The Light and Darkness war has been around for thousands of years. It has been going on for so long that people began to believe that this war will never end. No signs of hope arose for both sides. Only endless killing and bloodshed. That was until an oracle came...

An oracle came from the church of the Light God said, that the war that has been waging for millenniums will finally come to an end. Finally, light came forward to the people. However, many were still dubious as people's beliefs in their God began to waver when the war didn't stop even after thousands of years have gone by.

There hasn't been any Saintess recorded throughout history, although there were vague mentions of this title such as 'The Saintess will possess the strongest Light power that could equal to a God.'

Of course, no one believed in such myths because if there really such a person, the war wouldn't have existed in the first place. They even suspect that this was spread by the royal family to further their strength as the royal family are the only ones capable of displaying impressive feats of Light powers. And even 'I', the strongest royal family that has been born since the beginning of time did not believe in those myths.

But all was cleared when a Saintess appear. That person came out of nowhere and claimed to be 'the Saintess that would save us all'.

People thought that she came from the Darkness side under a guise. But when people doubt, she would prove them otherwise by showing the most beautiful and purest Light aura the people have ever felt.

It was a similar feeling to basking in the warm sun where all the pain and fatigue you feel be it emotional or physical, just completely washes away. It was like God himself has descended and warmly embraced you.

At first, I wanted to fully utilize her; fully make her into my pawn that will serve as a stepping stone for me to earn the title of the 'King' that no one would forget.

She looked so gullible, only focusing on helping the needy and aiding in the war. She was the perfect person for me to use, so I carefully approached her, using a persona that would best compliment her.

The more I interacted with her, the more things I uncover about her. She was bright and cheery. Smart but could also be dense at times. She enjoys helping other people and would sometimes forget to take care of herself. When out on the battlefield, she liked to order braised pork in inns. After exhausting her powers, she would often mumble she wanted to eat sweets to reward herself for her hard work.

People were naturally drawn to her bright and sunny personality, extremely fitting for her title—The Light Goddess. She was fun to be with, even though her jokes did not make any sense and were often confusing, but her laughter is what puts a smile on everyone's face, despite being on the battlefield.

My personal friends, Guinevere and Frtiz also took a great liking to her, and I, also couldn't but be caught in her smiles.

When I took notice of these feelings of mine, I felt happy. Something inside me was telling me that this is how it was supposed to be, that she should be mine.

...

Time flew by and it has already been a year since the Saintess came. The common people have already begun revering her as God but Keira was too busy to even notice this.

The direction of the war finally shifted ever since Keira arrived. The weakness of humans before was that there were only a few numbers of healers and their sheer number could not accommodate everyone on the field. So while the humans were losing in numbers, the Darkness side keeps on multiplying. But when Keira appeared on the battlefield, the tide began to shift.

Her heals could expand to the whole battlefield. Not only it could cater to a large number of people, but it was also strong enough to treat the most injured back to their original shapes and even rejuvenate them physically and mentally.

Even I was greatly surprised when I saw her use her powers. It was completely different from mine, where my Light powers focus on offense while hers is focused on defense and healing.

Guinevere and Keira became extremely close that it was getting harder to find time to be alone with Keira. This vexed me that sometimes thoughts like just 'killing Guinevere and make it look like the Darkness side took her life' emerges. But watching Keira happily get herself led by Guinevere's mischiefs lulls such thoughts down.

...

Another half a year passes and our relationship got closer and more intimate. We managed to track down the source where the demons multiply, and that was in the Berrick Valley.

Inside their base an ominous statue of God was present and it was feeding the demons the Darkness powers, allowing them to heal, greatly multiply, and even supplying them endless amounts of energy.

There were records in the royal library that many have already sneaked into the Darkness base and attempted to destroy or seal the statue but it only resulted in them being corrupted by the Darkness. My ancestors believed that the statue contained a body of a fallen God that's why it remains so powerful, despite millenniums. Therefore, they believe that only a power that could equal a God could destroy a corpse of a fallen God.

No human of course could rival a God, but after the oracle came and Keira's magnitude of Light powers, only then did the hope for victory finally arrived.

I should feel happy that the war would end in my reign, making a mark on history books to come with my name on it. Yet, an anxious feeling I could not shake off overwhelms me.

Keira and I have gotten extremely close. I planned on proposing to her when the war finally ends, and I suspect that it would not be long. I already selected a beautiful yet simple diamond ring, that I think she would like. Perhaps all the uneasiness I feel would finally disappear after I tie her down to my side.

I also noticed a lot of the time, that she just randomly blanks out for a few seconds like she was talking to 'someone'.

I surmise that she has a direct connection to the Light God and that they were talking every time she blanks out. As it would not be surprising, taking an account her identity. Because if it were not the Light God she was talking to, then who is it? So I could only shove these questions for now.

There were even random moments when she pulls items out of nowhere and makes excuses for where they came from when I was closely observing her the majority of the time. These incidents constantly remind me that Keira is a 'being' different from me. Perhaps the rumors of her being the Light God herself are not far off after all.

Everything was going smoothly. We have already cornered the Darkness side. I talked to Keira about the God statue. Keira also firmly believes that it is indeed a corpse of a fallen god and that she has the ability to destroy the statue.

