MORVIAN – Prologue of Darkness

The battlefield was shrouded in the same unnatural, deathly silence as a tomb.
The Warrior advanced slowly,
carefully avoiding the bodies scattered across the gray, barren ground.

The blood of the Gozhul had soaked into it, turning the dust into a dark, foul-smelling sludge.
Like an infected wound.

The Warrior's steps were weary.
He was not searching for survivors.

He stopped.
He raised his gaze.

The sky of that planet was a deep crimson,
streaked with greenish clouds that churned like a storm-tossed sea.

His mind was as troubled as that sky.
Doubts tormented him.

Does defending the light truly mean eliminating the darkness?

“Julius!”
The voice came from behind him.
“What are you still doing here?”

The Warrior turned.

Jinrai stood before him.
A trusted comrade-in-arms, an ally through a thousand battles.
There was exhaustion on his face, but also a trace of apprehension.

“Tell me something, Jinrai...” Julius said,
turning his gaze back toward the horizon.
"... if we continue this war, what will be left in the end?”

Jinrai frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
He took a step toward him.
“We're close… Abraham is close. We can't stop now.”

Julius remained silent.
Then he spoke, his voice low.
“Now that we know who he really is… are you still so sure this is the right path?”

Jinrai clenched his jaw.
“It has always been the right path.”
His voice grew harsher.
“If we back down now, everything we've done so far will have been for nothing.”

Julius took a deep breath.
“Perhaps it already has…”
He paused.
“…perhaps we believed we could control balances far greater than ourselves.”

Jinrai stared at him, stunned.
“And the others? …what will you tell the others?”

Julius looked him in the eyes, perhaps for the first time since they had begun speaking.
“Micaene agrees with me.”

That name hung in the air.

“Lawrence never will!!”
Jinrai retorted.

Julius stiffened.
“That's not the point!”

For the first time, his voice was firm.
Sharp.

“If we see this through to the end… what will happen to the Cosmic Balance?”

Jinrai shook his head.
“You're wrong!!”
He took a step back.
“And you know it too.”

With that, Jinrai turned, took two steps, then stopped.
“The time will come when someone else will have to fight this war.
And when that happens…”
Jinrai clenched his fists.
“…fate will come looking for you again, Julius.”

He resumed walking and disappeared into the distance.

Julius remained alone.
He clasped his hands behind his back.

Once again, he gazed at the tormented red sky of that distant world.
The wind stirred ash and dust among the corpses.

Perhaps…

it was finally time to go home.