Fire danced around the courtyard. The walls, the houses, everything engulfed in flames. Rederick tried to move from cover to cover Hiding from that man who spits fire. ’It is almost done! Don’t you want eternal peace? I want that!’ he called out.Don’t you want eternal peace. I want that!’ He called out. Rederick could not fight him with blood and sweat alone.He considered his words. ’Why is that? Do you think peace can be brought by a man who kidnaps a child, whose men slaughter villages?’

  Sventerlo looked at his hands. ’Sacrifices need to be made. I gave enough for this, and so did the others. I can do nothing against the use of the monsters we have. We need some of them in control to finish the things we started!’

  Rederick walked out of hiding, his sword sheathed.One hand in the air while the other held his shield awkwardly. ’We can talk, right? Have a nice talk before continuing.’ Pleading to stop, trying to find a way to survive. To buy some time as he did.

  ’We can, I have smelled enough burning things within a day worth of time.’ Sventerlo looked at Rederick. He saw that Rederick had the exact same plan.Hiding his gaze behind the helmet’s visor. ’Hearing this, I can only guess why you attacked directly.’ They stepped closer to each other as Rederick assumed a more relaxed stance. The heat was unbearable while hiding beside the fire in full armor.

  ’I got a message from a female archer. Is she somewhere around? Waiting for her to put arrows in me like a pin doll?’ Rederick spun to look around. Scanning for anything that could give him an advantage. Finding nothing.

  ’Kelvanya isn’t here anymore. Only ash is spread around the places she wants to be.’ Sventerlo’s face looked exhausted. Pale skin.His mouth hung in a frown.Rederick pulled off his helmet, throwing it to the side. A pale, thin face revealed itself. Looking like someone who had just learned to eat. Half-starved.

  ‘I can only think of how you feel.’ Rederick said. ’I have lost someone close to me as well. And now I am the murderer’s little helper, trying my best to do one thing right in life.’

  Sventerlo studied Rederick’s face. ’Why won’t you join us? We can bring anyone back once Heiron is done with the ritual. Even the boy. He reached out with an open hand.Rederick dropped his shield and shook his hand. ’And bring vengeance to the ones we deem deserving, right?’

  Sventerlo nodded, a small smile of excitement spreading across his face. A worthy member of the Judgment Executioners. Finally. He looked surprisingly innocent to Rederick. Rederick pulled his sword out of its sheath with his other hand. Throwing it like a knife drawn from a holster. Aiming it with his ribbon’s so it would find its mark. As he did, Sventerlo’s hand ignited.Fire sprang from his fingertips as the sword entered his belly.The fire landed on Rederick’s visor, blinding him.Sventerlo pressed his hand to the open wound as Rederick pulled his sword out to reclaim it.This made Sventerlo stumble forward as his hand reached the wound, burning it shut. ’Why? You could have had anything! Why do all the good ones leave?’ He spat it out as if in pure reaction, not from intent.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  ‘This should never be the way to make dreams come to reality.’ Rederick reacted as his vision came back he looked at Sventerlo who protruded fire everywhere. ’Then there is no other option!’ he called out like a madmen.

  Rederick looked at him. His mind told him he needed to create distance between himself and that creature.But his heart said that if he created distance, he could never close in again.Not on him, or on everyone important to him. The heat made it feel as if his armor was melting into his skin, becoming one. The pain in his mind screamed at him to let go.To leave it all behind now. What is worth dying for? Rederick decided to take a step closer to Sventerlo, entering the shower of fire. Like a rainy day in hell. The ribbons burning off his armor. As he swung his sword across Sventerlo’s face. Dropping him and causing the fire to stop instantly.The heat still burned through.

  Sventerlo touched his face, trembling as he looked at his own blood. ’I... I can not fix this right. Everything I have done to do right. It never was. He looked at Rederick. There was no resistance in his gaze anymore. It was as if the last bit of trust he had in the world vanished when Rederick struck him in the gut. ‘No, to be honest. You can always think that there is a way to make something bad better.’ He took a deep breath. As he picked up a flower that hadn’t been burned yet and brought it to Sventerlo.’But sometimes there is no way to make bad things better, and we have to accept and respect the wrongs we’ve done. Even if others think less of us.’ Sventerlo looked at Rederick, puzzled. ’No, if something bad happens to someone else, we help them fix it.Like I have helped Heiron my entire life.’

  Rederick gave the flower to the confused Sventerlo. ’But wouldn’t you then be a slave to it? If he himself doesn’t want to get over it, he pulls others with him. In the end, it becomes more of an obsession than a lesson.’

  Sventerlo took the flower. Looking at it as it slowly burned away in his hand. ’I, my live. His work. The dreams of others. Sanctuary on earth. It needs to be true, there needs to be hope at the end of all this.’ He grew more angry than confused.Rederick decided to put an end to this with a swift strike, cutting Sventerlo’s throat.

  Sventerlo let go of the ashes of the flower and raised his burning hands toward his throat.As he got close, he saw the ashes.He looked around; everything was ablaze.Outside the gate, he saw Ranzolf lying beneath an armored body.His hand fell away from his throat.It had never reached it in the first place, as the glow from his hands disappeared.With that, he tried to scoop up the ashes of the flower he had left behind. He wanted to say something, but only a gurgle came out. His eyes began to water, and a tear rolled down his cheek. As that tear fell to the ground, Sventerlo followed after it with gaze and body. Restinghis face beside the ashes of the flower, where his tear had landed. His eyes remained focused on the ashes.Meanwhile, Rederick had already run past him toward the tower entrance.