Chapter 9: Chapter-9 Dragon and Knight.

Within Regina's personal office, Nate, along with Samuel and Regina all sat on couches as Regina herself explained the matter to her new guest. "So... I am inside my master's realm of imagination? it surprises me just how many women my master has seduced over the last few days... fascinating to say the least. But what truly amazes me, are the secrets both of you have been keeping from him." Samuel said to himself in a slightly calmer tone, which slowly turned into a more annoyed one as he spoke.

Nate relaxed his head on Phoibe's shoulder. "You know, I'm more interested on how any of you managed to get inside my head. It creeps me out just thinking about it... u-ugh..." Nate shivered and asked, prompting Samuel and Phoibe to answer his question as to not get on his bad side. "Actually master, I too do not know how I ended up here, I closed my eyes to sleep, and here I am inside a castle." Samuel answered, before turning towards Phoibe and waiting for her to start explaining her part. "I..." Phoibe hesitated. "Well...? out with it then." Nate calmly encouraged Phoibe, forcing her to answer out of shame. "I... was also like Samuel... I lived as one of its actors, as a princess of a faraway kingdom long past." Nate's mind paused for a moment, weirded out by how many people were actually living inside his head and were conscious about it. "Uh-huh..." Nate nodded before twisting his body and situating his head on Phoibe's lap, facing up towards the roof. "Also, I've been meaning to ask... since I'm already asleep, how exactly CAN I sleep? while I'm already asleep?" Regina chuckled while smiling joyfully. "Now that's a real kicker there Nate." Nate rolled his eyes as he turned his head to face Regina. "Oh, shut up pervert. I'll kick your ass and send you to the Moon where you can keep your perverted thoughts to yourself. I'd rather be stuck on the surface of Jupiter without anyone to annoy me for a day or two, even if it kills me." Nate said to Regina, with Samuel laughing silently as he could while hiding his smirk with his right palm. "I am afraid, only your mother knows the answer." Phoibe answered Nate's question as he turned towards her. "Yeah... kind of late Phoibe, looks like you're overthinking a little. I think YOU should get some sleep."

"Haha... nice one master." Samuel commented on Nate's supposed joke. "You do realize that I'm serious about this right Sam?" Samuel turned to look for a person named Sam, before looked back at Nate. "You idiot! I'm talking to you. Who else has a damn name that starts with Sam around here? I'm calling you Sam in short because your name is too long." Nate explained, before a knock on the door was heard, and an imperial guard called out from the other side.

"Your highness...! pardon for the intrusion, however a noble delegate and an ambassador has arrived from the southern kingdoms! they say they hail from Commerce Alliance of Argenta, they also request an audience with you. It appears urgent, they await you at the main hall." Nate got up from the couch before walking towards the door and opening it, there was no more guard to be seen, apart from the guards that stood to protect the very door that he opened just now. Nate gestured for Regina, Phoibe, and Samuel to follow him before leaving to find the main hall where the two visitors were waiting for them. Unfortunately, there were far more visitors than expected, at least seven people were gathered, not including their personal bodyguards which swarmed just a few dozen feet behind them. Every last one of these guests were either laced with jewelry or wore fancy, but formal clothing, representing their own department of their separate kingdoms. Walking towards the center of the room, Nate and Samuel stood behind Regina as she and Phoibe sat on two chairs at the end of a long table, and at the other end were said guests, seated with false smiles and false expressions of calmness. Too bad Nate saw right through them.

"So, this is her majesty's beloved knight... a random no-" An arrogant noble suddenly proclaimed, before being cut off by Nate as his head was severed by an unknown force before falling and then rolling slowly on the floor. The other nobles gulped at the sight before them, looking to find that the cause of such a heinous crime was nonother than the so-called knight that the noble insulted at, staring right at them with piercing red glowing eyes that burned right through their souls. "That was quite unnecessary your highness... however, I assure you that no other incident such as this will ever happen again." Declared a noble woman from amongst the visitors, Nate turned his head to find the source of such voice. And from there Nate saw her.

