The hero’s eyes were empty of the panic felt by all

the army shook when it was said the capital may fall

but what he first suggested wasn’t to return with haste

“as a hero how could I let this chance go to waste”

The prince recoiled when first he realized the hero’s plan

he hadn’t felt a cold so bitter since winter began

“are you really telling us to let the empire fall

mutual destruction is no victory at all”

He couldn’t understand the the empty look the hero wore

he’d never seen him turn his back on any fight before

“for so long we have fought together for our homeland’s sake

now that it’s in peril, there’s but one course we can take”

The prince’s words were sharp but couldn’t shake the hero’s will

but what the hero said to him made everyone grow still

“the house that I was born in is nowhere in your empire

I told you when we met, you will not bind this hero’s fire”

The prince recalled their meeting in a town so far away

he’d sworn to let the hero keep his freedom on that day

he realized the distance that still separated them

and understood the hero’s actions weren’t his to condemn

“Even so, you must see that our empire must survive

you won’t be their hero when there’s no one left alive

come with me my friend, the demons’ northern home can wait

please help me protect my empire before it’s too late”

The hero shook his head in disappointment at his friend

“I guess you’re just a prince without convictions in the end

the empire is protected by the faith it has in me

and wiping out the monsters’ homeland is my destiny”

“You think that fate will keep your family alive and well

the demons will not stop until they’ve brought the empire hell”

the prince was growing angry at the hero’s cold resolve

but he already knew it was no problem he could solve

“I have no reason to be anxious for my family

they’re at least as strong as any soldier I can see”

the hero scoffed and turned to face the lands that lay in wait

there he’d strike the heart of monsters and resolve his fate

A numbness crept upon the prince and sadness filled his eyes

He only wondered why he’d been so slow to realize

“If war is all you need and you care not for your empire

we’ll return without you, you can do as you desire”

The hero only nodded and was off without a word

never looking back despite the chaos that he heard

the army soon retreated to defend their families

the hero moved in silence through the northern hills and trees

He came upon the place where he’d first fought the demon lord

a battle that allowed him to refine his magic sword

now he walked across the silent fields of melting snow

wondering how far his fate demanded him to go

As he ventured north in hunt of demons and their kin

the hero was impatient for a battle to begin

once he’d found the source of all the demons he had fought

he’d know that that all the endless killing hadn’t been for nought

For too long he’d been servant to the empire’s sluggish pace

he couldn’t run from battle just to save a little face

he’d end the war once and for all and then rebuild his fame

the songs that they would sing of him would still be sung the same

And so his quest continued through the icy northern plains

driven by the duty he felt flowing through his veins

but somehow when he found what he was looking for at last

it didn’t shock him that his fate had changed again so fast

He didn’t find a demon horde or monsters anywhere

all he saw was empty towns and cities here and there

towns that looked no different from the human towns he knew

if not even more advanced or too good to be true

He couldn’t find a single demon anywhere he went

all the hero noticed was a certain putrid scent

something like the smell of death was riding on the breeze

as if the land itself had long been cursed with some disease

An eerie feeling crept up the hero as he walked

and one night he began to feel that he was being stalked

but he was not so weak as to be taken by surprise

and with his awesome speed he came to meet his stalker’s eyes

He held them by the neck against the tree they hid behind

but what he faced was not exactly what he’d hoped to find

in the dark he couldn’t tell at first what he had found

he dragged the demon from their hiding place to open ground

He summoned fire to cast a light upon the would be spy

he hadn’t seen a demon yet and wanted to ask why

but when his firelight fell upon the captured demon’s face

his feet were frozen solid and his heart began to race