Journey to Become the Zenith

A Dream Beyond the Battlefield

The circle around Clara continued to shrink.

One by one, the undead advanced through the scorched battlefield.

Skeletal warriors dragged rusted blades across the blood-soaked earth, producing a chilling scrape that echoed through the smoke-filled air. Behind them, undead mages slowly raised their staffs, their hollow eye sockets glowing with eerie green flames as corrupt cemetery-cold mana gathered around them.

The support magic from Fantom City’s walls struck again and again.

Fireballs exploded.

Holy light pierced through decaying flesh.

Arrows rained from above.

Several undead fell before they could reach her.

Yet for every monster destroyed...

Two more stepped forward.

The battlefield had become an endless sea of death.

Clara gripped the handle of her sword with trembling fingers.

Her right leg refused to respond.

Blood continued flowing from the deep wound, forming a crimson pool beneath her.

Every attempt to move sent unbearable pain through her body.

”...Come on...”

She forced herself to push against the ground.

Her muscles trembled violently.

But she couldn’t stand.

Not anymore.

She laughed softly at herself.

”So...”

”This is where it ends.”

Despite the despair surrounding her, there was no hatred in her eyes.

Only regret.

A skeletal warrior approached first.

Its sword slowly rose.

Another circled behind her.

An undead mage finished weaving another spell.

Everything seemed to move painfully slowly.

Clara tightened her grip around the handle of her mace until her knuckles turned white.

”If I’m going to die...”

”...then I’ll take at least one more of you with me.”

She drew in a slow, shaky breath, forcing herself to stay calm.

Every muscle in her body screamed in agony.

Her legs no longer had the strength to carry her.

Even standing had become a battle of will.

Yet she never lowered her weapon.

She never looked away from her enemies.

That was simply who she was.

The captain of the Adventurers’ Guild did not beg.

She did not surrender.

She fought until there was nothing left to give.

Until her very last breath.

Then...

The world around her began to blur.

The deafening clash of steel slowly faded.

The desperate screams.

The roaring explosions.

The sounds of countless lives colliding on the battlefield.

One by one, they drifted farther away, as though she were sinking beneath an endless sea.

A gentle warmth wrapped itself around her weary consciousness.

It was soft.

Comforting.

Almost impossible to resist.

Without realizing it, Clara found herself standing in a peaceful meadow beneath a sky painted with golden sunlight.

The battlefield was gone.

The smell of blood and smoke had vanished, replaced by the delicate fragrance of blooming wildflowers carried on a gentle breeze.

The air was warm.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

She looked down.

Resting safely in her arms was a small child.

The little one giggled happily, tiny fingers curling around one of hers with innocent trust.

The simple touch sent an unfamiliar warmth spreading through her chest.

Before she even realized it...

She was smiling.

A genuine smile.

One that had long disappeared from her face.

Then...

She slowly lifted her eyes.

A man stood only a short distance away.

He was smiling at her.

The breeze gently stirred his black hair.

Golden eyes, calm and warm, met hers with a tenderness that seemed capable of melting away every fear, every burden, every scar the world had left behind.

Victor.

Clara blinked.

”...You?”

Confusion flickered across her face.

She didn’t understand.

Out of everyone she had ever known...

Out of every person who could have appeared before her...

Why had it become Victor?

There was no reason.

No explanation.

And yet...

Somehow...

It didn’t feel strange.

It felt... natural.

Victor simply smiled.

Not with pride.

Not with mischief.

Not with confidence.

Just quiet warmth.

The kind of smile that silently told her everything would be alright.

The kind of smile that made the weight she had carried for so many years seem a little lighter.

Clara lowered her gaze once more.

The child had fallen asleep in her arms.

Her fingers gently brushed through the little one’s soft hair.

Everything felt so ordinary.

So peaceful.

So heartbreakingly beautiful.

For one brief...

Painfully brief...

Moment...

She couldn’t stop herself from wondering.

Could this have been her future?

A small home.

Peaceful mornings.

Shared meals.

Soft laughter filling quiet evenings.

A family untouched by war.

Untouched by bloodshed.

Untouched by endless loss.

The thought pierced deeper than any blade ever could.

Her vision blurred.

Warm tears slowly gathered in her violet eyes.

A faint laugh escaped her trembling lips.

”So...”

”So this is the dream you chose to show me...”

There was no embarrassment.

No denial.

No confusion.

Only acceptance.

She still didn’t understand why Victor stood at the center of that impossible dream.

But strangely...

She didn’t mind.

Not anymore.

If anything...

It felt right.

That only made reality hurt even more.

Her smile quivered.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Then another.

Soon they came without end.

She smiled through them anyway.

A fragile smile filled with longing.

”’Why...?’”

”’Why would you show me something like this... at the very end...?’”

Her voice cracked.

Barely louder than a whisper.

”’I... I don’t want to die...’”

The peaceful dream slowly began to crumble.

The flowers dissolved into drifting specks of light.

The golden sunlight faded into twilight.

Victor’s figure gradually scattered into countless shimmering particles before disappearing into the wind.

The child in her arms grew lighter and lighter...

Until there was nothing left to hold.

The warmth vanished.

Darkness returned.

Cold.

Silent.

Empty.

Lonely.

As Clara’s consciousness slowly slipped away...

A terrifying pressure suddenly descended upon the battlefield.

It was unlike anything that had appeared since the siege began.

An overwhelming mana erupted across the heavens.

It crashed over the battlefield like an endless ocean, causing both the defenders and the undead to instinctively freeze.

Even the eerie green flames burning inside countless undead eyes flickered violently.

At the same time...

An incomparably dense bloodlust swept through the entire battlefield.

It was so overwhelming that even the wind itself seemed to stop.

The earth trembled.

The sky fell silent.

Every living creature instinctively looked toward the source of that monstrous presence.

Even the undead hesitated.

For the very first time since the invasion began...

Fear spread across the battlefield.

Though Clara could no longer open her eyes...

She felt that familiar aura.

Her tense heart finally relaxed.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

”You’re late... Idiot...”

Those were Clara’s last thoughts before everything turned dark.