Newfear

The two guards were engulfed in a heavy silence, almost frozen in place. In that moment, all sounds around them vanished. Their hearts pounded in their chests, their beats resembling the drums of death. They stepped back slowly, uncertain whether they should flee or stand their ground. But Aqua didn't care. He kept walking as if their presence... or absence... meant nothing to him. And with every step he took closer to them, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly, as if acknowledging his existence.

The sky was covered with clouds, and the dim fire from the torches cast dancing shadows on the ancient walls. At the palace gate, two vigilant guards stood watch, but the stillness of the night was deceptive, hiding something terrifying that slithered within the darkness.

Aqua walked toward the gate with steady, calm steps. There was no urgency in his movement, as if fate itself had decided to grant him all the time he needed to complete his mission without haste. His long white coat fluttered slightly with the cold night breeze, while his face... stained with blood... remained expressionless, devoid of any emotion.

The guards exchanged quick glances.

"S-Stop right there!" one of them shouted in panic, raising his spear, while the other gripped the hilt of his sword cautiously.

But Aqua didn't stop. Instead, he quickened his pace... one step, then another... before suddenly surging forward with unexpected speed.

The first guard let out a warning cry, thrusting his spear toward Aqua's chest. But Aqua shifted his body smoothly, evading the attack as if he had seen it coming beforehand. In a swift motion, he maneuvered around the guard, his sword sweeping in a wide arc.

A silent blade... a cut without sound. The guard felt a sudden warmth on his neck. Only after a moment did he realize that his head was detaching from his body, his eyes still frozen on the last image he would ever see.

The second guard wasn't oblivious. The instant he saw his comrade fall in the blink of an eye, his body tensed with a shudder. Then, with a surge of fury, he drew his sword and lunged at Aqua, his strikes coming in rapid succession.

But Aqua was no longer there to receive them. He moved lightly, dodging the first strike, deflecting the second with seamless precision. Then, in a swift step, he ducked under the third attack, slipping beneath the guard's arm, and...

A quick stab to the gut.

A short gasp of pain escaped the guard's lips. His fingers clutched at the open wound as he staggered backward, but he didn't die immediately. He collapsed onto his knees, his gaze flickering between fear and shock.

Aqua yanked his weapon free with a sharp pull, causing blood to gush from the wound like a fountain. The guard finally fell lifelessly to the ground.

No sooner had the two guards collapsed than the inner gate burst open violently. Two more guards emerged, weapons raised, their eyes alert after hearing the commotion outside.

They saw the blood, the corpses... then their gaze locked onto Aqua, who stood there, his sword dripping with crimson, his face speckled with the mist of death. Yet there was no sign of exhaustion in his expression.

"You bastard!" one of the guards roared, his eyes blazing with fury, before he and his comrade charged in a coordinated attack.

Their tactic was clear.

The first, armed with a spear, lunged from the front, aiming a swift and direct thrust at Aqua's heart.

The second, wielding a sword, swiftly circled around, blocking any escape, determined to end the fight with a decisive blow.

But Aqua was not there to be trapped.

As the spear shot toward him with blinding speed, Aqua didn't retreat. Instead, he lunged forward. In a split-second maneuver, he tilted his body sideways, allowing the spearhead to pass just beside his ribs, while his left hand grabbed hold of the spear's shaft and yanked it forcefully.

The first guard lost his balance for a moment, his weapon pulled along, exposing part of his leg.

Aqua, with a quick step, bent slightly... his sword flashing in a low, circular arc.

A clean cut.

Blood gushed out in torrents, a piercing scream of agony filled the air. The tendon in the guard's leg was severed. He collapsed onto one knee, his trembling hands barely able to hold onto his spear.

But he wasn't dead… Not yet.

The second guard was not slow. The moment he saw his comrade fall, he attacked immediately, his sword slicing through the air in a swift strike aimed at Aqua's neck.

Before the blade could reach him, Aqua pushed off the ground with force, using the spear still in his grip, and leaped into the air, twisting at an almost impossible angle.

His body passed over the second guard's head, as if he were a weightless specter. Before his feet even touched the ground, his sword had already moved.

