Darkness prevailed in his dorm as he laid limp on the couch in silence. In his eyes, there were no sign of the light, and all that there is is the darkness of his heart. Outside, the dreary clouds loomed over the world, blocking off all access to the bountiful and invigorating rays of the almighty sun. The city of Astalan went on with its daily life and that tragic return of the expedition team a month ago was like a distant dream that is only remembered when someone mentions it. The grieving passed slowly, but it still passed, making it so that the dead slowly faded away from the memories of the living.

A cold winter wind blew against the windows, causing a soft rattling sound as the glass withstood the blow. The temperature within the room was low due to the cold weather outside and possibly also due to the gloomy atmosphere of its inhabitant. Loganel sat there in the darkness, with no intent to turn on any lights or light up the fireplace to warm himself up, merely sat there on the couch with his body curled up against itself. His cat, Mazriel, was curled up next to him, almost as if it is trying to provide its master with a badly needed warmth.

Not too far from the couch is the kitchen, and on the kitchen counter, food containers were piled up, the result of Laurina bringing him food daily. Although Laurina would always clean up the place whenever she visits, it would quickly become messy once she leaves due to the fact that Loganel would just pile the trash up. He isn't habitually messy like that, it's just that he never felt the motivation to clean up.

A gentle sighed escaped from Loganel, causing him tremendous pain and suffering from his heart when the built up stress that is released led to more room for even more stress to build up. His eyes reeked of sadness and he could no longer see the world in its color. In his right hand, he held onto the key to her room. He occasionally glanced at it, pondering whether or not he should unlock her door and enter her room. However, a fear prevented him from ever doing so. This fear is the fear of destroying the evidence of her existence. That room, in its current state, is the state that Juliana left it in. Loganel is worried that if he were to enter, he would've destroyed the last bit of her spirit that remained in this world. That is the reason for his inaction.

However, he also want to open the door, for his sake. He wants to see the last figment of her personality in the way she arranged her furniture and the way her bed is made. He wants to catch a last glimpse at her character before time corrodes it all and leave him with nothing but a faint phantom of the past and of her.

Loganel sniffed the air and sighed. This dorm suite no longer retains her scent, and all that Loganel could smell is his own decadence. He self-mockingly laughed at his uselessness, hugging himself tighter almost as if in fear.

Soon, the sun would sink and make way for the long and dark night. However, the sun will always rise the next day for the world. For Loganel, the sun has disappeared and he is left with the dark moon. This is all because she is gone, the sun that his life revolved around; the sun that allows his life to function normally; the sun that would wake him up every morning and greet him with a warm smile and a hot meal...is gone. She, is gone.

Loganel stared at the key in his right palm once again. Within himself, a silent warfare raged on over whether or not he should use the key. It is a long stalemate, and the trenches been dug all over his heart, rendering it a wasteland. Soldiers packed the trenches, living and dying in the filth, and never making any real progress on the issue. Even when one side would leave the trench and overrun the other's trench, the side who had just lost a trench would immediately counter attack and retake the trench. As this silent warfare raged on within Loganel, his mental state deteriorated as the able-bodied soldiers slowly decomposes on the battlefield.

Loganel knows that he must change and that he must not be like this forever. However, this stalemate is just unbreakable. Both sides hope to wait it out, wait until the other side runs low on supplies. However, when both sides have the equal amount of supplies, equal amount of soldiers, and the same commander, what will happen? What will happen is the stalemate will continue on. It's like playing rock-paper-scissors with yourself, but you do not know which hand you want to win.

Loganel suddenly felt something moving against him, and as he looked down at his lap, he discovered that Mazriel had climbed onto him. He stared into the intelligent eyes of his cat, feeling a sense of desperately needed companionship.

"You're here all along," he whispered as the tears started pouring out of his eyes.

Mazriel meowed in response, moving itself closer to Loganel's face and rubbing his head on Loganel's chin.

Slowly, the sky cleared outside. First, it allowed for a few faint slivers of orange sunlight from the setting sun to enter through the window and shine itself on Loganel's hand. The hand that held on tightly to the key.

The stalemate was easily broken as the tanks and airplanes arrived. The soldiers rushed out of their trenches for a desperate final blow at the opposing side, eradicating all of the enemies called hesitation and doubt away from Loganel's mind.

