The Gallant Knight Living the Modern Times.

[The great alliance marches towards the Dawn empire! Will the harbinger of chaos be dethroned!?]

Such is the title on a sheet of newspaper lying on the ground, the wind came and the paper flapped away with it, the noise of the paper seemed loud as thunder on the ghost-like a capital city.

Spacious stone-houses and stores were silent with open windows and doors, there was no movement inside, some still had food on the table, cold, with flyes around it.

Lilac, the empress that became known and feared because she brought a new dawn to the present era, stared at the desolate scenery from the tallest building in the middle of the capital, a black palace made out of opaque ebony rocks adorned with ivory crystals in their edge. She was sitting right on the last step, on the top of the stairway, with the palace's main hall and her throne right behind her back

Her black dress fluttered with the wind as she sipped on the last bit of wine swirling inside the diamond chalice, she relished on the flavor with a satisfied sigh and with her indicator; gently pushed the empty bottle of rare elven wine down the stairs. Silently, she looked at the dark clouds in the sky. It was her third bottle, the clouds seemed to move in a weird way, making her smile with intoxication.

The sound of the bottle rolling down the steps resounded, but the empress frowned as the sound of breaking glass didn't reach her ears.

Her dark-red iris stared down, a tall man wearing a complete set of ebony thick heavy armor was holding the empty bottle on his palm.

A scowl emerged from Lilac's face, "Black knight, have you come to claim the first blow on this demonic empress? Or did you simply want to watch me die as vengeance for trying to get rid of you so many times?"

The knight's lazy laugh came from within the helmet. "This knight merely came back to where he belongs, but seeing her majesty throwing a tantrum is also satisfying."

Her eyes looked intently at him, "And where do you belong? The Dawn kingdom?" He walked up the stairways and stood right beside her, giving the silent answer.

Lilac sharply turned her face away with a tsk. Somehow, even though it was impossible to see through the helmet, she could understand his meaning. It would often be like this, she would decree something, and he would look at her, every time she felt like he understood all her intentions and feelings behind the order, some decrees he complied, but did it on his own ways, other decrees he refused and disrupted those who accepted. For someone like her, whose life has been centered around power, the feeling was simply disgusting, even more so because she too, felt like she understood his emotions with a simple look. So she tried to get rid of him, repeatedly.

Each time was a failure, and he always seemed amused by it. And each time he reappeared with a lazy smile her chest would become twisted with conflicting emotions of rage because she couldn't have an uncontrollable pawn and relief because he was the only thing left that resembled a friend.

A thundering boom resounded.

Lilac awoke from her reveries.

The knight looked at the horizon darkening with troops, the empress's eyes went still with silent hatred. The drums, like hammers on iron, repeatedly resounded, a chant that could be summed up to fight for justice by killing the demonic empress continuously echoed.

"Tell me, black knight, how someone whose spirit is governed by lust, like you, can find meaning solely on pleasure?" The empress asked. Ignoring the marching troops.

The knight chuckled. "I have no answer, but I'm sure it's similar to my question; How people like her majesty, whose spirit is governed by greed, can live forfeiting all pleasures for the high of power?

"...."

"... So we are complete opposites? Pffthaha! The only person besides me, in the end, is my complete opposite!" Lilac laughed, and so did the knight.

As they stopped laughing, they noticed, this was the first time they actually talked. But neither commented, they just kept going as the troops neared, she talked of how her family was back then, as she built the empire, she asked about his days as mercenary, he answered by telling his feats, how he cooked rare monsters and partied with Orcs and dark elves. Casual talks like that of neighbors continued for two hours.

The sun was setting, the enemies were at the gate.

The empress sighed helplessly, "I just finished uniting the empire two years ago, I didn't even play with it enough and now they'll take it all away." She feigned playfulness since she was too proud to lament. The knight thought.

Lilac got up and walked to the palace's main hall, "Will I be able to see your majesty dancing?" The knight asked.

