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Blank.

This was what could only be described of the infinite faces that lied behind their masks. 

In this masquerade, a gentleman, who wore a dark blue top hat that contrasted with his jet-black sideswept bangs that covered part of his mask. He wore a velvet jacket the same color as his top hat, which covered a white blouse that was adorned by a blue flower tucked in his chest pocket. His black mask, which only covered his eyes, was of an elegant design that had lines of gold painted on it.

And a lady, who wore a silk red dress and whose long, spiral shaped purple hair reached all the way to the ends of her shoulder blades. Red roses were attached throughout her entire dress. She wore a white mask, likewise only covering her eyes and also having lines of gold painted on it. 

They softly smiled at each other and begun to take of their masks to show-

And thus, Laparis Malancer had awoken from his sleep.

The young boy, aged 17, had short, blonde, messy hair that reached to his eyebrows, which below them were his round, amethyst purple eyes that he was rubbing as he was getting out of bed. He was of a normal height for his age, but he had an unusually slim build. He tiredly walked through the halls of his old, small, wooden house that had more than a few structural issues, but he still loved it dearly.

He walked towards the source of his awakening that was the loud knocking at his doorstep, which only continued to get faster and faster.

He opened the door to be met by a group of three. At the front, leading them was a young girl who looked to be around the same age as Malancer. Her long, dark orange hair had parted bangs which hanged over her sharp, crimson red eyes that pierced right into Malancer's soul. She wore plates of light silver armor layered over her primary outfit, and a long blue cape trailed behind her, adorned with golden tapestry bearing the crest of the Knights of Stelettia at the center. 

At both her sides were also Knights of Stelettia, but their outfits were very different from each other. On her left was a knight who actually wore a knights helm alongside a set of standard armor. He had an unnerving presence that Malancer couldn't quite make out. He could almost swear that he saw a bright red light glimmer at him when they made eye contact? On her right was a plain looking man who yawned where he stood and refused to give Malancer any form of eye contact.

???: [Good Afternoon, my name is Vyrbella Josephine, are you by chance Laparis Malancer?]

Malancer had very rarely had strangers arrive at his doorstep, and even more rarely those who knew his actual name. 

He nodded to confirm her question. 

And with that her serious expression turned into one of slight relief. However, it went back to normal after a few seconds.

Vyrbella: [You must come with us, we will escort you back to the royal castle in the capital.]

Vyrbella had made this order without even considering, and Malancer wished to protest this, but was scared by her serious nature. But even then-

Malancer: [Sorry, I must refuse]

Vyrbella: [This isn't the time!]

Vyrbella immediately shot down Malancer's refusal, and he nervously accepted defeat.

After some preparation, they had begun riding on horseback towards the northern mountains. And one of the knights moved his horse right next to Malancer's.

???: [Greetings, my name is Katapent, and that quiet guy over there is Tolas.]

He pointed at the knight who wore the helm

Katapent: [it’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance]

His appearance matched his gentlemanly demeanor. He had nicely combed back lime green hair, and a sharp set of yellow eyes colored that pierced through his small, rectangularly shaped glasses. If it wasn’t for his set of silver armor, Malancer could never have guessed that he would be a knight. A librarian or politician would be his first guess.

There was nothing irregular about him, in order to become a Knight of Stelettia, you must be an irregularity yourself. That was all there was to all. 

After introductions, Katapent struck a conversation with Malancer.

Katapent: [I am aware that I do not fit the image of a knight. Countless times I have heard others in the training grounds tell me this. It almost led me to change the path I'm on, but Vyrbella taught me not to falter to those words. I believe that to fight for something is a form of love. And I love kingdom and the people in it. Therefore, even as a lousy knight, I continue to fulfill my duties.]

Malancer: [Ah, I see]

Malancer wished that he could follow suite and spill his life story back, but unfortunately that's not how his heart worked. Many years of isolation made it difficult to carry a conversation, no less an emotionally charged one.

However, Katapent paid this no mind. It seems that he only wished for his voice to be listened to, and nothing else.

A kindhearted knight indeed, It was quite unfortunate that Malancer would have to carry his corpse back the next day.

The group eventually made it to the mountains themselves, and stood in front of a cave that had an eternal darkness at the entrance. The three knights begun to reach into the bags attached to the saddles of their horses and pulled out torches. Katapent passed one to Malancer and lit his up for him. After that, the four had begun to walk into this future nightmare. 

They eventually made it to a room within the cave system. The light from the torches gave picture to the horrible display before them. A huge figure that couldn't be completely shown with the little light given to them, with dozens of various weapons, sabers, swords, maces, daggers, lances, axes , stuck into his back and an extremely long spear, it's size fit for a god, pierced right through his chest and the spearhead stuck in the ground, imprisoning him to this disgusting hellhole. As Malancer walked in to get a closer look, he felt a strange consistency on his feet that was nothing like the solid ground around him. He looked down only to see the dark red of blood surrounding the soles of his boots. 

