Knights of Shadows: Love and War

13

Me Kohane and An spent the rest of the day walking around the kingdom together after I was relinquished of my knightly duties for the day. We reminisced on out memories together. Kohane and An shared a few intimate moments, but nothing definitive of a romantic relationship. It just seemed that they grew close. I was relieved. An was hard to get along with sometimes, so I wasn't sure if someone as shy as Kohane could manage that. However... It appeared they were the perfect match.

We eventually parted ways and I began to walk home. I was astonished by the vibrant atmosphere the kingdom had maintained. The streets were bustling and the people seemed as if they didn't have a care in the world. I arrived upon my residence and prepared for bed. I thought about Toya and our intimate encounter. I couldn't wait for the day that awaited ahead.

The next day stabbed through the peaceful night like a thousand swords. The kingdom had undergone attack. The first battle of the war. I quickly suited up and charged to battle. The golden edge of my sword shined in the sunlight as I took out three people at once. I hated war. I hated having these peoples's blood on my hands, however I had to do what was necessary. As the other knights and I rushed against the opposing forces, i saw An getting attacked. I swooped over by her side and fended off the enemy.

"Agh, Sorry, I'm a little off my game today..!" An said as she dodged someone's sword, before using it to attack them. "Don't sweat it! Just focus on the battle ahead!" I said, a rush of fear, sadness, and excitement flowing through me. As the blood of the enemy and of my own comrades drenched my armor, I fought through the day. The indifference and emptiness displayed by the enemy soldiers had terrified me. After losing so many people, they weren't even bothered.

Our side had been overwhelmed with grief and adrenaline as soldiers were killed left and right. I took out 10, 20, hundreds of men it seemed. The guilt loomed over me as the fight continued and more soldiers kept coming. As if they were just... Replaceable. How did Toya ever live in such conditions..? I felt something snap in me as I saw An fall to the ground. She had been stabbed. The threw her to the side like a meaningless rock that they got bored of. I rushed to her side, fending off enemies as I ran.

"An..! Stay with me! You still have yet to get to know Toya, and see the end of this war!" I begged, my voice breaking. I tore a piece of my cape to act as a makeshift tourniquet and tied it as tight as possible around the stab wound in her stomach. She coughed. "Is this how it ends..? Haha, I never got to tell Kohane how I felt..." She said, her consciousness fading out. "You said that you would meet my level and surpass me! You can't do that if you're gone! Please, An you can still tell her how you feel..!" I cried holding on to her tightly.

She passed out. I felt her neck and there was still a pulse. Still a chance. I handed her to a fellow knight and instructed them to bring her to Rui. He would help her. After she was carried away, I felt a sense of anger pulse through me. They tried to take away her life. My heart screamed as my eyes glared at the crowd of people rushing the kingdom. I instructed the knights to stand back. In the heat of anger, I took them all out my self.

I barely realized what I had been doing, my mind blacked out. Not another person would get hurt. That's all I could think about. That day, I single-handedly took out 400 men as the other knights watched. I was so angry I didn't even notice the countless cuts and bruises on my body. I looked down at my hands as I saw red. These soldiers blood had tainted the ground. I felt a lump form in my throat. It pushed and pushed, until eventually... I screamed.

Not a single person could speak. The once easy going and upbeat kingdom had feel silent. The common people left their houses and watched as I screamed. I felt like I was letting everything out. All of my sadness, grief, anger, fear... It poured out of me like a fountain and spread throughout the kingdom. After I was done, I struggled to stand upright. I looked around and saw the distraught faces of the once joyful citizens and soldiers.

I saw the dead and injured bodies of many, and the silence that filled the city. I thought about what would the king say here? He was always so endlessly positive. Right now he was probably scared to death, just as everyone else had been. I clenched my fist and held it up high. "This is just the beginning! This isn't just a victory, but a turning point! We have experienced grief and loss, so let's use that to duel our hearts and continue on!" I yelled, loud and clear.

I was never the type who liked big speeches or anything, and I always thought they were cringy. However, in this moment I didn't want everything we had fought for to go to waste. For the lives of Ena and Ken, and the injuries of An and many others of the war. I wanted to ensure that their sacrifices didn't go to waste. I felt my body collapse, the adrenaline wore off. I was caught by the king. His red cape flew through the wind.

"He is exactly right!" King Tsukasa said trembling, his sister was at his side. He gave some sort of speech or something. I couldn't make out any of the words as my consciousness slowly faded out. All I could remember was the kingdom's sad song. They sang together in memory of those lost today. The heavy weight of my eye lids pushed down like a million tons, and I fell asleep.