Two swords danced in harmony in a valley covered by the glory of the sun. Clouds drifted across the mountainous peaks in the distance. Warm winds from the south heralded the arrival of the warmest season of the year. A pupil and his master shed sweat and tears on the green soil of the hill where they stood. The clashes of their swords were intense and fast, but the only one doing his best was the apprentice. The master smiled as he watched the efforts of the young and inexperienced pupil. The boy was not weak, but the master's experience far exceeded the limits of what a man could learn in his lifetime. His body, which could easily shield the young apprentice from the sun, and his clothes, which were as white as the day they were made but worn like the rags of a beggar, surprised all who came across him. The vestiges of a figure once loved and respected by the world were still alive in that singular man. His presence was reminiscent of something so beautiful and familiar that people could not describe it with any word of the thousands of languages spoken. Castiel was a unique being in an ocean of mundane humans.

"Hold your sword tighter! Find the balance between strength and speed!" Castiel exclaimed as he deflected his pupil's sword multiple times. The young apprentice's legs began to give out, the endless hours of training had drained all his strength. Castiel grabbed him by the stomach and helped him stand. "You have improved a lot, but you still need to learn a lot of things. Your eyes must not be focused on the sword, but on your enemy. Looking at your opponent will give you the information you need to win."

"All right..." After catching his breath, the boy backed up several steps and returned to his fighting stance. He dragged one foot forward, and his sword angled slightly towards his master. "I'm ready. Let's go!"

"I like that motivation!"

The boy's sword swung towards all of his master's limbs. Castiel easily dodged the boy's attacks with his hands behind his back. The young man, though tired, kept swinging his sword, until his body no longer obeyed him. He was on his knees, presumably defeated. Castiel wanted to help him up, but could not see what the boy was planning. The apprentice grabbed his master's hand and struck his knee with his wooden sword.

"You disabled one of my hands so that I could not defend myself. You took advantage of the hand you had free and struck the most unprotected area of my body. Excellent!"

The boy smiled at his master's praise, but Castiel was not finished with his teaching. The man unsheathed the sword he carried on his back, which was larger than any man's body. The apprentice's frail, thin wooden sword snapped in half under the weight of Castiel's blade. The boy let out a scream and rolled down the hill until he crashed into a large rock. The master brought a hand to his face and put the imposing weapon away.

After descending to where the boy had crashed, Castiel found the young man hiding behind the rock, tears streaming down his cheeks. His master set the huge weapon aside and took a seat beside him. The size of the rock prevented the sunlight from reaching them. Darkness was the only place where the boy felt safe.

"Don't worry, Noir. Failure is the foundation of any great swordsman. Successes only make us arrogant, unable to want to learn more things. You are different. You know how to fix your mistakes and you're hungry to keep learning from me. That's the most important thing."

"No, Castiel. No matter how much you deny it, I'll never measure up. I'm just a weak and clumsy human."

Noir looked up to appreciate the rest of the valley. Farmers were sowing the first seeds of lettuces, tomatoes and carrots in the vast fields that stretched beyond the horizon. Pilgrims and merchants arrived from many different places in the place where Noir lived, the kingdom of Trinity. Children played happily on the outskirts and adults worked hard to prolong the life of that beautiful city. Castiel had a big smile on his face as he saw the world he had so longed to be a part of.

"I will not be able to protect this world, no matter how much I try. No man can accomplish so much on his own. Why should it be me, Castiel? Why do I have to bear such a great responsibility?"

"You don't have to, but I would like you to. You still have a long way to go, you shouldn't worry so much about how strong or weak you are now. You have many years ahead of you to keep improving. However, I..." Castiel looked closely at his right hand. His skin was as wrinkled as that of an old man on his deathbed. "I don't have much time left. I never thought I would say this, but I am afraid. A lot of things could happen when I'm gone. I need to know that the world will be safe from the forgotten evil before I die. I would like to entrust you with that responsibility... But first I need to know if that is what you want."

