave them! Not yet! Not while there are still things that need to be done!"
The light projecting the memories faded and came back stronger, overwhelming him. He put his hands in front of him, trying to protect himself from the strong light.
"Tehee, I see that you still haven't let go of your fighting spirit!" A calm and soothing female voice spoke to him. "That is good! After all, if you just decided to accept your death, you would not be able to rebirth!"
"… Rebirth…" He murmured, finally being able to see, as the light started to subside. He noticed his surroundings – some kind of temple in the open, with the sky right above him. However, at the ground, clouds. Meaning that he was somewhere far up in the sky. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"
"I am one of the Valkyries, and you are in Valhalla, the Hall of the Fallen Heroes. Here, every warrior who died with bravery and honor can rest in peace, after a life of fights." The woman descended to his height, showing her blonde hair and white wings. She used a gray and red armor and boots, with a gray elm. At her hand, a red spear. "But you still have attachments to your mundane life, don't you, knight?"
"I don't understand you… Am I dead? What is this supposed to mean?!" He started to lose his patience, yelling at the Valkyrie. "What do you meant with… Rebirth?"
"You died, young warrior. But you still have regrets. You still have things that you feel that must be done. We can't let someone like you walk into the Great Hall, however…" She smiled. "You still fought with honor and bravery. You did not fear death, only the consequences of it. You are a true warrior. That is why we decided to give you another chance in life."
"Another chance…?" While his words betrayed his emotions, he knew that his eyes were shining with hope at that phrase. "Do you mean I can be alive again?"
"Of course, knight!" She smiled once again, a smile that made that hope shine even brighter. "But of course, we can't just make you revive where you stood. It is not how it works."
"Then how it works?" He said eagerly.
She walked to the youth, putting her hands in the sides of his head. "You will get one more chance in life. You will be able to start it all over again, but… There is a catch. You will know once it happens." Her smile became sad, as her eyes looked down to the ground. "… Or maybe you won't."
"Very well."
"What?" His fierce response surprised her, but she quickly recovered her composure. "I don't know what I expected, actually. You are a warrior, after all."
"So, how are we working on it?"
"Just wait."
She turned around and walked to the top of the temple. There, she turned back and picked up her lance, closing her eyes.
"By the power given to me, I ask of you, Goddesses, to save this soul from eternal rest. By the power given to me, I ask of you, Goddesses, to guide this soul into a new path. By the power given to me, I ask of you, Goddesses, to fill this soul with the honor and bravery of a warrior, so that it may one day enter these halls." She opened her eyes again. "I wish you good luck in your new journey, knight. May your path be the righteous one."
The light once again started shining, blinding the man once more. This time, however, he did not close his eyes. Instead, he just let the light keep blinding him.
"It is time for our journey! Let's do our best out there!"
"Hey, don't get too carried away! We are not strong yet!"
"It is ok. For now we may be weak, but I am sure that in the future you will be a strong Knight!"
"… A strong knight."
"Hmm, did you say something?"
The red-haired youth widened his eyes at surprise. Looking at his side, one of the apprentices was staring at him with a confused look.
"What it is? Aren't you also one of the apprentices wanting to become a swordsman?" The apprentice asked the red-haired boy, confusion still on his face.
"… Swordsman?" He stopped for a second. His memories were fuzzy and he could not remember exactly why he was there. "… I am in Izlude… Am I right?"
He put his hand on his head, trying to remember exactly why he was there, however, his train of thought was stopped by the door opening.
An old man, wearing swordsman armor entered the room. "Apprentices, we will be starting the tests. We will be calling you one by one to the test room." With that, he made a motion to the red-haired boy to follow him.
Going to another room, the old swordsman stopped and looked to the boy. "We have separated some monsters for you to fight against, is your sword ready?" He nodded in response. "Very well, let's start the test."
Monsters were released in the small arena as the boy drew his sword.
"I am here to become a swordsman. So I can get stronger." He sprinted forward to the monsters. "But… For what reason do I want power? It was… To protect…"
"To protect?"
"To protect what?"
"I don't have anything dear to me that need protection. Why am I even trying to justify myself like that?"
"Yes. I want to get stronger just for the sake of getting stronger. I have no other reasons."
With that, he killed the last monster in the room. His sword, now drenched with blood, felt light at his hand, almost moving on its own. He heard the sound of claps.
"Very good. It was a record time." The instructor told him. "You have what it takes to become a swordsman. I would even say that you have what it takes to be one of the stronger swordsman we have here!"
"The stronger… Yes. I will be the strongest. I have no other reason in life."
"Are you visiting the cathedral?" A priest approached him, with a smile in his face. He just nodded back.
