By Chance

I, a lone woman and survivor, somehow made it this far. I can't possible stop now. All of this that has happened, was by chance. And I still ask myself how I made it through.

Was it fate? No. Nonsense.

Fate exists not.

It was all by chance.

By chance, my pathetic little home, the beautiful fauna and flora, and my mother and father, and sweet, delicate brother, were either killed or set aflame, alongside half the populace. The other half survived.

By chance, I lived for another two weeks after the attack. I didn't die while everyone around me withered away.

By chance, a sword made its way to my hand. I dirtied myself further, externally, internally. After the first body plopped down on the floor, my breathing became uncontrollable and fast, trying to take it all in. There was no going back, because what else do I have after this? But...was I really the one who killed them? Did I take their lives? Alone? No, it can't be, and yet, here I am, walking away from a coal pile that I once called "home", leaving behind bodies.

I can still recall some things vividly. Slobs, the lot of them. Mages came along later, but they were no good. My eyes were barely working, but even I could tell these three wannabe heroes weren't worth a quarter of the lot, even if they could spring fire, fire, out of nowhere. Only one of them stayed alive. The other two went down, easier than I imagined, and their battle lasted about ten minutes. I have no idea what happened to the last mage, but I still remember her snow white hair.

A hunk of metal, flattened into a board and sharpened, did more than three people who harness so-called miracles. "Miracles". Miracles, miracles, miracles, miracles, miracles.

Just another fancy word, I guess. Fantastic.

All of this was just by chance, I'm certain. If this was fate, then truly, God is cruel.

I needed to clean myself. Something. Some water, clean water. Ah, the river. Mom always made me do the laundry there. I shall cleanse myself there.

The river is still the same. It wasn't found so it's unsullied. Good. I took off my dress and the rest of my clothes, if they didn't just tear completely off from the previous damages. I just want to get clean. It will get me better. I just need to calm down. My heart hasn't stopped pounding since I walked out of the town.

"Ah..." Sighing, my body relaxes, all my muscles were no longer tense, and the blood just rubbed off. The fresh blood anyway. I need to scrub it off. Something...Oh, my clothes. Hm, the cloth is already torn and dirty, so this is the better alternative. The dried up blood came off rather easy after a few scrubs, but the next problem were the wounds. Small, insignificant scratches went from the tips of my fingers, to my shoulders, stopping short of my breasts, right on the collar bone area. I need to see where else I'm hurt.

I sat at outside the waters, dipping my legs in, surveying my skin for other wounds. Just more scratches, except the one piece of metal stuck in my leg, right above the ankle. No wonder I was limping and almost tripping. Before, I was in a lot of pain, so no wonder I didn't notice it. I'm not even sure where it came from, either from the blacksmith's forge or a random broken weapon.

"Is it going to get infected...? I don't I can risk it..." Why am I talking out loud? Nevermind. I need to get this piece of metal out. First, to get my legs out of the waters, next I need to get just pull it out. Just grab a hold, of this piece of metal, almost dull but still sharp, stuck in my leg. Great. Lying down on my back should work, and using a torn piece of my dress, I grip the metal piece. It didn't take a really strong pull, but already it hurt, and it moved only a smidge. This is going to hurt, I might just break my teeth gritting them. What did Dad always do when he got hurt? I don't have any medicine or proper bandages.

Grabbing my shirt nearby, I bit the sleeve, took a few breathes, and started pulling again.

It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt.

"AAAAAUGH...!!!" I can't hear myself because of the screaming, at least until my throat gives in, becoming so coarse no sound comes out anymore, more like the growling of a dying animal. Tears rolled down by cheeks, and blood drenched on the sleeve I was gritting. Before I knew it, the metal was out, I was panting heavily, almost choking on the sleeve. It slipped right out, and blood followed, as if a dam broke and a flood followed.

"Daddy...Mommy..." Stop crying stop crying stop crying stop crying and get a grip of yourself. Get a hold of yourself and close the wound, you're bleeding. I'm not weak. I can't be weak. I'm going to bleed out. I'm going to die.

Tear off a piece of the shirt, wrap it around the leg, on the wound, and tie it tightly. Don't let it bleed. The torn cloth started getting red from the blood, but it stopped. My heart keeps pounding, and I feel exhausted again, tired. I want to rest.

