In the foyer of the palace stood three soldiers in a triangle; one in shimmering silver armour with a black cape and a full helm hiding glowing silver eyes, the other in similar armour but with a blue cape and stripes on the pauldrons and wore no helmet, but a decorative hat, and a third young man in steel armour adorned with a single stripe on the bicep of his armour. The three men stood, preparing for field training for the younger recruit.

“Sound off, rook!” the full helmed guard commanded.

The young man stood to attention and spoke clearly and with purpose. “Sir, Lancer Nitta Naotsune of the Kyoukatta district patrol division!”

“Lancer Nitta,” the helmed guard continued. “By order of the good Lord Sentarus, you are to accompany Watcher Kujou Korekane to assist with extended patrols through the palace. You are hereby relieved of my command.”

The helmed guard clapped his greaves together and gave the other veteran soldier a bow as he walked away. The rookie stood firm like a redwood tree as Kujou examined him.

“At ease,” Kujou ordered softly but his voice had felt the force of a thousand war cries. “You are no longer a member of the District Watch and you now serve the Palace Watch. Keep your discipline about you, but remain respectful within these halls.”

“Yes sir,” the young Lancer responded and his stance evened out as he kept his feet shoulder width apart and his hands behind his back.

“If I understood correctly, you were selected for this patrol for your quick thinking while performing escorts,” Kujou wondered aloud.

“That is correct sir,” Nitta responded. “I have served the Kyoukatta patrol for five years. In that time, I have served as both night patrol and escort for the townsfolk to the nearby districts.”

“A long walk, I am sure,” Kujou continued his examination. “Kyoukatta is home to many tradesmen who live out of their shops, but that means the days start early and end late so escorts are prevalent and necessary throughout the day.”

“That is correct sir,” Nitta responded, keeping his chin high.

“Had I my way, I would have assigned you elsewhere in the palace,” Kujou lamented aloud and beckoned Nitta to follow him as he walked through the lush halls. “I may have assigned you to handle the exterior patrols or among the Lord’s private escort. However you lack the stripes for that assignment, Lancer.”

“I have much to learn, sir,” Nitta responded, extending his humility.

“Please, within these walls, we may address each other by rank or name,” Kujou reminded the rookie as he continued his patrol, admiring the paintings along the way. “For now, you will assist me with the patrols of the northern wing. We need to double the patrols in that wing and triple the manpower available.”

“For what reason, Watcher?” Nitta inquired.

“That is for the Lord to know and for us to obey his commands,” Kujou responded in a stern voice. “We do not question the word of our Lord; we follow his orders until death.”

“My apologies for my disrespectful outburst,” Nitta lamented, making a bowing motion as he walked.

Kujou waved it off as he stopped at a junction that led north. “This is where the evening patrol begins,” he explained as he took the Lancer down the hallway. “Your orders are to patrol this area in an endless walk, stopping only at the junction between this hall and the northern corridor leading to the dining hall. This hall surrounds the central dining hall and it must be watched carefully.”

Kujou took out a small cane and began tapping the walls and the edges of the paintings. “You are to look for anything out of place and to ensure that all doors in this area are secure. You are also to check the paintings and ensure they are all flush against the wall. There are sixty paintings in total so get used to how they look now.”

Nitta took all of this information in, committing it to memory as Kujou explained that absolutely nothing must be distrubed in this area of the palace; any disturbance must be treated as though there were trespassers on site and handled accordingly. The two soldiers continued several rounds as Nitta became familiar with the layout, Kujou grilling him about the position of various objects each time and testing him by moving things during their patrols, until Nitta could score perfectly five times in a row.

“Perfect rook,” Kujou commented as they returned to the chamber. “For now, your shift will begin tonight. Get some food from the guard dining hall and move into your chambers and prepare for your shift.”

“Yes sir,” Nitta responded with a bow and continued down one of the spiralling halls, keeping his heel-toe walk to move quietly and gracefully to maintain his respectful appearance. It didn’t take long for him to find the guard dining hall and open the door to other soldiers eating and having a general good time, enjoying their time off duty.

“Hey, it’s a new rook!” one of the guards called out, pointing to Nitta. The other glasses raised their glasses and gave a hearty shout for the newcomer. Nitta closed the door behind him and relaxed his stance as his nervousness kicked in.

“Come, have a drink with us,” the original guard called out and held up a second glass of ale.

“I’ll have to go on shift soon,” Nitta explained, coming over and taking a seat but refusing the drink.

“Ah, they got you on that quick turn around, huh?” the guard responded as he took a drink.

“I don’t mind it; I usually work the night shift at my home district so I at least keep that here,” Nitta explained.

The guard let out a friendly smile for Nitta. “It really does mess with your sleep after a while. But I got off lucky because I work sunrise to sunset.”

“A dusk chaser?” Nitta asked. “I’ve never encountered those in my district outside of the supervisors.”

The guard laughed as he took another drink of ale. “I bet. But they want around the clock coverage with alternating relieving shifts.”

“Apparently the Watchers don’t want any wavering either so they do allow extra rest days for the dawn and dusk chasers,” another guard explained.

“I wonder why they’re upping the guard here,” Nitta wondered aloud.

At that moment, the guards went silent, looking at each other and trying to find who was going to explain first. Eventually, one of them did speak up. “Come on! We’re all thinking it, I’m just saying it; the Lord is keeping a monster in the palace.”

The other guards slapped the man silly, as if trying to silence him like what he said was cursed.

“A monster?” Nitta asked as he looked over to the original guard to talk to him.

The guard set down his mug as he explained. “I was on the midday watch and I was working with Watcher Kujou when the order came out. Next thing I know, I see this strange man enter the palace and the Lord himself escort him to the northern wing. Only the Lord returned.”

