Prologue: I Closed My Eyes and Then I Died

The angst of war has to be expected, one side has to win while the other has to die.

I can hear their wailing, there's no resentment but only devastation. I can only esc- no, my plan is to escape and leave them for good. I should've known that the tables can't turn in this one-sided war.

The North's army is far superior than the West's. They managed to turn those cocky ignorant knights desperate. Their prideful vows and promises of fighting for the West turned into a depressing rampage in order to stay alive.

Despite being from the same nation as them, I have no intention to die with reckless fools.

So I hid away from the sight of the battlefield. I am sure that with her on their side, I'm of no value.

That's why I can only hide and watch the war I started from afar.

I ran and reached yesterday's battlefield. Oh, what a sight.

This was our most cherished place, or so I thought.

I turned my head up high and noticed the clear blue sky in contrast.

The sky we used to watch has now turned into the heavens of hell.

It was once a wide sea of indefiniteness, but now its wonderful scenery is tainted with smokes and ashes complementing the sunset.

The art of God-like heaven is nothing but a memory I shared with you.

This hellish sky doesn't have what it takes to fill me with dread.

I lowered my view back to the ground and saw countless bodies slaughtered and killed.

What was once a horizon of lavenders turned into a sea of chrysanthemums; Dead bodies of my comrades are everywhere and oceans of their blood are painted on the greenish grass.

Hearing my environment, I can say it's quiet, it means the war is almost over.

I made my way to the cliff in order to see which of my comrades down the mountain are still fighting for their lives.

The moment that I peeked, they were nothing but soulless bodies. It was supposed to be devastating for me but happiness emerged deep in my emotions.

At last, I am finally free with no one to call as comrades!

Many years of waiting has finally come to an end; I no longer have to be two-faced in order to get everybody's trust. Their death made me laugh out loud in the field for the first time.

"Fools!" They are all witless for I managed to manipulate them just like that? They deserve to die and my world will be so much better without them.

Someone held my shoulders from behind, making me stop and cautious. I have an uneasy feeling about this despite the fact that I am aware she is a girl.

Her palm is not shaking and it seems that her stance is in a confident state. I can't see who she is but it's as if she knows that there's nothing I could do to escape.

She leaned her head to my right and whispered, "No doubt you're still alive…Raphael."

Her sweet familiar voice made me shiver down my spine. I depicted the hidden message she was trying to portray, "I am someone far superior to you."

The moment I realized her message, I knew it was her and I can never be wrong.

It's now or never, I need to kill her before she makes a move. Fortunately, I am still holding this blade I used to end some of my so-called comrades' life. I will use the same blade to end hers, we were once comrades anyways.

I grinned and boastfully gave her a response,

"It's time for me to take back the crown. It's a shame you won't be able to see it."

It took me one breath and with a blink of an eye, I saw her sword piercing my chest from behind. I felt the blade of her sword rupturing my heart as I saw my blood dripping onto the greenish grass tainting it thoroughly.

My body was unable to move and I don't care, I ignored my poor body for I was full of anger and resentment.

I got numb and I lost my senses than to see. The moment I blinked twice, I knew I was falling. I realized that she threw me down the cliff without a doubt.

She threw me in a way my expressions could be seen as I fall. In my case, all I can see is her confident stand; nothing comes to my mind than agony…

How did things turn out like this?! I thought she was nothing but a mere pawn on my chessboard, someone I could use as a scapegoat and as a tool.

I never realized she is the Queen of my opponents'. I am nothing but a mere Knight and still, I hastily entered an open combat knowing she was there to attack me.

"I messed up, why do you have to appear all of a sudden! My plans are all going well according to plan and yet here you are again ruining it!" - I did my best to shout at her, but my body won't listen to me and I can't move an inch.

I'm on the wrong and she was always right. I am aware that I am the villain and she is their hero.

She's a whole different person compared to me.

I'm running out of breath – My life will soon come to an end, but before my last breath my hazy vision still recognized that her lips are moving.

"You're saying something aren't you?" I did my best to ask, despite knowing the fact that she won't recognize my words... Well actually, she never did.

I wonder what that is but I guess I'll just leave it be.

My vision is getting blurry and my perception is slower than someone falling. Is this how time really slows down when you're about to die?

Is it so that I can reminiscence my memories?

Well, I couldn't care less, maybe my end is only up to this time.

Lia, I was the mischievous boy whom you once considered your buddy.

I was once that someone you trusted the most.

If I didn't underestimate you in the past, would things turn out differently?

If I treated you like my loved ones, would you end up being a pawn under me?

If I didn't let you close to me, could I have won this war without your existence?

If only I'll be given a second chance, I'll treasure it dearly. If I'm given the chance then I'll do my best to succeed at my job. If only I can plan carefully and corner them to close combat then maybe…

Ahh, who cares -

If ever I'll be given the chance,

"I'll erase your very existence."

If that happens then maybe...

"Then maybe I can consider myself as the Villain I so long desired to be…"

I closed my eyes, and then I died.