The wind sighed through the broken stones of the old ruin, brushing dust across the shattered mosaics and cracked pillars like a ghost lingering long after the living had gone. In the middle of the hollow place, a boy no taller than a man's waist stood barefoot on the cold marble, his cloak threadbare and his cheeks kissed red by the wind.
He looked up.
Above him, the stars shimmered in clusters — soft and silent, as if they too were afraid to speak. The moon was a sliver, pale and thin, but the stars... the stars blazed like diamonds scattered across black velvet.
Elliot Blackthorn stared in wonder, his eyes reflecting the sky as though trying to memorize it all. The ruin around him had crumbled, but the heavens remained — eternal and untouched.
He remembered her voice. Soft, warm. The kind that filled the spaces between heartbeats.
"Do you see them, my little light? Each star is a promise that even in darkness… you are never truly alone."
The words drifted to him like a lullaby on the wind, and for a moment, Elliot felt it — not the chill of the night, but the warmth of arms that once held him. He closed his eyes.
That's when he heard it — the rustle.
Too sharp. Too near.
He turned just in time to see shadows leap from the broken arches. Three figures, cloaked in black, moving with a deadly silence honed by purpose. Their eyes gleamed like glass in the dark.
Assassins.
Elliot's breath caught. He backed away, nearly tripping over a cracked stone. His heart pounded, small hands curling into fists — not from courage, but instinct.
A blade gleamed. They were fast.
But she was faster.
Steel rang out like a silver bell. A flash of armor. A figure dropped between Elliot and death — tall, fierce, and radiant in the moonlight. Her sword clashed against the assassin's blade, driving him back in a burst of sparks.
Another attacker lunged, but she turned with dancer's grace, her blade slicing the air in a perfect arc. One step, one breath, and the shadows fell — broken and still.
The last fled.
She didn't chase.
Instead, she turned to the boy, eyes as sharp as her sword, but softened by something else — surprise, maybe. Or pity.
"You're just a child…" she said, her voice low, almost disbelieving. "What are you doing out here? Alone?"
Elliot lowered his gaze. He wanted to trust her. But trust had a cost.
"…I'm an orphan," he whispered, voice barely above the breeze. "They… they took everything."
She studied him for a long moment. Her expression unreadable.
Then, without a word, she knelt before him. Her gauntlet touched his shoulder gently.
"I see," she murmured. "Then you'll come with me. The road is cruel to those without steel… but maybe I can teach you."
He looked up, blinking.
"Teach me?"
She smiled — not kindly, but not cold either. Like someone who'd seen too much and refused to forget any of it.
"My name is Seraphina Vale. I'm a knight of no banner… but I've never turned away a lost cause."
She stood, offering her hand.
Elliot hesitated — then took it.
The stars above said nothing.
But they watched.