The blade sank into the guard's back, piercing the spine between the third and fourth vertebrae.

The guard froze in place, his mouth hanging open as if to scream... but no sound came out. His wide eyes filled with terror before his face collapsed forward onto the ground, his body twitching for a moment… then nothing.

The wounded guard, still kneeling, realized it was over. He tried to lift his spear with a trembling hand, but Aqua was already behind him.

In a cold whisper, he said, "Die with dignity."

A clean thrust to the heart. The guard's body shuddered for a moment before he collapsed beside his fallen comrade, blood pooling beneath them in a chilling crimson lake.

It was over.

Aqua slowly lifted his head, his ice-blue eyes gleaming under the dim torchlight, holding a frozen stillness... an unmelting, merciless frost. His expression betrayed nothing, as if life itself did not belong to him.

The silence that followed was heavy, almost alive, slithering between the corpses. Blood was scattered across the ground, on his face, on his fingers still gripping his sword, with droplets of crimson falling slowly… slowly, like the final countdown of a nightmare yet to end.

And the path inward… remained open.

There was no rush. No worry.

Aqua walked through the palace as if it were his own home. His steps were steady, slow, but weighed down by something unseen… something that made the very ground groan beneath him. The silence wasn't ordinary... it was suffocating, as if the walls were watching, as if the air itself was recoiling from this being that did not seem entirely human.

New blood mixed with the trail he left behind, dripping from his sword, his clothes, his face... pale beneath the flickering torches, his eyes glinting like lifeless ice, reflecting the endless corridors.

Then… he turned left.

New eyes met his.

A young man... a palace guard, barely more than a boy... stood there, frozen.

His eyes widened slowly, his mouth moved without sound, as if his mind had not yet processed what he was seeing.

Before him, in the gilded corridor, stood a figure drenched in blood... like something pulled from the depths of a nightmare. Nothing about him seemed to belong to this world.

Then, his mind erupted in panic.

"Intruder! W-we're under attack!!"

His voice tore through the air. He drew his weapon and lunged forward, his body moving on instinct… but it wasn't enough.

"Slow."

A single word. It wasn't even a whisper... just a thought drifting through Aqua's mind as he moved with terrifying fluidity.

He twisted around the guard like a shadow dancing around its prey. His movement was unnatural, as if he didn't walk on the ground, but glided above it.

A quick strike... the hilt of Aqua's sword slammed against the young man's wrist. A faint crunch. Something broke. The weapon slipped from his grip before he even realized what had happened.

Then… the pain came. The blade sank into his gut... slowly. Deliberately. As if Aqua wasn't just killing him… but savoring every second of it.

The young guard gasped, his lips trembling. He tried to speak, but nothing emerged except ragged breaths. He could feel the cold steel expanding inside him, cutting, ripping, drowning his entire being in darkness…

His eyes, wide and pleading, locked onto Aqua's... begging for something… anything.

But what they met was emptiness.

As if the one before him was not human.

It was over before he could even comprehend it. His body slackened, collapsing slowly, as if life itself was draining from him in stages.

and Aqua?

He didn't stop. He didn't even look back. Just another thing added to the sea of blood he had left behind.

This day was no ordinary day.

It was Aqua Nightover.

There was no pause. No hesitation. Aqua kept moving, walking through the shadows, between the walls stained with the traces of his steps. Only a few seconds had passed before he met another pair of eyes.

Guards. They stood firm, but their bodies stiffened the moment they saw him... that blood-soaked figure, that confident stride, those cold eyes that held nothing but emptiness.

"Go!! … I'll buy you time."

The guard on the right spoke with unwavering confidence, without hesitation, despite knowing what awaited him. The other guard didn't argue. He turned and withdrew immediately, his fading footsteps disappearing into the distant corridors.

And at that moment… Aqua moved.

He shot forward like an arrow... not running, but flowing, a lethal shadow gliding toward its prey. He clashed with the guard, and in an instant, the fight ignited.

Blades collided, sparks flying with each strike. But Aqua wasn't fighting like a man. He wasn't fighting… he was ending.

The first move… A sidestep, a swift slash toward the guard's neck, but the man barely managed to raise his sword in time to block.