After listening to his master, Noir sighed and continued to watch the sunset. His grey eyes tried to understand why Castiel thought the world was beautiful. Humans killed each other through senseless wars that never saw an end. While some never knew pain or hunger, others crawled through corpses and rubbish day after day to survive. It was an unequal world not worth saving. But he, the man with the unwavering smile, didn't think so. He still had hope in human beings.

"I don't know yet... But I don't want you to go. Without you I won't know the right path. I won't know how to be happy. I won't know how to survive on my own. Castiel, I'm afraid too."

The boy sought comfort in his master's arms. Castiel shed silent tears at his pupil's words and caressed his black hair. They both silently watched the sun go down. "There is nothing to be afraid of. Your father and that girl will take care of you when I am gone. The Light I will leave you as a legacy will help you fight when you have no strength left. Do not fear being judged for who you are and face the world with your head held high. I am sure... you will be a great man..."

"Castiel...?"

---

23rd September, 1652, Kingdom of Trinity. Fourteen years after the last holy war.

---

The freezing winds from the north conquered the pleasant summer weather. The skies turned dark and their entrails began to roar, announcing the arrival of storms and blizzards. The noses of the farmers caught the nostalgic smell of rain, but that was not good news. The fields were dead and nothing could be sown in them until the snow melted in spring. Winter provisions were not enough to supply all the families on the outskirts, who would have to endure another year of famine.

The situation was no different inside the city walls. Although the walls were thick and colossal, they could not protect the citizens from the cold and loneliness. The streets, due to their size, were easily flooded after rains or snowfalls. Roofs often collapsed under hail and snow. The wealthier, northern neighbourhoods suffered little damage and went through the winter like any other season. However, those unfortunate enough to live in the southern neighbourhoods had to fight a daily battle to survive the crushing cold, disease, hunger and violence.

Noir Dayfall, a young man of no more than twenty years of age, rested in one of the many houses of poor construction and rotten wood in the slums. The sound of lightning and the strong wind did not seem to disturb his sleep. Neither did the light of dawn and the galloping of horses from outside. He could not open his eyes no matter how much he wanted to, and was only able to writhe in his old, uncomfortable bed.

"Castiel, don't go away... Wayne, don't let him die... Evie, I don't want him to leave me! I won't know how to control myself without his help!"

The boy suddenly awoke from his nightmare. Sweat was pouring down his forehead, and the terror of remembering his master's death was slow to leave his body. In addition, tears had fallen down his cheeks while he was still asleep. The young man dried his face with the only pillow he had and tried to forget his fear by wrapping the sheets around his body, but to no avail.

"A nightmare again... I haven't slept well for four days. This is going to affect me at work." Noir briefly glanced at the wall clock in front of him. He let out a sigh and covered his face. "Late again. The boss is going to kill me."

The boy got out of bed as quickly as possible to avoid wasting more time. He dressed in the first clothes he saw and went to his modest bathroom without doors or windows to comb his hair and wash his pale face. He tried to eat something to get some energy for work, but the terrible nightmare made it impossible for him to put anything in his mouth. He could not waste any more time, so he left the slice of bread on the plate and hurried out. Taking a step outside his house, Noir stopped as he saw the colour of the sky and reached out a hand. Heavy raindrops fell on his palm.

"It's raining like it's winter. The world is getting stranger and stranger. The cold tells me it will be a few days before our houses are buried under snow again. I hate this place..."

Dayfall continued to walk at a brisk pace as he watched the atrocities that occurred in the slums. Old men begged for food even when their legs were too tired to walk. Thieves robbed and murdered any unfortunate person in the most secluded alleys. Children approached him with their hands clasped, begging with their eyes for an act of charity, no matter how small it was. He was used to seeing all that, and he knew that if he got too involved with them he would end up even worse than he already was.

"This place makes me sick. Crimes are committed in broad daylight, but the king does nothing to fix it. We have been left to die like rats."