I asked her if it was going to be fine. She only laughed and said it would be fine.

I believed her...

But now, I regret believing her...

...

When we finally arrived at Berrick Valley, many strong demons were present. It was a fierce battle. With Keira's help, the outcome was obvious, but only until the statue is destroyed can we officially declare that the war is won. If not, the demons would only continue to reappear and wreak havoc.

Keira, Guinevere, Fritz, and I made our way to where the statue was situated. A lot of powerful demons that we had never encountered before were guarding the statue. We fought those said demons so we could approach the statue. The walls and ceiling continue to break down as the fight with the stronger demons continued, yet the statue remained standing.

The demon guarding the statue had no signs of exhaustion, for the statue kept supplying them with energy, whilst our party was slowly being depleted. Even with Keira's support, it was not enough to counter the statue's unlimited energy.

I looked at Keira, and Keira looked at me. After being together for a year and a half, we already formed a tacit understanding of each other's thoughts.

There was no other way. We had to directly destroy the statue.

I gave Keira a nod and I looked at my other party members. Guinevere and Fritz also got the idea and quickly acted. We all gave our all to attack the demons guarding the statue so we could approach the statue and Keira could try and break the statue.

Rapidly, the demons got subdued one by one, but we all know it won't be long before they stand up again. It won't even take a minute for them to fully recover. So Keira had only a few seconds to act.

Keira was already charging her energy to launch a strong attack on the statue. When we each signaled a go at Keira, light was already engulfing her. Her eyes shined gold. Her hair gently flows against the wind. The surrounding area had already been cleared from the fierce battle. Only the humans and demons along with the statue stood, so Keira was visible to everyone to see. Gold light surrounded her figure. The first that came into mind when I saw her is that,

The color of her soul is truly beautiful.

Keira glanced in my direction. She showed a small smile, but that smile made my heart drop. A strong ominous feeling came.

Keira looked at the statue and slowly lifted her hand. I wanted to stop her. I shouted her name.

"Keira!"

Keira paid no attention to my calling. She directed her energy to the statue. As the statue continues to shake, cracks begin to form. Dark aura seeps through past the cracks but as soon as they got in contact with Keira's Light powers, they quickly dissipate.

The more cracks appeared, the stronger the dark energy that escapes. Keira increased the Light powers surrounding the statue to prevent any of the Darkness from slipping out. Everyone watched in awe... except me.

No one even noticed the blood dripping from the corning of her mouth, as they were busy admiring the scene. Fear came upon me as I called her name once again.

"Keira! Keira, Stop this!"

The statue was close to breaking, Violent dark energy was visible. The energy was so terrifying that it even made the knights watching on the sidelines weak on their knees. Keira coughed up blood, but she did not stop.

The demons who were present were left immobilized by the Light that Keira exudes. They were writhing in pain, and some even began to disperse into dust. Humanity could see that they were extremely close, to destroying the Darkness that erode them for thousands of painful years.

Some began to weep. Some even began kneeling and praying to the Light God. Some slump down on the ground as they could not take the pressure. But they all wore the same hopeful expressions; only I was different.

The statue finally broke, and everything was engulfed in blinding light when two opposing powers collided. When the light finally disappeared, the demons were no longer present.

The statue was gone.

Only myself holding Keira's fallen body was visible to everyone.

The people wanted to take a closer look but stopped in their tracks when I quickly shot them a murderous look. I looked down at Keira who looked like she was peacefully sleeping on my lap.

I softly wipe the blood on the corner of her mouth with my thumb. Now, she truly looked like she is just peacefully sleeping. But the rising coldness of her body reminds me otherwise.

"K... Keira?"

My voice got shaky as I tried to call out her name.

"Hey... Wake up..."

"Keira... you said you will be fine..."

"I trusted you, so please wake up..."

I lightly cup her cheeks and brought my lips to hers. When I opened my eyes, hers were still shut.

"I already kissed you, so wake up... You told me in one of your stories that a kiss from a prince would wake up her princess."

I took the ring box from my pocket, opened it, and brought the shining diamond ring to her ring finger.

"See, you're now officially a princess—My princess. So please... I beg you... Wake up..."

There wasn't a single tear coming out of Aster's eyes, but people could see that he was crying inside. They could see the sadness and pain in his eyes alone.

I hug Keira's body tightly into mine.

She lied.

She said that she would be fine. She even showed a reassuring smile. But it was all a lie.

She lied... lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied. lied.

Violent light energy began to surround me. Guinevere and Fritz must have noticed as they quickly approached me. I sent them back, and being caught off guard, they were blown back by my attack.

Guinevere yelled, "Stop this Aster! Keira wouldn't be happy to see this!"

My mind cleared at those words.

That's right. She wouldn't be happy if I were to lose control now after everything she had done. I could even imagine her pouting and calling me childish. Only she was capable of calling me childish.

"Hahaha... That's right, she didn't lie. Everything turned out for the best. Is this what you mean Keira that 'it would be fine'? But what about you? You always forget on taking care of yourself."

Then Keira... what about me? Would I be fine too?

...