1 Prologue

"Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backward"

- E.E. Cummings

Two shortswords flashed and spun theatrically in each of the man's hands. Stepping forward, a long grey cloak billowed in the wind. His sharp green eyes seemed to pierce the creature's soul with absolute focus. Thin black stubble ran down his refined jaw.

Raising a meaty fist, the gargantuan green monster swung downward. The swordsman let out a short breath, and in an instant, his left hand struck upwards. The tip of the thin blade ever so slightly punctured its elbow. The ogre seemed to be frozen in time, trapped mid-swing. A single drop of blood trickled down its arm. Cracks ran down the ogre's arm down to the rest of its body, spreading like an infection.

"Serrate."

Veins in the ogre's body tensed and bulged, before suddenly exploding. Blood spewed and ran across the grass, pooling around the corpse of the ogre. Thin lacerations spanned the scope of its body, as the swordsman calmly walked across to examine its body.

"Sir!" A voice called out from behind.

"Hm?" The man turned around, his long black hair flipping back. A teenage boy, aged seventeen, was running towards him, dressed in a ridiculous combination of chainmail armor and suspenders. His golden hair almost seemed to glow white in the moonlight.

"Sorry for interrupting, but it's time!"

"Hmm… I suppose it is."

The master swordsman looked up into the starry sky. A kaleidoscope of colors emerged, concentrated in a single point. The planets were converging.