Sleep, Perchance to Dream
Amid the ongoing war, Vane hears a rumor spreading among the knights—that Mordred and Cruz are consorting with the enemy. Lamenting his inability to allay the spreading unrest, Vane wishes for strength. As if in response, he hears the call of a mysterious voice and loses consciousness.
The war between Feendrache and Albanorum continues unabated, the march of time doing little to assuage the situation.
Along the front lines, small but bloody skirmishes are yet common, with neither side willing to yield.
Messenger: We've confirmed that Albanorum's withdrawn from the western front for now.
Messenger: But we've sustained heavy casualties, so our troops are requesting assistance.
Vane: Gotcha. Pull a few of the squads on standby. Tell them not to engage the enemy till they arrive.
Messenger: Right away, sir!
Vane: Siiigh.
Vane remains in the field to support the war effort in his capacity as vice-captain. However, with the situation stagnating, he finds himself strained.
Vane: (Albanorum's grown real aggressive ever since word got out that Wales fell.)
Vane: (Just keeping up is eating all our supplies, and we're stretched way too thin. So far, we've managed to hold the line, but we gotta gain some ground.)
Vane: Man. What's it take to catch a break around here?
He sighs, stepping out of the tent to head toward the less-frequented area of the encampment.
Aggrieved Knight: Just how long is this war gonna go on for? Our able-bodied troops grow fewer, but these days keep growing longer.
The faint buzz of grumbling stops Vane in his tracks.
Aggrieved Knight: You heard the rumor, right? I bet that's why we're not getting anywhere—everything's getting leaked to the other side...
Concerned Knight: Hey, can it! There's no proof.
Vane: (Rumor? I hate to play my part in the gossip, but sorry, guys—I'm gonna need to hear more.)
He silently listens, curious why these two knights were having their conversation away from prying eyes.
Aggrieved Knight: But someone said they saw Mordred with the enemy when that huge monster attacked, right?
Aggrieved Knight: And when they retreated, he went with them! But he didn't look like a prisoner or anything.
Concerned Knight: Come on now. Captain Lancelot and Vice-Captain Vane said that was just unsubstantiated hearsay.
Aggrieved Knight: Sure, but the vice-captain was always coddling Mordred and his friends.
Aggrieved Knight: So people are saying he knows the truth and he's just covering for 'em.
Concerned Knight: Shh! Are you crazy? What if someone hears you!
Vane: ...
Biting back words of denial, Vane silently steps away and leaves the encampment. Only when he's out of earshot does he dare release a breath.
Vane: So that crap about Mordred and Cruz really is getting around.
Vane: (And worse, everyone's worn out from the long days of fighting. I know the knights are disciplined, but even they can only put up with so much.)
Vane: (If we don't get the sitch under control soon, that rumor could reach civilians in no time...)
The recent riot in Feendrache rises to the forefront of his mind.
Vane: (There's no telling how violent things might get next time, especially if the people still distrust the order.)
Vane: I know we gotta do something to reassure them and fast, but I still haven't hit on anything good...
Shoulders drooping, Vane grimaces and stares at his clenched fists in frustration.
Vane: I decided a long time ago I would protect the people around me.
Vane: It's what I have to do, but I'm not strong enough. Not yet.
Vane: Lancey, Percy, and Siegfried are all so strong. I don't hold a candle to 'em. But still!
Vane: If only I had more strength... enough strength to blast away everyone's fears!
???: There you are, my dear diamond in the rough.
Vane: Who's there!
At the unexpected greeting, Vane instinctively readies his halberd, scanning his surroundings.
But he finds only a curious cascade of white and black feathers drifting from above. Next, a sweet scent fills his nose as his thoughts slow to a crawl.
Vane: (Is Albanorum trying something new? Damn, I gotta get outta here pronto and regroup!)
Vane: Urgh!
Despite his best efforts to escape, he falls to his knees, betrayed by a rapidly enervating body.
Mysterious Voice: Hehe... You needn't be so wary—I am no enemy of yours. Rather, I come with a boon.
Mysterious Voice: I have seen the potential that stirs within you, and so I shall fulfill your earnest desires.
Vane: What? My desires... But how?
Mysterious Voice: There is naught from which I cannot see you delivered—your anguish, ambitions, frustrations, and ardent wishes all.
Mysterious Voice: However, I have but one condition: that you prove yourself a true knight.
Vane: I don't... understand...
Lacking the strength to complete his response, Vane finds his vision fading into a whirl of white and black.
Thou Shalt Not Die
Upon awakening, Vane finds himself in a dreamscape created by the stranger. She offers Vane strength should he pass a trial—one that has him choose whether to save the people of his village or the knights of the order, and thereby abandon the other to their fate. Refusing to play by these rules, Vane attempts to save both parties, but fails to save either.
