Yuki woke up to the sound of bells ringing. He blinked, squinted, then rubbed his eyes trying to adjust them to the darkness of the room.

“Lesser light.” he murmured, still drowsy from his sleep. “What with all this noise?”

Joseph was already awake, putting on his clothes. “Guards signaled the alarm. Something is happening in the village. I’ll go check it out.”

Aria crawled out from under Yuki’s pillow. “You’re not going alone. We’re coming too. Where is Pax?”

“I left him at the city stables. They are on the other side of the village.”

A strong knock on the door interrupted their conversation. “Laddies, you awake? Something is happening in the village. You stay here and guard me wife and house while I go investigate.”

“We’ll wait for him to leave, then we will go as well.” Joseph whispered.

After Hoggurd left the trio silently got out of the room. They passed the short hall and carefully went down the old, creaky stairs. Their carefulness was futile and stairs started whining either way. Not even soft steps could stop their scratchy whine.

“Leaving already?” Niella was sitting on one of the sofas. Aria, which was floating in the open, quickly tried to hide in Yuki’s pocket.

“You don’t have to hide, little wisp.” The words stumped all three of them. “I felt your presence the moment you entered the house.” Her purple eyes squinted. “Curses are hard to hide from elves. Especially the strong ones. We see the world differently. That being said, I can feel interesting auras coming from all three of you. But that might just be me, I was always a bit weird. Or maybe it’s the years. I’ve been around for a long time and sometimes years can cloud one’s vision and judgement.”

She got up from the sofa and wrapped herself with a brown cloak with a hood.

“Oh and I do hope my vision is clouded, for if it isn’t…” she looked at Yuki. Deep sadness in her eyes made his whole body shiver.. “Listen Yuki. There will come a time when your heart will be tested.” she made a short pause, choosing her next words. “When this time comes, you must be strong and you must make a choice. Any choice will suffice. If your resolve falters, you will lose everything. Remember this.” She walked over to the door. “I must leave now. There is nothing keeping me here anymore. But you... You should hurry, for your fate awaits you.”

With this she left the house leaving the door open. They all stood there like statues, unable to grasp what just happened. Joseph was first to recover from the shock.

“Let’s go. We have no time to waste.”

When they got out of the house, Niella was already gone and they proceeded towards the sounds of battle that were coming from the town square.

Black spear thrusted forward with an incredible spear. Another body fell lifeless to the ground. Most of the guards were already dead or ran away. Only one person was left standing.

“Bring me the boy.” Grey lifeless lips uttered the words at the remaining adversary. “There is no need for you to die here.”

“I don’t know who yer talking about, but I won’t let you get away after what ye already did.” Hoggurd was breathing heavily. He was already bleeding from numerous wounds and his strength was betraying him. He could barely hold his battleaxe. Barely, but he held it.

“Nature’s revenge!” Hoggurd yelled and rushed at the opponent. Numerous thorny vines bursted from the ground, breaking the town’s square stone pathing, and swirled in the same direction. Before the black knight could react they grabbed both of his hands and enveloped his body, effectively restricting his movements. New, thicker vines came from the ground, but started uncontrollably whipping the air and anything in their reach.

Hoggurd jumped and with a wide downswing took off the knight's arm that was still holding onto the spear. While he was preparing his next attack a thick vine broke free from the ground beneath him and pierced his stomach. Hoggurd painfully gasped and fell to the knee.

His opponent, although initially surprised, now had a cold, indifferent look. The thorny vines that held him restricted all withered and crumbled. Free again, he lifted the spear with his remaining arm and swung it in front of himself, sending a wave of darkness across the area. The remaining vines died just like the ones before.

“You were in no condition to control such a powerful spell.” the knight's face showed no compassion but his words somehow implied otherwise. “I recognize your spirit. You die a warrior’s death.”

“Gah. *cough* Shove it up yer…*cough*” Hoggurd couldn’t finish the sentence.

The trio came just in time to witness the black knight pulling his spear from Hoggurd’s chest. They were careful to stay hidden while still being able to see what is happening on the town square. The square was littered with guards’ bodies and in the middle of it stood an ominous black figure which just killed the man who showed them nothing but kindness.

“H-hoggurd.” Yuki silently groaned. He took a step forward. Joseph grabbed his arm and pulled back.

“Are you crazy? That thing is looking for us. We need to get to stables and get out of the town.”

Yuki couldn’t hear him. He snapped out of Joseph’s grasp and continued limping forward. Sadness, helplessness, anger, fear, anxiety, loathing. Emotions welled up in him, mixing together into something new. Rage overwhelmed him. He pulled his sword out and stepped into the light of a street torch.

