Dawn's Fall: War at the Gates of Darkness

Four days had passed since the start of the war at the eastern border, and the balance was still in favor of the Eastern Duchy. None of the legendary leaders from the Shadow Kingdom had appeared so far, which was causing concern for the Empire.

Meanwhile, Celesia and Henry had been practicing their swordplay with each other, with Celesia always emerging victorious since Henry was more skilled with a bow than with a sword.

"Even though you're a master archer, you're quite skilled at swordplay too," Celesia said as she delivered strikes towards him, and Henry struggled to block her blows.

"Hehe... I may be skilled, but you're much better than me," Henry said with a smile, trying to fend off her attacks.

Lina, who had been watching them from a distance, approached with two towels and said, "Training time is over now," handing them the towels to wipe their faces.

"Really? Is it over already? I didn't even notice," Celesia said with a hint of annoyance as she wiped her face.

"Then I'll be going now. See you later," Henry said his goodbyes and left for his usual duties. Celesia sat in a chair in the garden, gazing at the sky, pondering the possibility of meeting the Shadow King and the dark Seras exploding within her, while Lina stood beside her with concern. Felix suddenly passed by them and greeted them.

"Are you heading back to the Duchy now?" Celesia asked with a bored expression.

"Yes, I've finished my training with the Imperial Knights today," Felix replied politely.

"Then give my regards to Fiona, Loren, and the Duchess," Celesia said strangely.

Felix was surprised by her words, saying, "Of course... See you tomorrow, God willing," and continued on his way. Lina, too, was taken aback, saying as she scrutinized her with concern, "Are you okay today?"

Celesia turned to her and looked at her in surprise, "Do I look sick to you?"

"Well, you've never said anything like that to the young master before, so it seemed odd," Lina said frankly.

"Oh really!... I don't know why, but I felt I should say something like that," Celesia said thoughtfully. She suddenly got up and headed toward the palace, "I need to go in now and attend to my duties." Lina followed her into the palace to assist her.

Evening arrived, and the day passed peacefully. Everyone continued with their activities—training, protocols, and politics—until a telegram arrived from the east, shaking the Imperial Palace.

"The Duke of the East has fallen and is in critical condition now." "He fell at the hands of Shadow of Gravity."

"Richard... summon the special envoy members, it's time to get serious now," Edward said seriously.

"Immediately, Your Majesty," Richard went off to carry out his task.

Moments later, Henry and Celesia went to the Imperial Throne Room to wait for the others.

Meanwhile, at the Grand Duchy, Leo and Felix were preparing to go to the Imperial Palace after hearing the news.

"Please... come back safely," Fiona said sadly while helping Felix get ready.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to return safely, God willing," Felix replied with a smile as he kissed her hands. "Take care of yourself; I'm leaving now." Felix took his sword and headed swiftly to his horse. Fiona continued to watch him with concern and sadness, hoping for their safe return.

"I rely on you to take care of the Duchy," Leo said as he instructed Elena to look after the Duchy in his absence.

"Hehe... Don't worry, I've always been capable of leading the Duchy. The important thing is for you to return safely from this war," Elena said confidently.

Leo smiled at her words and mounted his horse, feeling at ease.

"Come back to us safely," Loren shouted to bid them farewell. The two turned and waved goodbye before heading quickly toward the capital.

After about an hour, Leo and Felix arrived. Moments later, Carlos and Mirabella entered as well. Everyone sat and waited for Edward.

Edward entered with Richard and greeted everyone.

"I'll get straight to the point," Edward said as he sat in the chair and began speaking seriously. "I'm sure you've all heard the news of the Duke of the East's fall. It seems that one of the legendary leaders known as the Shadow of Gravity has shifted the balance of power in their favor. I want you to be cautious of the leaders; each of them possesses a unique and dangerous Sera. All the carriages and weapons have already been prepared. So get ready to head to the Eastern Duchy now."

"May God be with you, and I hope we meet again," Edward concluded, and everyone stood up to prepare.

Edward approached Leo and put his hand on his shoulder, smiling, "Make sure to crush them, I'm counting on you."

"Don't worry... take good care of the Empire, Edward," Leo replied with a smile and extended his fist towards Edward.

"You've never called me by my name before... make sure to return alive, Leo," Edward said warmly as he extended his fist toward Leo.

Their fists collided, and Leo left to prepare for departure. Meanwhile, Richard was speaking with Carlos and Mirabella, hugging them, "Do your best to return safely, don't argue, and cooperate."

"Don't worry, Father, we'll be fine," they said in unison, releasing him and heading off to prepare.

Catherine bid farewell to Henry and Celesia, wishing them safety. Celesia went to Lina, hugging her, "I rely on you to take care of the Empress."

"Celesia... I hope we meet again," Lina said emotionally. Celesia released her with a smile and headed to the carriage.