Katapent : [Fresh blood? But he is dead! How can the dead be alive?] 

Katapent brought one of the torches set up against a nearby wall to get a better look in the room, once the light connected to the figure, and the realization of what was before them hit, everyone in the group opened their mouths in shock. It was the King of Stelettia, who supposedly died all those years ago. However contrary to what was well known through out the kingdom, the king was still still alive, marked by his extremely slow and raspy breathing. Although he was surviving, it wasn't like he was living. The distinction between the two was made by the fact that he was living in this disgusting, dark room for who knows how long.

Vyrbella: [I will alert the Royal Knights immediately! Katapent, come with me! Tolars, continue exploring this cave with Malancer!]

Malancer didn't understand why this matter was so urgent, or why he was even here in the first place, but he agreed to continue with Tolars, the silent knight.

Eventually, they made it to another room, and Tolars turned around to face Malancer.

Tolars: [!]

A pair of arms instantly emerged from the sockets of his eyes and cleanly ripped his jaw off with unbelievable strength. Another set appeared from his shoulder blades and twisted his ears off in the same brutal fashion. They eventually started emerging randomly around his body, maiming him in various places. His cries were muffled by the arm which reached out from the depths of his throat to unsheathe his sword and repeatedly stab “himself?” in the stomach.

Malancer couldn’t witness the rest of Tolars' tragic end, not because he chose not to, but because the blood from the stabbing splashed directly into his eyes, blinding him. Malancer finally regained his vision after vigorously rubbing the blood out, but all he saw was Tolars laying on the ground, and the accursed arms lying lifeless with him.

What stood before him was a man dressed in a dark purple leather vest, with no undershirt, leaving his abs and chest visible. He also had long, dark pants that were tight enough to show off his slim build. He had short, unkempt, light purple hair where there was any left. The bone across from the middle of his skull to his left cheekbone was missing, leaving a part of his brain visible, which was defiled with various infections evident from the many different colors surrounding it. The crow standing on his shoulder was biting off chunks of his exposed brain and feeding on them. He paid it absolutely no mind, however, continuing to stare at Malancer with his only remaining eye, opened wide and bloodshot.

He made a smile that no human being should ever make.

???: [The rising action when he realizes his fate, the climax of his gory death, which he cannot escape, the falling action as he helplessly struggles to fight back, and the resolution as his friend has to accept what he just witnessed. What an incredible performance! Indeed, the beauty of someone's life truly is not defined by how they lived it, but how it ended!]

He applauded as he spoke, and walked towards Tolars' corpse.

A nameless myriad of emotions began to consume Malancer.

Before he could learn to accept them, however -

An opaque, cylindrical beam of blue light shined right before Malancer. It was like holy ground, shredding away all sin that tarnished this place. It slowly vanished to reveal Vyrbella right in the center.

A terrifying force of nature that was supposed to be feared was instantly destroyed by an even more frightening one, dancing on completely different stage of combat.

After the devastation of the monster, she then finally turned her attention to Malancer, tears welling in her eyes.

Vyrbella : [I don't know why, but for some reason I felt like I had to come back here. And-]

Vyrbella looked around the dungeon and her expression began to mirror the horror that was etched on the face of Malancer. She dropped to her knees and she was no longer there, instead consumed by agony. 

While trying to accept what just happened, Malancer felt a shake on his arm.

Tolars: [You have it... I knew it...]

Pausing in between words to cough blood, Tolars began speaking to Malancer.

Tolars: [The ability to steal fate...]

Tolars: [Take this... and give it to Valicer]

Malancer: [Do you mean the Sky Prince Valicer?]

He softly nodded his head. 

He knew of the dragon, who wielded a sword in his claws and had twelve hearts. 

Tolars reached towards Malancer, and, with the last strength of a dragon, pierced his hand through his chest and placed a heart below his own. Malancer screamed and writhed, biting his tongue to ignore the pain in his chest. And when that didn't work, he tossed and turned on the cold stone ground below him. His throat eventually couldn't keep up with his screaming so it turned into a silent agony. 

This sudden pain had killed him for a moment, but he did not die. Instead, he looked to his chest to find only a scar that striped down the middle where Tolars had pierced his hand through. He looked back up at Tolars, only to see him completely, truly lifeless on the ground. It seems the unending time that passed during his suffering was too long for the two to exchange their last words with each other. 

How he was alive, he did not know, but he knew he had to keep going. 

After all, this was Malancer's story.