— Karma

Over the past 3 years he tried to settle in again. He didn't know anyone, he didn't talk to anyone. He kept to himself. He never spoke or did anything for anyone. Yet still, imperials came to the village. But they didn't seem to be there to burn it. 

A man with a pure white cape and clad in silver armor stood in the middle of the legion. He had blonde hair. Alfen recognized him.

Alrem walked past him and bumped into him by accident. And the man took one good look at his face.

"…Alfen? Is that you?"

He looked back at him and recognized him once again.

"Deon…it's been a while."

"I've been looking for you for a while. What are you even doing here?"

"…I just travel from place to place and I've settled here."

The short brownish yellow cloak still clung onto the back of Alfen, with nothing under it. Along with the brown pants and boots. And his sword holstered on his side.

"Wow, how many years has it been? 2, 3?"

"6. It's been 6 years."

Meanwhile on the other side of the continent. A Great War was raging between neighboring continents. The imperials from this continent they call Paradisio, and the neighboring continent they call Purgatorio. The soldiers fought and fought, limbs and blood flying everywhere, all of them blinded by the deceit of their leaders. But the imperial soldiers had something to look forward to. The arrival of the Transcendant, Ultima.

He came upon this world from the father, and returns to him every time he suffers his fate. The transcendent bears the weight of the curse of immortality, his twisted mind bending others to his will. He was feared, yet revered, he was god, yet he was the devil. The transcendent always dies, but they are always reborn in a new body. And then he came forth. His allies prayed, his enemies shook and cried as he paved the trenches with his mighty sword, rays of light coming out of his sword. A wave of destruction flying through them. Killing 125,000 soldiers in 5 seconds.

He took a step forward. Releasing his energy, crushing all except his allies under his feet, until they fused with the ground. And the ones that were still alive were hunted by him. Until all 500,000 soldiers of the enemy army were dead.

"Now, how is the light doing?"

Deon and Alfen were having a quite entertaining conversation about their time in the empire. And their experiences, but Alfen left out the part about Ultima burning the village. Or the village in general. It always made him vomit and shake whenever he went too far into detail. The picture of all the children burning haunted his mind. After a while of silence. Deon spoke first.

"So, I'm still with the imperials. It might not be the best. But I'm a higher ranking officer now."

"Wow, really? That's…cool."

"Yeah it's been going good. How about you?"

"Um…I don't really know, I've been doing okay…I guess."

"Really? Doesn't really sound like it…"

"Yeah well I'm trying, don't got much income so…I usually just hunt monsters."

"You hunter monsters?" He chuckled. "That's not exactly a dream profession. You should come back to the military."

"No…I think I'm good."

'Why would Deon say that…? Something's off with him.'

"Well, I have to depart, it's been nice talking to you, Alfen, I hope we meet again."

Deon smiled before leaving before Alfen got the chance to say goodbye. For some reason, Alfen felt betrayed, and he felt he needed to get out of there as fast as possible. 

Alfen's heart raced as he hurriedly packed his bags. The uneasy feeling that had washed over him during his conversation with Deon grew stronger with each passing moment. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, that Deon was hiding something from him.

As he gathered his belongings, his mind raced with questions. What could Deon possibly be involved in that would make him feel this way? And why hadn't he mentioned anything about Ultima during their conversation? Alfen knew he had to get out of there before it was too late.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the village, leaving behind the life he had tried to build for himself over the past few years. The road ahead was uncertain, but Alfen knew that staying in one place any longer would only put him in danger.

As he traveled through the wilderness, Alfen couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. The air seemed heavy with tension, and every rustle of leaves or snap of a twig made him jump. He knew that he was being followed, but when he turned around, there was no one there.

Alfen rested by a stream, he heard a sound behind him. Turning around quickly, he saw Deon standing there, dressed in full armor and accompanied by a group of imperials. Alfen's heart sank as he realized that his worst fears had come true – Deon had betrayed him.