Everyone boarded their carriages, which began moving in procession, while the knights rode alongside on horseback. The carriages continued for over two hours, and darkness began to envelop the surroundings. Everyone was silent, each lost in their thoughts. After a while, the lights of the Eastern Duchy began to shine. At the gate stood a young man with black hair and shining silver eyes, riding his horse. Surrounding him were several Light Knights.

The young man spoke suddenly, "Alexar Orlythia greets you, welcome to the Eastern Duchy."

The gate opened, and the carriages entered under the direction of the knights. Everyone disembarked and stood before the palace where a young lady with black hair and teal eyes stood with her servants.

"Thank God you arrived safely. I am Sophia Orlythia; please, come in." She said respectfully.

"Thank you for the warm welcome," Leo said respectfully on behalf of everyone.

"How is Rixil now?" Leo asked Alexar.

"He has passed the critical stage, but he is unconscious," Alexar replied regretfully.

"Thank God for his safety. But before we enter, I need to speak with the knights first. May I?" Leo asked respectfully.

"Of course, Your Grace. You can use the platform in the training yard," Alexar replied.

Leo gathered the knights who would be going to war the next day, ascended the platform, with the members of the mission, Sophia, and Alexar standing beside him. He began his speech in a loud voice, "The Shadow Kingdom has begun to encroach upon the Empire rapidly, and if we don't stop them quickly, the Empire will drown in a sea of blood. Therefore, I call on every valiant knight who is not afraid of death to step forward and join us in this great war. Remember that even if we return as corpses, our memories will live on in the hearts of the people of this great Empire, and our names will be etched in history as the heroes of this war. We must sacrifice our lives for a brighter future for the generations to come. So if you do not wish to fight, step back; if you wish to continue this path with us, step forward."

One by one, knights stepped forward until all were present. One of them advanced and said, "We are with you, Your Grace. It is an honor to die for our homeland."

"That's right!" shouted the rest of the knights loudly.

Leo smiled and shouted, "Unite your hearts and raise the banner of justice!"

"Haaay!" the knights cheered loudly. The members of the mission were astonished by Leo's actions, with Celesia being the most surprised. She could feel her father's emotions of happiness and courage from his cries.

After moments of cheering and shouting, everyone went to their rooms to rest, guided by the servants, preparing for the battles the next day. Celesia went to Mirabella with a worried expression, saying, "Mirabella, I need to talk to you about something important."

"Of course, let's go to my room and talk," Mirabella replied, curious about what Celesia wanted to discuss.

"I need you to do something... If my Serra goes out of control, help Henry to kill me," Celesia said seriously.

Mirabella looked at her in surprise, trying to comprehend, "But why are you so sure this will happen?" she said hesitantly.

"There is a dark Serra near my heart related to the Shadow Kingdom, specifically to the royal family. If Alan releases it, I'll be more dangerous than before. I'm merely a vessel for a monstrous entity inside me, and to kill it, you must strike at its core, which lies in the accumulated Sera near my heart," Celesia explained seriously.

"When did you discover all this? ... More importantly, does His Grace know about this?" Mirabella asked with concern.

"No, I haven't told him yet, but I'm going to inform him now. Good night, Mirabella," Celesia replied.

"Good night, Celesia," Mirabella said, her worry evident from Celesia's words.

Celesia left the room and made her way to meet Henry in a corridor next to the garden.

"What are you doing here?" Celesia asked curiously.

"I saw that you were late, so I came out to look for you. We need to rest well for tomorrow," Henry replied as he approached her.

"I was just talking to Mirabella about something... By the way, there's something important I want to discuss with you. How about we sit in the garden and talk?" Celesia said as she took his hand and led him to the garden.

"Alright... But take it easy!" Henry was surprised by her sudden behavior.

They sat on a nearby bench in the garden, and a silence enveloped the surroundings as Celesia spoke first, calmly, "Henry... There's something I need you to do."

"What is it?" Henry asked with curiosity.

"If my Serra goes out of control and it becomes necessary to kill me, please aim your arrow at my heart," Celesia said seriously.

Henry looked at her in stunned fear, "How can you ask me to kill you? Are you serious?" he said anxiously.

"This is my request. Please, kill me if it comes to that. I don't want to be the cause of innocent deaths," Celesia said with determination and extended her hand to him with a smile, "Let's go to sleep now; it's really late." Henry took her hand and stood up, remaining silent and puzzled. It seemed that Celesia's words had left a deep impact on him.

Everyone went to sleep while Henry remained troubled by her words, staring at her sleeping face.

"Why are you asking me such a difficult request?... You haven't even considered how I would feel if I did that," Henry thought with distress and worry, "... I hope this doesn't happen."

.

.

.

The sun rose quickly, and everyone woke up to prepare for departure. Each wore their combat gear and had a sword at their waist. They mounted their horses and formed two formations. 