Why am I still alive?

I needed to keep going. What is happening to me? How can I keep going? Am I thinking straight? Yet I can still remember, when I was conversing with mother. I was practicing with father. I took my brother with me on a small trip in the woods.

Cold, it's cold. I need fire. Fire. I need some warmth. I should call out, scream, but my throat hurts. No one is going to hear me anyway. Everything just went black, I gave in and my mind went blank.

A while has passed, and I finally opened my eyes, a crunching of burning wood getting my attention and heat. Heat from a flame. It was so warm and comforting, complimented visually by the starry skies. My heart is at ease, because this fire is giving me what I've been lacking for so long. I want to hold it, I want to feel it closer on my skin.

"Stop!" A masculine voice shouted, followed by the sound of clanking metal and a hand grabbing my wrist, stopping my fingertips from touching the fire. A knight, armoured from head to toe, but the silverish metal was dirty, a mixture of red and black, blood and charcoal. Coming back to my senses, I freed wrist, slapping his hand away in the process, but because it hit a metal gauntlet, it hurt quite a bit, causing me to shriek out loud.

"Ugh...!" Crawling back, but stopping close to the lake's waters "Stay away...!" A piece of cloth was wrapped around me, keeping me warm and comfortable. It was soft, and managed to cover my whole body under it.

"P-...Please, don't move." The knight said, taking a step back "I won't touch you again, but you're not in good condition. You're malnourished, injured, your condition won't let you be very physically active." He explained, and I noticed, my wound on the right leg was patched up, properly bandaged "Please, come back close to the flame. Your clothes were wet and dirty, so they were unusable. I-...I didn't wish to impede on your privacy, so I resorted to covering you up and patching up your wound. You were bleeding profusely. You would have died slowly and painfully.".

He sounded genuine, I could tell. Still, I was shaken up, so I'll stay aware around him. The knight sat on the other side of the campfire, next to a large blue bag. He breathed out in relief, as I stood up, feeling a stinging pain in my leg, sitting down with my legs crossed, in front of the knight, with the fire being what distanced us.

"Uhm..." The knight said, my eyes quickly meeting with his face, causing him to flinch, as if intimidated. He coughed, clearing his throat "I baked some potatoes..." He pulled a branch with several potatoes stabbed into it, burnt slightly but baked. He grabbed on eof the potatoes, carefully pulling it out. Thanks to his gauntlets, the heat didn't affect him "Give it a few moments, it will cool down and you can eat." He lightly breathed on it, trying to cool it down faster, right through his helmet.

I felt somewhat calmer now. It was peaceful now, and for a moment I could act like the last events didn't happen, even if it's denial.

"Here." I snapped out of my thoughts by the knight's call, holding the baked potato, wrapped in what looked like tinfoil "You should eat. Like I said, you're malnourished, you need food and clean water. I don't know what happened specifically, but with my investigations and examinations, I compiled theories and solid conclusions.".

"..." I took the baked potato, biting into it. It wasn't anything grand, just simple and easy to make, but those meals are my favourite. The ones I can make at any time, with just a few ingredients, and they'll always turn out delicious. Cooking is fun in general, but meals that are simple are also enjoyable.

"I...would like to ask some questions, if you wouldn't mind." I nodded to the knight, giving him an okay to continue "I am a scout of the Rune Knights. My duty, however, is like the other scouts. It focuses on investigation and examination on crime scenes. Think of me as a detective! I go, find clues, evidence and find answers to what those trained to kill monsters can't figure out." Oh, a detective knight? That sounds hilarious but almost ridiculous, so much I can't take it seriously "I...am going to recount some of my discoveries from the nearby village. First, I must ask, was that your hometown?" I nodded in reply "Well, I will try and be as tasteful as possible, so let me begin. You don't have to speak. Eating is more important for you, just nod or shake your head." He took a deep breath, before he continued.