"I am viscount Adreas Moonstone Alaine, successor the Moonstone Household. I pardon for the offence your majesties... I hope this does not affect your reputations..." The young woman with white skin, white hair, and grey eyes, in a white, fancy dress bowed. "So be it." Regina spoke. "It matters little to me who you are and where you came from, you may insult me from the shadows, but you'd be wise not to insult my benefactor. He is merciless unlike I... and is as cold as he's silent."

"I will try to remember your wisdom, empress Regina..." The woman known as Adreas bowed, as blasphemous as it could have come, Nate felt an extreme urge to kill every last one of these visitors, guests of honor. His overwhelming will to kill felt by everyone in the room, though faint, it was definitely there. "Damn I hate cocky assholes." Nate thought to himself.

The day was young, and the birds outside chirped. Nate listened to even more small talk as the nobles and Regina, including Phoibe debated calmly about random contracts he still couldn't understand. He waited for an entire hour standing there, watching every move that the nobles made, even when still, their eyes, and even the movements of their mouths.

Patience was limited to Nate, even if he had all the time in the world. Everything started to blur, his hearing dulled, time slowed, and the world turned grey. Nate began to contemplate to himself again, only this time, he felt it all, the motion of time, and the incoming knight that he once bested moments before the rebellion. Nate sighed before turning to face the massive glass windows to his left, he could still hear the slow debates of everyone inside the room, he started hearing humming from a distance. Nate left to find the location where the humming came from, leaving the hall through a set of hidden stairs that led upwards to another room, and once he reached the end of it, he found the goddess herself sitting on a well-designed white chair, next to an oval white table. Nate didn't hesitate to take his seat, and sat on the chair parallel to Priscilla, the one made of obsidian and gold, one that could make even the richest of monarchs' drool in their greatest fantasies.

"...I admit... I never expected anyone to answer my call..." Priscilla said to herself, before looking at the grey walls nearly frozen by Nate's powers. "Your will... it fascinates me, such power only wielded by a mortal that kills gods. I wonder... " Priscilla slowly turned to face Nate as she smiled and leaned forward before resting her cheek on her palm. "...Who are you really...?"

Nate felt a sudden warm gust of wind blow over him, the goddess now fully frozen in time, her smile remaining the same, and the voices below all but silenced. "You've been quite busy I see..." A familiar voice spoke from all around Nate, it was the somewhat helpful nightmare he almost forgot about. The amalgamation of his fears, despair, shame, and suffering. All of it in one sentient body. "What do you want this time? I thought you were going to shut up for a while so cut to the chase already!" Nate demanded, but it merely laughed at his pathetic insult. "Oh, you know what I mean... a certain someone took notice of your existence, and I'm not talking about her, you know the Golden Lion correct...?" Nate raised an eyebrow before leaning forward and resting his arms on the table. "King Sabel?" The monster chuckled for a while before it answered. "Correct. This... King Sabel, has a Nightmare Fragment as his heart and source of power, unlike the crystals you've been calling Fear Fragments, Nightmare Fragments are worth a million." Nate remained silent for a moment and stared at the painting on the wall to his right, depicting a massive battle where a ruler in golden armor fought amongst other men in golden armor, against a horde of imperial soldiers, his helmet having the design and face of a lion. "...So. Dime a dozen, do I kill him?" Nate asked as he held his hands together. "No, if you want to though you can, but there is a far safer procedure for that." Nate lowered his head as he listened to the humming of a what sounded like an artificial heartbeat. "Ok, so does he know who I am? or what I'm after?" The monster paused for a moment before answering. "Once again, no. Sabel is as ignorant as the fools that lived in this paradise of fantasies, but he is after you, take care, he is unlike the game character you once knew. He is as wary as he is cunning, best remain silent, he has a good heart, he won't kill you without reason. Even if you were to die... I can simply revive you on the spot." Nate nodded and leaned back with his hands still held together. "Sounds good, where do I start?" Everything returned to normal, sounds once again filled every space available as the monster answered before disappearing once more. "Right, NOW."

