Luca’s eyes snapped open.
For a moment, he couldn’t understand what he was seeing.
The endless darkness was gone.
The battlefield had vanished.
The crushing sensation of death that had surrounded his consciousness only moments earlier had disappeared as though it had never existed.
Instead, he found himself staring at the familiar afternoon sky above the valley.
Golden sunlight.
Dark clouds gathering beyond Raven’s Crossing.
The enormous crimson barrier surrounding the distant settlement.
The shattered road beneath him.
Everything returned at once.
So did the pain.
Luca’s chest rose violently as he sucked in a desperate breath, his lungs burning as though he had been underwater for an eternity. His body instinctively curled forward while he coughed, one hand pressing against his chest as he struggled to understand what was happening.
"Luca!"
The Saintess’s voice reached him.
It was filled with unmistakable relief.
"Luca, look at me!"
He slowly raised his head.
The Saintess was standing directly before him.
Her long lavender-silver hair was dishevelled from the chaos, and her violet eyes were wide with concern as she stared at him as though she had just witnessed someone return from the dead.
Which...
In a sense...
She had.
Luca stared at her.
His breathing remained heavy.
"Your..."
He swallowed painfully.
"...Holiness?"
The Saintess’s expression softened immediately.
"You’re awake."
She moved toward him, but Luca instinctively raised one hand.
"Wait."
His voice was hoarse.
His eyes moved around the battlefield.
The mercenaries were still there.
The carriage remained behind them.
The massive fissure still split the road.
And beneath the broken bridge...
The creature still stood.
Luca’s entire body stiffened.
His memories returned.
The battlefield.
The countless corpses.
The creature.
His death.
His eyes widened.
He slowly turned toward the enormous being standing within the crimson light.
"What..."
His voice barely escaped his throat.
"...was that?"
The creature looked down at him.
For several seconds...
It remained silent.
Then it laughed.
A deep, rumbling laugh that spread throughout the valley.
"That..."
Its crimson eyes narrowed with amusement.
"...was merely the first ending."
Luca’s expression hardened.
The words struck him like a physical blow.
The first ending.
His mind immediately returned to the battlefield.
The creature’s voice.
The dead.
His own corpse.
The darkness.
The golden light.
The memories.
Everything suddenly felt far more real.
Luca slowly stood.
His legs trembled beneath him, but he forced himself upright.
The creature tilted its enormous head.
"What about..."
It paused.
Its mouth opened.
It attempted to continue.
Yet no sound came.
The crimson light surrounding its body suddenly flickered violently.
The creature’s expression changed.
For the first time...
Confusion appeared within its eyes.
It tried again.
Nothing.
Whatever words it had intended to speak simply refused to emerge.
The creature’s face darkened.
It looked toward Luca.
Then toward the golden symbol beneath him.
Something seemed to have changed.
Luca noticed it immediately.
It can’t say it.
Whatever came after the first ending...
Something was preventing the creature from revealing it.
Luca didn’t know why.
He didn’t know what the golden symbol had done.
He didn’t even know whether the vision had been a warning, a memory, or an actual future.
But there was one thing he knew.
Right now...
It didn’t matter.
The creature was still here.
The Cultists were still here.
The Saintess was still in danger.
And the battle had already begun.
Luca tightened his grip around his saber.
Think later.
His crimson eyes sharpened.
Fight now.
"Your Holiness..."
The Saintess looked toward him.
"Yes?"
"Stay behind the carriage."
Her expression immediately became displeased.
"Luca—"
"I’ll explain everything later."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"But right now..."
His gaze shifted toward the surrounding forest.
"...we have company."
The Saintess followed his gaze.
Her expression changed.
Figures were emerging from the trees.
Dozens.
Then more.
Men and women dressed in dark robes stepped onto the road, their faces concealed beneath masks bearing strange crimson markings. Unlike the bandits from earlier, there was nothing careless about their movements.
They were organised.
Disciplined.
Silent.
The mercenaries immediately recognised the difference.
"Positions!"
The broad-shouldered mercenary shouted.
The caravan guards moved without hesitation.
Weapons were drawn.
Shields raised.