“Aria, he’s lost it.”

“Yes, I can see that. We have no choice but to fight now. That thing looks damaged, so we might stand a chance.”

“You need to use Mending if we want to stand a chance here.”

“Y-yes, I know.”

The knight spotted the limping Yuki and turned to face him.

“You are the boy I saw in my Lord’s vision.” He pointed the black spear in his direction. “My name is Arthur and I am here to take your life and that of your soulmate.”

But Yuki couldn’t hear his adversary. His mind was completely dark from the rage that overwhelmed him.

“Spectral light!” A spear of blinding white light flew by him and at the enemy ahead. Joseph ran past him, holding a glowing white sword in his hand. In his blind rage, Yuki started running for the enemy, but then a warm feeling permeated his body. The rage he was feeling soothed and he could again think clearly. He saw Joseph clashing with the black knight and realized he was standing on the town square with his sword unsheathed.

“W-wha..”

“Yuki, please calm down.” He heard a voice inside his head. It was Aria’s. “We are fighting. I used mending so we might stand a chance. I’m not familiar with the magic our opponent is using, so be careful.”

“Understood.” Yuki managed to fully regain his composure. Instead of rage, a feeling of calmness and confidence filled him.

Haste.

Lesser endurance.

Strong hands.

Soft steps.

Armor enhancement.

Meanwhile, Joseph was matching his opponent in both strength and speed but was using a lot of his stamina to keep this stalemate going and his opponent didn’t seem tired, even after all the battles he fought. He parried an incoming attack and found himself in a lock, standing face to face with the black knight.

“You are well trained, boy.” The knight's words showed no signs of fatigue. “But you are not my target. Step aside.” Joseph didn’t respond, preserving his strength. He caught a glimpse of Yuki with his peripheral vision and quickly jumped back, releasing the lock.

Yuki was running at an incredible speed, from the side where his opponent was missing an arm. The knight noticed the new attacker, but lost balance when Joseph broke the lock and couldn’t react in time.

“Raaaaargh!” Yuki let out a furious roar slashing at the armor opening. The knight groaned in pain.

Wh-why am I feeling pain?

He shot a surprised look at Yuki, then at his weapon.

That must be the sword we were searching for.

Yuki wasted no time and attacked the surprised opponent again, this time together with Joseph. The knight regained his balance and prepared for Yuki’s incoming attack, completely ignoring the other assailant. He sent a wave of darkness forward, then lunged the spear through it, hiding his counterattack.

Joseph realized his plan, and instead of attacking the knight, kicked the rear end of the spear, changing its direction. Yuki dodged the wave and the hidden spear attack only grazed his ear. He didn’t flinch but used the momentum he had to pierce the armor and chest of the knight.

“Die, you bastard!” he screamed using both hands to push the sword further into the chest.

The knight let out a painful howl, dropping the spear to the ground. He grabbed Yuki by the head and raised him off the ground. A cloud of darkness exploded from his chest, and the painful howl turned into a monstrous, penetrating shriek. Yuki didn’t feel the full impact of the shriek due to mending enhanced endurance, but Joseph dropped to the ground screaming while covering his bleeding ears.

Yuki was helplessly hanging in the air, trying to free his head from the steel grasp. He met the gaze of completely black, dead eyes and froze.

“You will know pain. You will know betrayal.” The black knight then opened his mouth releasing a beam of thick darkness into Yuki’s face.

The darkness crept into Yuki’s head through every hole and crevice it found. It continued down his throat and spread through his whole body. It spread unbearable emotions of despair and madness. Whatever this darkness was, wherever it came from, it was made from pure hatred. Knight closed his mouth and dropped Yuki to the ground. The boy squirmed and kicked while holding his throat. Aria used the last of her strength in a desperate attempt to keep Yuki sane from relentless darkness that still permeated his body. When it seemed that Yuki somewhat recovered, she left his body. She could barely shine any light and couldn’t fly at all.

Joseph finally got up, still trying to fully regain his balance. He limped forward preparing an attack but in that moment the black knight’s body started disintegrating. After just a few seconds, a cloud of ash, that once was their fearsome enemy, was swept away by a light breeze, leaving only the sword behind. Joseph looked around to check if they were alone on the square. With no one still in sight he hurriedly took the sword, put the now unconscious Yuki on his back, and Aria in pocket. He strengthened his body with a spell and went towards the stables.

They left the village under the guise of night, before anyone could stop them and ask questions that would only further complicate their situation.