Nate stared at the still smiling goddess, her face now unfrozen by time. "What appears to be the matter? I know what happened a while back was not to your expectations... but I assure you I will pay back my debt in full. Please, take this." Priscilla handed Nate a strange crystal medallion that looked strangely like a heart drawn by children, how very precious.

"If you wish to take my life, then break it. Spare my people and be on your way, I will not struggle this time." Nate's eyes furrowed; he sat there silently without a word for a moment before throwing the medallion at the goddess's face and quickly left to return back to the hall where Regina, Samuel, and Phoibe were. But before he could leave the room, he heard Priscilla say to him. "May your journeys be pleasant and fruitful... peace be upon you. Dull as it may, blessed be your travels." Nate muttered to himself in a low-toned voice as he clenched his hands into tight fists. "Ugh... I'm really hating this cliche shit..."

Nate continued down the stairs before arriving at his destination, and just as he arrived, Regina was already there to greet him with a smile. However, Nate was not in the current state to entertain her at the moment, nor would he, considering his mood.

"Come on, we're heading towards the southern continent." Nate rested his hands on his hips and looked around before looking back at Regina. "One question, why?" Regina smirked before answering. "I declared war on all of them of course! they've been keeping a strange material they call- Actually, I think it's best not to let you know about its stupid name they've given it, but I'm pretty sure what they're actually harvesting are Fear Fragments." Regina sighed and continued. "It's going to be a tough fight since the continent is on the other side of an ocean, mind you the empire has a pathetic navy, so I really doubt we'll be able to cross it with their superior ships." Nate shook his head in disappointment. "Do you at least have a base there?" Regina sighed once more before answering. "No, but we do have a base on an island far from their coast, and from where I'm standing, it's impenetrable as long as there's no spies in it." Nate smirked before taking a few steps forward close to Regina. "Then let's fucking go..." Regina nodded and walked outside the hall, followed by Nate as they navigated outside the castle and towards a nearby carriage where Phoibe and Samuel were waiting for them, as well as young knight with blond hair, brown eyes and light brown skin. "Your majesties! I am company commander Dex Druman at your service! I will serve as your guides for the conquest of the southern kingdoms, I am happy to be at your side!" The company commander known as Dex happily proclaimed as he saluted the approaching royalties in front of him. "What the hell...? this guy is just a kid?" Nate thought to himself before slowly turning towards Regina, who shrugged and then quickly dashed away to make her escape. Nate turned to face the young boy who bowed as he looked at him, even if the commander was two feet shorter, the fact still remained. This kid was not normal by any standard, Nate could feel the boy sweating while struggling to maintain his formal posture in front of him in a display of loyalty and fear, as well as true bravery. All aspects of a great commander, of a soon-to-be central empire.

Nate walked past the commander without much as a nod and entered the carriage, sitting next to Phoibe who was seated behind the driver's seat, with Samuel on the other end. "You should have at least thanked the commander." Samuel frowned as Nate stared at him with a disappointed but cold face that screamed shut up, before looking to his left and crossing his arms.

"Oh, just try to be a more nicer person Nate... why not express a bit more emotion?" Phoibe said to Nate who turned to look down on the carriage's red colored carpet floor and sighing before shaking his head. "Master does not wish to be bothered it seems, then we depart as ordered. Commander! take us to where we are headed." Samuel soon ordered the commander as he sat on the driver's seat and set off to their intended destination. "On our way!" Dex shouted, the carriage's wheels turned as it slowly moved, the four horses pulling its weight while they galloped onwards on the stone road, past bystanders who watched as a dragon-like man, an imperial commander, an unknown black knight, and a quite beautiful woman pass them. Nate heard murmurs and whispers despite the crowded streets of the castle, passing the once broken gates that led towards a nearby city.

