1 0 : Prologue

Flames swirl around consuming everything in sight as two sword clash together. And as the next second passes; a low thud sounds out as one of the swords strikes deep into the dirt and ash.

"You just don't get it do you?" A person in angelic, gilded-silver knight armour chuckles to himself.

As he finishes, my rolling body comes to a halt, and I try to force myself up onto trembling arms. He sets his foot on my back; shoving me back down into the dirt and ash of my village.

"You think it's gonna be that easy to defeat me?" He presses harder down upon my spine.

I try to stretch, underneath the pressure, and reach my arm out for my blade. However, his claymore's long blade pierces straight through my arm, causing a blood-curdling scream to erupt from within my dry lungs.

"Aaah… did that hurt? I'm so… sorry," he states before beginning to laugh while jiggling the sword stuck in my forearm. "Come on, what's it gotta take to get the old you back?"

I just respond with another howling scream.

"Wait, wait, wait… What's this…? It seems I didn't get everybody the first time around…" He pulls the blade from my arm, then grabs me by the hair. He lifts my head up just enough to see a little girl standing horrified by the scene in front of her.

"Y-you leave h-her al-lone!" I yell through gritted, bloody teeth.

Then the pressure on my back is lifted; to only be replaced with the blade of his sword, pinning me to the ground. My gasp quickly turns to coughs of blood.

"So, who would you be little girl? You never told me you had a daughter?" He shows a toothy grin, and his eyes glow a monstrous golden-yellow colour.

"Y-you… L-leave… H-her… A-al-lone…" My wheezing voice is heavily overshadowed by the huffs of air I try to grasp onto. Yet, each and every word vibrates pain as I lie pinned, helpless, to the ground.

"Or, or, or… Now hear me out…" He raises a hand as if to silence me. "How about…"

He picks her up by the throat while pulling out a thin, gilded-silver dagger…

"NOOO!" I cry out while reaching out to her…

She reaches her hand out towards me, and begins to cry, "Moma!"

Then Regalia pierces my only daughter's heart with his blade.

I scream and struggle against the sword still stuck in me, however, I can't pry myself from the earth. Then I lie still, unmoving, not believing.

"Damn… I really thought that would've done it… Welp, guess not…" he drops her lifeless body, and she collides with the ground with hollow thumps.

"I'll just be back in another millennium… That should give you enough time to think it over, and hey you can keep the sword, hahaha…"

He laughs as he rips open a portal into the open air before fading away from reality. And once he vanishes I just stare at my daughter's empty expression with tears coating my face.

I just stare…

And stare…

For what feels like hours pass and my body begins to feel hollow… Not even sorrow remains…

I break my stare as my brain begins to force both my body and the blade from the warm, burnt earth. And an empty scream erupts from me as I push myself into a stand, then immediately push the blade back through my body.

However, the blade doesn't even have time to hit the ground before I'm already at my daughter's side.

I hold her body close to my chest as I begin to scream out my tears into the sky.