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Prologue – From Abyss

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"If you gaze long enough into an Abyss, the Abyss will gaze back into you".—Friedrich Nietzsche

Arthur stabbed his Excalibur sword on the ground with those emotionless eyes. With those eyes void of all emotions, he lifted his head up, looking straight to the carnage in front of his eyes due to the battle of Camlann. Clutching his bleeding torso, Arthur realized that his time would not be long after Mordred wounded him fatally.

"I should have realized it sooner…".

He knew that Morgan changed after Lancelot's death, and he knew why. However, he never predicted that she would betray him by brainwashing her flesh and blood, Mordred, so her son would carry out a coup d'etat.

Was he too naïve? To think that he had sworn that he would create such an everlasting Kingdom.

"Arthur, what matters… is not what others think of you, but what you think of others".

Arthur closed his eyes, to think he failed his words, his promise to his mentor "Sir Meliodas, forgive me. I failed you. I failed my people and my Kingdom. Actually, from where everything went wrong?".

A figure of the perfect image from the spitting Angel came to his mind. She smiled in the middle of her tears and reached out her hands as the countless hands pulled her "Arthur… forgive me…".

Ah.

He knew where everything turned wrong.

In order to break the curses from the Demon King and the Supreme Deity on her biological parents, the real Guinevere had sacrificed herself. She offered herself as an offering to activate the Holy Grail, the Sacred Treasure to grant any wish. However, because this Holy Grail was created by humans and not the real Holy Grail, this one was corrupted. The Holy Grail in Guinevere's body needed immense magic power, sacrifices, blood. Guinevere herself just could activate it after she devoured the immense magic that belonged to the Supreme Deity and the Original Demon.

After she successfully broke the curse on her biological parents, Guinevere was absorbed by the Holy Grail.

In order to prevent the other people from using the Holy Grail with an ill-intention, Tristina sealed it using her ultimate move, The Ice Shell Of Afterlife. However, this ultimate move had turned Tristina's entire body into the ice which sealed the Holy Grail.

Lancelot whose body had fully turned into the Alicorn, carrying the frozen Holy Grail to the Celestial Realm along with Melody and all the remaining Goddess Clan members, except the Four Archangels. They fought tooth and nail in their fight against the Demon King and the Ten Commandments afterwards with the help from the remaining forces.

After the Second Holy War ended, both Merissa and Lily closed the access to the Oceanus Kingdom and the Enchanted Woods, mourning for their loss of their siblings.

Even Tristan, the last remaining of the siblings, had turned his back, leaving the Camelot Kingdom with his wife, Isolde. He could not blame them for leaving, though. Arthur was fully aware of how deep their grief because they lost their siblings. Not to mention, Merlin never opened her eyes after she gave birth to her child with Escanor.

Looking up, Arthur opened his eyes as the wind blew his face. He reached out his hand to the dark sky of the night, where he could just see the shining ring.

"if only I were to be given the second chance… my last hope is only the Holy Grail… I wish I can go back to that day, to save her…".

The Holy Grail answered his desperate wish.

How surprised Arthur when he found himself waking up under the tree near the grass field.

In the beautiful garden of the certain Kingdom, fulfilled with the flowers, Arthur saw a little girl running away from her maids. Her entire body wrapped with bandages.

Her nanny begged "princess, don't run!".

"I…", the said-princess choked back, tears streaming down her face "I want to live! I don't want to die!".

Arthur's eyes widened as tears came to his eyes as well. It's her.

"a man can't just take back a promise once he's said it aloud".

Arthur gritted his teeth. This time, he would not fail.

Feeling the presence behind her, the three years old Guinevere turned her teary face to him "…who are you?".

"this time, I am going to save you", Arthur kneeled in front of her and reached out his hand, crying "my name is Mordred. That's all I have. Can I… stay by your side from now on?".

Guinevere blinked her eyes before standing up, approaching him despite what her nanny said about how dangerous it was to approach the stranger. Cupping his cheek, Guinevere tip-toed to pat his forehead "there, there. All pain, go away".

When Arthur cried harder and hugged her, burying his face on her tiny shoulder, he vowed to sacrifice everything for her.

This time, he would save her.

When the guards came with King Leodegrance, the King of Cameliard Kingdom asked what happened. After her nanny recited about what happened and looking at how clingy his daughter to this stranger, both King Leodegrance and his wife decided to adopt him. Actually, it was thanks to Guinevere who persisted to tell them all that he was not an evil person.

A/N:

Yo, it's me again. I opened the vote and the result… you guys preferred the Dark Side, huh? Okay, I'll go with it first.

Hopefully, you will enjoy this~

Thank you very much to everyone who has voted for it. *wink