Elias made his way towards the base, where a certain mayor was waiting for him. The young lord tried to school his expression, but with every step he took, his anger burned brighter and brighter. It came into a violent conclusion when he opened the door and saw Jhavik's wide eyes.

  "Y-young master Elias! Please calm down-" Elias did not wait as he punched Jhavik cleanly in the nose. The fat bastard let out a groan of pain as he crawled back like a worm. "S-Sir Elias, I-"

  "You lied." Elias spat out. His voice was as cold as steel. "You told me a pack of mercenaries were there. That they are using the sisters as a front, but you sent me to burn an orphanage and fight defenseless women and children." Grabbed Jhavik by the collar before kneeing him in the liver. The man let out a suffocating groan as the air abandoned his lungs.

  But even then, Elias showed no mercy as he slowly and methodically strikes where it hurts the most without killing the bastard. "B-but y-your s-s-sister was there, is she not?" Jhavik manages to reply from the ground after a while. "I-I am not w-wrong, a-am I-"

  Elias kicked Jhavik in the kidney as his rage grew. "You insolent fuck!" Elias shouted as he kicks the nobleman once more. "Because of your lies, I was forced to kill one of the sisters! I could have talked them down if you had told me the truth!" Elias cursed loudly.

  "And don't think I have forgotten that archer. You bastard, if that nun didn't pushed my sister in time, the arrow would have struck true!"

  "B-but I ordered h-him to s-slow down t-their escape, not shoot your sister-" Elias stomped hard on the poor bastard's chest, forcing him to groan in pain. Golden light danced across Elias's left hand as he aimed down at Jhavik, moments later, Last Light morphed into reality. The silver-sapphire blade hangs mere inches from the fat man's throat.

  "Pray that nun lives and shows you mercy wretch, because gods know I have none to spare." Elias put pressure on his feet as Jhavik struggled to breathe, uncaring to the world around him, until a firm hand grasped his shoulder.

  Elias was about to snap when he saw who touched him. Before him was a man in armor that shine as pure as silver. Intricate carvings of the sun could be seen in his armor. Though he wore no helmet and bears no arms, it was not hard to guess what it would have looked like.

  It was one of the royal guards. Elias had to restrict himself, no matter how much he wanted to continue. "Forgive me for the interruptions lord Elias, but my liege would prefer to keep any leads alive, if you will." The royal guard said, as Elias scoffed.

  "And if I don't?" Elias's eyes bled into gold.

  "That would be... most unfortunate." The man said as his eyes bled into gold as well. The two held each other's gaze, waging a silent war that threatens to engulf the entire room. Alas, it was Elias who backed down in the end as he kicked Jhavik towards the man, letting out a final painful moan.

  "The royal family shouldn't put their nose where it doesn't belong." Elias spat.

  "Perhaps, but then again lord Elias, our families would be bonded in the future, no?" Elias scowled at the man before stomping his way out, seeking solace before the night consumes him. Alas, he would not find peace tonight. Amidst his walk, memories came rushing forth at the scent of iron and smoke.

  Elias flinches, the loud sobbed of children and nun's echoed through the night. He did not dare to show his face to them, lest the guilt would truly consume him.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  ...What have I done? Elias thought as he stared at the smoldering estate from afar. Try as he might, he could not change the truth. He had killed an innocent nun and ruined a life that Emma could have had. A life... that she might have love. Mother...what have I done?

  ?

  Emma stared at the humble grave as snow gently blankets the land. It was not much, but the stones and the tombstone gave the deceased a much-needed place to rest. They had spent the entire night recovering as they all passed out in tears. Emma would have preferred to leave by daybreak, but as cold as she was, she was not heartless.

  "...I wonder what it could be like?" Emma muttered as she stared at the name engraved from the tombstone.

  'In the loving memory of Emma Tellen. A kind sister and a loving mother.'

  "If our positions switched... would I be happier... or sadder now?" She stared silently for a moment longer when a voice called her.

  "How is she?" Emma turned to find Seth carrying Iva, sleeping in his arms. It was... precarious, to say the least. As much as she wanted to end him before he could repeat the past, he was what the flower head needed. If she ran or kill Seth now, Lucy would never recover from this. And so, Emma endured his presence.