"Now, to properly begin. The town was attacked, yes?" I nodded "Did you get a visual of the enemy?" I nodded again "From the condition of the buildings, and some..." He stopped, before continuing "...others, I noticed most were burnt black, thus, fire! They used fire, and judging by the condition of the structures and victims, it has been at, the very least, 13 days since they started burning. Is that correct?" I nodded, although I shrugged, since two weeks was my best guess, since I stopped counting after five days "Typically, if they used magic, there would be a residue of eternano left behind, but even then, fire produced magically would last longer, even two weeks! Although it falls heavily on the mage's capabilities, they would leave less evidence behind, burn things to a greater degree than normal fire. Thus, I've concluded they used some sort of weapon, perhaps a fire bomb of sort, and I found footprints, many of them, of hooves, primarily. This means they rode on horses, towards town, and out.".

So far, he seemed spot on. The knight, using the evidence he found and examinations he performed, he could come up with these conclusions, but these weren't difficult. Are you going to impress me now?

"Oh, you finished." He said, as I realized what he meant. I ate my potato, leaving little behind "Would you like another?" I had a small pause, but I quickly nodded multiple times, being handed another potato eat. "Now! Here is the inter-..." He quicklys topped, back pedalling for obvious reasons "Curious part. The bodies I examined, the corpses that which rotted, were, indeed, two weeks old as well, but here's the thing; those corpses had wounds that indicated a quick death, a lethal injury that caused painless ends. And yet, fresher bodies, those of only a week, or only mere two days of age, had different wounds." He kept going, and while I was listening, I made myself comfortable as much as I could "Their wounds weren't serious. The most serious injuries I found were concussions, broken skulls, but even then, they all died in a...inconsistent manner. Some seemed to live a whole week, before they fell to their wounds, others died from diseases, caused by infections. I won't go into detail about those, but, using these wounds I found, and distinguishing the villagers' common attires, I could tell which where the enemy, and which were residents who were unlawfully killed.".

"What..." I started speaking "What...are you getting at?" I asked, my voice getting notably parched, coughing.

"Oh, one moment." Stopping the topic, he put his hand inside the blue bag, pulling out clean water bottle from it "Here you go. It's still cold.".

"..." I hesitantly stretched my arm towards him, touching the bottle with my fingertips, but the moment I felt the cold temperature on my skin, I backed off. I prefer the warmth "I'm good...".

"...Well..." He placed the bottle on the ground, close to me, but a distance from the fire "As I was saying, I had chills run down my spine, seeing that. I'm used to seeing corpses, weeks, months or even years old. Even just a few hours of age. But, to see such a difference, and to know such people existed and inflicted those...This tells me these people, truly were a revolting, sadistic batch.".

My eye twitched, either out of agitation at his choice of words, or being reminded of the horrible life I just got out of merely hours ago "Are you telling that to the woman who endured them for two weeks?" He immediately began to stutter, realizing his mistake.

"N-...No, I did not mean such...Oh, I said I wouldn't be insensitive, and yet..." The knight blubbered some more, trying very hard to choose his words carefully, as I just rubbed my head in frustration, feeling it throb "Are...are you okay?".

"I'm..." I stopped, breathing out to calm down "Just keep going.".

He took a moment, making sure I wasn't angry or sarcastic before he continued "Then...let me get to the point. After I gave you this information, here is something else important, which I have noticed." His speed slowed down, talking slowly and more carefully to relay his discovery "As I went through the town, the...materials, tools, livestock, were taken. In fact...I have found...around 20 enemy corpses, all almost a day old. They all suffered injuries that were lethal, but didn't kill them immediately. They all bled out, but, there were at most, 200 or more villagers. In addition, I found horse tracks, suggesting an army passed through, leaving soon after. Among other animal tracks, cows, donkeys, sheep. I could differentiate most of the tracks, the ones not crushed or washed away, that is.".

"...Are you saying, many of them left, stealing the livestock and materials?".

"Yes! Exactly! Exactly..." The knight replied, passionate and enthusiastic, but quickly holding it back to continue "Here is the weird part. I went through stores. Shops, blacksmith forges, stores, bakery, and what did I find? Nothing. Food, clothing, materials and tools, were all stolen. And yet, money and valuables, treasures, they were still there." As he said so, he opened his embarrassingly blue bag, but from it, he pulled a silver blade, sheathed in a black leather sheathe. It had some dirt on it, black charcoal mainly, muddy too.

"This sword...I recognize this style." I was certain "The blacksmith of my town, Jonah, always adored silver, the color and material. So all his swords were mostly silver with black leather...".

