I am Luke, the scion of the House of Lukarian. My duty? To accompany the hero, a girl named Adelia, in our conquest against the Dark Lord. Adelia, though, can be infuriatingly useless at times. She dares to question my every thought, labeling me as emotionless or whatever.
As we journey together, I discover that Adelia is more than just annoying. There's something intriguing about her. We engage in seemingly pointless tasks—helping farmers here and there—but she's the hero, so I follow her lead.
Days blur into nights, nights stretch into weeks, and weeks transform into years. Together, we battle the Dark Lord's worshippers. Adelia's peculiar trait? She smiles at the simplest of things, finding beauty in everything. Perhaps that's what makes a hero. Strangely, I've grown accustomed to her presence. Maybe it's because she inadvertently makes me feel smarter due to her lack of intellect.
And at last, the ominous Dark Lord's castle loomed before us—the eerie fortress exuding a foul miasma that turned the stomach. Here, our desperate battle for humanity would commence. We at that moment know very little of what horror await us.
Side by side we stood, the dark lord looming before us. Wounded, our breaths ragged with fatigue, I knew I must carve a path for her escape. She was the beacon of hope, the savior whose light must not be extinguished—for her fall would spell doom for all.
"Run! I shall cleave a path!" My voice, a clarion call amidst chaos.
Her stubborn heart, I knew well, thus I had woven a safeguard—a spell upon her armor to whisk her from death's grip should peril overwhelm us.
But fate, it seems, is a trickster.
My armor ignited with an ethereal glow, not hers. Despair gripped me. "What have you done?" My plea met only with her serene smile.
"I'm sorry, Luke," her words a gentle breeze as the spell I cast betrayed me, and I was torn from the demon lord's bastion amidst a maelstrom of light.
With haste, I returned, dreading what I might find. The demon king lay vanquished, yet...
"Hold on, aid is nigh," I cradled her, my voice a whisper against the storm of my heart. How cruel, that she who shielded the world now lay dying, the dawn of peace upon us, yet unseen by her fading gaze. Tears, long banished, now cascaded freely, as the sorrow I had entombed within the abyss of my soul surged forth, consuming me.
"I did it, didn't I? I shielded you... Remember our wager? If I drew tears from you, you'd grant my wish," she murmured.
How could she be so tranquil in the face of oblivion? "You recall our pact—then stay with me, cling to life but a moment longer," I implored, though I felt her life's thread fraying with each heartbeat.
"Will you fulfill my wish?" Her voice, a fragile whisper.
"Name it, anything, just don't leave me," I begged, my tears an unending deluge.
"Lean closer," she breathed.
I obliged, our foreheads nearly touching, and then, her confession:
"I love you."
With those final words, her eyes dimmed, her heart stilled.
Agony ascended its throne within me, and I unleashed a scream that rent the heavens. The skies darkened, rain mourning with me, as if the world itself shared my grief. She, the brightest star, was extinguished. And thus, the world felt ended, the dark lord's demise notwithstanding.