#retgone

Even though the darkness has been stopped for the moment, there will be a day when darkness rules the world. Whenever the night of the new moon comes, people realize how important the moonlight truly is. On the dimly lit animal trail where not even the moonlight reaches, many fires ignite and fade away almost instantaneously. There a battle quietly came to an end.

"Captain, we, like, managed to complete the capture of the enemy's advance party." "It was difficult. We'll drop them off at the Royal Capital. But for now, we must withdraw."

The Witch of the Shadow Paladins, "Fiana". While she reported the situation with the same lack of seriousness as usual, Blaster Dark replied to her without raising an eyebrow. "Gotcha. But why, sir?" "... ... Please go immediatelly. And I'll need to leave you in charge for a while." "You're a real slave driver, boss. Geez, don't try and joke with that gloomy face of yours.」

Ignoring the joke Fiana cracked as she left, he looked at the secenery before him. Not at the battlefield marked with the scars of battle, but the land around him that was opposite of it. Not a signle light could be seen, merely the darkness.

They had won the Great Star-vasion War, and thus Cray avoided its extinction. The people of Cray had been threatened by the Star-vaders for a great amount of time, but eventually the invaders from another world withdrew, and the people of Cray had mistaken this as the coming of a lasting, permanent peace.

This was rash. The invaders would eventually return to Cray. No longer facing a common enemy, an air of unrest began to hang over various nations. And as a result, the various nations began to take hard measures to add other countries to their territory. The relationship between United Sanctuary and Dragon Empire was exactly that.

On the planet Cray, there were times where the standing military couldn't easily move, to handle these, an informal, independent group of soldiers came to exist, the Shadow Paladins, answerable only to the King of Knights himself. This group of shadowy knights deal with the unseemly, seedy, dark side of the Sanctuary, at the beck and call of King Alfred.

It is their duty to deal with those who dare invade the Sanctuary, but they must do it secrecy, without the general public ever finding out. Just now, they forced an advance party from a neighboring country to retreat.

But... ...

"Still, something seems somewhat strange about the world these days." "I'm getting this uncomfortable feeling... ... A feeling I haven't felt since the Great Civil War we both caused." "No, I also have this sense of loss, as if something were missing..." "I'm getting more and more certain of this..."

Blaster Dark, the leader and chief of the Shadow Paladins, had a certain problem. Something felt out of place, missing, with the world, and it was making him uncomfortable. And this feeling had been getting stronger and stronger every day.

"So you also feel something wrong, oh knight." "You speak as if you have the same sense, the same feeling as if something's off. Wrong about the world." "No, we are merely bound together, by a common fate, since we swore that oath together."

Without even being so much as surprised at the voice echoing in his ear all of a sudden, Blaster Dark chimed in. At least, it appeared that there was no one near him, and the voice's owner wasn't there. However, he kept talking, his eyes staring forward, never looking around. And the other voice continued to answer him as well.

"It wasn't out of pity or compassion that I did it, but as it currently stands, you still need to exist." "Oh I never thought you swore that oath to me because you liked me. I'm just grateful, oh noble cur, for you warm heart's generosity, that I have not fragmented like my Hatred did..." "Stop right there. If you say anymore, I'll feel disgusted." "Was it something I said?" "Nevermind."

In the past, the Shadow Paladins were a rebel army who revolted against the holy nation of United Sanctuary. Due to problems both within and outside the Sanctuary, the war was a confusing mess, but thanks to the vigorous assaults led by Alfred the King of Knights, who is now considered to be a Hero, the civil war was quickly surpressed.

Afterwards, the mastermind behind it all was defeated, and the remainder of the Shadow Paladins were said to be exiled. ... Or at least, that's what the official story said.

During the battle, Phantom Blaster Dragon used up the magical power that maintained his living body, and he became nothing but a mass of magic waiting to dissipate. It was the Knight of Shadows, who suffered the same circumstances as him, that saved him from dying. Though they loved the light, it was too much for them, and so they sadly fell into the darkness.