The young man continued on his way, scowling, and paying no further attention to his surroundings. Upon reaching the largest and busiest part of the slums, the black market, Noir had an idea and climbed up a wall to jump onto the roof of one of the many stalls of the place.

"Good morning, criminals of Trinity! Today is a perfect day to do some justice! You have turned this part of the kingdom into the home of scams and theft! If the authorities will do nothing about it, then I will take the initiative and punish you accordingly!" The boy exclaimed. The citizens in the market responded by throwing stones and insults.

"It's always the same, you damn brat! You always destroy what little we have under the guise of justice! What's our fault that you ended up in a place like this!? If you don't like it, go away!" An old beggar tried to hit Noir with his cane, but the young man ignored the citizens and jumped from stall to stall until he was back on the ground, leaving several thatched roofs collapsed. The people angrily chased him all the way to the end of the market, but when they reached the district that linked the southern and northern parts of the city, the criminals opted to turn around and go back.

Two women came out of one of the market stalls to see the aftermath of the incident. The younger one covered her mouth with one hand. "What happened? Why are the stalls destroyed and the goods scattered on the ground? Do you know anything about this, Rose?"

The woman to her right, noticeably more mature than her, took out the tobacco pipe she held between her teeth and handed it to the younger woman. "The man responsible is friends with an extremely dangerous mercenary group. He usually passes through here two or three times a week to make our lives miserable. He thinks he's a vigilante, but he's just an ignorant kid. He actually belongs to the rich neighbourhoods of Trinity. I don't know how he ended up here, but I don't care either."

"Then why doesn't anyone do anything against him? Even if he's dangerous, he's just one..."

The young woman received a light smack on the head. "Do you have anything inside that head of yours? It would be unwise to attack a mercenary without expecting retaliation. Asking the authorities for help wouldn't do any good either. We are criminals, no one will help us. The only option we have is to keep robbing old perverts who pass by. Come on, let's get back to work."

"Yes, ma'am... But... he has no right to judge us."

After a few minutes, Noir came out of hiding to see that no one was chasing him anymore.

"I have every right to judge the criminals who live here. Unlike them, I have worked hard to survive in this dead-end kingdom. I didn't need to rob, swindle or kill anyone. They are bloody hypocrites."

After walking halfway across the city, Noir finally arrived at the place where he worked. His coworkers had already set to work to finish the walls of the mansion of an important nobleman of the kingdom. When the boy entered the construction site, everyone gave him looks of disapproval and rejection. Noir simply lowered his head and walked towards his work place, but the huge belly of his foreman stood in his way. The old bricklayer's face was as red as a tomato. The veins in his forehead were about to burst. His calloused hands gripped Noir's shoulders with extraordinary strength and his wrinkled face came close to the boy's. His huge eyes demanded an answer.

"Hello, boss... It's not my fault, I swear. It's been four days since..." The boss let out a shout that nearly deafened him.

"Your excuses don't cut it anymore, Dayfall! I'm not going to lose such an important deal with the king because a useless brat can't be more punctual! This mansion is worth more than your life, and if you don't finish your part before next month I'm calling the authorities to deal with you! This is my last warning! Get to work, asshole!" The chief tossed him his tools and a helmet, and left without feeling the need to help his men.

"Yes, sir..." Noir buckled on his helmet without further complaint, and headed to the wall he was to finish by the end of the day. As he climbed the wall, an old acquaintance approached him to speak.

"The boss is in a bad mood, huh? Maybe if you were more responsible things would change. Deep down he's a nice guy. Deep down." Said the worker, a few years older than the troublesome young man. Noir tried to smile at him, but it didn't work.

"Sometimes I think it's my fault, and sometimes I think he's just a crazy old man, Nile. Either way, I don't expect anything from him. I just come to do my job and earn my salary. Yeah, the salary he's cut us all without asking us."

