Darkness. All engulfing darkness. A place beyond the reach of light, which even the sun couldn't touch.

A room filled with corpses.

Bodies of extinguished knights, renown magicians, and ruthless mercenaries whose names and achievements have long been forgotten in the course of history.

A fate no one, regardless of how remarkable once life was, could escape.

To those individuals laying in this abandoned cemetery, it was a fate worse than death. Their dreams, honor, and achievements not even worth having been written down in history books.

Remnants of a war that wasn't worth dying for.

Yet, each and every single one of those brave warriors followed their lord into battle, in hope of a better future for friends and family.

A single spark of light, shining in a brilliant bright yellow appeared, illuminating the room.

Along the wall ran intricate runes, of an old language that wasn't spoken anymore. There was no entrance nor exit, only a statue of a woman clothed in robes.

Her hair beautiful ran way past her shoulders, her eyes bore a deep sadness. The woman was on her knees, her upper body leaned slightly forward while her hands were bound to the wall.

She was confined.

She was beautiful, warming the hearts of every man who was lucky enough to cross paths with her. Even just her statue, that was but an image of her had that effect.

She was obviously of noble heritage… as for why she was confined, maybe one of the warriors knew the answer.

The spark slowly fell and landed on the head of one of the fallen.

The light grew dim until it after a while fully extinguished.

Then another light appeared, illuminating the room once more. But this time it wasn't from a spark. It originated from a woman who wore a bright shining pendant.

She stood there in front of the young warrior, on who, the spark had descended.

The woman had ash blond, shoulder long hair. She had pale blue eyes, a timid nose and only faintly red lips. She wore a black skirt that went only a little past her knees. Her black blouse was adorned with two small white jewels near her collar bones.

She slowly knelt down and wiped off the dust from the young man's face. It was riddled with. The boy was sixteen at most.

The woman looked at the boy with empathy and gently placed her fingers on his forehead.

"Arise brave warrior, your fight has not ended. Your time has not come."

She stood back up and watched. For a few minutes nothing happened. But she didn't look disappointed nor impatient. It would take time.

Then she saw a slight movement in his left hand. Slowly, his body began to reform itself and heal the many scars it had suffered.

Throughout the entire process she didn't leave his side. For she had found her duty.

As time passed and the boy's condition improved, his eyelids made way for his deep blue eyes. He slowly tried to get on his feet, but his legs gave in. They had yet to recover their strength.

"You are in no condition to walk. Sit," the white haired woman gently said.

The boy took her advice and looked around. His eyes widened and he sucked in a deep breath.

"Wh- What happened here?" he asked, his voice weak.

"You and your comrades fought valiantly under lord Alaric's banner. In the end nobody but you survived," she answered, maintaining her gentle tone.

She had lied.

The young boy sat there unmoving. He had no recollection of having fought a battle, much less a war. But when he looked at himself, it was true. He wore iron armor with a blue cape. His chestplate had been adorned with a curled up dragon which looked like it was about to bite its own tail.

The armor was battered, the blue cape torn and worn out. Dust was all over him.

He indeed had fought. But for what and why? He was unsure.

"How come I am the only one who survived?" the boy asked, his voice had grown steady but was still raspy.

A faint blue glow emitted from them woman's palm. Blue particles formed a little iron flask. Then she handed it over to the boy.

He accepted it without much thought. His throat felt like he hadn't drunk anything in days. He opened it and drank.

The white haired woman spoke. "It was a spell. A magician on the enemy side cast a powerful slumber spell. When they started executing your sleeping comrades, they had overlooked you. You later were thrown in here, assumed dead."

The boy used his arms to push himself up. He tumbled back and forth, waving around with his arms until he finally stabilized himself. He looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"How long have I been asleep for?"

Just by looking at the corpses of his fellow warriors he was sure that it had to have been months, or even multiple years.

"Over 2000 years."

Huh? 

His jaw dropped a bit, and his eyes widened ever so slightly. He couldn't believe what he had heard. How could someone sleep for so long? His body should've died long ago.

He wanted to refute her, but chose not to say anything. Looking at her he knew she wasn't lying. For some reason, he felt that she was a trustworthy person.

They both stood there in silence. The boy was waiting for her to speak, she however only looked at him with a conflicted expression.

She closed her eyes for a while, then shortly opened them again. With steps that radiated confidence she walked towards the young boy. Only when she was barely a meter away from him did she come to a halt.

"What do you want from me?" he asked the woman who stood quite a bit taller than him, finally breaking the silence.

"I want that you enjoy your life to the fullest. For as long as you can."

She took a last step towards the boy, then she lifted her hand, resting her fingers on the boys forehead. He wanted to say something, but his jaw wouldn't move.

The same blue light that emitted from her hand when she conjured the flask now engulfed the boy. His vision slowly faded and then shortly after blacked out.

The beautiful white haired woman let out a sigh. In her palm she conjured a small bright yellow light, she closed her palm and the small light disappeared.

Her expression grew tired, her voice weak. "I'm really sending the tarnished back into hell."

Then, she vanished. And the cemetery was once again in darkness embrace.