At the corner of his eye, Nate saw over a hundred people gather on the sidewalk, from peasants to nobles they watched as a carriage containing three people went by, turning corner after corner before reaching another gate which quickly opened the moment the guards noticed it. Leaving the safety of the city, and into the wilderness, Nate closed his eyes for a second and concentrated, he thought about waking up the moment he arrived at a port, and just as he opened his eyes to wake, an entire day had passed. "Everything alright master?" Samuel asked Nate, as he nodded in complete silence and kept to himself.

Birds chirped outside, the rising sun lighting the land, its rays of light shining through the window, slightly blinding Nate who stared at the foldable table attached to the roof in front of him that was not there before. Elegant in design, smooth and pretty, Nate summarized the table's features in great detail. Nate's mind wandered, as he kept thinking to himself. Such an odd reality.

Nate ignored the chatter between the commander, Samuel, and Phoibe. He focused on the noise outside, apart from the birds, there were wandering merchants, other carriages, wandering mercenaries, bystanders, and even knights who seem complacent as they watched their carriage pass by. It was then Nate heard a different eyesore in his journey, goddamn tribal humans. The carriage went through a thick forest known for its dangers, but none dared to near the oppressive aura of a dragon, let alone the literal embodiment of death in the realm. "We're almost at the port your lordships, we're only a day away!" Dex declared, "Luckily, there seems to be no monsters in sight. The port is just at the end of this forest, and we're off." Dex added. Nate listened to the whispers and murmurs from deeper within the forest, who quickly disappeared not a moment too soon as the carriage passed the tree line and onto open road, green grass and muddy dirt roads. Nate continued to listen, blurring out anything that came from inside the carriage apart from Dex who was the driver of said carriage, everything was fine and dandy, until an armored woman with similar features as Dex stopped them in place. "Woah now! it's been a while Dex, or should I say, company commander...?" The armored woman exclaimed calmly as she placed her hands on her hips while staring at Dex who was surprised by the sudden appearance of his mother. "M-Mom!? what are you doing here!? I-I'm currently escorting very important guests on an urgent mission! please, move aside!" Dex said to his mother, stuttering as he spoke, she took off her helmet revealing her scarred face, her gaze piercing through even the carriage itself. "Ha!" Dex's mother laughed. "That's general Alle Druman to you, kiddo!" The general named Alle crossed her arms before continuing. "Besides... I'd like to spend a little time with my boy while at work." With words like that, Nate felt his heart ache in jealousy, but never revealed his anger to the two individuals around him. "Come on, scooch over." Alle moved her son to the side before sitting next to him. "Now I'm not trying to ruin your career here commander, but I have specific orders from the empress to serve as your secondary guide. You know... just in case." If words could kill, Nate would have snapped on the spot.

Nate felt his heart race from extreme jealousy, fear, as well as pain, and a little bit of regret and anger. This moment was an insult to his former life, abandoned and alone. Nate calmed himself and regained composure, luckily, no one had noticed it yet.

Nate continued to monitor his surroundings in silence, his arms still crossed and his back against the cushion. Never in his entire life had he felt the need to be alone, Nate wanted more in the past, he wanted a better life, but now it appeared he wanted nothing else but silence, to be alone with his thoughts once more. The carriage moved slowly; discussions filled the air.

For a brief moment Nate kept contemplating to himself, and he was just as content about it. Speculation after speculation, guess after guess, thought after thought, and fear after fear, Nate thought to himself about the many lives he could have lived if only he had what others didn't. It was then he remembered that life wasn't fair, it never was to begin with. He had repeated this thought for hours, even though it had only been minutes since they continued their journey after Alle joined them.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the Boundless Ocean, to the southern kingdoms, within the Kingdom of the Sun, a highly religious warrior kingdom where knights had the highest of status, and blades are worth more than the ink. From within his golden castle, atop a balcony, King Sabel, once a commoner turned king, your standard fairytale knight of fantasy, brown to golden eyes and long hair, white skin, in golden armor, although gold does little protection, it was the symbol of pride, and not wealth for the kingdom. In fact, they used anything except for gold as currency, gold was a mere decoration because of its symbolic meaning for the eastern nations' wealth, gold had little to no value in the south, for it is as pathetic as the egos in the west. Take note that the Shadow Empire, substitute to the Obsidian Empire that Nate made, was due north. The vast, fragmented continents that were once whole, such venerable reminders of a neglected, bygone tale.