Vane: ...!
Wait, what? Where am I?
Vane stands floating above a foreign battlefield. A deep fissure cuts through the earth, rending it in twain.
Swallowing his bewilderment, he recounts the events that transpired before losing consciousness.
Vane: Right... Just before I blacked out, I heard a real suspicious voice. And there was a weird, sugary smell in the air...
Mysterious Voice: You've finally awakened.
Craning his head in the direction of the voice, his eyes lock with those of a large, bird-like silhouette perched on a gnarled bough.
But the figure remains cloaked by smoke billowing from the warzone, so he fails to discern any finer details.
Vane: Huh? A humongous bird?
Mysterious Voice: A humongous—ahem. I'll have you know my majesty is replete, no matter the form it takes. Now, moving on!
Mysterious Voice: This is a dreamscape of my make. Should you pass the trial I set before you, the power you seek shall be yours.
Vane: How do you know what I'm seeking? And what's this about a trial?
Although he warily questions the stranger's grand claims, two familiar faces suddenly flash through his mind.
Vane: Wait, is this what Lancey and Percy went through when they got their new armaments?
Mysterious Voice: Ah, yes. I do recall two successors having been named. Then you are already aware of the stakes at hand; I needn't bore you with the preamble.
Vane furrows his brows at her blatant amusement, but, before he can probe her further, his attention is torn from the shadow by new presences on the battlefield.
He turns to find two groups—each forming a line on opposite sides of the fractured earth.
Nimue Villagers: ...
Dragon Knights: ...
Vane: ...!
It's everyone from Nimue! And the order!
Moments later, Vane's heart sinks as he spies two colossal monsters creeping out from the fissure, which immediately slink toward opposing sides.
Shadowy Monsters: Grrr...
Towering high above their respective prey, they issue low growls in anticipation of a meal.
Vane: ...!
What's the big idea!
Mysterious Voice: Those you see before you shall certainly perish—without timely intervention, of course.
Mysterious Voice: You are but one man. Your calling as a knight impels you to action.
Mysterious Voice: But whom will you save? And in doing so, whom will you abandon to their fate?
Mysterious Voice: When faced with the most dire of circumstances, will you still choose the right path? Let commence the trial.
Shadowy Monsters: Grrraaaor!
As if provoked by the stranger's declaration, the monsters unleash bellowing roars.
Their cries cause Vane to spring into action. He kicks off against the air and speeds toward the monsters.
Vane: Which side do I save? As if I'd abandon either! Here's my answer...
Vane: I'll smash both monsters to a pulp and save everyone!
Mysterious Voice: Will you now?
Shadowy Monsters: Grrraaaor!
Vane: (The villagers aren't trained for combat, so I'll take out this one first!)
Vane: Hgraaah!
Vane: Ngh!
What the hell's this thing made of? I can't cut through it!
Mysterious Voice: A poor choice.
Vane: No...
Having stumbled from the glancing blow, Vane is forced to watch as the villagers are crushed between the monster's jaws. But he has little time to lament their loss.
Vane: ...!
The knights!
He frantically turns to search for the knights across the crevasse, only to find a fresh expanse of blood.
Vane: H-how did this happen?
Mysterious Voice: You know the answer. Your trial is one of judge and executioner; you must choose who lives and who dies.
Mysterious Voice: This carnage is the result of your ineptitude. In your haste to save all, you dull your blade and fail to save even one.
Mysterious Voice: But a silver lining remains—we are yet in my dreamscape. Were we not, their blood would remain on your hands.
Vane: Easy for you to say! Any knight worth their salt would save everyone!
Mysterious Voice: So you, too, would endeavor, drunk on your own mortal hubris! How wretched to think you can truly save all without a single sacrifice.
Vane: But there has to be a way to save everyone! I can't just give up without even trying!
Mysterious Voice: You've seen what happens, have you not? In trying to protect each and every person, you condemned all to death.
Vane: ...
Mysterious Voice: To protect those whom you truly must, you have no recourse but to forsake others.
Mysterious Voice: The reach of a mortal is precious short—far shorter than you realize. If you cannot choose, then it is your path of loss to tread...
As if to underscore the quiet but pointed assertion, the pooling blood at Vane's feet drenches his sabatons red.
Thou Shalt Not Die: Scene 2
The stranger shows Vane new scenarios, this time with close friends and comrades. She argues that Vane lacks the courage to prioritize certain lives over others, but Vane asserts that he will never abandon anyone. Amused, the stranger tasks him with proving his claim.
Mysterious Voice: That being said, your reasoning is not unsound.
Mysterious Voice: Protection is the domain of a knight, and I understand the difficulty in sacrificing your sworn charges.
