Sigh of Dawn

Sterix remained silent for a moment as wrinkles formed on his face. His breath came out in a ragged, staggering gasp, and tears streamed from his eyes before he finally forced the words out:
“...I can't… I can't do that to you.”
Flora knew he was asking too much from Sterix, but this was the only way to end it all. He could barely feel his body—even the sword in his grip felt like it wasn't there, and every sensation from his limbs had gone completely numb.
“...I know that I'm asking too much from you… but you can do it… I'd rather die by your hands than go out this way.”
“I can't.”
Flora tried to lift the sword, but his hand could no longer respond.
“Please… take the sword and end my suffering… You're a hero, after all… I always looked up to you, you know… but no matter what I tried… I couldn't even come close to your level.”
Flora then let out a faint, broken chuckle, as if amused by something he had just recalled. “Hahaha… A hero.”
“I wonder if I've lived up to that name… We were lucky enough to be chosen by the goddess… but I guess all things must come to an end.”
His eyes then shifted, looking at Lree's motionless body.
“Lree was so young, and yet… he tried so hard just to get noticed by the people in the capital…” He drifted his gaze to the cloudless dark skies. “He lost his life trying to protect mine… If it weren't for me, he'd still be alive… Though, he proved that he was a hero after all. Even if it cost his life.”
“Sterix…” Flora proceeded calmly. “Do you still remember when Feticia said she was going to protect us when she became a heroine?”
“I don't think she was lying… It was just unfortunate that she wasn't chosen… Fate can sometimes be cruel…”
With those words, Flora went completely silent, a peaceful smile on his face. And at that moment, the lingering, eerie quiet from earlier returned. The sword loosened in Flora's grasp.
All Sterix could do was weep, though he tried to hide it by holding back his tears; yet, his facial expression betrayed him, tears streaming like water from a flooded river. At that moment, he no longer seemed like a fighter, a warrior, a knight, a hero, or even a man. He was like a child who had lost the one thing that brought meaning to their life.
No words could portray what Sterix was feeling. All he did was cry silently under the fading crimson moonlight as it shone its final rays upon the land.
…
“What actually happened here? It's as if everyone's dead, even though the 'Resistance' came from this exact position,” Luferin wondered out loud, her gaze roaming over the countless demon corpses around them. Every now and then, she caught a glimpse of a capital knight's armor buried beneath the pile of bodies.
By “Resistance,” Luferin meant the name of Sterix's trump card, which was fairly well known among the Holy Knights who had witnessed it in action. Even so, knowing its name, nature, and the one who possessed it meant nothing to most.
Luferin dismounted her horse and slightly adjusted the weapon on her hilt before approaching Maromus.
“Did the retriever unit find anything?”
“Negative. There are still no signs of the heroes,” Maromus replied. “The only people they've come across so far are some of the Holy Knights' corpses. Their bodies are still intact but way too cold… I'm guessing a couple of hours have passed since their passing. And if I'm not wrong, they might have died on the first day of the battle.”
Luferin cupped her hand over her mouth, pondering if they were overlooking something important.
“What's wrong?” Maromus couldn't help but ask what she was thinking about.
Luferin stayed silent for a long moment, considering a multitude of possibilities, even the improbable ones.
She finally looked up at Maromus. “Tell the knights to split up and search deeper into the field.” Her voice carried a tone that suggested she had figured out something Maromus hadn't.
“Ah, but why split them up?” Maromus asked, visibly perplexed.
Luferin didn't reply. Instead, she remounted her horse before adding, “I'll go on ahead of you. I might have some idea on how to find Elinous.”
She then took off without adding another word, riding deeper into the field of corpses while Maromus watched her with an even more perplexed expression, completely speechless. Furthermore, the wagons couldn't navigate the terrain where she was headed; what exactly did she mean by splitting the knights? Doing so would leave the wagons entirely unguarded.
Luferin's horse moved at a brisk pace, occasionally leaping over bodies until she finally spotted a broken piece of custom chest plating. It belonged to one of the heroes—specifically Sterix, who happened to be the only one left without his armor by the time the enemy retreated.
Luferin's armored boots hit the solid ground with a heavy thud as she dismounted, stepping toward the shattered chest plate.
“I knew it,” she murmured, a sharp smile appearing on her face. “This belongs to Sterix.”
“They might be close by—which means I'll be able to track my sister without any issues.”
A moment later, she glanced behind her, making sure that the others were still far behind, then shifted her gaze to her horse, which appeared unbothered beneath its iron chamfron. She checked behind her one more time before pulling off one of her armored gloves, exposing her bare hand.
Thinking of the words “appear before me, reveal all the secrets the world shall offer,” a symbol resembling two crossed swords and intricate markings appeared on the back of her hand. The intricate lines began to spread, crawling up her arm and vanishing beneath her armor, where they continued to flow until they settled somewhere across her back.
“I, the Heroine of Storms, seek the Heroine of Water. Be my guide, and show me the path to light,” Luferin muttered, watching the markings on her hand. A second later, they began radiating a soft light.
Of course, she was a hero as well, but she didn't want anyone finding out. The only people who knew of her status were her family members and a select few high-born nobles like herself. However, remaining hidden from the public had weakened her abilities as a hero; she now needed to be in close proximity to her objective for her powers to work at all.
A thread of light launched from her hand, shooting toward the small hill situated on her left flank.
She took a deep breath and let it out. Her free hand gripped her horse's reins as she began following the glowing trail.
…
Sterix sat beside Flora's lifeless body, his eyes completely devoid of emotion, holding nothing but a hollow solemnity. Earlier, he had looked dead in Flora's eyes, but now he truly seemed hollowed out. He just sat there, staring into the void in front of him.
Above him, Luferin's thread hung in the silent air, completely unnoticed.
Luferin halted her horse at the edge of the crater. The thread stopped just above the other end of massive depression, where nothing moved.
Descending into the crater, the first thing she noticed was the jagged, slowly melting ice. Beside it lay the half-severed remains of Lree's body, and just a short distance away sat Sterix.