The Last Guardian || KTH

04: the truth

HAD THERE BEEN A WIND THAT NIGHT it would have sighed through the trees. It would have whispered to the council walking their way through the forest, sending chills running down their backs.

But there was no wind that night. Infact, the forest seemed as though dead. The trees sagged, with leaves withered. There was not as much of a tweak of branches, no sound that the forest should have once ricocheted.

It was only the footsteps of the soldiers walking with their heavy armor that resonated life into the forest. The Heleriot was exceptionally quiet—as he stood beside the queen—having his concern for the queen's life being dismissed had him feign ignorance towards the forthcoming and the consequence.

The queen did not fail to notice his dull expression. "Jin, we have no choice," she silently said, watching the nine witches descend from the sky.

"Without this, the realms would be in ruins. We can't let the gates to the third realm open and we can't weigh the safety of our kingdom by losing our last guardian." The queen exhaled a shaky breath, dreading what she was about to tell him, "we do not know who controls the portal and how they can, but if our suspicions are true then she is in-"

"Respectfully my queen, the chances of the guardian returning, although painful to hear, are dwindling. We put everything you fought for to jeopardy if we choose to play this game of chance." Seokjin took a moment to think about his words. "Perhaps there is hope, for she does have the blood of a valiant warrior." The Heleriot watched the nine witches begin the ritual, positioning themselves in a circle. He looked up at the sky and the waning moon that would soon disappear. It was only a matter of time before the same fate would befall.

"But hope can only take us so far my queen."

The queen wished for the truth behind his words to have no meaning. All she could do was hold her head strong and wait. She was perturbed, but the crown on her head would not allow her to be so.

"About time you've made it here V," she said, sensing the presence of the royal knight kneeling behind her. The nine witches waited for the Queen, having their magic cast out and the ritual ready to proceed.

As the knight stood on his feet, the queen began to walk towards the witches. Kim Seokjin sighed in resignation, turning towards Taehyung (the royal knight), "when they blow the horn and the queen gives her offering, run into the portal. The fate of the kingdom depends on you," Seokjin instructed Taehyung despite knowing the latter had the knowledge of what was expected of him.

Taehyung had a face of steel. The thought of the world forced onto his shoulders did not waver his mind. "I'll come back with her brother," he promised, letting the silence of the forest fill his words.

Taehyung and Seokjin wasted no time on each other; averting their attention on the ritual in front of them. The queen stood in the middle of the witches, holding the silver knife of Azyla in her hand. She cast one last glance at Seokjin and Taehyung before averting her gaze back to the knife in her hand.

"Your majesty, we need you to let your spower flow through the knife and then make the offering when the moon wanes," the witches said in unison. The queen nodded, inhaling a deep breath.

Then it began. The queen, with all her energy she could muster, cast an incandescent glow on the silver knife, and soon let her spower emanating from her hand and into the knife branch out towards the witches. All nine witches raised their wands in the air, having their wands lit, by the queen's spower, like flames of a candle.

When the magic was strong enough for everyone to feel it pulse through them, the witches, in unison, directed the power to the moon. The once pale and sickled moon began to wane.