1. The Knight of Damnation

The world of ashes.

Nothing could be seen in sight beside the ashes that had piled up till the end of horizon. 

There was a knight clad in black armor and a tattering cape sat at the top of the mountain of ashes. In front of him was the bonfire with a coiled sword plunged in the middle of the flame. 

His gears were broken beyond repair, so did his soul.

After the hard battle with the Soul of Cinder, he just had one step before all of this could end.

To link the fire using his soul.

For the undead as he was, this was his duty to do so. However, he… hesitated.

He fixed his gaze at the soon to die out flame in front of him and lost in thought.

The prolongation of the extinguished flame that should have ended ages ago. 

The cause of all the suffering and sacrifices. That damned flame was in front of him right now. 

Feeble and vulnerable were the words he had in mind to describe it. It looked as though it would go out even with the slightest wind. To think that this flame was the beginning and also the end of the once golden age was unbelieve of.

Legends upon legends, myth upon myth, stories weaved together and passed down generations and generations. 

The First Flame.

Warriors and alike had linked their souls for this flame to continue this smoldering flame.

Pity really…

He could not even comprehend how many souls had to sacrifice to this flame and now it was his duty to offer himself to the flame too. 

The dark sigil in the sky was the reminder of him on this damn task. 

Soon, he would go hollow and become but a mindless beast, attacking anyone on sight. Although it was fine because he was one of the last of humanity that still stood til the end of time, hardly anyone would be able to find him anyway. 

He chuckled at this thought. 

Dark and depressed as it was, it spoke the volume of how fucked up this world currently was.

He sat there, his head hanging low and his purpose was lost once again. For an undead to lose their purpose was akin to losing oneself and hollowing. 

For anyone, it would be an honor to take on and complete this task but for him, it was but a burden on his shoulders. Did he have much choice anyway? 

No.

Then why did he still depart on this road? 

Because it was the only thing he knew of. 

His sole purpose in this purposeless world.

For even the gods and legendary lords failed, undead were called once again to uphold their duty as the last resort.

No, he wouldn't call them failing to do so, but this vicious cycle had taken away too much from them, from everyone. The flame waned and great lords offered their souls to it because of the fear of the Dark, fear of the unknown.

Now, too, he feared it. The unknown the future would become if he didn't link the fire.

He wanted to be free, he wanted to break this cycle of damnation. No, he refused to continue to do so even when he was at the last step to complete this damn task of his. 

For the first time, he shied away from his duty like the lords of old.

For what knight he would be if he couldn't even hold onto his belief. His faith began to waver, he knew he had lost his sole purpose to continue to walk on this earth. He felt it, the hollowing process began once again, albeit slowly.

But he still sat there, his gaze never averted from the flame. 

The First Flame began to run out of fuel and got smaller and smaller. The knight knew it was the time to link the fire but could not muster his strength to do it.

It was as if his strength had left him. It was within his reach yet he felt his reach could not touch it. 

Eventually, the First Flame died out, marking the end of the Age that had stagnated for far too long of its time.

Soon, the Age of Dark would begin, the Age of Man.

But even so, humanity would find a way, like they also did. He mused at his selfish thought. 

Though he still wanted to enjoy his last moment before the inevitable happened. Till he went completely hollow, he decided to wander around one last time, hoping to look for any purpose, even the smallest one. 

His thoughts were cut off by the metallic sound of footsteps. He turned his head around and saw the familiar figure that had aided his journey.

His silver armor was the symbol of the honor back from the Age of Ancient when humanity offered their aid in the fight with the Everlasting Dragons. The hood that covered his face in the shroud combined with the overgrown beard on his face made it impossible for his face to be seen.

Their glory obscured from the light, their names unheard of by many, their fates sealed to the fire that had burned through eons. 

The knight much like himself, only that he knew the truth. Men had been stripped away from their darkness, using their humanity as fuel to the flame. The fact that on his chest plate was the very same dark sigil of the ring of flame surrounded the darkness that was in the sky. 

The knight that had just arrived was Gael, the slave knight.

"So it has come to this, my friend." Gael muttered calmly, as if he had expected this outcome. His hoarse voice reached the knight clad in black armor. 

The said knight slowly got up, using his dull blade as the support in response to Gael, not saying much. He remembered it now as to why the slave knight was here. After countless deaths that had clouded his mind, he finally recalled what his promise with Gael was.

If he ever shied away from his responsibility, the slave knight would come to uphold our promise. 

To slay the knight that had been strayed from his path.

"Let's try this one more time, old friend." The black knight held his chipped blade up and got to his stance. His body battered and exhausted could be seen from a glance. 

The helmet of the black knight was damaged and a part of it fell off, revealing the dull gray eyes that had lost its light. 

The battle began and both of them circled each other, scrutinizing their opponent's moves.

Then the black knight raised his sword and charged with whatever left of his strength toward the slave knight.

In response, Gael parried the attack with his sword and backed away. He dragged his sword on the ground and delivered an uppercut toward his friend.

The movement made the ashes blow up and the black knight blocked the attack by using his blade to fend off the power strike of Gael.

Gael quickly followed up by using his incantation and threw the light ring toward the black knight. 

The undead knight dropped his sword and jumped a few meters backward before unstrapping the pair of axes behind his back. These axes were connected at the end of the handle by a long chain. 

The metallic sound echoed when the chain dropped to the ground and the black knight grabbed the chain and swung the ax toward his opponent. 

The attack was blocked quite easily by Gael but that was just the feint, the knight charged toward with his other ax.

The strength behind the attack made Gael step back a few steps to regain his balance.

Using this breathing time, the man picked up the pair of axes before the two stared at each other. 

Gael leaped up and droved his greatsword down, the force of the blow was not something the black knight could handle. 

So he rolled.

Bum—

The ashes blew up and blocked the sight of the said knight and at that moment-

Drip– drip–

The slave knight drove his great sword through his friend's body in a swift movement. Blood trickled down from the black knight's chest, however, its color was black, the Blood of Dark Soul. Their fight was not of that flashy and skillful battle but the one with intent to kill each other.

It was expected considering that the black knight was injured from the fight with Soul of Cinder and had not rested at the bonfire.

"For an undead like me, this end fits quite well I must say." He chuckled, laying on the ground with the sword piercing his body. The pain that he had grown used to after their endless battle was pale in comparison with the expression Gael had on his face. 

The black knight reached out his arm to his friend. He grabbed the hand of the old knight and bellowed.

"Take it. My Dark Soul." 

He opened his hand and what in his hand was the soul that was so dark and exuded the aura of death and decay. The soul that embodied and resided in every man, the Dark Soul.

It was the selfish final request that left Gael to handle his burden. Albeit, he hoped that his soul could contribute to the slave knight's purpose, for his lady's painting.

Gael expressed his gratitude by kneeling down before taking his Dark Soul.

At that moment, the world blurred into darkness for the black knight. He closed his eyes and accepted the fate that was bestowed to him throughout his life.

Death... once again...