An unrivaled empire made from Nate's overwhelming glitched character, progenitor to the Black Knight, only known and named as the Primordial Trinity. As ridiculous as it might've sounded, all of it was fact. Nate received the rights to the game after purchasing it at a considerably low cost, during the early stages of Knight Fall, the name Nate gave it after its release. In fact, Nate was the one who made the game from the start, he was the one to set its graphics, most of its stories, gameplay mechanics, and even the settings, all of which were remade from the older version, Odysseys' End. A different game entirely and the utter failure of its supposed successor, Knight Fall. Oh, how Ciel would have been proud. If only Nate hadn't been an overworked fool at the time which almost led to his earlier death. Nevertheless, there was something more to the forgotten fantasy game. Odysseys' End actually already had a story, and a very, very good one too, if not for Knight Fall outshining it in the first place anyways. But on another note, Odysseys' End had its characters, one of which was Sabel, his lords, as well as his allies in the other kingdom, Odysseys' End had only one continent for its story to take place in, while Knight Fall on the other hand had the rest, and everything else along with it. A sad fate for a game with a sad ending. Although, Nate had his own plans.

"Your highness, is something the matter?" Asked a commander in silver enchanted armor, with a red cape and a helmet that resembled a tiger. "Not at all..." Sabel answered, turning to face the commander that bowed when he turned. "Commander Rhon, I assume the peace treaties with the north are going well?" Sabel asked his commander before he answered. "I'm afraid that that's not the case your majesty... they have declared war on all of us." Sabel's eyes widened in shock and slammed his fist onto the wall next to him. "Impossible! did they not come to us with gifts and the promise of trade!? did they not approach us with smiles and brought friendship with them!? how could they do this to us!?" Sabel shouted in surprise and extreme anger.

"What exactly are the reasons for their betrayal!?" The commander pondered for a while before answering. "I-I'm afraid that's for you to judge alone..." The commander known as Rhon took out a piece of folded parchment and handed it to Sabel as he quickly lowered his hand to take it, unfolding to take a look at its contents. "This is..." Sabel muttered.

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The contents of said parchment spoke of a strange material that the Kingdom of the Sun, Sabel's kingdom, along with its allies were secretly hiding within their lands. These crystals are the source of the heretical arts and worse than demonic magics, it speaks of detailed abominations that have been forming around the empire, the hero of the new empire, along with the hero of Windrow were dispatched to deal with this terrible calamity that was about to form in the continent. "Preposterous..." Sabel muttered. "This... new empire... I believe it was called the Shadow Empire, which spanned an entire continent, unrivaled in terms of military and agricultural means even without Windrow as their vassal but lacks only in their navy." Sabel paused for a moment before turning to ask his commander. "Who is this new hero commander? I have never heard of such a champion worthy of being the empress's fist, let alone be adored by her." Rhon nodded his head to answer. "My king, I'm afraid that is where you are wrong." Sabel raised an eyebrow and listened to Rhon's explanation. "This hero is the empress's supposed beloved emperor, at least that is what I've heard about in their official news. My contacts in Windrow, however, strangely supports this report, this... unparalleled warrior can take hits from even the highest spells and can ignore even the empress's and the Red Knight's powers without a word, it was also said that the was a mute." 

"Strange... I know of the Red Knight and her strength; I have dueled with her once... however even I struggle to keep pace." Sabel said, crossing his arms and releasing the letter from his grip. "If what they say is true, then we are at fault here." Sabel turned to face the soon setting sun before continuing. "One champion uniting two opposing sides... a true hero worthy of his title indeed, unmatched in strength, and a being worthy of his status. Such a pity... this isn't the path I even wanted to take."