"First of all, let's get this straight, it's thanks to this weapon that I was able to save you." "If I had better control over it, we might of been brought back to life soon." "And if I had the power I do now as a part of the Revengers, then we might of... ..." "As I said before, I have only praise and platitudes for you, whelp."

Dark';s suddenly confession was stopped mid sentence by the other voice's acknowledgement. The other voice, with a deep, heavy tone to it, spoke with a tone of disinterest and indifference.

"We definitely fell into the darkness. Those who fall into darkness never return to the light." "We exist as shadows living inside the darkness, defending the Sanctuary, in places where its light cannot and will not reach." "That, for you and I, is our duty, our one and only, singular, fate and purpose." "We should only do things with that in mind." "I agree."

Their exchange of words stopped after that. Blaster Dark closed his eyes, and fell silent. As for the serious, sardonic voice, it did the same almost instantly, piercing through the silence like a knife. Dark opened his eyes quietly just as the night began to turn to the twilight of dawn. As if he had been waiting for the light to come.

"Dawn... ..? Gwaah!?"

At that moment, he saw a white light spread slowly across the sky. There was a strong shock, equal to a dull throbbing ache, that ran through Blaster Dark's mind. What the seering pain that ran through his head was a vision of white light, armed with incredible power, and feelings similar to that of 'rivalry'.

"Ugh..... What was that? What was that shock? That light...?" "It couldn't be... That light might be connected to the something that's missing from this world." "Because it's missing, the clockwork of reality is out of order... the past, the present, the future.. ... Something that could affect everything on this world." "History.. ... No, I think even the world itself has been altered... ... But it's hard to believe that could possibly happen."

As if in response to Blaster Dark's confusion, the space around him distorted and flickered. After a brief shimmering, a giant shadow appeared behind him. In "this world", there are warriors of the shadows who had returned from the abyss, from the very edge of despair.

"There are invaders from other worlds and a sage who bears witness to all of eternity. I don't think such a phenomenon is that hard to believe." "Even if those are true, this seems absurd. There's no way someone could exist that could alter the past... ...!" "I'm merely suggesting a hypothesis. It is foolish to rush to a conclusion, even if we have convinction."

The mysterious pain that ran through his mind all of a sudden. Was likely connected. A strange hypothesis had been suggested. If Phantom Blaster Dragon hadn't stopped him, Blaster Dark's trail of through may of continued to go on and on until he ran out of energy.

"Our soul is a single wing. Do not lose sight of what you must do. Let's make sure first." "Did you forget the hex that witch cast to tie me to this world?"

In the past, in order to prevent Phantom Blaster Dragon from vanishing, Blaster Dark merged his soul with that of the Dragon of Purgatory's. In order for this ritual to succeed, the great witch known as the Witch of Words, asked for a piece of Dark's soul. Their damaged souls could no longer function alone. If one lost their life, the other would too. Like a bird which loses a wing would fall to the ground.

"I haven't forgotten... ... The word that carved up our souls and tied them together."

Rather than weaken their souls, the Witch carved a certain word. Was she being ironic? To this day, neither of them was quite sure, nor would they know why that word. "Abyss... ... A word for purgatory, right? Looking back, it's a fitting word for us. But... ..." "I agree. We know the horrors of the Abyss more than anyone else."

Their weakness of never being able to embrace the light. A heaviness of though that can be seen, as those who had fallen into the darkness once.

"Our soul is a single wing. I am the only one who knows the true depths of the conviction and determination inside you." "Even if all that awaits me is a future where I shall persih." "Now that I think of it. You, whelp, are still folliwng the same path... ... Even if you aid the light now, you still walk the path called Shadow." "Be quiet. I'm just a criminal. A sinner."

He no longer longed for the light.

He now desired to fill the hole missing in the world.

To bring back what was missing, what should be there.

"I'll bring it back." "Agreed."

The Dragon and Knight of Shadows marched together, beyond the light.