Gripping my sword tightly in my hand, I ready myself to charge right ahead. I can see the creatures of pure evil move slowly towards me, barely organized. ‘You’re mocking me, aren’t you…?’ I quickly check my surroundings, looking for anything I can use for my advantage. The burning village makes everything look dark and grim, but it does help me see the small alleyway. ‘Can it work?’ I look at my huge two-handed sword and realize I can’t swing anything as big as this around a small alleyway. I charge into it nevertheless. ‘Come on, Abyss! Don’t you want me?’

They screech like beasts, and chase after me. I keep running as hard as I can, until I reach the end of the alleyway. It is then that I realize that another Abysmal creature pops up in front of me.

‘Looks like you’re in trouble, Brandr. You’d probably need some help.’

‘Get out of my head, you damned-!’ Before I can finish my sentence towards the evil inside me, I realize that I am in striking distance of the enemy. I thrust as hard as I can in the weak Abysmal creature, killing it easily in the process. The way ahead is empty. I turn around to face the creatures that were chasing me.

‘Okay…concentrate…’ I ignore the heat and fire that have engulfed the village, along with the clicking sounds of the teeth, coming from the creatures. The magic that lingers in the air around me reconstructs in my Sword of Thousand Arcs and starts shining brightly. ‘Magic Edelweiss Art: Impact!’ I thrust forward into the alleyway, and the magic strikes forward from my sword like an arrow, piercing all the other creatures instantly. They crumble by the holy light of the Star Magic implemented in my sword and reduce to nothing.

‘I’m safe…for now…’ I look towards the darkened sky and feel the guilt fall on my shoulders. Another village I couldn’t save. ‘Dammit, I’m pathetic…and I dare to call myself a Hero.’ I clench my sword, lamenting the fact that I couldn’t save this village and its inhabitants from the evil of Abyss. ‘Ah…’ The sky reminds me of home. Of Edelweiss. Of my family that is somewhere out there, missing me for years now.

‘How…how did it all come to this…?’ The embers of the village accompany the rising smoke, into the dark night, lit up the thousand stars in the sky of this…what I think it could truly be…a beautiful world…

How did it come to all this…?