The sky stretched above him like an open wound, red and raw. The red of spilled blood. The red of painted iron left to rust in the rain.
The ground was dyed with the sa red hue, as if the earth itself had bled out. The silence was absolute, broken only by the distant drip of sothing wet and unseen.
The air was thick with the sll of rust and decay, heavy and suffocating.
Wherever Cael looked, corpses lay everywhere. So were in armor, their tal dented and cracked.
So were in rags, their faces frozen in expressions of terror. So lay alone. So lay in heaps, piled atop each other like discarded cloth.
In the bloody, breathless land, he saw two figures nearby.
One was leaning her back against a jagged rock; it was Princess Luna.
Her dress was torn in a dozen places, the fabric dark with dried blood. Her black hair was matted, clinging to her pale face in tangled strands.
Her breathing was shallow, each rise of her chest a visible effort.
Before her, Lord Valeria stood in silence.
The Monarch’s gray hair was loose, falling across her face like a curtain. Her usual braid was undone.
Her sword was sheathed. Her hands were empty at her sides.
She did not try to heal the princess. She did not try to help her. She simply stood there, looking down at the dying woman. Her amber eyes were unreadable.
Then she asked,
"Do you regret this?"
Princess Luna let out a weak breath. Her lips barely moved.
"Yes. I do."
Lord Valeria’s voice was quiet, almost gentle.
"Then why did you do it?"
The princess let out a soft, self-mocking sound. Not quite a laugh. Not quite a sigh. Her cracked lips curled into a smile that did not reach her eyes.
"Because I am stupid."
Lord Valeria pressed,
"Do you truly not want to live anymore? I can still save you."
Princess Luna shook her head slowly, the movent costing her visible effort.
"No. A life without that bastard is just too boring."
Lord Valeria sighed. The sound was heavy, carrying years of unspoken things.
"Why are you hung up on the dead, Princess? You... you are stronger than this."
The princess rely said,
"I already told you. Because I am stupid and stubborn."
Before the Monarch could say anything, the princess added,
"And stop calling Princess. Just call Luna."
Lord Valeria nodded. She lowered herself to the ground and sat down beside the dying woman.
The blood soaked into her clothes, but she did not seem to notice.
Together, they looked at the setting sun.
The red sky darkened slowly, the horizon bleeding from crimson to deep purple to black.
The sun was a dying ember, sinking into the sea of corpses. Shadows stretched across the land, long and thin like grasping fingers.
Then the princess asked,
"Tell , do you think there is such a thing as reincarnation?"
Lord Valeria shook her head.
"I don’t know. Maybe there is. Maybe there isn’t. Why are you asking that?"
The princess smiled. It was a small smile, fragile, like a flower blooming in winter.
"If there is, then I look forward to it."
Lord Valeria’s voice cracked as she said,
"I can still save you. You can look forward to the future in this life as well."
"If you are worried about the mories, I can seal them. I can make you my sister. We can go on a long journey and see many things. et many people. Experience many cultures."
She reached out, her hand hovering over the princess’s shoulder but not touching.
"Please, Luna. Let help you."
The princess gave a bitter smile.
"I am sorry. I truly am. But I cannot do it."
Lord Valeria stayed silent. Her hand fell back to her side.
Then the princess said,
"You had the fate of a monarch. Why are you stuck in the realm of a lord?"
Lord Valeria did not answer. She shook her head.
"Let’s talk about sothing else. Do you have any words to say? Anything you want to do? I promise I will do my best."
The princess said,
"Yes, I have sothing to say. Do not rebuke . Just listen."
She took a shallow breath.
"During the battle, I gained insights. I even learned why you are stuck in the realm of a lord when you could beco a monarch."
Lord Valeria stayed silent. She sighed inwardly.
She had asked the princess to say sothing before parting, but the princess was helping her until the very end.
So, she simply listened.
"It is a contradiction. You can copy many things just by seeing them once, but you never make them your own."
"Do not use techniques the sa way you copied them. Make them your own. Change them into sothing only you can use."
The princess paused, gathering her strength.
"When I say contradiction... light and dark, heat and cold, negative and positive, passive and active. They are all different from each other. At the sa ti, they are the closest to each other. Think about it."
Princess Luna wanted to add sothing, but she sighed.
"I cannot find the right words. Anyway, the reason you did not beco what you wanted is that you haven’t found your path."
She looked up at the darkening sky. The first stars were appearing, faint pinpricks of light in the vast red darkness.
"The contradiction is the key to your success."
"This is my last gift to you. The day you understand the contradictions of your path will be the day you beco a monarch."
Suddenly, Cael’s eyes blurred. The vision blanked.
...
In the hotel room, inside the bedroom.
Cael opened his eyes and sat up on the bed.
He stood up and walked to the balcony, stepping out into the cool evening air.
The city of Arhal spread out below him, lights flickering to life one by one. The sun was setting on the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and red.
’How ironic.’
The sa colors as the vision. The sa red sky. But here, it was beautiful. There, it was death.
’Is this also a contradiction?’
He did not even know what he was thinking. His thoughts were everywhere, scattered like leaves in the wind.
The princess’s words echoed in his head.
He stood there for a long mont, watching the sun disappear beneath the city walls.
Then he cald himself down and muttered,
"It’s ti to go back ho."
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