He found himself standing upon a battlefield. It was littered with piles of corpses, spears pointing to the skies, swords stabbed through the ground, axes buried deep into bloody bodies.
There were tears among the blood that seemed to flow endlessly. And yet the rain halts its fall. The dull light of the sun on the horizon remained hidden behind the dark clouds that covered the sky.
The vultures roam, yet their wings stop short of a flap. The wind blows, yet the drooping flags fail to wave, forgetting the pride they once had or the purpose of their being.
He walked forward, feeling an emptiness that could not be filled by the scenery around him for it too was empty. Time has gone and left it unattended.
He reached the top of a hill. At this point, he could no longer tell if it was made of earth or corpses.
Upon it was a man who stood with the help of his spear. To the side was the corpse of a knight, bloodied and unmoving. The man himself had a sword piercing his chest, yet still he gazed at the distant hidden sun.
No, he was gazing at something far brighter than it a long distance away. He was waiting for it eagerly. The contented smile on his face seemed to tell an entirely different story from the battlefield on which he stood.
"Welcome to my cycle. You're fortunate to have come before he did. You may ask whatever you wish, but beware that I may not be able to answer anything at all."
The man asked as he took off the helmet revealing golden hair adorning his head. He looked toward the one who approached him, the only one who seemed lost in this place.
His golden eyes met with the pitch black of the other and understanding dawned on him. The pity in his eyes could not be masked nor did he try to. Lies were utterly pointless between them.
"But first, do you mind telling me your name?"
"Caelum Grace."
"Ah…! When the Heaven burns red, the three become One and the One becomes two…! I see, so we did manage to reach that point. No wonder. Fate is a playful thing, isn't it? To think it would bring you to me at this delicate moment in both of our cycles."
Relief filled the man's words, but still the pity in his eyes remained. It was not lost on Caelum that this man knew more than he did about his life. And that also meant one thing. This man is someone he should know as well.
"It's rude to ask for someone's name and not tell them yours, don't you think?"
"True. Forgive me. I was just delighted to have met you. I am Endir the Dragon. However, due to a curse, the world can only know me as Arthur Pendragon."
"King Arthur…? Endir… so it's true. Morgan le Fay was not lying."
Hearing Caelum's muttering, Endir looked toward him with a hint of shock and bitterness. Several thoughts flitted through his mind. He had so much he wanted to say, but in the end, he decided to only ask one question.
"How is she?"
"Morgan le Fay? I killed her."
"Morgan, huh? I knew her as Morrigan the Fae. She was once my closest friend, my confidant..., my wife. That was until she was poisoned by the darkness she fought against. The same darkness that cursed my name. If you fought against her, that must mean she was never able to free herself from it. I did always tell her that magic cannot solve everything, but she never really listened."
Silence hung in the air for a while. Caelum did not want to interrupt him. It was his final moment to reminisce. Even though the world's time is halted, theirs was not. Endir was on borrowed time, a privilege that very few in Existence could enjoy.
And although they seemed to have all the time in the world, only they knew that time was running out. Endir snapped out of his soliloquy and urged Caelum on.
"Come, then. Ask me what you wish to know. It is the least I can do to thank you for visiting me before my cycle ends."
"Then tell me… what should I do?"
"I... am sorry, but the path you choose is your own. Though we may be One in the end, we still have our own paths. Just as you now face the Scarlet Tribulation, I have faced my Golden Tribulation. We are not the same. Perhaps not yet. Not until the three become One."
Weighing Endir's words in his mind, Caelum pondered over their meaning. The Scarlet Tribulation was given by the Red Moon, or rather, the Scarlet Moon as he now knew. Its essence lay in Truth.
But how was it truly related to what was happening to him? Even now, he did not understand what the Scarlet Moon wanted from him.
And what of the Golden Tribulation? He instinctively knew of its existence ever since recovering a part of his memories, but he did not know where it came from. That memory still eluded him, and it did not seem to be like the others. He can tell that this particular memory was sealed. But still the question remained.
What trial does it pose for it to end with the death of someone like Endir?
He observed the King of Knights once again. He looked very tired, but happy nonetheless. He looked contented. How could one feel that way in the face of their death? Especially someone who ought to know that he has failed.
"No, I did not fail. I refused to take the Scarlet Tribulation, after all what Truth can one wield when even one's own name has become a lie? But that does not mean I know not the Truth. There is beauty in sacrifice. I know you once saw that too. If there is anything in common between the Golden and the Scarlet, it is that: Sacrifice."
Endir looked to the sky once again. His face filled with pride and contentment. He was merely awaiting the end of his cycle. And he could feel it, the blazing gold racing across the traverse of Reality and the man yet walking ceaselessly even after his cycle had ended.
They were both coming. They were coming for him. Endir could not be any happier.
He turned to Caelum one last time.
"I have always known I was weak. That is why I chose not to carry the burden of Truth. But you are different, Caelum. And although it may be difficult to bear, I promise you… there is no other way. The greater the power, the heavier the burden, the graver the danger…, but that is a risk we are willing to take, no? Think about it. We all are given a choice…"
"Yet why is it that we all have chosen the same path?"
Endir's words were finished by a voice coming from behind Caelum. As Endir looked at the person who spoke, he smiled and nodded at him in acknowledgement. He chuckled a little, wondering how this man managed to reach them first before the blazing gold and the eternal wanderer.
His eyes shifted and that was when he realised. This man did not come for him. He was here for Caelum. Endir laughed heartily even as his blood leaked through his chest and mouth. He truly was happy at this moment. He felt as though he was being welcomed back into his family, his true family.
"I suppose I wasn't the only one waiting. What a reunion, huh?"
He looked to the other side of the hill and there he saw a man cloaked in black mist walking toward him. Only his eyes remained lit with scarlet light. It was the very same man whom Caelum thought to be the very picture of dread. The man stopped in front of Endir and raised his right hand toward him as he spoke.
"Your cycle has ended. Your duty has ended. Return and rest until the day we again become One."
Endir took his hand and a white wisp of light flowed into the black man's body. Then a blazing golden star fell from the sky.
As it descended, it slowed down and hovered over the head of Endir's corpse that still stood proudly even after his soul had been taken by the cloaked man.
The star's form remained unknowable to Caelum. The bright light alone was too much for him to bear.
"You cannot yet know its form nor its name. Not when you have yet to pass your Scarlet Tribulation. Not before you begin your Golden Tribulation."
"And who the hell are you?"
For the first time in a while, Caelum was annoyed.
The mocking words of the man behind him could not be any more biting. If he knew how to pass the tribulation, he would not even be in this place, conversing with the ghosts of his past that he cannot even completely remember.
He turned around to see who it was and was surprised to find a familiar face looking at him.
He had seen this man before, though it was only through a reflection in a pool of blood. But he cannot be mistaken.
"You've seen my life. Have you still not remembered my name?"
"Valion…"