The main formation was led by Archduke Ryoger with Felix at the front, followed by a group of imperial guards and Knights of Light, with Henry and Celesia at the rear. 

The supporting formation was led by Carlos and Mirabella at the front, followed by a group of imperial guards and Knights of Light, with Alxar and Sofia at the rear.

"Prepare yourselves, we are heading to the northern borders," Leo shouted loudly to commence the march, and the entire formation followed quickly. Meanwhile, the supporting formation headed to the central borders under Carlos's leadership.

The atmosphere in the forest was quiet, with only the sound of horse hooves and the trickling of waterfalls and streams. The rough terrain in the area hindered the knights' progress, causing them to move slowly.

"We've been traveling for about two hours, but this silence makes me uneasy," Felix said while looking around.

"No doubt the enemy is waiting for nightfall to launch their attack," Leo replied as he continued leading the way. "Inform the knights that we will stop by the valley there and continue the march in the evening." Leo stopped and gestured toward a nearby valley.

"Understood," Felix responded obediently, turning back to inform the knights of the plan.

"What's that noise up ahead?" Celesia asked curiously.

"Something must have happened," Henry replied, hastening forward to check the situation. Felix appeared in front of them suddenly, saying, "We will stop by the valley there until evening, so proceed."

"Alright... we'll head there," Henry responded with relief, understanding the reason for the noise. The entire formation moved to the side of the valley, tied up their horses, and began setting up tents and preparing food. After a while, Leo gathered with Felix, Henry, and Celesia in one of the tents to start speaking, "The likelihood of one of the enemy leaders attacking us is very high, unlike the support formation. While passing through the forest, I noticed shadows of people moving quickly; they must be kingdom spies. They will most likely attack us at night, but do not let this make you lower your defenses as they may attack at any moment. Rest until evening."

"Yes," the three replied simultaneously, and each went their separate ways. Celesia sat looking at the water in the valley, Felix went to inspect the mountains, and Henry lay in his tent, deep in thought.

Meanwhile, the supporting formation also stopped after not detecting any enemies.

The moments of calm lasted all day until evening. Both formations resumed their march toward the borders, prepared for any attack.

At this time, behind the dense forest trees, the Shadow Kingdom's army awaited them to launch their assault.

"It seems the information we received is accurate; both Henry and his wife are guarding the rear of the formation," Nuara said with an excitedly malicious smile after seeing the formation approaching.

"Don't be hasty; we will begin the attack once they get closer," Alan replied calmly while they sat on a high tree observing. The knights were spread out in a circular pattern to surround the formation.

The formation continued to advance further into the ambush zone. Nuara smiled, saying, "I think the time has come. See you later." She jumped from the tree, making a slight noise as she stepped on a tree branch.

"Henry..." Celesia dismounted her horse, holding her sword ready. Henry looked at her, saying, "Yes..."

"Everyone prepare, the enemy is approaching," Henry shouted loudly, dismounting his horse and readying himself. The knights drew their swords in preparation for the confrontation.

A crimson flash suddenly glowed and moved quickly toward Celesia. She drew her sword swiftly to deflect it, but it transported her to another location.

"Celesia!" Henry shouted loudly, looking towards her. Alan suddenly appeared from the trees, sighing, "I don't know why she's in such a hurry?"

"I haven't seen you in days, Henry. How are you now?" Alan said with a malicious smile.

Henry drew his sword and said angrily, "Alan... your end will be by my hand."

Shadow Knights emerged from all sides, surrounding the knights of the formation.

At the front, Leo and Felix heard the noise coming from the rear.

"The enemy must have appeared from the back. Let's turn and head there quickly," Leo said, turning his horse around.

"Yes, we need to hurry," Felix replied with concern.

"Where do you think you're going?" A strange voice came from behind the trees. Both Leo and Felix turned to the source, filled with astonishment.

"You are our prey," the voice said with a tone of excitement. A huge man in full iron armor appeared with a young man beside him, with long indigo hair on both sides and radiant emerald eyes, wearing a butler's uniform.

"I'll handle the golden boy, while you take care of that man and fight him away because you'll only hinder my movements," Marcus (the butler) said in a low voice, pointing towards Felix.

"Of course, you can have him, boy," Vincent said excitedly. He pointed his hand towards Leo and shouted, "Hey, strong one, let's fight elsewhere."

"Felix, be cautious of that boy. I will follow that iron-armored guy," Leo approached and whispered to Felix while looking at the enemy. Felix nodded confidently.

"Alright, big guy, let's go," Leo moved cautiously towards Evander, the leader of the Shadow Knights, and followed him to a battle location.

Meanwhile, Felix and Marcus stared at each other silently.

At this time, ferocious beasts appeared around the supporting formation. Mirabella looked around anxiously and said,

"What is really happening here?"