Mysterious Voice: As such... I shall make your next trial simple, a trial with no sacrifice at all—such is my benevolence!
A whirlwind of fire envelops the battlefield, then disappears as quickly as it spread. Now, in place of the knights and villagers, stand other familiar faces.
Knights-in-Training: ...
Mordred & Cruz: ...
Vane: It's Arthur, Tornelio, and Henry! And over there... Is that Mordred and Cruz?
Just as before, the two groups—both composed of Vane's proteges—stand on either side of the broken earth.
Mysterious Voice: Those who remain loyal, and those who abandon king and country. One deserves your trust and protection; the other, your cold steel.
Mysterious Voice: When comes the time they stand on opposing sides of the battlefield, how will you choose?
Mysterious Voice: And truly, it is such a simple and clear choice. Only a dolt would fail such a trial, wouldn't they?
Vane: ...
Vane: (If this turns out like the first trial, then I can't take the middle road.)
Vane: (But if I really have no choice but to choose one side or the other, then...)
Vane takes a deep breath, then turns to look straight at the shadowy figure staring down at him.
Vane: If Mordred and Cruz ever try to hurt Arthur and the others, or anyone in Feendrache for that matter...
Vane: Then as vice-captain of the order, I'll fight to stop them.
No sooner does Vane make his bitter decision than a raging flame consumes Mordred and Cruz, leaving no trace of the adolescents.
Vane: ...!
Mysterious Voice: Mm, death to traitors—I knew you would see reason. Had you tried to evade the problem, I would have deemed you unfit to continue.
Mysterious Voice: Discard sentimentality and bring down the hammer of justice. This is the correct choice.
Vane: You're wrong.
Mysterious Voice: Oh?
Vane: There's still no proof that Mordred and Cruz are traitors.
Vane: We have no idea what they're facing or why they had to leave.
Vane: Besides... even if they did betray us, what right do we have to just take their lives...
Mysterious Voice: Hm... Do you mean to take them prisoner and question them thence? What will you do should they refuse to speak?
Vane: Then I'll wait for them, and give them all the time they need. We'll never know the truth if they die.
Mysterious Voice: Sigh.
I concede you this point.
Mysterious Voice: But what of those whose intentions are plain? And in this knowledge, when you must decide who to spare and who to kill, tell me...
Mysterious Voice: Could you still make the correct decision? You have once faced this very situation, yet failed to choose.
As if to punctuate the voice's statement, an inferno erupts around Vane, razing everything within sight. He snaps his eyes shut in response.
Vane: Nimue...
When Vane next opens his eyes, the battlefield is gone, and in its place is his childhood village and four unforgettable faces.
Ban & Miles: ...
Elaine & Adele: ...
Vane: Ah...
Mysterious Voice: Those you protected and, at the cost of their protection, those you could not. You remember, don't you?
Vane: ...
Mysterious Voice: Let us consider the situation had you known then what you do now.
Mysterious Voice: Supposing you and the captain of the knights were aware of the full truth before those men had incited rebellion...
Mysterious Voice: Would you still have been able to save them?
Vane gazes at Ban and Miles, the question reverberating in his ears.
Vane: I've never stopped thinking about that.
Vane: Was there another way? Shouldn't I have been able to stop them? Wasn't I enough?
Mysterious Voice: ...
Vane: If we'd known everything, then I'm sure we would've found a different path.
Vane: We wouldn't have had to fight Uncle Ban and Uncle Miles. The Vallant wouldn't have rebelled—no, they wouldn't have needed to rebel.
Mysterious Voice: Pftaha, ahahaha! To speak such fantasies! How you must love glasses of rose tint!
Not a moment later, the four are crushed beneath the debris of a burning building.
Vane: ...!
Mysterious Voice: Your argument is naught but wishful thinking, dreamed up to spare yourself the pain of loss.
Mysterious Voice: When those closest to you are in peril, you have neither sight nor mind for strangers—let alone for those long struck from history. Admit it.
Vane: ...
Well, of course I'd want to save my family, friends, and comrades first, just like anyone else.
Mysterious Voice: You would. Such inclinations are well within your right. But do you not realize?
Mysterious Voice: The moment you prioritize certain lives, whether consciously or no, you accept abandoning others.
Vane: No! That's not what I meant!
Mysterious Voice: But it is. You judge the value of a life based on its proximity to you.
Mysterious Voice: Driven by emotions, such decisions are proof of your mortality. You needn't admonish yourself, nor feel ashamed.
Mysterious Voice: However, it is all the more reason you must be prepared to make a sacrifice to save those you truly wish to protect.
The scene changes before Vane's eyes once more, and a new illusion takes shape.
