Shun had grown sick of watching those headless knights mindlessly patrol like puppets with no soul or purpose. The eerie rhythm of their steps, the lifeless way they moved—it all felt like a looping nightmare.
He decided to ignore them and focus on surviving first. Carefully navigating the shadows, Shun scavenged through the corners of the castle ruins, picking up more strange potions. Among them, one item caught his eye—a silver ring with a blood-red diamond set on top. It pulsed faintly, like it was alive.
Without thinking too much, he slipped it onto his pinky finger. It was cold to the touch, but strangely... comforting.
Moving on, Shun found a wide, ancient staircase that spiraled upward toward the higher levels of the castle. From below, he could see many headless knights standing guard above—tense, unmoving.
"What the hell are they guarding so tightly up there...? Whatever it is, I'm too weak to face it now. Better stay away from danger..."
Despite saying that, curiosity gnawed at him. Quietly, step by step, he began to climb—his feet light as a shadow.
A few steps later, he found a rusty iron shield abandoned near the stairs. It was cracked and old, but still usable. He picked it up and strapped it to his arm.
Soon, a narrow path branched off to the right. It looked like it led to an upper defense post. Shun turned and followed it.
The corridor led to a battlement—a place where archers once stood to defend the castle. It reminded him of the Roman or Chinese war movies he used to watch back on Earth. He had always dreamed of standing in a place like this... though in reality, it was darker, colder, and filled with the stench of death.
He walked carefully through the gloom. Dozens of rotting archer corpses lay along the wall, maggots crawling through their armor, blood dried into black crusts.
Shun fought back the nausea and looted what he could: a simple bow, four usable arrows, and a few rolls of bloodstained bandages.
At the far end of the battlement—he saw her.
The woman who had saved him.
This time, he could see her face clearly.
She stood tall—perhaps 178 to 180 cm—with a face so beautiful it was almost haunting. Her eyes stared coldly into the foggy sky, emotionless but weighed with something... broken. Her figure was lean and graceful, her long white hair flowing like silk in the wind. On her back was a massive bow, along with dozens of arrows.
A high-ranking archer, no doubt.
"1,130 years..." the woman murmured, her eyes still fixed on the distant clouds.
"1,130...? What do you mean? What's your name?" – Shun asked, swallowing nervously.
"...Elias. My name is Elias. I was once a royal archer.
This world has been drowned in darkness and death for 1,130 years.
The kingdoms have collapsed into chaos.
The kings have gone mad.
The people are lost in sin—slavery, child cruelty, lust.
There are no heroes left.
Only despair remains."
Her voice was flat, but her words were soaked in sadness. Shun, moved by her grief, gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Then I'll fix this world, even if it's broken. Even if it's forgotten. I swear I'll help you restore it. I owe you my life. Let me fight beside you."
Elias said nothing. But after a moment... she nodded.
"Promise me you won't die... please..."
Her voice—this time—was different. Less cold. More vulnerable. Like a child begging not to be left alone.
Shun nodded with quiet determination.
"I promise. I won't die."
. .. ... …..!!!
Suddenly—
A massive shadow blocked out the moonlight above them.
Before they could even understand what it was, a torrent of hellfire rained down from the sky—directly on Elias.
"AAGHH—IT HURTS!! PLEASE... SAVE ME!
I DON'T WANNA DIE...
MOM... I'M SORRY...
MOMMMMM!!!" – Elias screamed, crying as flames devoured her.
Shun couldn't move fast enough. He couldn't save her.
He was forced to watch—
The only person who accepted him in this world... burned alive in agony.
So sudden. So meaningless.
Rage erupted in his chest.
He looked up—and finally saw it:
A dragon.
Not just any dragon—a creature the size of an entire castle, its wings casting shadows over the land, its body wrapped in dark flame.
Its head slowly turned to Shun.
Those glowing, golden eyes stared at him...
Like he was nothing more than prey.