"Yes...I noticed..." He somberly said "This was the only one I found that wasn't broken, nor buried too deep. This one isn't in the best shape either, but, if we take it to a blacksmith, I'm sure we can salvage it, and make it usable again." He held the sword but its sheathe, handing it over to me from the handle's site. I gripped it, but quickly dropped it because of its weight "Ah! I-...I'm sorry!" He apologized again, carrying the sword and placing it next to me, before returning to his seat.

"Well...you say this, but, why would...why would they take all these, but leave behind weapons and valuables?".

"Ah, that's what I thought, and then, I slowly put the pieces together, and I came to, what I believe is, the definite conclusion!" His excitement rose up again "I am confident, that these enemies, aren't some bandit group, some sadist cult or leeches, they are an organized effort, one with plans, goals, and...a leader." The knight said, beginning to tie things together "A leader who gave them the orders, who more than likely also had strategists to plan out the assault, take over a small town, and steal things they require, but no valuables or money, because they don't need those when they can just take what they want, and after getting control, do whatever they des-..." He stopped, coughing, avoiding meeting my gaze, realizing he may be overstepping his boundaries yet again.

"It's fine..." I said "I don't have any clear memories of what happened. I just remember being cold and in pain. Everything is...hazy".

"I don't want to...bring out those memories then." This seemed like his first time talking to a victim of any event "I am...not used to conversing with people, so I am rather excited. My duty, performing autopsies, investigating and examining scenes, such as these, or worse. Not just murders either. All forms of crimes, I am the first they send to find the causes behind them. Because of this duty of mine, no one...wants to be among the Cadaver Knights." The knight clearly felt a need for human interaction, someone to talk to. A friend who he can talk to, but his occupation, and the only thing he knows about, are the only things on his mind. It's twisted, how he finds passion in talking about his discoveries of murders and...

"Cadaver Knight isn't a very enticing name." I don't know why, but I wanted to lighten up his mood. This man clearly had no ill will. He was doing his job, and had no obligation to take care of me. He could have easily left me to bleed out, a dirty woman who he could have easily said was an unfortunate victim that died off in the woods, if he even chose to note me "You're more of a dirty, muddy." Smiling, I tried to lighten the mood "A kind knight, a...Noble Knight?".

"Noble..." He seemed touched by that, clasping his hands together, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly "Noble sounds nice...".

I smiled, giggling for the first time in two weeks. It was easing me, making me feel comfortable again. "I'm tired..." I lied down on the ground, resting with the cloth around me as a blanket "Do you mind?".

"I will keep watch." He said "I don't sleep anyway. Don't worry, you'll be safe." That was reassuring, allowing me to fall asleep.

Sleep peacefully, calmly and without having to worry for my life, or afraid of what will happen once I wake up. The fire kept me warm, the blanket as well. I could dream, but I didn't remember what it was about for the life of me, even though I was certain it was a pleasant one. When waking up, I didn't feel discomfort getting up from the grass. The rocks were a distance away from me, and there were obvious footsprints near me. I guess the knight couldn't help but make sure I was comfortable.

Speaking of which, he seemed to have fallen asleep sitting. His snoring echoed through the chambers of his helmet, though it didn't seem to bother him. The fire went out during the night, with just smoke and charred wood being left behind. I walked over to the knight, holding the garbs around me, over my shoulders. I called out in a low voice as to not startle him "Knight? Are you awake?".

He grumbled, before waking up, stretching his arms and yawning "Good morning..." He said, trying to rub his eyes before realizing he has a helmet visor in the way, instead grabbing a water bottle, removing the cap and pouring the water through the helmet's visor to wash down his face "Ah, refreshing. Have you slept well?".

"I have.".

"Excellent!" He stood up, tilting his body to the sides, performing some early morning exercise "There is a town, not far from here. It is an hour away at best, two hours if we take a break along the way." He said, pulling out a map from his bag "We need to head...north!" Pointing at that exact direction, he proceeded to pull a compass as well, putting the map back in the bag. He halted for a moment, staring at me. Now that we're both standing, I realized he was actually taller than me, although his armor wasn't as bulky as the typical knight, it may have contributed to his height "You are barefoot, and worse yet, naked under that cloth. I can't have you walk around like that. I do not have any clothes, unfortunately, hence, our first priority is to get you clothes.".

...

