Each breath was fresher than the other, which helped a lot in cooling down Louis’s head after a relentless day of running after people sharing his ideal and running from people looking for his divine mark. Exhausted from all the commotions, the prince spent his time looking at the night sky, the dark eerie veil covering the landscape from one horizon to another left an aftertaste of misadventure and of unconquered lands.

Territory that can’t belong to humans. Territory beyond a human’s reach.

A long time ago, humanity clashed against the forces of the other side. Unspeakable threats engulfing plains and mountains in a single night, eating the soil as it sunk in an irreversible state of nothingness, these creatures knew no bounds on starvation and no concepts of morality. Devouring, devouring and devouring again, it was a bland, dark wave as depthless as the abyss.

Eventually, this seemingly unstoppable force was defeated by mankind’s finest. Clad in the fire and the love of the Day Goddess, they withstood and endured the harshest gauntlets, and won.

Darkness retreated, and humanity could finally start to step on the lightless world of their own lands. Torch and lance in hands, they marched, settled and finally brought themselves to the next steps in civilisation.

Looking at the ramparts in the distance, Louis spotted tiny specks like fireflies following the lines of fortifications. Three-men patrols wielding fire-lances, the pinnacle of humans’ solution against any danger. Their duty appeared both boring and extremely dangerous, but it went without saying that those men fulfilled a fundamental role in the well-being of today’s society.

You could name it in many ways, however, it was the truth that those same men were the current frontline of humanity against darkness. The job was easy enough for anyone to apply, the salary satisfying despite the risks involved, however, their duty was the same as those from the legends.

If darkness remained and humans kept fighting against it, then Louis had every reason to grow more and more sceptical.

Why wouldn’t the Day Goddess bless him? Maybe She was valuing him differently than what others are trying to make him believe.

But then, why nobody else was blessed ever since the end of the war? Louis theorized that no more heroes were needed in the eyes of the Day Goddess, and thus gifting Her blessing wasn’t necessary anymore for their survival.

Every day, every evening and every time Louis stared at the city breathing under his eyes, the same unholy thought crossed his mind.

“Perhaps the Day Goddess doesn’t love us anymore… Or perhaps she never loved us to begin with and only guided us on this thorny path.

We mortals are merely ants when compared to a god, brainless herd of sheep that some random shepherd found and took upon itself to help traverse the river.”

The prince hoped he was wrong, otherwise he would start doubting his own race’s worth in addition to their inner strength. But if he was indeed right… Then he could only laugh at how much humanity progressed thanks to the benevolence of their shepherd.

Feeling the wind turning even colder, Louis decided to put an end to his stay on the balcony. Once inside his room, the servants closed the door behind and helped him change his outer wear for the night. After they were done and upon receiving the command to leave, they all bowed and departed from the chamber.

Standing alone in front of the mirror, the prince pondered one last question to his reflection.

“In the end, what has mankind gained from siding with the Day Goddess? Peace? Prosperity? Or a chance to live?

Then on the other hand… What have our ancestors given up on to receive her attention?

What was the criteria, where is the limit, and why us?”

He was certain that the answers to those question would bring him closer to solving his daily issue. If he could understand a bit more the Day Goddess’s intentions… But of course, his curiosity would spell more than trouble if he were to tell anyone else.

Smiling at his funny state and situation, Louis bid farewell to the mirror and finally laid down on the comfy bed, ready to send his mind in the land of dreams.

However, just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a heavy luggage drop on his balcony. Or not exactly, he didn’t exactly heard something drop. Yet, it was undeniable that something –or someone- made a deafened ruckus next to his room.

It couldn’t have been a late servant, and his balcony especially was one of the hardest point to reach from outside, this left one last speculation in his annoyed mind. An assassin.

Grabbing his sword, the prince prepared himself to throw the hitman like trash after slicing him in a dozen of pieces. Through the glass separating his room from the balcony, his eyesight caught something… Beyond his imagination.

The large silhouette drew itself from the dark of the night, fumbling like a wild animal hunting a prey out of its sight, but within reach of its smell.

Creatures couldn’t fly. There has never been mentions, witnesses or even speculation about this fact. No creatures had wings of even anything close to the ability to float above ground. They could grow above the clouds, expand beyond the largest deserts, but they always had been terrestrial entities.

This thing here had wings.

And even worse… Its eyes glowed in the dark in a supernatural way.

It wasn’t the glow of a predator hiding in the bushes, but the blaze of the sun he was so familiar with.

Just like his father the king, this thing had fire in its eyes. And it was looking straight at him.

His alertness rose up when Louis noticed the intruder poking on the glass, its breath tainting the panels before trying the handle on the door, the slow and laborious process only made the prince more uneasy and certain that the guest wasn’t human. He affirmed the grasp on his sword and awaited his opponent’s move.

At last, the handle was pushed, but the lock prevented it from being opened any further.

Perhaps noticing the futility of the result, the monster started to lean against the frame, trying to get a better picture of what was inside. The prince, however, believed it was trying to get his attention. The incendiary gaze kept staring at him, burning down his confidence bit by bit.

Then, the monster stepped back and flew away.

It all happened so quickly, Louis remained frozen in his stance sword in hands. Many kind of doubts circled in his heads, questioning the monster’s intentions, its whereabouts, and most importantly: why was there a wild monster in the capital?

Monsters should all have been exterminated during the war, a mere collateral damage when humanity fought against darkness. Their extinction was inevitable, as they represented a force capable of threatening the peace humans were trying to sustain with their lives.