The day soon came to a close, with Nate still within the carriage along with Samuel and Phoibe, who were all already asleep. In the night, they finally arrived at the nearly silent port city, Silver Waves. parking just next to the very ship they would travel in, Alle woke up her sun before waking up the passengers within. "Wake up sleepyheads...! we're here!" Nate broke his lock with the table as he moved to open the door and left the carriage. Stomping on the wet stone ground reminiscent of the hellish dungeon he went through before, Nate immediately walked towards the starboard side of the ship, where two people waited for them. Carl, the new imperial ambassador, the one with brown hair, dark brown skin, and yellow feline eyes in a formal dark red attire stood, along with Ludwig who was still in the same armor. "Ah, you must be the empress's secret benefactor and the new royal candidate." Carl started with a bow of respect, as Nate slowly approached them.

"I am Carl Lailan Dusk, the newly appointed emissary of the empire, and I believe you've met the alliance commander already? does the name Ludwig ring a bell?" Carl said and followed Nate onto the ship's deck, followed by Ludwig who was right behind them. "Silent as the rumors say... then I won't be bothering you much." Carl bowed before standing in front of Nate who stood at the center of the ship. "As per her majesty's request, I shall be conducting the standard introductions of the war plan..." 

Carl used his magic to create an artificial map made of green interchangeable glowing lights that formed borders and oceans, high and low, before starting. "As you can see, we are far away from our objective. Landing in the southern lands is crucial for the success of our mission, but due to the southerners' incredible naval might, our fleets might drown in the depths of the ocean halfway through their journey." Carl pointed at Nate, who crossed his arms and waited for him to continue. "And that's exactly where you come in, our great commander..." Carl lowered his hand as he and Nate both looked down on the map.

"You'll be the one to fend off any attacks that comes our way, should we succeed in landing, we will start our campaign in purging the filth from the region, and get those heretical crystals the empress so wants to gift to you. And yes, she informed me of your obsession over them. I will gladly offer my head should I fail to meet your expectations; I know better than to test your patience, lest I meet a fate far worse than any form of death." Nate heard footsteps approaching from behind, as Ludwig took his turn to explain. "If I may... taking into consideration of Sun's fleets, it would be best to face them in the Chain Isles. Their warships are armored with steel, and their soldiers are trained in both urban and naval battles, all the more reason to take a route that could satisfy our needs, better with our forts nearby to protect us." Alle nodded as she stood behind Nate, along with her son Dex, Phoibe, and Samuel who were right next to her, as they all gathered behind the leader of this large-scale naval and land-based operation, which was soon to commence after this short, unscheduled gathering in the dark.

"Is this plan acceptable your highness...?" Ludwig asked as he looked at Nate who nodded his head and then walked away towards the bow of the ship. "Then we start at dawn." Ludwig announced. Rain slowly poured as the magic map dispersed along with the people gathered around it. Except for Nate, everyone else was already moving to find their place, crews flooded the deck from their quarters and prepared for sailing operations, which also goes for the rest of the ships already out on sea.

Nate watched, standing at the very end of the deck. Waves crashed violently from farther and deeper into the ocean, silhouettes of massive ships formed ranks in the distance and creating lines upon lines of formations. All were ready for war.

The fleet departed from imperial waters and into the vast stormy sea, hours, days, and months without action passed like a blink of an eye for Nate, who remained in the same spot for the entire duration of the peaceful time he was generously given. A few fishing detours here and there, everything else was nothing much, just to keep the men fed, and ready for the battles soon to come, however, this wasn't as easy as fate would've given them, not that there was a being called fate, nor said embodiment of it. Oceanic beasts from the depths arose to halt the fleets, but when Nate opened his eyes to the sound of metals colliding, he was greeted to what appeared to be hordes of fishmen and elves. Elves fighting alongside sentient fish? now that was something Nate couldn't have predicted at the time. Still though, Nate thought he could use this predicament to further enhance his understanding of the world, should some survive. But if there is none, then there shall be none.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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