Oh, that's right I'm naked, and my clothes are torn and dirty. I subconsciously pulled the cloth tighter, as if trying to hide myself, blushing profusely.

The knight noticed this, quickly turning his back to me, crouching down on his knee "Get on, I will carry you." He said "You still need to drink water, and you need to get used to eating again, but not too fast. If you are hungry, or thirsty, or have any issue of any kind, please tell me. I will halt and take care of whatever bothers you.".

"...Why?" I asked "Why are you worrying about me so much? I'm just a stranger, and you're a knight on duty. You have no obligation to take care of me...".

He didn't reply immediately, he just waited for me still, but he finally said something after an awkward few seconds of silence "Do I need a reason to help you? If so, then it is because you need clothes, you need footwear, a good bath to calm you down, and perhaps a doctor. I do not know your name, but I don't need to. A name is just to make communication easier, but, without an exchange of words in our first encounter, I know what kind of life you had before, and what you had to endure. After a small talk with you, I also realize, you are a kind woman. What sort of Noble Knight would I be, if I left someone in need behind?".

I didn't know what else I could say after that. I got on his back, carefully making sure the only thing covering me doesn't fall off. The moment I got a good grip, the knight stood up, using one arm to hold me by my leg, as he handed me the compass with his free hand "Can you read compasses?".

"Only the...four directions.".

"Good." He gave it to me to hold, as he held his blue bag with his free hand, picking it up "Clothes, a good meal, a bath, and a room to rest. That's our priority.".

Our journey began, with the knight carrying me through the forest and woods, until we eventually reached a train track, following it to reach the nearest town. Neither of us talked the entire journey, with the exception of the knight asking me if I needed to rest, and my reply being no. He was the one walking anyway, he's the person who should be tired, not me. Even though he wore a heavy metal armor, he didn't stop once, didn't slow down or take breaks for whatever reason, while I lead him on the path north.

Eventually, after almost two hours, we arrived at a town, one with a train station, brimming with life and buisness. Once me and the knight arrived, the moment he stepped foot into the streets, eyes were on us, or mainly, on me. They could tell by seeing my bare legs sticking out that I had nothing else underneath this cloth. I could hear them whispering, but not precisely what they said, but it was clear they didn't have favorable opinions on me. The best I could do was bury my head in the back of the knight's neck, my arms wrapped around his neck tighter, and I just felt ashamed.

"Don't worry." The knight said to me, finally saying something that wasn't about the compass "These people don't know, so hold no ill will to them. I'm sure they are kind.".

The knight walked into a store, pushing the door open with his shoulder to enter "Excuse me," He said, to get the attention of a worker "I would like to get some clothes for this lady, if you would.".

I was let down from his back, so that I could look and see what clothes I would like. The knight kept saying he will pay for whatever I want, so I shouldn't worry about anything being too fancy or expensive, but I didn't care about those. I just wanted to wear something. I settled on just a long sleeved shirt, and casual "granny skirt", leggings and boots. Just wearing something practical felt comforting.

The knight paid for my clothes, in addition to getting some extra clothing for when I bathe, as we both left, eventually going into a restaurant next. The knight got us a table, telling me to pick whatever I want from the menu. It seemed like he intended on pampering me and spending as much money as he can to help me. While he did stand out in the restaurant, being a fully armoured knight and whatnot, not to mention his giant blue bag that kept staring at me despite not having eyes, much less a consciousness, no one seemed to care about that. I didn't feel like eating something fancy, so I just settled on some rice and chicken breasts. The knight just ordered some coffee.

Despite having a helmet on, that didn't stop him from drinking the coffee through those small holes on the helmet. It was apparently second-hand nature for him to live with his armor, making me think there was nothing under that armor besides some skeleton pretending to be an organic being.

When I began eating my food, it was a delicacy. Nothing my mother couldn't beat though, but still passable. A satisfying meal, making me temporarily forget I was starving just a day ago, but still, the water was too cold. I only drank when they got warmer, allowing me to quench my thirst finally

At noon, we ended up at a hotel room, renting it for the night. I went into the bathroom to take a shower. The bathroom was rather small, fitting two people at best, with only one shower head and tub, and one actual toilet. I waited for the waters to heat up before I got under them, suddenly getting a euphoric feel, smiling.

