When night fell over Silex, Rune was selected for the night patrol.

"Will you even have enough energy to train with the other knights in the morning?" Sir Kaelen asked. He didn't doubt her—not after she had led them to slay a dragon a while back—he was just genuinely curious.

"Alright, fine. I will take one last tour around the castle, and then I'll go rest, Sir Kaelen," Rune responded.

She pulled her helmet over her head and set off into the quiet, sleeping fortress. She knew every corridor by heart; she had spent years sneaking around at night just to steal scraps from the royal kitchens.

Suddenly, the sharp crack of a dry leaf broke the silence. Someone was moving through the darkness.

Rune’s mind raced. Taking down an unknown intruder blindly was highly dangerous, but running to sound the main alarm would startle them and ruin their chance of capture. Luckily, Rune was standing near one of the custom traps she had practiced building during her secret training years.

She maneuvered stealthily, forcing the intruder right into her web trap.

"Wait! I came in peace!" a voice called out from the net.

The moonlight shifted, revealing a man with sharp dark eyes and dark skin. His brown hair was shot through with heavy streaks of white, giving him a striking look that contrasted with his youthful, energetic soul. Yet, despite his intruder status, his eyes didn't look malicious enough to cut a soul.

"Then why are you here?!" Rune demanded, her blade drawn, her guard completely up.

"Demon shadows... they are taking over the world. It started from your kingdom, so I was sent to investigate."

"You know we have a front door," Rune snapped coldly. "If you truly came in peace, you wouldn't be sneaking around. You would have sent a formal message to His Majesty."

"And risk being eaten alive by barbaric giants?" the foreigner joked, though his voice held a trace of genuine fear from the childhood stories he'd been told. "Yeah, I'll pass."

With a sudden movement, the foreigner sparked a small flame, setting Rune's web trap on fire to free himself, and bolted into the shadows.

Rune chased him down. They clashed under the moonlight. Even though the foreign knight was purely defending himself and avoiding lethal strikes, his fighting technique was unlike anything Rune had ever seen. It was highly advanced, completely foreign to Silex military styles. As they traded blows, Rune systematically slammed her hand against the emergency buttons on the castle walls, waking the guard.

The chase led them into a ruined, abandoned wing of the old castle. Misjudging his footing, the foreigner crashed through a weak floorboards, tumbling into a hidden, dusty room below.

Rune dropped down after him, but as she looked around, her eyes widened in shock. "What... is this?"

The room was filled with ancient, broken stained-glass windows. None of the historic stories depicted on the glass matched the history she had been taught. In fact, major pieces of the timeline were completely missing.

"I don't know what lies you were fed," the foreign knight said, pushing himself up from the debris. "But where I come from, the lore says that long ago, the seven kingdoms faced a massive threat that forced them to work together. But after the war, the barbarians of Silex forced all the other kingdoms into brutal isolation."

"But... that doesn't make sense," Rune defended, her voice wavering. "According to our lore, the other six kingdoms were villains. No matter how much Silex sacrificed, it was never enough to appease their envy. The other kingdoms are the ones who placed a curse on my people."

A heavy, profound silence fell between them. Standing in the ruins of a forgotten history, both knights realized a terrifying truth: the world was much bigger, and far more complicated, than the propaganda of their respective kingdoms.

Before the foreigner could break the silence, Soren and a flood of Silex knights burst into the hidden room. They swarmed the intruder, taking him down in a heartbeat, and dragged him away to the dungeons.

That final conversation refused to leave Rune’s mind. Hours later, she lay awake in her small room, staring blankly at the stone ceiling. Sleep was a distant memory, and dawn was fast approaching.

"Is everything alright, Knight Vesper?"

Rune looked up. It was Sir Cain—one of the eleven knights she had saved during the dragon attack.

"Yes, Sir Cain," Rune responded emotionlessly, continuing to sharpen her sword.

"Are you sure? You haven't seemed focused since the night of the intrusion," Cain pressed, his tone laced with concern. "Is Sir Soren bothering you again?"

Rune didn't respond. She was entirely swamped in her own head, where her internal Council room had erupted into an absolute war.

"But what if he was lying?!" Inser cried out. He was pacing frantically in the corner, looking incredibly skinny and pale as a ghost, his black clothes shifting as he bared his ugly teeth in panic. "They always lie! They always hurt us!"