“But that’s a one-way corridor,” Nitta called out, pulling the map out from memory. “There’s no rooms or anything like that down there.”

“This palace was built into the mountain, rook,” the guard explained. “There are secret passages everywhere.”

“But what was so strange about this man?” Nitta asked.

“I saw him once,” one of the other guards cut in. “His skin was as pale as snow and his nails black. And there was an evil in his eyes, unnatural and otherworldly.”

Nitta thought for a moment, gauging his audience. “It’s no secret between us of the district patrols that immortals live in this city. He might just be another one.”

The guards fell silent once more before another, older man, spoke. “I’ve patrolled that corridor rook. I heard whispers, growls, it was like the air itself breathed and a shadow walked behind you everywhere you went.”

“Whatever that man is, he isn’t normal,” another guard cut in.

Nitta took this information and tried to process it for a time before taking his leave so he could think. He had a long night ahead of him and so he left to wait in the guard chambers before his shift.

Before long, the sun began to set and the evening guards prepared their shift changes and adjusted the various candles and torches around the palace as each route officer prepared their relieving officer. Nitta found his way over to the northern wing and found Kujou standing by the familiar junction, waiting for him.

“You’re early, Lancer Nitta,” Kujou called out.

“I wanted to clear my head and get a head start for the night,” Nitta explained.

“If that’s the case, I leave the patrol to you,” Kujou explained while passing his cane and pointed to a torch ready to be lit later in the night in the corner. “Nothing to report for this watch, Lancer. All areas are secure and bound tight with no souls save for my own to report.”

Nitta accepted the cane followed by an ornate golden knife Kujou offered, a symbol of the passing of the watch for the morning officer to retrieve from Nitta. The two bowed and Kujou went his separate way as Nitta prepared himself for his patrol, strapping the knife to his waist and carrying his cane in one hand.

He then turned to face the corridor in a smooth and silent motion and prepared his patrol, counting each step to maintain distance and rhythm. In a set rhythm, he tapped the walls gently, feeling for anything out of place as he watched the alignment of everything on the walls. It did not take long before he completed one round and found himself on the other corridor, standing guard over the entryway as his rhythm dictated, before turning and continuing his route.

He continued his route as the sun got low and it became dark in the palace until Nitta prepared the torch and lit it along his patrols. The corridors with its grey stone walls and dark blue carpet looked haunting in the windowless night. Nitta realised quickly that this area is just dark and creepy; all of those myths about a monster living here must have just been an overactive imagination.

Until he felt something.

He felt a breath against the nape of his neck, a whisper. He turned and yet he saw nothing.

Barely an hour into his patrol and already he was hallucinating. He turned and continued his patrol; jumping at shadows will get him nowhere. And then he heard whispers coming from the corridor ahead.

“Any news so far?” he heard a man’s voice whisper.

“Nothing so far,” a woman’s voice responded. “I doubt we would be able to find anything solid this soon, but I’m hoping for something different in the coming days.”

Nitta took his chance and snuck towards the whispering, hand on his sword for good measure.

“I would hope so,” the man’s voice continued. “We can only keep this up for so long and he’s only allowing us a week before I lose control of him.”

“I will try my hardest,” the woman’s voice replied in a stern whisper. “I know he’s unreasonable, but he’s at least giving us a chance here to settle this for him.”

As he rounded the corner, he saw Lord Sentarus walking with a beautiful woman in heavy armour who Nitta recognised as the Lord Commander. Nitta broke his search and saluted the two as he stood out of their way.

“Ah, it’s good to see the night watch is already patrolling,” Lord Sentarus mentioned aloud.

“It is as you commanded, my Lord,” Nitta responded, keeping his chin high in the presence of the king.

“Lancer Nitta, correct?” Sentarus asked.

Nitta felt his heart skip a beat as he processed the fact that his Lord knew his name. “Yes, my Lord,” he replied.

“It’s good to see some young blood around here,” Sentarus commented as he waved Bellona to continue with him. “I was not expecting you to start this soon so it’s good that you are dedicated. We will need just that.”

Sentarus and Bellona eventually left Nitta’s sight and Nitta turned and continued his rough, trying to still his beating heart. As he looked down the corridor, he noticed the light of the torch would not stretch further, like there was a permanent shadow on the ground coming from one of the paintings. Before Nitta could examine any closer, the shadow faded and the light of the torch was able to cast normally. Nitta shrugged, waving it off as a trick of the light and an over imaginative mind as he continued his patrols.

“A new guard tonight,” Arylos whispered as he lay on the bed of his dark cell. He took a deep yet shuddered breath; a part of him wanted to find a way out so he could at least see Iris and make sure she was okay, but this body limited his formless nature. It took a whole day of meditation just to get the equivalent of peeking around a corner from outside his body; the thought that he could cast his sight across the city and to his house to see Iris was beyond his power.

As usual, this mortal body he was trapped in was a hindrance on him. Nothing but an inconvenience, even if it allows him to live with Iris. He felt shame, anguish, and pain. He wanted to curse this body and cast it aside, but what about the boy inside? What about his sacrifice?

At one point, Arylos would not have cared, but things have changed. To him, this dark cell was too light of a punishment for him, but the punishment he deserves would kill innocent people.

He could do little but choke on his emotions while holding his small Dreamcatcher charm close, unwilling to let it go. While he loved this world, while he loved Iris, and while he wanted to be here, he would never belong. And so he closed his eyes and wished for the same fate as the rest of his kind; for the last burning ember remaining of the Titans to be snuffed out so they may be finally forgotten.

He longed to die.