The knight stood right next to the door, I could hear his heavy footsteps, and his back leaning against the wall "If you require anything, a better shampoo or anything.".

"I'm fine, thank you." I knew he was being considerate, but perhaps a bit too much "Don't worry.".

"Sorry..." He said "I hope I'm not...I hope you do not feel less like a person for my behaviour. I know it may seem like pity, treating you like just a victim who needs support, but, truly, I just wish for you to be able to move on. No one, neither vile nor righteous, deserves to go through such things.".

Victim. I didn't feel that way. I was angry, sad and in pain, I didn't have time to really think about what I "am" after that "You seem well-versed in this.".

"I told you, murder is not the only thing I am sent to investigate. You are just the first...survivor I meet who is still alive.".

Ten minutes passed, and I exited the shower, wearing a towel over me after I finally got mostly dry. The knight was sitting, but quicklys tood back up when he saw the door open, although he didn't expect me to come out still naked, so he turned his head away, turning his back to me "I'm sorry, I just need a few minutes to dry myself and put on clothes.".

"N-...No, I apologize. I'll leave the room.".

"It's fine, I trust you." He kept his back turned still, as I proceeded to dry myself with the towel "Last night, you didn't finish your report, did you?".

"Ah, it's no worry." He said "It's nothing important. I just have to report this to my higher ups and...".

"You don't want to talk to me anymore?" I almost felt bad, because it felt like I was guilt-tripping him.

It seemed to work though, since he got startled. He put his hands behind his back, held together "Well...as I said, I believe they have a leader. Someone who is giving them orders to who to attack, what to take. But, the question remains; why? For what? I believe, they are preparing for something, a battle, a war? You don't take materials that can be used to make armor and weapons, but leave behind the weapons and valuables. This would also imply they have blacksmiths working for them, willing or unwilling." He kept going, although his tone was different than last time, being much more serious, as if he was talking to those higher ups he mentioned "How big are they? Is it just one leader, or multiple? Do they strategists? How many towns did they already raid and pillage? These people, they are meticulous monsters, and shouldn't be taken lightly. Priority that tops all, should be finding their location, to get rid of them as quickly as possible.".

"Amazing." I said, finally putting on my clothes back again. I stood infront of him, slightly startling him "You deduced all that from examining the town?".

"Yes." He said, rubbing his chin "I took notes on my notebook, getting as much theories as possible, no matter how absurd. In this world, we can't really take too many things out of the equation. Figuring out they used no magic made it easier to make a conclusion.".

I smiled, and he seemed caught off-guard by that "I guess "Detective Knight" isn't that ridiculous, huh.".

"Y-...Yes, quite." The knight said "Anyway! More importantly, how are you feeling?".

His tone changed back to his typical cheerful one "Much better. Thank you." I outstretched my arms, yawning "I think I'll go take a nap now. The bed looks very inviting, and I'm getting rather cold.".

The knight nodded, allowing me to rest on the bed, wrapping myself in the blanket. He himself sat down on a chair, at the desk that came with the room, complete with a mirror infront of him. The room was dark with the exception of the light coming from a candle stick he lit, placing it on the desk, taking off his helmet and putting it down on the desk as well. I couldn't really tell what he was doing, but I could see his hair was short and dark, but nothing else. He seemed to meddle with some papers, writing something down. I soon drifted off to sleep, taking my nap.

I thought, finally the nightmare ended and I could start again.

Fire. Fire started to burn everything, followed by the panicking screams of people. It was the middle of the night, but the burning flames kept the sky alight. I woke up, and the knight was nowhere to be seen. Only his blue bag remained behind. I could hear people rampaging and screaming in and outside the hotel. My breathing got faster, and my heart started pounding, and the memories came flooding in again. I could remember everything vividly. I felt like I was back there, feeling the dirt getting in my eyes and mouth, the wood splinters stabbing into me. These small, insignificant scratches, suddenly ached like they were all swords slicing into my skin.

Knight, where are you?

A loud thud of footsteps echoed through the hallways, followed by a door being kicked down nearby, as a screaming man and woman seemed to be struggling, fighting back against something. I quickly ran to the bag, grabbing it, and rummaging through it. Somehow, it was filled to the brim with many things, mundane tools, but I found it, the silver sword from my town. The screaming stopped, dying out, so I quickly unsheathed the sword, throwing the sheathe on the ground. It was heavy, but I didn't have a choice, holding it up with both hands, pointing at the door, ready for whoever would barge in. The footsteps got closer.