Slowly, Loganel stood up. He forced himself up from the couch, feeling the warmth of the sun's gentle rays as it passed through the window by the kitchen and sprayed all over his face. He slowly moved over from the living room area to stand in front of the closed doors to Juliana's room. He looked at the key in his hand before he inserted it into the keyhole and turned it. The soft click signified both an end but also a new beginning as Loganel slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Immediately, Loganel was greeted by the familiar scent of her, bringing tears to his eyes. He was reminded of the wonderful past and recalled every single one of her many smiles. Then, Loganel took a few steps into her room and stood in the very center of it all and looked around. Up against the wall to the right of Loganel was her bed. A plain light-pink bed sheets covered her neatly made bed. On the opposite wall was her wardrobe and right next to it her desk.

The sun's gentle rays shined in through the crevice of the curtained windows, casting its light on Juliana's desk. Because of this, Loganel was immediately able to notice the oddity on her desk. He slowly moved over to it and picked up the neatly decorated paper bag that has a red ribbon to seal. There was a piece of paper with visible stains of tears attached to the bag, and Loganel picked it up and read it.

Loganel was suddenly reminded of the important event that Juliana had mentioned whilst on the expedition.

Loganel's hands trembled as his vision blurred. Tears rolled down the his cheeks as he finished reading the short letter of farewell from Juliana. His sobbing slowly evolved and he fell to his knees as he held the letter tightly to his heart.

"I'm sorry!" he cried. "I should be the one that has to apologize! I should be the one thanking you! You've always gave to me unconditionally, and I..." He trembled as all his regrets flooded the dam that he had created within himself. "Why did we had to end like that? I still haven't apologized to you for treating you like that for the past month!"

A loss of words caused Loganel to only be able to cry. He could no longer formulate any words to describe his own regrets and his emotions of gratitude towards his former servant. The only outlet for all of this built-up emotions is through the tears that streamed down his cheeks.

After crying for who knows how long, the tears finally slowed as Loganel was drained. He sobbed as he slowly opened the paper bag and checked the contents within. Just like Juliana had said, within it was a pouch of coins and a maroon muffler scarf. Within the coin pouch was one Gold and five Silver. Loganel then set the pouch to the side and slowly wrapped the muffler scarf around his neck, and immediately he was greeted with a long lost warmth...

***

***

The autumn sun shined brightly in the sky overhead with the distant clouds gloomy and gray, threatening to bring with it the cold frost of the winter. Students of the Academy waited by the front entrance for their entire party to gather. Slowly, more and more parties left the front entrance and started towards the different gates of Astalan, leaving only one party still waiting.

"He's late," a demi-human boy with cat ears crossed his arms.

"Give him some time," another boy said. Hanging by the boy's waist was the holy blade Exflage.

"Yeah, Kaz," a girl dressed in a priest robe said to the demi-human boy whom she had known since their time together in a different party.

"There he is!" A blonde elf girl brightened up and waved at the boy who slowly walked towards them.

Beside the elf, a girl with long white hair stood in silence as she watched the boy approach them. Despite her cold appearance, her eyes, however, was soft and gentle as she eyed the boy.

As he walked towards his group, his battle coat fluttered in the air as the wind blew by. The wind contained in itself a piercing frost, signifying the approaching winter. Slowly, the boy continued on, hair moving in the wind. He pulled his maroon muffler scarf closer to his face, appreciating the warmth that it provided.

Loganel Ainzloft, aged seventeen, approached the others with a faint smile on his face. His eyes no longer hold the same disdain. Instead, it was one of kindness.

"Sorry," Loganel apologized. "Let's get going now."

The others began walking, headed away from the Academy and to one of the many gates of Astalan. They chatted as they walked, some discussing the day's strategies while others held a casual conversation. Loganel, however, trailed behind intentionally. He looked up into the sky, feeling the approaching winter in the breeze.

The winter that I lost you is about to come.He smiled as he started after the others. But the future without you is also here. I'll never forget you.

There's a epilogue after this so don't leave yet. Wait for me to finish that first. Then, I'll start on Arc 2.

Make sure to follow me so that when Arc 2 goes up, I can notify you all through an announcement.

Author's Note:

So, the main story of Arc 1 is finally over. How did you like it? To be honest, I started crying when I was writing Juliana's letter to Loganel. It just hurts to do this.

Please vote if you've enjoyed and comment what you think. Thank you!!!