[A/N - Y'all can skip this one if you want to cuz this is just a small depiction of a scene from the past, that might not make any kind of sense in the beginning of the story.]
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"Say Lukas, was it... Just me or you too felt... That same feeling like me?"
A young man who seemed to be in his early twenties lay motionless in a giant crater, his back resting on a broken-down building pillar.
Blood smeared him from head to toe, adding a dark tone to his tattered black clothes. His gaze drifted towards the vast night sky while trembling hands pressed against his wounded chest.
Slowly, his eyes lowered—falling upon another figure standing before him. Drenched in blood, his face carried a mix of regret and sadness. But unlike him, his chest hadn't been run through by the blade of a gleaming white sword.
The white sword shimmered in an otherworldly glow, its edges slithering with blood, slowly tracing downwards and pooling beneath him.
"How long... Are you go...ing to make that fac—" As he struggled to whisper his words, his body couldn't withstand any more pressure. Before he could even complete his sentence, he coughed blood.
It was a relentless struggle.
A relentless struggle to stay alive and pass on his wishes, his words to the man standing in front of him—Lukas.
Lukas couldn't bear to look at him. Not because he felt disgusted, but because he couldn't save the only person he deemed as his 'Friend'.
The man's breathing grew louder and rigid as blood began the enter his lungs.
He knew very well that his time had come.
He raised his eyes, looking at Lukas—he smiled.
"Lukas... I h-hope... You will be... Able to e-end... This cycle..." Every word felt like a cruel torture to him, yet he continued to smile brightly.
With all his might and strength left within his body, he lifted his right hand and extended it towards Lukas as if he were asking for something.
"Pr...omise... Me... Luk...as..." His throat felt as if someone was continuously tearing it apart, while his voice was mixed with a hint of wet blood that continued to fill his lungs.
Lukas looked at him with wet eyes; he, too, extended his hand towards the man without a second thought.
"I... I promise..."
With a heavy heart, Lukas said goodbyes to the man. His eyes remained lowered, unable to look into the man's eyes after what he had done—he barely held onto his tears.
Suddenly, the hand Lukas was holding onto—lost all power. Lukas widened his eyes as he finally dared to raise his gaze.
Tears slid down his face as he finally realized that the man was smiling brightly up until his very last breath.
"I... I swear to complete my promise... My dearest and only friend... Ash..."