The battlefield was chaotic.
Clang! Clang!
Blades clashed in deadly rhythm. Screams of pain, fear, and death filled the air like a dirge.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bodies fell like broken dolls. Blood soaked the soil. The air stank of iron, smoke, sweat, and terror.
Ash drifted through the sky, curling above the fallen—warriors once called Sword King, Martial Saint, Champion. Now, they were just corpses under the boots of one man—
Aiden Ferith.
The War Hero of Ashenvale. A general whose mind outmatched armies. A warrior whose sword defied legends. He stood at the peak—Martial Emperor—a realm so high it made even martial saints feel small.
He was once the man who laughed with children, fed the poor, and never left a comrade behind.
But now, he stood alone.
His black, shredded cloak flapped in the wind like the last flag of a dying kingdom. Blood dripped from his massive, pitch-black claymore, hissing as it hit the scorched ground.
The war had been going on for two months.
But now, it was finally coming to an end.
The famed Nyvarian general, Richard Hendricson—the Sword King—was lying dead, a gaping hole in his chest. The Nyvarian king, cunning and cruel, was beheaded. Their Martial Saints? Turned to ash.
Their pride.
Their power.
Their legacy.
All crushed beneath the weight of Aiden Ferith.
And yet… he felt nothing.
The silence at the end of the battle was deafening. Victory was his—but it felt empty. The people he fought for… the ones he loved… were gone.
His enemies were defeated. But his heart was still broken.
Aiden looked around the ruins. "So much death. So much sacrifice. For what?"
Then suddenly…
Crunch!
A step behind him.
He didn't turn. He already had a hunch about who it was.
"I see you've come," Aiden said quietly. His voice was a bit rough. A part of him had been hoping that he was wrong.
But then the answer came. The voice was soft and familiar. But cold.
"I had to. You've become too powerful, Master. I can't let that continue anymore."
Aiden turned his head slowly.
Nolan Ashborn.
His disciple. The boy he had raised. The one he called his sworn brother. His eyes which once were full of hope and gratitude, were now filled with hatred and jealousy.
Aiden's voice became bitter and heavy with sorrow. "So… it was really you."
Before he could say anything else—
Chk-shkk!
A blade struck him — piercing straight through his back.
The tip of the longsword burst out from Aiden's chest, soaked in blood.
He gasped. His body trembled. He dropped to one knee, barely keeping himself from falling.
"You were my brother!" he choked out.
Nolan looked down with a blank face. "And you were a curse in my life, Master. No matter how hard I tried to shine, I was always in your shadow."
Aiden gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his lips. "So… you hated me for being strong?" His voice was weak. Each word was a struggle.
"Yes," Nolan said flatly. "No matter how hard we tried… we were nothing compared to you. Our efforts, our achievements….none of it was ever recognised because of you."
Aiden stared at him with a heavy heart. "You think I wanted that? I would've given you everything. All of it."
"And that's the problem!" Nolan snapped. "You could afford to! You had more—strength, respect, love. You never had to fight for it like we did."
Despite the blade in his chest, Aiden stood slowly. "And that's why you betrayed me? Invited enemies into our home? Had my family killed? Just so you could feel powerful? Invincible?"
He almost choked on those last words.
Nolan sneered. "Yes. I will erase your very existence from this earth. No one will remember you anymore. I will be the strongest one. I will become the legend people remember from this moment onward!"
Hahaha… He started laughing like a madman.
Aiden shook his head. "I wish I had known it sooner. Then I would've nipped your twisted existence in the bud."
"Save it, Master. Your family is waiting for you," Nolan said with a cruel smile. "Don't make them wait too long. You should go and say hi."
"No," Aiden blurted out gritting his teeth. "I'll take you with me."
He took a shaky step forward. His legs were barely holding on, but his eyes burned with the last bit of energy in him.
Then, with all that strength he had left, he strode forward and slashed at Nolan.
But his body was too damaged.
Nolan dodged easily and stabbed him again—this time with a knife straight to the heart.
"You should give it a rest, Master."
Aiden's body froze.
His strength gave out completely this time. He dropped to his knees, then collapsed fully. But his eyes never left Nolan's face.
No rage.
No anger.
Just sorrow.
Nolan stood there, emotionless.
He looked at the man bleeding out before him—the one who had believed in him more than anyone.
The battlefield was now painfully quiet.
And in that silence… Nolan felt it.
The weight of his "victory."
"Why don't I feel happy? Why? Why?"
Tears fell from his eyes—without him even realizing.
A memory flashed before him.
In the ashes of war, a boy lay broken, breath fading under a crumbling sky. Death reached for him—until a shadow moved through the dust. A strong hand dragged him from the jaws of death.
It was Nolan.
And the one who saved him… was Aiden.
The lust for power. The hunger for fame.
They turn even saints into monsters.
Nolan was no different.
And just like that, betrayal brought Aiden Ferith's glorious story to a shameful end.
He was still conscious—but slowly losing it.
Aiden's vision began to dim. The world around him grew colder. His thoughts slowed, drifting to the faces of those he had loved—now gone. And then, to the one who had betrayed him.
"If I had just one more chance…I'd do it all differently. Maybe then, my family would still be alive."
But it was too late. No amount of regret could bring back what he had already lost.
Or that's what he thought.
Was it fate? Karma? Or perhaps… mercy? Whatever it was, Aiden didn't know what was waiting for him.
Suddenly, the sky split open—like paper torn by unseen hands.
A voice, deep and ancient as the stars, echoed from the void:
"A soul unyielding… shall not perish."
Darkness swallowed him.
But in that endless black… a spark appeared.
A single light. Distant… but calling.
And Aiden moved toward it—step by step.
Heart still burning.
And will — desperate.
To be continued…