1 Prologue

"It cannot be! She's so young", Ms. Macchia grieved with both of her hands covering her face, tears dripping through the gaps of her fingers.

"I'm sorry ma'am. This is… out of my expertise. I have tried my best", the doctor looked visibly tired. "Mr. Macchia, you're a doctor too. I would say you're the specialist in this and you would understand my feelings."

He took off his stethoscope in dejection and left the room. His footsteps sound like heartbeats slowly fading as he walks further away. The click of the door closing finally silenced the room as if time's up.

"Dear, it isn't true, is it? There must be a mistake, a mistake from the Lifespen, or maybe the diagnosis from the doctor. There must be a mistake!"

"I… I wanted to believe that this isn't true but…" Mr. Macchia couldn't bear to say it but he took a deep breath, swallowed his bitterness, and exhaled. "We have to accept it. We can only give her the happiest moments of her life now. It's her choice to live her life now and we should accept it."

The hospital room feels colder than usual. The windowless clean white walls are devoid of life. The echoes from the grief from the small room replied with hopelessness.

Both of them walked out of the room into the corridor. They looked into the large window separating them and their daughter. They tried to stop crying and bring out their bravest happiest front to her and mask the death sentence that befell her.

Beside them, there was another little girl sobbing loudly, her eyes were red and swollen. Her hands gripped tightly to hold back her tears.

A knight does not show weakness, they say 'I would protect you!'

"I said I would protect you… Be your shield," the little girl muttered softly between her sobs. "Now, I can't do anything. Worse than villager B. So useless."

Ms. Macchia hugged the little girl from behind. "It's okay Sylvia. She'll be alright. She has you as her knight after all." But even she could not hold back her tears.

A nurse was removing various apparatus from a little girl's body. She was lying on the bed looking at the bare ceiling, the lights flickered once in a while. Her blank countenance was in contrast with her inner nervousness and her chest had been tight, her head was pounding since she was suddenly brought to the hospital a few hours ago.

The Lifespen is a simple device as small as a pen to facilitate its ease of use and convenience but her parents are not giving any expense and went ahead with a full body check. She slowly sat up with a nurse assisting her by holding her hand. She saw complex machinery everywhere with their foreboding noise and lights. She did not like it here.

"Careful, young miss. Take your time."

Taking hours and hours of tests gave some strain to her body and she felt a little weak.

After regaining some focus, she brushed the strands of hair blocking her vision and she saw her parents. From their facial expressions, it looks like terrible news indeed and her chest tightened more until she felt it could explode at any moment. She felt ill again and began losing consciousness.

She felt that the world was rotating around her, it spun faster and faster before suddenly going dark.

'Syl, I'm scared.'