The horses were pulled toward the centre of the formation while several mercenaries positioned themselves between the approaching Cultists and the carriage.
One of the guards stared at the growing number of enemies.
"Those aren’t bandits."
"No."
Another mercenary tightened his grip around his spear.
"They’re here for Her Holiness."
The Saintess’s expression became solemn.
"So it begins."
Luca heard her.
He didn’t respond.
His eyes remained fixed upon the enormous creature.
The Cultists began advancing.
Then—
One of them raised his hand.
A crimson spell formation appeared beneath the mercenaries.
Luca’s eyes sharpened.
"Move!"
The formation erupted.
Several mercenaries leapt away as crimson flames tore through the ground.
The battle began instantly.
Steel clashed against steel.
Mercenaries collided with Cultists across the road while magical attacks exploded between the trees. Arrows flew through the air as shields rose to intercept them, and the peaceful valley was once again transformed into chaos.
Luca didn’t look back.
The creature moved.
An enormous claw swept toward him.
Luca’s saber flashed.
He stepped aside as the attack tore through the ground where he had been standing.
The impact sent debris flying.
Luca accelerated forward.
His second saber appeared in his other hand.
Both blades crossed toward the creature.
The enormous being raised its arm.
Clang!
The collision sent a shockwave through the valley.
Luca’s boots slid backward several metres.
His arms trembled.
The creature looked down at him.
Then smiled.
"You returned."
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
"Apparently."
The creature swung again.
Luca disappeared from its immediate reach.
His perception accelerated.
The world slowed around him.
Not enough to freeze time.
Not enough to overpower his opponent.
But enough.
Enough to see the movement.
Enough to understand the trajectory.
Enough to survive.
Luca slipped beneath the creature’s attack and drove both sabers upward.
The blades struck between its scales.
The creature roared.
Luca twisted both weapons before jumping backward.
At the same moment, a Cultist rushed toward the carriage.
A mercenary intercepted him.
Steel collided.
Another Cultist appeared from behind.
The mercenary barely managed to block.
Then another arrived.
The defenders were being surrounded.
Luca noticed.
His eyes sharpened.
They’re trying to separate us.
He immediately understood the tactic.
The Cultists weren’t simply attacking.
They were creating openings.
Forcing the mercenaries away from the carriage.
Forcing the Saintess into isolation.
Luca’s expression became cold.
He glanced toward the creature before him.
Then toward the battlefield.
Then back again.
The creature smiled.
"You finally understand."
Luca tightened his grip.
"Understand what?"
The creature’s crimson eyes glowed.
"That you cannot protect everyone."
Luca’s expression remained completely still.
He raised both sabers.
"Maybe."
His feet shifted into a combat stance.
"But I’m still going to try."
The creature roared.
Luca charged.
And across the battlefield, the Saintess suddenly raised her hand as a tremendous wave of divine light erupted around the carriage.
The valley erupted into brilliance.
The moment the Saintess raised her hand, an immense wave of golden-white light expanded outward from the carriage, sweeping across the road like a rising sun. The surrounding darkness was pushed back instantly, crimson flames were extinguished beneath its radiance, and several Cultists who had been advancing toward the carriage were forced to shield their faces as the divine energy washed over them.
The mercenaries closest to her felt the pressure immediately.
Their bodies grew lighter.
Their wounds began closing.
The fatigue that had accumulated throughout the battle gradually disappeared beneath the warmth of the divine blessing.
One of the injured guards stared at his arm in disbelief as the bleeding wound slowly sealed itself.
"Her Holiness..."
The Saintess lowered her hand.
Her expression remained calm, but her violet eyes had become frighteningly serious.
"Protect the carriage."
The mercenaries immediately tightened their formation.
"We will."
Across the battlefield, Luca felt the surge of divine power.
For a fleeting moment, his attention shifted toward the carriage.
He saw the Saintess standing beneath the golden radiance.
Then his gaze returned to the creature before him.
The enormous being smiled.
"So..."
Its voice rumbled through the valley.
"She has finally decided to reveal herself."
Luca’s expression hardened.
"You sound disappointed."
The creature laughed.
"On the contrary."
Its enormous hand slowly rose.