He now was a full-fledged swordsman. His katana and his armor, ready to fight anything. He was the strongest swordsman in the guild, and he would soon become one of the Order of Knights, meaning that he would get even stronger from now on.
Yet, something felt off.
It was hollow. As if the people that surrounded his world were merely pawns of some bigger scheme. He did not feel like this was "real", after all.
From the very moment he was born, in the moments where he fought, and even to this day, he still could not see some of the simplest things. After all, his memories were fuzzy, and he had no family or friends to call up.
It was as if his very existence was not supposed to be. As if he did not exist at all.
Yet, he felt attracted to this Cathedral.
He was never someone to care for gods, legends and myths, but he still felt attracted to this holy place.
He felt like he lost something important here. Something that could never be replaced.
"Do you want to be blessed by our bishops?" The priest asked, the smile still there. He nodded negatively.
He needed to go somewhere else.
Leaving the main hall, he decided to explore the cathedral. He walked in almost every hallway like a zombie, trying to find something that could answer his questions.
He was almost giving up, when he heard the sounds of clashing metals. With a sprint, he ran to the origin of the sound.
A big door, leading to one of the inner chambers. As the sound grew louder, he knew that this is where it was coming from. Part of him wanted to go away, to leave now and let things solve itself, but another part wanted to see this to the end.
And he opened the door.
"I will make your deaths quickly, too. No need to worry—Huh?"
The door in the chamber opened. There, a red-haired swordsman very similar to the same knight the man killed was looking, scared, to the scene in front of him.
"How… Who are you?"
The boy could not answer, paralyzed by the fear. Even so, his body betrayed him, and he walked into the chamber. He looked at every corner, looking at the men and women unconscious in the walls, and he looked at that.
A knight, with blood in his armor and chest, down on the ground. He approached the knight with slow steps. When he got near enough to see the knight's face, his own became confused and scared.
"B-but… That is me… H-how…"
"I am sorry to interrupt." The older man said, pointing his sword to the boy. "But I can't let you go after you saw what you saw here."
This put the boy back into his fighting stance. He grabbed his katana and readied it, in direction of the knight. He had nothing to fear, after all, he was one of the strongest swordsman in the guild, he was strong enough to defeat anyone. And if it came to worst, he could use the Magnum Break technique to get distance to run. He had everything planned.
"Aagh!" He yelled. A dark sword was now in his chest, in the very same place that the knight had been, just few moments ago.
"I am sorry. Blame your luck, not me."
The man took the sword away, and the swordsman fell to the ground, at the knight's side.
From the ground, he could get a closer look at the knight. The very same face and hair, just a bit older than his own. The armor and the sword were also different, but apart from that, he was exactly like an older version of the swordsman.
What was he? A lost brother? A distant relative? Or just a double of himself? These possibilities all went through his mind, but it was futile.
After all, he was dying. No matter what that knight was from him, it was not going to be a knowledge he would be able to make use of.
He was also mad. Mad that his curiosity took the best of him, mad that he could not defeat that man, and mad that he would die without his answer. But above all, he was mad that the man that just killed him was going in direction of the adventures at the other side of the room.
He did not know why, but just the thought about him killing them made him burst with rage. So he decided for a last ditch effort to come up and fight.
His hand slowly crawled its way to the body of the knight, in direction of that man's sword. With every inch of his strength, he was willing to give even his own sanity and peace of mind to protect the others.
He touched the sword.
In a second, a burst took over him. Burst of feelings, ideas, but more importantly, emotions, and for the first time ever, that face had a smile.
He closed his eyes and waited for peace.
"Now it is time for you." The man walked in direction of the dark-haired girl, sword in hand. "Once again, I am sorry."
He was ready to bring down the sword, as a big crash was heard behind him.
"What….?!"
The red-haired knight was now standing. Differently from before, though, his armor was dark, and a red cape adorned his back. Even his sword took a different format, with a red hilt and a slender but longer blade.
"How are you still alive?!" The man yelled, looking at the knight. He also looked at the side, searching for the young swordsman, just for him to not be found. "What…? How?!"
"You won't touch them." He said, pointing his sword forward. "I will not let it."
"Just because you defied death it does not mean that you can defeat me!"
"Wanna bet?"
With a jump, the knight thrust forward with an outstanding speed. The man was able to dodge it, but only narrowly.
"How he got so faster?! And how is he still alive?!"
"…. Magnum…" He thrust his sword into the ground. "Break!"
An explosion happened in the area, sending the man back. He was now only holding himself up by leaning in his sword.
"I never saw such a powerful Magnum Break… Who… Who are you?"
The knight smirked. A smirk that he thought he had lost, together with his memories.
"I am… A Lord Knight."