The Oath (Kingdom)

I. Soldier

The night was dark illuminated only by pale moon and monsters running around with their clothes on fire. Yeongsin was standing on the rooftop with a dagger in his palm. He held tight grip on the blade and breathed heavily. His focus was sharp like a razor. He knew this state of mind, focused just on fighting. He didn't think about tomorrow, injured soldiers or dead ones. There was no time for mourning.

It was like in war three years ago. He fought, he killed, he survived. Three days after the war was over he started to shake. He wasn't able to hold a weapon. So he left to the woods, to the shadows where there weren't dead bodies and land soaked in blood. He was sitting on the ground, holding a branch in his shaking hands like an anchor and crying. He cried for what he's done, for what he lost. He felt empty. There was nothing but darkness and no hope and no future. Just emptiness and pain.

But today he felt hope. He fought for something that has meaning. He fought for life itself. If he fails, the dead will continue from kingdom to another kingdom until there will be no one, who will defeat them. Just dead. And he can't allow it.

He ripped out the dagger. Warm blood filled his palm almost immediately and started to drip from the roof. Few deads raised their heads and started sniffing like animals. Their frightful faces and dead eyes turned to his direction.

He saw that other warriors on the roofs did the same. They shed blood for higher good. It was a small sacrifice. He just hopes they don't have to shed any more.

Growling and screaming of the dead filled the night, when he started running towards the King's gardens. He must have been careful. Roofs were slippery from cold and sometimes there were loose thatches.

He ran close to another warrior who nodded on him with his head. He had a scarf over his face so Yeonshin didn't know who he was. If he belonged to king's guards or one of Ahn Hyun's men. But it doesn't matter. There were just dead men or living ones. Soldier was luring monsters through the gates to the garden.

And suddenly dead monsters were on rooftops. They were running towards Yeongsin with bloodied faces and bared teeth, blood too fresh to scare him. Some of them were on fire. Their inhuman screams filled his ears.

Yeongshin thrusted himself to the first body and put a dagger through his skull. The man fell to the ground, finally dead forever. Another one was running towards him so he stabbed him under the chin. And then out of nowhere there was a young boy running to him. It was just a moment when he saw his little brother in that dead kid. His face was so similar, it kicked the air out of his lungs. It was not him, Yeongshin knows it. Bones of his brother turned to dust a long time ago. But for a small moment he believed it and it was enough to throw him out of balance. He fell on his back when their bodies collided. Boy was trying to bite him in the face, his breath smelled like blood. His shirt was on fire and so Yeonshins jacket started to burn too. He can't find the strength to throw monsters from himself.

Here it is.

Here, I die.

I'm not ready. I avenged my family but made no change.

And suddenly there was a soldier with a hidden face. He catches the boy around his torso and throws him from Yeong shin.

Yeong shin started to pat his arms to kill fire on his sleeves and watched the soldier kill the boy with skillful moves. Another dead man, bigger than the soldier, jumped on him. He turned to face him, but there was a loud crack.

Yeong shin screamed when the roof under the soldier and monster broke and swallowed them both.

He didn't wait and carefully tilted himself over the edge of hole in the roof. The soldier was lying under the body of the monster and looked dead. But suddenly He lifted his hand and weakly waved on Yongshin.