Once, they hit the door. Again, they struck it, as it began to crack. And with the third time, a body flew through the door, as the man was stabbed by the chipped pieces of the door, screaming and covering his eyes as he bled. Through the door, came the knight, his armor and sword bloodied, fresh blood.

"We have to go." He said, stabbing the main on the ground, killing him instantly "We...must go! They have returned! They are invading!" He grabbed the silver sword from my hand, throwing his current sword, as it broke once it hit the ground. He got down on his knee again, his back turned "Get on, I'll get us away from here.".

"We're...running?".

"I'll protect you." He said "I am a Cadaver Knight. My duty is to find the cause of death. I cannot protect these people, but you I can. And I will." As he finished, I got on his back, and he immediately grabbed his bag, jumping outside the window. The glass cut my arms, but the rest of the knight's body protected me, and from the third floor, we landed on the ground, denting the earth with his weight and feet.

Everything was burning down, the fires consuming everything, and yet, still I didn't fear the flames. The flames weren't evil, they were just the tools of these monsters. I saw the horses riding through town, the riders carrying bombs that blew up into a fiery explosion, destroying constructions and burning the surrounding, while others simply carried torches and through them through windows.

The knight sprinted away, using the silver sword to slash the enemies who tried to stop him by getting his way. He was precise, cutting off arms, slitting throats, striking across the face, even just stabbing or tackling them with his shoulder. He didn't focus on killing, but just the quickest way to incapacitate them, and carrying me didn't seem to deter him in the least. He did not stop, slow down, or get faster, he just kept going at a consistent pace even with the enemies in his way.

The Cadaver Knight lived up to his name.

"Horse...horse...horse...!" He repeated, before a rider came charging at him, as if on cue. He dropped me, putting his bag next to me, charging the horse. Despite his heavy weight, the knight's foot was planted in the ground, as he leaped forth, much to the awe of the rider, and mine. He struck the rider in the head, knocking him off the horse. He whistled to the horse, who slowed down, running back to me "We have to get on the horse, quickly!" He helped me up on the horse, as he got on as well, placing the bag in my lap, and placing my arms around his stomach "Hold on.".

I don't remember how long we rode, but we stopped, only when we could no longer see the pillars of smoke. Far, far away. The horse slowed down after getting tired, landing us in grassy hills, going as far as the eye could see. The knight got off the horse, helping me get down without hurting myself. The horse quickly went under the shadow of a tree, resting its head down "Ah, give me a moment please. Go sit down and rest." He said, handing me over the silver sword as he went over to the horse, pulling out a brush from his bag, proceeding to take care of the horse.

After thirty minutes, he returned, the horse seemingly calmed down, now drinking from a large bucket. The knight sat down infront of me on a rock, as I sat on the grass "How are you?" He asked in a concerned manner.

"I...don't know..." I lied down on my side in a fetal position "Everything happened so quick, and everything came back...Knight, I remembered everything." I clutched my sleeved, feeling the tears running down my face "Ah, I'm sorry. I'm overreacting.".

The knight stared at me, taking off his helmet, exposing his face to me "I feel afraid." He said to me, his face was clearly exhausted, with bags under his eyes, dirt and blood across his face, while his hair was unkempt and messy, nothing like what I saw last time "I am a coward. A knight who cannot fight, because I do not want to. That is why...I went to the path of a Cadaver Knight. Gore and viscera do not affect me, it never didn't. I grew a twisted fascination with uncovering the causes behind murder, behind crimes, behind...the nature of humanity." His tone became more somber, his breathing unsteady, practically on the verge of tears "And now, once again, I will not sleep without hearing them, the people whom I ran away from, leaving them to their fates. I know what will happen to them. Some will be killed, the unfortunate will live and slowly die, from injuries, diseases...I know...I know what will happen to them.".

"...Do you...?" I didn't know what to say. I suddenly knew, how he felt when addressing me, fearing he would hit a nerve without meaning to. What do I do? Do I tell him it's alright? How would I want ot be addressed? But our situations are different...