  The soldier stared at her murderer for a second longer, half in caution and half in curiosity. The danger in his eyes could still be seen, but unlike the past, there was a sense of worry woven within them. Not the eyes of the murderer she remembered. ...Let's get along... for now, at least. Emma let out a heavy sigh. "No use. Still quiet. I wager it would be for a while." Emma spoke softly as Seth nodded back.

  "I see," Seth said as he moved beside her. Seth and Emma stared at the gravestone for a moment. A quiet truce fell the two, both savoring the peace as best as they could. A luxury both knew all too well they could rarely afford in the future. A cold breeze blew into the air as snow fell from the sky. Winter had arrived.

  After a contemplated silence, Seth finally spoke. "We need to move south. The north would be the death of us all here. Iva would not last the harsh winter with our current resources." Seth said as Emma rises a brow.

  "I thought you have the resources?" Emma said.

  "...Well, considering I killed some of the cobalt knights and injured that Sir Dal, it is safe to say that my assets, at least in the north, are gone. No thanks to that dukedom," Seth replied grimly. The young man would have let out another sigh when he saw the look Emma was giving. "What?" He asked.

  "...You seem taking it all right." Emma said as Seth blankly stared back before nodding back slowly.

  "I... I can do it later. Now..." Seth tightened his hold at Iva instinctively. "...Now's not the time." Seth firmly replied.

  Emma stared at the young man, nodding slightly in approval at the light burning in his eyes. "And your goods?" Seth let out a derisive scoff.

  "Believe me, I would love nothing more than to slit every bastard taking my assets right now," Seth's eyes hardened as he replied angrily before softening once more. "But assets can be recovered. Life? Not so much." Seth said as he looked back at Emma with a soft and warm gaze.

  In a heartbeat, Emma frowned. "Lucy is not here. Don't mistake me for her." Emma replied coolly.

  "I know... I know..." Seth replied with a heavy sigh. "...But honestly, you're not that different." Seth grumbled softly under his breath, recalling his first interaction with his beloved. He still couldn't believe how he did it. A miracle, really.

  "What's that?" Seth snapped out his daze as Emma pointed at the coif Iva was holding tightly despite being asleep.

  "Oh, just a remembrance for Iva and Lucy... I think it would be for the best if we let them hold on to it. Her smell might ease them... even temporarily." Seth replied in melancholy.

  "Hmm." Emma grunted in reply as she stared at the white headpiece, thoughts straying for a moment. Unbeknownst to Emma, her stiff and unflinching gaze caused a misunderstanding.

  "...Do you... also want to smell it?" Seth asked carefully.

  Emma simply gave him a flat stare. Just what do you see in this idiot? There was no reply. Lucy had completely remained silent. ...Just come back soon. "Let's go. We're burning daylight." Emma gestured as Seth stared at the grave for a bit longer before letting out a sigh.

  "Help me, sister Emma." Seth quietly prayed, following suit as snow falls from the sky.

  Second, the sequel. I am not sure when I would come back at this. Maybe a year or so, who knows? I am at my third year of college, second sem rn. When I graduate in the near future, I most certainly begin doing it. For now I need to plan how it would pan out since Emma, being the soldier this time, would have more fights than trauma. Of course, there will be trauma, just not in the forefront as this. I would spent most of the time polishing this even further before making a sequel.

  Third, future works. I want to take a break from all the trauma I could make rn and do some fun, while still traumatic, action regression stories. This story would be called "The Last Sentinel" where the mc also comes back in time after killing the dark lord in a suicide move, but the dark lord comes back as well. So in this story, the mc and the dark lord wages a shadow war, trying to get the most benefits for their side before open war begins.

  Fourth and finally, thank you so much for reading up to this point. It has been a rough yet fun journey for me as I was humbled time after time at just how hard it is to make a good story while I also enjoyed how you all react as the story progress to the vision I wanted it. There are some hiccups of course, but practice makes perfect. I once groaned how I could not break the 500 read mark, now I am almost 69k (in wattpad at least). It became possible for me to continue where I would have just stop after chapter 7 or so until I saw you guys voting and adding it to your stories. And the comments? Man the comments was a rush.