"It can't hurt any more than being stuck within these miserable walls!" Avery snapped aggressively. He sat tall, his sharp features and cutting eyes flashing. He adjusted his pristine, dark crimson armor. "There is always a possibility of truth, Inser! It is completely illogical to surrender to fear just because a factor is unknown."

"But Avery... won't this action hurt the people of Silex? What if it affects them?" a soft voice asked. It was Hart. She sat quietly, a cloth pad covering her eyes, her flowy, cream-white dress pooling around her chair. Her voice was thick with deep concern.

"Those people have never done us any good behind these walls, Hart!" Avery fired back furiously. "If we want to fulfill our new duties as knights and actually protect life, we need to find the truth!"

"But Avery! Despite everything, the people of—" Hart tried to plead.

"No!" Avery cut her off right there. "Every time we let you take the lead, we only find pain and suffering within ourselves! If we want to protect this world, we need to find out the truth first—and see if this place is even worth saving!"

Avery turned his sharp gaze to the head of the table.

Reveri sat there. Silver-white strands laced through her hair, her face lined with the heavy marks of time, ancient experience, and unwavering faith. She let out a long, heavy sigh. Raising her hand, she granted Avery the authority to act, commanding the heavy chains to lock Hart securely back into her cage.

"But hear me, Avery," Reveri warned, her voice echoing with the finality of a judge's gavel. "If that foreign knight tries anything against us, we defend ourselves instantly, and we return to protect Silex. Do not go too far with this."

"It's not like I have the power to keep Hart caged forever anyway, Reverie. You're the only one who can command the lock," Avery muttered, adjusting his gauntlet. "And it's not like His Majesty will ever welcome us back. We have nothing left to lose."

Back in reality, Rune Vesper found herself standing deep in the castle dungeons. With total, cold precision, she unlocked the foreign knight's cell.

The foreigner stumbled backward in absolute shock, his eyes wide as he looked at her, noting the heavy travel pack slung over her armored shoulder.

"If you try anything, I will end your life myself," Rune said, her voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "But I need to see the truth with my own eyes."

Their escape through the quiet castle corridors was tense and silent, both of them keeping their guards completely up. When they reached the outer walls, the foreign knight looked over the edge, rapidly calculating how to drop down safely without drawing attention. Rune didn't hesitate; she threw her custom escape web-ladder over the stone battlement.

"Turn around... Princess."

Soren’s voice cut through the cold night air. He caught himself quickly, correcting his tongue. "I mean... Knight Vesper. This is entirely against the knights' law."

Beside him, the foreign knight's jaw dropped. His eyes darted to Rune in sheer disbelief. The terrifying knight who just broke me out is a woman... and a princess?! A million questions flashed through his mind, but he forced himself to stay quiet.

"Sister!" Princess Amara cried out, running past Soren to stand right in Rune's path. Her voice was trembling with frantic concern. "What are you doing?! Just come back inside. We can go apologize to Father together!"

Rune bit her lip, holding back a string of brutal curse words Avery was screaming inside her head.

"I am sure Father will forgive you for this and let you be a princess again!" Amara pleaded, her eyes watering.

Soren immediately rushed in front of Amara, drawing his blade to shield her in case the foreigner made a desperate move. Behind them, a squad of guards surrounded the courtyard—including Sir Kaelen, who was watching Rune with a deeply confused, highly conflicted expression.

Rune let out a long, exhausted sigh. "Princess," she said flatly.

"Yes?" Amara asked, her eyes instantly lighting up with hope. She truly believed her little sister would turn around, believing Rune would always sacrifice her desires for the family and Silex.

"If I don't turn around... will it put you in danger? Will it hurt your royal status?" Rune asked coldly.

"N-no? Why would it?" Amara stammered, caught completely off guard. "But it will destroy you! It will hurt you more than—"

"Good," Rune interrupted.

Before anyone could react, Rune shoved the foreign knight clean off the high castle wall, jumping down immediately right after him.

As she plummeted into the dark unknown, her eyes locked with Sir Kaelen’s for one final split second. His face was a mask of deep concern and irritation—but there was no doubt in his eyes. He knew she was doing what a real leader had to do.