"I hear you, buddy. But there's not much we can do. The order of knights and the king support him, we get the worst of the best. It's not so bad, after all." Nile had a very different view from that of Noir. The very idea of being someone else's subject for the rest of his life was inconceivable to him. But he still respected Nile for being the only person who was kind to him.

"It doesn't do me any good to talk to you. You're going to infect me with your optimism, and that can't be." Nile laughed and went back to work. Noir went down for a moment to pick up more bricks. "But he's right. In spite of everything, we don't live so badly. But this negative atmosphere doesn't help me at all. I can't... forget. I just want the night to fall."

"And why do you want it to be night, Noir? Because your beautiful and sensual Evie is willing to cook you a delicious dinner to combat your adolescent fatigues and bitterness? Come to think of it, that's even poetic," said a person hidden in the trees outside the construction site. Noir turned immediately at the sound of that voice, for he knew who it was, and he didn't like it.

"What the hell are you doing here, Wolf? Didn't I tell you we can only meet in the guild? With all your history, being linked to you is very dangerous. Go on, get out of here. This is a private property."

"I can't do that, my dear friend. I have a juicy piece of news on my hands. Don't you want to know what it is? It's something we could make a lot of money out of, and make that nasty boss of yours lick your boots with pleasure."

Noir turned a distrustful glance towards his friend. Despite being someone he had known for a couple of years now, his words were still unreliable to him. "That doesn't sound good at all. I'm not interested in ending up in another mess."

"Come on... I know deep down you want to know." Wolf ignored Noir's demands and walked into the place. "Cerberus and I have been considering various possibilities, and because of what we can save on equipment and preparation we've concluded that murdering a person would be the best thing to do. Immoral? Maybe, but the best thing to do nonetheless. The target is the infamous Count of Voltair, the egocentric Regin Sighur. Do you know him?"

"Yes, I heard a few things about him when I first came to Ivonia. But isn't he a hero of the holy war?" Wolf let out a laugh. Noir began to get angrier than he already was. "And now what are you laughing at, if I may ask?"

"I'm laughing because you're another one of those who has fallen for his ruse. Regin was never a hero. He appropriated the exploits of other heroes by taking advantage of the fame boost he got from being in that orphanage fire saved by Gabe Macria some twenty years ago." Wolf felt a sudden bloodlust. To demonstrate the gravity of the matter, he unsheathed his thin silver rapier and slid his finger over its edge. "He has been accused of multiple crimes, including rape, cannibalism and murder. He's a family man, but he's also a drunkard and an abuser. His three children live a bloody hell on a daily basis. Allegedly, his wife died in a horse riding accident, but it's all a vicious lie. He deserves to die, Noir..."

"Your thirst for justice is compelling, but what will we do if something goes wrong? The streets will be full of posters with our faces on them. That could only mean one thing..." Noir instantly thought of his beloved Evie, someone he wouldn't give up for all the money in the world. Because of the risk, Noir chose to turn down the offer. "I can't risk losing everything."

"That's not going to happen, I promise. We live up to our name, brother. We are Recon, and we have eyes and ears everywhere. We've prepared everything down to the smallest detail, nothing can go wrong. That man, if that's what you can call him, will die if you're willing to go through with it. Come on... I know this is what you've always wanted. Would you really rather spend the rest of your days working as a nobody? This is our chance to succeed, my friend!"

The rest of the workers started heading towards Wolf to throw him off the property. Noir had to make a decision fast, and judging by his constant complaining it looked like he was going to choose to get his hands dirty.

"I'm tired of this... Yes, we'll do it. I'll see you at the guild tonight."

"That's my boy! See you later, then!" Wolf left as quickly as he came, like the lightning bolts that fell from the depths of the sky. Noir continued to lay bricks, until doubt caused them to fall from his hands. The boy watched the blackened sky for a moment, and shed a tear.

"Are you disappointed, Castiel? I know this is not what you would have wanted for me, but it is the only option. I will become a hero for you."