A chance? That was Zayden's final thought as he fell to the ground, blood soaking through his clothes and spreading across the shattered stone beneath him.
Meanwhile, Kael and Cedric sprinted through the streets without daring to look back. They reached the Northern Palace, breathless and covered in dust, and immediately demanded an audience with the Head of the Northern District, reporting the catastrophe unfolding beyond the district gates.
After Zayden lost consciousness, he suddenly felt… light. Free.
It was as if the crushing weight of his armor had been removed. The suffocating pain, the heaviness in his limbs, the warmth of blood soaking through steel gone.
He opened his eyes, he was lying in the same position he had fallen in during the battle against the Knight of Obedience.
But his armor was gone.
He was dressed in a simple white set of clothing, soft and weightless against his skin. Slowly, he pushed himself up.
He was standing in an endless field of water that stretched beyond the horizon. It reached only to his ankles. The vast expanse was dark pitch black like liquid night. Yet the water surrounding his legs glowed with a gentle light.
He took a step forward.
Wherever his foot touched, the darkness retreated. Light spread outward from his step, illuminating the water in a widening circle. Droplets slid from his clothes as if he had just emerged from the depths.
"Where am I?"
His voice did not echo.
As he walked, the glow followed him, pushing back the endless dark. Then, in the distance, he saw her.
A little girl.
Her entire body radiated soft white light. She had no face no eyes, no mouth only a smooth glow where her features should have been.
Zayden slowed his steps.
Who is she…?
He approached cautiously, the water brightening beneath each step he took. When he finally reached her, the girl slowly raised her hand toward him. He hesitated for a brief moment before reaching out and taking it. Her touch was warm. "What are you?" he asked quietly. "Do you know where I am? What is this place?" She did not reply.
Without a word, she turned and began walking, gently pulling him along as they moved across the endless water toward nowhere in particular. Zayden kept glancing around, trying to understand his surroundings.
As they continued forward, something unusual caught his attention. Ahead of him, hovering just above the surface of the water, was a single glowing leaf. It shimmered like condensed light, drifting softly in place. It seemed the girl was leading him toward it. "Are you taking me to that leaf?" he asked. There was no answer.
They continued forward until they finally reached it. Zayden lifted his gaze to the glowing leaf, its soft radiance reflecting in the endless water below. Then he looked down—
The girl was gone.
His hand closed around nothing but empty air.
A flicker of unease passed through him as he slowly reached toward the leaf. The moment his fingers neared it, the leaf drifted forward, leaving behind a faint trail of light before coming to a gentle stop once more.
He frowned and stepped closer, trying once more to touch the leaf, but it moved away again. This time, he began walking faster, and the leaf drifted farther in response. He broke into a run, water splashing around his ankles as light chased away the darkness with every step. "Stop!" he shouted, but the leaf continued forward. Finally, Zayden leapt, his fingers closing tightly around it. He caught it.
The glowing leaf rested in his palm, warm and weightless. But the instant he landed, the ground beneath him vanished he had reached the end of the water field. He fell. Downward. He plunged into a vast lake of pure light no darkness, no shadow only radiant, glowing water. The impact sent ripples of brilliance spreading endlessly outward.
He steadied himself within the glowing lake and slowly looked up. Above the shimmering surface, he saw himself his body collapsed on the battlefield, armor cracked and soaked in blood. The Knight of Obedience stood over him, silent and unmoving.
"Wake up!" Zayden shouted upward. "Kill him! He's going to destroy the whole District!"
But no sound reached the world above. Nothing changed.
Slowly, he lowered his gaze to his hand. The glowing leaf resting in his palm began to shine brighter, its light intensifying with each passing second.
Understanding flickered within him.
He raised the leaf and pressed it upward, toward the surface toward his fallen self.
The leaf passed through the barrier of light.
It entered his real body.
In that instant, the entire lake of light trembled then surged violently upward, as if pulled by an unseen force. The radiant waters spiraled toward the surface and were drawn into his body above, absorbed completely without a single drop left behind.
The Knight of Obedience turned and began walking toward the Gate of the Northern District, its blade dragging across the ground with a grating metallic scrape. Then a radiant light flared behind it, and the Knight paused and turned.
Zayden's body began to rise into the air. His shattered armor dissolved into countless particles, fading away like dust carried by the wind. His eyes remained closed as he hovered above the ground, unmoving and silent. Light gathered around him from every direction. It wrapped around his form, layer upon layer, forging something entirely new.
Armor made of pure light itself.
As the armor fully completed, his body finally landed on the ground, standing upright. He pulled out a two-headed sword glowing with absolute light. The gaze of the Knight focused on him, and it surged toward Zayden with its sword to attack.