"I have waited a very long time for this moment."
The surrounding air suddenly became heavy.
Luca’s instincts screamed.
He moved immediately.
A massive crimson beam tore through the place where he had been standing.
The earth behind him exploded.
Luca rolled across the ground and sprang back onto his feet, his twin sabers already raised.
The creature attacked again.
Luca moved.
Another strike.
He dodged.
A third.
He blocked.
The impact travelled through both arms and forced him backward.
His boots carved deep lines through the earth.
His perception accelerated.
The world slowed around him.
He saw the creature’s shoulder move.
The angle of its wrist.
The subtle shift of its weight.
Luca twisted his body.
The enormous claw passed beside him.
He stepped inside its reach.
Both sabers flashed.
One cut across its forearm.
The other struck beneath its ribs.
The creature recoiled.
Luca didn’t give it time to recover.
He accelerated forward.
His right saber pierced between two scales.
His left followed.
A faint distortion of space appeared around the blades.
The creature roared.
Luca pulled both weapons free and immediately retreated.
The creature’s crimson eyes burned with anger.
"You..."
It stared at the shallow wounds.
"...are becoming troublesome."
Luca’s breathing had become heavier.
"But I’m still alive."
The creature’s expression suddenly changed.
"That..."
It laughed.
"...is precisely what makes this interesting."
Behind Luca, the battle intensified.
The Cultists had stopped trying to overwhelm the mercenaries directly.
Instead, they had begun forming strange magical formations throughout the battlefield.
One.
Then another.
Then several more.
Luca noticed them.
His eyes narrowed.
They’re not attacking.
They’re preparing something.
He glanced toward the Saintess.
She seemed to notice it as well.
Her expression suddenly changed.
"Luca!"
He turned.
The Saintess pointed toward the ground beneath the carriage.
"Look!"
Luca’s pupils contracted.
A faint crimson symbol had appeared beneath the carriage.
It was almost identical to the golden formation that had appeared beneath him earlier.
Only this one...
Was different.
The symbol was incomplete.
As though something was still missing.
The Saintess’s face became pale.
"No..."
The creature suddenly laughed.
Luca turned back.
The enormous being had stopped attacking.
It simply stood there.
Watching.
Waiting.
The Cultists around the battlefield suddenly dropped to one knee.
Every single one.
Even those fighting the mercenaries abandoned their weapons and lowered their heads toward the carriage.
The sudden silence was more frightening than the battle had been.
The Saintess stared at them.
"What are they doing?"
Luca’s eyes moved across the battlefield.
One by one, the crimson formations began connecting.
The symbols beneath the trees.
The symbols beneath the road.
The symbols beneath the bridge.
And finally...
The incomplete formation beneath the carriage.
They were all part of the same enormous structure.
Luca’s expression changed.
"They weren’t trying to kill you."
The Saintess looked at him.
"They were..."
His voice became quiet.
"...trying to complete the formation."
The creature raised one enormous hand.
The crimson barrier surrounding Raven’s Crossing suddenly pulsed.
The entire valley shook.
Then the Saintess gasped.
A faint golden mark appeared upon her chest.
The same mark Luca had seen in his vision.
Her eyes widened as divine power began being pulled from her body.
"Luca..."
Her voice trembled.
"I can’t stop it."
Luca’s heart sank.
The creature smiled.
"The key has finally been connected."
The crimson formations erupted simultaneously.
Golden light and crimson darkness collided across the valley.
Luca immediately rushed toward the carriage.
But before he could reach her...
The Saintess’s body suddenly lifted from the ground.
Her feet left the earth.
Her long silver-lavender hair floated upward as an enormous pillar of crimson light descended from the sky and surrounded her.
"Your Holiness!"
Luca reached forward.
Their eyes met through the barrier.
The Saintess’s expression was frightened for the first time.
"Luca..."
The barrier suddenly became opaque.
And from somewhere within the crimson light...
A second heartbeat began to echo.
It was not the Saintess’s.
It was something far deeper.
Something that had been sleeping for centuries.
And as that heartbeat grew louder...
The creature whispered with a smile,
"At last..."
"...the first seal has begun to break."