"You must hate, knowing that." He said, breaking the silence "I am...no Noble Knight...I am just a coward...a coward who can't defend anyone when his own life is in danger." His hands were shaking, and his eyes watering further "What kind of man...feels fear like this? Look at me...just calling me a knight is...is preposterous.".

I could hear his heart break as he choked up. I stood up and walked closer to him, wrapping my arms around him in an embrace. I didn't even know this man's name, I only knew his behaviour, his duty, and even then, how could I trust his words? Because I didn't want to be alone. I have nothing to go back to, or anything to give up except my life. I don't want him to leave "You saved me, rather than leaving me behind. That accounts for something, right?".

"But all these people..." This wasn't the first time this happened, and his guilt hasn't subsided at all.

"It's okay. The harsh truth is, you would have died trying to protect so many people. You were outnumbered, and would have eventually been overpowered as well." I tried to think of this realistically, even if it was harsh. He needed to understand he wasn't to blame for their loss of lives. One man can't save all these people. Three Mages couldn't save me or my town. They couldn't fight back. If they ran, they would have been alive still.

His breathing settled down, but his body was still shaking. The man gently grabbed my wrists and pulled me back "Ah, you got dirty because of me." He said, referring to my clothes and face now being dirtied by the filth on him "Give me a moment. I'll at least clean your face." He said, pulling out a napkin from his back after taking off his gauntlets, wiping off the blood from my face "I will get you a place in a city called "Magnolia", in the country of Fiore. You will be safe there. There are guilds there, powerful ones who will protect you from...everything.".

"I can't." I said "Let me stay, and teach me how to fight.".

He looked at me with a shocked look, stopping what he was doing "...F-...Fight? No, no, no." He stood up, walking a distance back, turning his back on me "No, no, no. You do need to know how to fight. You have been through enough, and you need to return to living a normal life. Lead a life you will be happy with.".

"I don't know your name." I stood up "And yet I feel like I know you well enough. So, I consider you my friend now. I don't think I can get...this sort of relationship with anyone else anymore. The cold, isolation and even people, I either fear them, or am just wary of them." I could not see the man as anyone but the knight who took care of me. His armor, dirty with mud, blood and charcoal, burnt, dented and scratched, is how I saw him.

I could never tell him, that no matter how long it's been, or how close we've come as companions, I only saw the armoured knight that saved me. He may have not cared, or it might have broken his heart. I didn't want to risk it. I stayed by his side for so long, and have never trusted anyone after him.

He let me stay, because he realized I probably couldn't get back to living a normal life. I've grown into a paranoid, irrational human. But, I could smile again, and no one could ever guess what I felt or what I've been through.

It didn't matter.

"I missed you." Even after almost two decades, after becoming stronger with your help and on my own, you had my back. "I'm sorry I didn't visit for a while, I was busy." No one else cared about you, like you said, no one wants to be among the Cadaver Knights, or the woman who was always with him. Rumours sprung up, but neither of us could care less, except for when a rumour about my past came about, you would always lose your temper. It was so frightening no one dared bring up anything like that again anymore.

Even at your funeral, the only ones who came to mourn you were your higher ups, giving you a final salute and goodbye. But, I was alone again, and now, I miss your smile. I found a nice place for your grave, at a hill where you would stand out, where no one else would bother you. Your armor was preserved, and as per my request, they did not clean, fix or polish it. They put it together, a hollow armor standing behind your tombstone like a statue.

If only I wasn't vengeful, if I had some modicum of reason, you would have been here still, with me.

I'm sorry.

"I brought you your favorite!" I sat down, putting the blue bag down next to me, pulling out a bottle of grape juice from it "It's vintage too. I haven't openned it yet, because I wanted it to be a special occasion." I removed the bottle cap, pouring a drink on two glasses. I clanked them together "Cheers, bud." I binged down the drink, feeling refreshed "Whew, that's a strong flavor, hahaha.".

I hate myself for killing you, I hope you can forgive me, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't.

"I'm getting stronger everyday, thanks to what you taught me. I'm getting better. I learned how to evaporate magical barriers, and how to melt through steel.".

By chance, you found me on that day, and decided to help me.

By chance, your kindness saved me from death, or going down a path I could never come back from.

And by chance, I lost you because of my own feelings, because I couldn't let go of something that happened so long ago.

It was not fate. If it were, then truly, God is cruel.