The second move… Aqua rammed him with his shoulder, throwing him off balance, then struck toward his side.

The third move… The guard leapt back, but he felt something cold graze his skin... a single drop of blood trailed from a minor cut.

The fourth move… Aqua twisted, feinting an upward strike, but his foot slid low, aiming for the man's knee.

The fifth move… The guard staggered, losing his balance for just a moment... and in battle… a moment was all it took to die.

The sixth move. Aqua's blade thrust forward like an icy spear piercing the air... straight into the guard's heart.

The seventh move… There was no need for one.

Stillness.

Aqua stood over the fallen body, rigid for a moment before the corpse collapsed soundlessly. The blade slipped from the man's chest with eerie ease, as if the blood itself refused to cry out against this silent killer.

There was no time to linger. He turned left.

A grand staircase lay before him, a double flight covered in crimson carpet, leading straight to the upper floor. The torches hanging on the walls cast flickering shadows, as if the palace itself were breathing slowly, watching him… waiting for what was to come.

There was no rush. Aqua raised his head, his face void of expression... only cold emptiness remained.

Then… he began to ascend.

His steps were heavy, but not from exhaustion. The weight came from the blood clinging to his boots, leaving darkened footprints on the red carpet... as if the staircase itself was breathing in the color of death.

But… he wasn't alone.

"There!! He's here!!"

A voice called from above, moments before two guards rushed down toward him. They had heard the battle below. They were armed to the teeth. They knew their opponent was no ordinary enemy.

The fight would be in a confined space. The staircase was no open battlefield, but a treacherous passage... one misstep could mean death. But Aqua didn't need space… he only needed the right moment.

The first guard was the faster of the two. He lunged with his sword, trying to force Aqua back... but Aqua didn't retreat.

Mistake.

In the blink of an eye, he ducked beneath the strike, his body bending with inhuman fluidity, then he lifted his sword diagonally.

A rip. The sound was like fabric tearing... but this time, the fabric was the first guard's throat.

He didn't even realize he was dead. He kept charging forward, but then… he stumbled. And fell. Lifeless, before he even reached the next step.

The second guard didn't stop. He saw his comrade collapse, but he didn't let fear paralyze him. Instead, he used the moment... leaping over the fallen body, gripping a long spear, aiming straight for Aqua's chest.

But… Aqua didn't move.

At the last second, just before the spear could pierce him, he tilted his body slightly. That was all it took.

The tip of the spear sliced past his cheek, leaving only a thin cut. But his response was faster.

Aqua's grip tightened around his sword. In a single motion, he stepped up and propelled himself toward the guard.

There was no escape. The blade drove deep into the man's chest with such force that his body arched backward. His eyes widened. His mouth opened, trying to scream… but there was no air left to scream with.

And then… it was over.

Aqua slowly withdrew his sword, letting the guard topple backward, rolling down the staircase, his body hitting the stone floor with a hollow thud... until he lay still.

Silence.

Aqua stood midway up the stairs. He didn't glance at the bodies behind him. He didn't turn. He only lifted his icy gaze... toward the top.

Only one floor remained between him… and his target.

Then, without pause… he continued his ascent.

His footsteps echoed against the staircase, slicing through the stillness like a blade. Each step carried him closer to the throne, each step pressed another weight into his chest. There was no turning back.

The air itself sharpened his senses... thick with the scent of blood, charged with the silence before the storm. He could hear his own breaths merging with the breaths of the palace, the walls that had witnessed so many fall, now awaiting yet another end.

He reached the top of the staircase… and then, another figure appeared.

But this was no ordinary guard.

Barbara Starkov.

At that moment, there was no sound except her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her fingers instinctively tightened around the hilt of her sword, but what she saw made her freeze.

Aqua was drenched in blood. It dripped from him, painting a trail behind him like a phantom emerging from the depths of hell. His blue eyes... those eyes that once carried the serenity of the sea... now swirled with a storm, an abyss with no end.

Their gazes locked.

Time halted between them. There was no past, no future...only that moment, only those stares that carried a thousand questions, a thousand fears, a thousand wounds.