The empress paused and gazed back at him, "You mean the Dancing Amaterasu? You're nuts, they'll shut me down before I can finish it."

"I'm here, they won't be able to." The knight answered.

The empress looked at the enemies that had already entered the capital and where halfway to the palace. "The master of the spear, the master of the sword, supreme mages, hero level warriors, holy priests, All heroes, elders and meteoric talents of the five kingdoms are on the front line." She added.

"I know, by gathering all I have defeated before maybe they can actually give me a good brawl." He spoke with leisure.

She gazed at his back, he always looked unhurried and without worry, if the sky was falling apart you wouldn't know by looking at him. But she knew he couldn't possibly beat them all.

"...They are putting on a show, but they'll rush within the second I start the spell. I require twenty minutes."

"You'll have it." He answered. "My empress, what do you regret the most?" and suddenly asked.

She paused but didn't turn back, looking up at the now dark sky, she smiled "I regret neglecting my family, I regret shining so much that all the kingdoms, including my own, became afraid, but as you said, my addiction is satisfying my greed for power. I don't think I'd be able to change it even if I went back in time. What about you, my knight?"

"Oh, I don't wanna tell." He laughed.

Lilac snorted with anger and didn't speak any longer, He was the opposite of the white knight, after all. There's no use in insulting people who put no value on high morals. Uknownly a smile formed on her face, Lilac walked to the middle of the hall and rashly made a move with her leg, a symbol shone in the ground.

The knight admired the moves, the spell is based on a story, the tale of the goddess of fire, Amaterasu, that danced on a cloud while the world beneath her was consumed by apocalyptic flames.

Lilac danced, a hundred men and women came flying towards the palace, the knight wielded a heavy long sword.

She danced while the ceiling was blown away, the debris fell randomly, yet she dances, bloody limbs splashed around, screams resounded on her ears, but she kept on dancing, chips and bits of the black armor she was so used to seeing flew by her eyes, yet she still danced, all the way until a constellation like spell formation shone on the ground.

Twenty minutes have passed, the symbol on the main hall shone brightly, the enemies flew away in despair but the radius of the spell would engulf the whole kingdom. She smiled with venom on her lips and sweat on her forehead. She looked at him.

His armor was shattered, showcasing a horrendous state but he was smiling, a two-inch-long double-pointed green arrow flew from his fingers and sunk on her chest, then it broke in half, and the other part pierced his own chest.

"Repeat fate." He muttered. She didn't understand what was happening, but the symbol on the main hall exploded in flames, not giving a chance for a talk.

*****

The world turned white, A voice spoke on the black knight's mind.

"My end of the deal is done, knight, now come yours. The thrones of heaven and hell have long been destroyed, the equilibrium broke, fight with the races for the supremacy of those realms and restore the equilibrium, fail, and your existence shall be erased."

*****

"..ello! I'm ....! are you there..?"

Faint voices reach his ear.

The black knight looks on through blurred eyes, he was on the living room of a house, there were some people around.

But the first thing to meet his eyes were deep scarlet irises, staring at him, her hair was loose and long till almost hitting the waist, wearing a tight outfit he never saw before, she had an extended hand his way.

'It worked.' The knight thought and acted. He stepped forward and seized her by the waist landing his lips onto her slightly red ones. He felt her tongue for barely a second

before suffering an impact to the stomach, a bite on his lips, then a slap to the face. He felt the salty iron taste on his mouth and muttered out loud, looking at her startled, enraged expression. "Spicy, but still more refreshing than cold water after traveling through the desert." Everybody could see his intoxicated sleazy smile.

"W-What's this!? She's your sister! You're both my blood!" An enraged and confused old man's voice boomed through the living room.

The knight stilled, his eyes were stunned, wide-open with surprise.

He looked around and realized children and some people looking at him with absurdity, he read the banner on the top of the room.

[Welcome back brother Dionisio!!]

He sighed with a helpless chuckle.

"Oh fate, you rascal."