Alas, Louis also knew of the hypocrisy and the dementia of a lot. After all, capturing monsters and taming them like pets did turn into a profit while it lasted. This one probably escaped from one of those underground zoos, however, it now found itself stuck in the city as the outer wild was too dangerous with those hungry shadows lurking around.

The best he should do now was put the monster out of misery. As a human being, that was what he should have been doing.

Instead, the prince unlocked the door and stepped again on the balcony, his sword still in hand but the intent to kill was now lacking.

Then, he simply stood there. After scanning his surroundings, Louis found no traces of the monster. It was already gone as if it never happened in the first place.

However, he knew better.

As before, he same noise of a heavy luggage falling echoed next to him. Slightly turning his head toward the source of the noise, his eyes now accustomed to the dimness of the night stared back at the winged beast.

“The head and the torso of a woman, but the wings and the talons of a bird… You’re a harpy.”

The fiery eyes pierced his soul like daggers could pierce one’s skin. Louis remembered the many tales the librarians recounted from their search: of how a man with the Day Goddess’s blessing could easily rip apart a bull bare handed, or how one hero withstood the fire of a dragon’s breath while merely crossing his arms.

Those insane feats did happen in the past, otherwise humans couldn’t possibly have won this war against both monsters and creatures.

But now, such unfathomable strength stood before him. Not as a fellow human being, but from the side of the once defeated by his ancestors.

It actually wouldn’t be surprising if the monster started rampaging here, killing every human and reducing this town to ashes. After all, with the fire in her eyes, this was a feat absolutely in her capacity.

But she didn’t. The harpy didn’t lay a finger nor on the castle, nor on the prince despite presenting himself. Instead, she called for attention. Why?

With those thoughts in mind… The prince lightly laughed it off.

“I have… So many questions right now, and I am not even sure a harpy can communicate with a human in the first place, so where should I start already?”

“Throw… The sword.”

The prince was shocked from hearing the monster uttering words in his language.

“You can speak?!”

The harpy offered no further response, her gaze juggling between his eyes and the sword in his hands. Getting the hint, Louis… Still held some doubts in his heart. Should he trust this monster, or perhaps… No, thinking in any other way would be ridiculous. If she so much wanted, she could make this fort crumbles in a single hit. What could a stick of iron accomplish against the ones chosen by the Day Goddess?

“Mh… Really, you never know what tomorrow holds for you.”

In one swoop, the prince threw away his weapon beyond the fences of the balcony, the sword spinning in the air until it stuck itself in the dirt of the garden or in the bark of a tree.

Watching the arm being thrown away, the harpy redirected her burning eyes on the prince. Feeling her hostility –or perhaps her mistrust- he opened his arm, showing to the monster his complete lack of arsenal.

“I threw away my only weapon, and the only thing left I have is this humble vestment. Will it suffice to ease you, monster?”

“You… Humans… Are monsters.”

“I guess in your eyes, we are the true monsters. We discarded anything that seemed dangerous for us, we even went as far as reshaping the land and mastering the resources of nature to satisfy our growing needs of comfort and security. If I met a horse and found out it was building fortresses and walls out of stones, even I would feel frightened.

But that is our strength. We aren’t as strong as minotaurs, nor as fast as the centaurs. We aren’t as tall as the cyclops, nor can we harness magical power like the medusas. We are weak, and that is why we had to nurture our own strength.”

“Strong words… From a race chosen by… Day Goddess.”

The prince had no words to retort her. She was right, humans could become as intelligent as they desired it would still be too late when the tides crushed against their walls. In the end, they won not thanks to their technological advancement, but because out of every people living on this world, humans were the ones chosen by the Day Goddess.

Not the monsters. Not the harpies. But humans.

The question repeated itself inside his head. Why had She chosen humans over anyone else? Out of pity, because they were easily massacred by monsters? Out of rationalism, because She felt humans were a better fit?

“But then why” asked the prince with a mix of irritation and curiosity, “Why did She chooses you now?”

After spouting his question, Louis suddenly noticed the harpy approaching him, one step at a time. Clenching his fits, he awaited for the harpy to make herself clear. Showing evident hostility towards a hero chosen would only spell his doom.

Only when the monster stood in front of Louis could he discern her visage as well as both her feminine and monstrous figure. She could grow as pretty as she wanted, the inhumane body parts reminded Louis that he wasn’t dealing with another lady from his usual routine. Her body was covered in tattered clothes, perhaps from looting unlucky fellows who stumbled upon her figure in the city.

The wings themselves appeared both harmonious and majestic, the amethyst tinted feathers seemed to glow slightly in the dark with timid but numerous little spots of golden marks to accentuate the elegant beauty of a bird. In other circumstances, maybe Louis would have let himself enjoy the sight a bit longer. But when cornered and judged by her eyes, all he could feel right now was anxiety.

She didn’t seem taller than him, but her presence was enough to make him believe he was just a mice in front of an eagle.

The harpy squinted her eyes, perhaps out of satisfaction, of boredom or just plain spite.

“The Day Goddess… Smiles back… But only… If you smile first.”

The Day Goddess smile to every people who wake up on the morning, and who smile back at her. How many times has he heard this exact same phrase? But how surprised was he when he heard it again coming from the mouth of a monster?

“You take… And you don’t give back…

You think of yourself first… Then others last…

Your actions… Killed your worthiness…”