The ashes had not yet cooled.
Liebe walked through the ruins when he suddenly stopped.
Something felt wrong.
The ground beneath his feet… cracked.
A thin violet line ran through the soil, like a wound carved into the world itself.
“This… wasn’t just an attack…”
He knelt down and touched the ground.
Cold.
Not ordinary cold—it seeped into him, reaching his very soul.
And then—
A whisper.
“You’re too late…”
Liebe pulled his hand back instantly.
“Who’s there?!”
Silence.
But the feeling of something watching him didn’t fade.
Then—
A faint sound.
A groan.
Liebe turned and ran toward a collapsed house.
Under the debris lay a man.
A knight.
A white cloak stained with blood, a broken sword beside him.
“Hey!
Can you hear me?!”
The man’s eyes slowly opened.
“…You… survived…?”
“Yes!
What happened?!
Who did this?!”
The knight let out a weak breath.
“This… is only the beginning…”
He grabbed Liebe’s clothes.
“Listen… the Abyss… is searching… for something…”
“What?!”
“Light…”
His grip weakened.
“Go… to Moniyan… find… the Order…”
Silence.
Liebe froze.
Another loss.
But this time— he didn’t turn away.
He stood up.
And for the first time, his eyes had changed.
No longer a child’s.
But someone who had made a choice.