The battlefield was chaotic.
Clang! Clang!
Blades clashed in deadly rhythm. Screams of pain, fear, and death filled the air like a dirge.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bodies fell like broken dolls. Blood soaked the soil. The air stank of iron, smoke, sweat, and terror.
Ash drifted through the sky, curling above the fallen—warriors once called Sword King, Martial Saint, Champion. Now, they were just corpses under the boots of one man—
Aiden Ferith.
The War Hero of Ashenvale. A general whose mind outmatched armies. A warrior whose sword defied legends. He stood at the peak—Martial Emperor—a realm so high it made even martial saints feel small.
He was once the man who laughed with children, fed the poor, and never left a comrade behind.
But now, he stood alone.
His black, shredded cloak flapped in the wind like the last flag of a dying kingdom. Blood dripped from his massive, pitch-black claymore, hissing as it hit the scorched ground.
The war had lasted two long months.
Now, it was finally over.
The famed Nyvarian general, Richard Hendricson—the Sword King—lay dead, a gaping hole in his chest. The Nyvarian king, cunning and cruel, was beheaded. Their Martial Saints? Turned to ash.
Their pride.
Their power.
Their legacy.
All crushed beneath the weight of Aiden Ferith.
And yet… he felt nothing.
The silence after the battle was deafening. Victory was his—but it felt empty. The people he fought for… the ones he loved… were gone.
His enemies were defeated. But his heart was still broken.
Aiden looked around the ruins. So much death. So much sacrifice. For what?
Then suddenly… Crunch.
A step behind him.
He didn't turn. He already had a hunch who it was.
"I see you've come," Aiden said quietly. His voice was rough, like cracked stone. A part of him had hoped he was wrong.
The answer came—soft, familiar, but cold.
"I had to. You've become too powerful, Master. Too dangerous."
Aiden turned his head slowly.
Nolan Ashborn.
His disciple. The boy he raised. The one he called brother. His eyes, once full of hope and gratitude, were now hard, distant… resentful.
Aiden's voice was bitter, heavy with a truth he had tried to deny for years. "So… it was really you."
Before he could say more—
Chk-shkk!
The blade struck clean—straight through his back.
Steel tore through muscle and bone. The tip of a longsword burst from Aiden's chest, soaked in blood.
He gasped. His body trembled. He dropped to one knee, barely keeping himself from falling.
"You were my brother…" he choked out.
Nolan looked down, his face blank. "And you were a curse in my life, Master. No matter how hard I tried to shine, I was always in your shadow."
Aiden gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his lips. "So… you hated me for being strong?" His voice was weak, each word a struggle.
"Yes," Nolan said flatly. "I hated how you made others feel. No matter how hard we tried… we were nothing next to you. Invisible."
Aiden stared at him, heart heavier than his sword had ever been. "You think I wanted that? I would've given you everything. All of it."
"And that's the problem!" Nolan snapped. "You could afford to! You had more—strength, respect, love. You never had to fight for it like we did."
Despite the blade in his chest, Aiden stood slowly. "And that's why you betrayed me? Invited enemies into our home? Had my family killed? Just so you could feel powerful? Invincible?"
He almost choked on the words.
Nolan sneered. "Yes. I will erase your very existence from this earth. No one will ever look down on me again. I will be the strongest. The legend people remember!"
Hahaha… He started laughing like a madman.
Aiden shook his head. "I wish I had known sooner. Then I would've nipped your twisted existence in the bud."
"Save it. Your family is waiting, Master," Nolan said with a cruel smile. "You should go and say hi."
"No," Aiden said, voice like steel. "I'll take you with me."
He took a shaky step forward. His legs barely held, but his eyes still burned with the last fire of his soul.
Then, with all the strength he had left, he attacked.
But his body was too damaged.
Nolan dodged easily and stabbed him again—this time with a knife straight to the heart.
"You should give it a rest, Master."
Aiden's body froze.
"I only blame myself… for not seeing how lost you were. How rotten your heart had become," he whispered. "If I had… my family would still be alive."
His strength gave out completely this time. He dropped to his knees, then collapsed fully. His eyes never left Nolan's face.
No rage.
No anger.
Just sorrow.
Nolan stood over him, emotionless.
He looked at the man bleeding out before him—the one who had believed in him more than anyone.
The battlefield was now painfully quiet.
And in that silence… Nolan felt it.
The weight of his "victory."
"Why don't I feel happy? Why? Why?"
Tears fell from his eyes—without him even realizing.
A memory flashed before him.
In the ashes of war, a boy lay broken, breath fading under a crumbling sky. Death reached for him—until a shadow moved through the dust. A strong hand dragged him from the jaws of death.
It was Nolan.
And the one who saved him… was Aiden.
The lust for power. The hunger for fame.
They turn even saints into monsters.
Nolan was no different.
And just like that, betrayal brought Aiden Ferith's glorious story to a shameful end.
He was still conscious—but already fading from this heartless world.
Aiden's vision dimmed. The world grew colder. His thoughts slowed, filled with faces of the lost… and the one who now stood above him.
If I just had one more chance… I'd do it all differently…
But it was too late.
Or so he thought.
Was it fate? Karma? Or perhaps… mercy?
Suddenly, the sky split open—like paper torn by unseen hands.
A voice, deep and ancient as the stars, echoed from the void:
"A soul unyielding… shall not perish."
Darkness swallowed him.
But in that endless black… a spark appeared.
A single light. Distant… but calling.
And Aiden moved toward it—step by step.
Heart still burning.
And will — desperate.
To be continued…