It is usually dark, this place. It was the first thing the girl noticed about this place.

Well, if a "place" is adequate to describe such existence, at least. She isn't even sure if she has a "place" anymore.

And overtime, she grows accustomed to it.

But still....

"...Yeah."



She was excited. Excited and glad when she finally heard those words. The words she knew -that they both knew- but were never be able to tell each other until now; Those words were finally spoken here, right now, under the pale moonlight on the ramparts overlooking the ruins of their Castle Town. He said it. He finally said it.

But at the same time, she was unbearably sad.

His words; His words were spoken aloud as the wind howled past the remnants of the once proud buildings, of the rusty weapons and shields scattered in all places, and the markers of those who gave their life holding the place.

In the face of such an overwhelming reminder of the future they had lost, his words rang hollow. There was no weight in there anymore.

The girl's eyes were clouded with tears.

If only.... If only those words were said before.... If only those words were known before everything came into this. Before everything else she loved was lost.... The girl could only lament this simple fact.

Yet, it was all too late now. Their future had no hope of saving.

The girl had decided this long ago.

All she could do... was to bet on the future. Another future. A future not for her nor for him. A future promised by The Goddess.

"You did not say anything," he quipped, looking a little embarrassed.

The girl drew her breath. Even now, she wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him everything.

But the girl had accepted that she could not. Not now. Perhaps not ever.

She nodded. Tears had started to trickle down her eyes.

"I am sorry...."



The steel of the sacrificial blade glinted under the light of the five torches. Shadows were dancing as the flame swayed with the night wind. Under this starless sky, all the sages had gathered.

The girl, sitting with her legs folded perfectly under her, stared impassively at the blade she was holding.

She only hoped that, when it pierced her large blood vessel, it would be painless enough.

The elder nodded. He asked her if she was ready.

And the girl plunged the blade into herself without hesitation.

The sensation was strange. It was as if she was a lamp being snuffed slowly by a gentle breeze.

Gradually, her vision darkened. Sensations left her arms and legs, smooth and sure.

With the last of her strength, the girl held her head up high.

Even in her dying moments, she would stay dignified. That was what the girl had decided before she gave her own life.

So who... who is that man being restrained, his hands frantically trying to reach her....? She could feel her consciousness drifting away....

Yet, he kept calling out her name.... Over and over and over again, even as the girl's head finally hit the ground.

Her Champion....


"...If I am ever reborn, I would surely tell him how I feel, this time."

"Mmhm."

"...But I am not sure if, say, I am still in the cycle of rebirth?"

It is usually dark, this place. It was the first thing the girl noticed about this place.

And overtime, she grows accustomed to it.

But still... deep in her heart, she wishes that it need not be so.