Vision of Comrades: ...
Vision of Crew: ...
Mysterious Voice: The chivalrous captain you cherish as your own flesh and blood, the mentor you admire, the comrade you respect, and the king you must protect.
Mysterious Voice: The skyfaring captain with whom you have deeply bonded, the heroes of a neighboring country, and all the precious companions you have met thus far.
Mysterious Voice: If you could save but one group or the other, whom would you protect, and whom would you forsake?
Vane: I...
I'd—
Vane: I can't choose. They're all important to me!
In the next moment, shadowy beasts materialize from underfoot and tear the illusions apart.
Vane: ...!
Mysterious Voice: How disappointing. You cherish one life above all others, but you haven't the resolve to commit.
Vane: Of course there's someone I couldn't bear the thought of losing... But that doesn't automatically mean I'm okay with losing somebody else!
Vane: No one in my life is replaceable, and there's nothing you can say that'll make me change my mind.
Mysterious Voice: You're quite a headstrong one. I don't dislike that... I rather enjoy it, honestly.
Mysterious Voice: But the cost of your indecision will be paid in blood. As a knight whose duty is to protect, you have failed.
Vane: If being a real knight means forsaking someone, then I'm fine with being a failure of a knight.
Vane: It doesn't matter what's going on or who I'm up against—I'll never abandon anyone, and I'll never give up on saving them!
Mysterious Voice: Pftahaha! Then let's see you prove your mettle!
Mysterious Voice: Show me that you need not arbitrate life—that you'll protect everything with your own two hands!
With the ringing proclamation, the shadow beasts and their once-ravaged prey reappear as if time itself had reversed.
Vane: You got it. Damn straight I'll show you! And I'll make you see once and for all...
Vane: That no one needs to be abandoned for everyone to be saved!
Thou Shalt Not Die: Scene 3
Broken after witnessing his treasured companions die countless times, Vane is about to give up when he recalls some words of encouragement, and with them, his convictions. In a last-ditch attempt to protect everyone, he leaps into the jaws of death.
Vane: ...!
Damn it!
Vane: I'll save them this time! There's no way in hell I'll give up!
Time turns back, and the shadows coalesce and take form once more.
Vane: Hraaagh!
Shadowy Monster: Graooor!
Vane: Ghk! I can still do this!
Mysterious Voice: Too slow.
Vane: ...
And so, repeating like clockwork, Vane witnesses the moment his friends perish countless times.
Despite the madness, he refuses to yield. But for every time he challenges the monsters, he earns naught but another vision of death.
Mysterious Voice: How long will you continue this farce?
Vane: ...
Mysterious Voice: Enough already! Though they may be illusions, the despair you carve into your soul is very real!
Mysterious Voice: You threaten to shatter your own mind with this foolishness. No amount of effort will change the laws of this world!
Vane: The laws of this world...
Mysterious Voice: A mortal's reach is sorely limited—your kind lives and breathes by the choices they make! So it is written!
Vane: ...
Upon being admonished, Vane shifts his gaze to the ground. Once stained red, it is now a deep, visceral black.
Vane: (Is she right after all? Is there really no way to save everyone?)
Every moment his companions are slain replays in his mind endlessly.
Unable to bear the strain, his vision begins to swim, consciousness slowly fading—when a voice pierces the silence.
Lancelot: No matter who it is, you always tackle people and their emotions head-on.
Lancelot: You also never, ever let someone fall by the wayside, even if it hurts you in the process.
Lancelot: That's one of your best traits! It's definitely nothing to be ashamed of.
Vane: (That's right. That's how I've always done things.)
Vane: (I'm fine with being hurt if it means someone else'll be safe. Seeing people suffer is a million times more painful.)
Recalling the encouragement Lancelot offered him one distant night, a light flickers to life in Vane's eyes.
Vane: I don't care how this world works. I'll never give up.
Mysterious Voice: You persist with such foolishness!
Vane: Even if I have to crawl through hell and back, I would do it to save even one more person. But I need the strength to make the journey in the first place.
Vane: I don't need power to protect just one life at the cost of others!
Vane: I need it to protect every single person who's counting on me—to keep everyone safe!
Mysterious Voice: ...!
The stranger's breath, in equal parts revelation and satisfaction, hitches upon Vane's unwavering vow.
Mysterious Voice: I see now, Viviane. You noticed... he possesses a light held by no other.
Mysterious Voice: Very well. I shall bear witness to your resolve until the bitter end!
Shadowy Monster: Groooar!
The gargantuan fiends howl at the newly returned phantoms of Vane's companions.
Vane: I'll do it! I'll save them this time!
Vane: Hroooah!
Shadowy Monster: Groooaaar!
Vane: Ghk! I'm not finished yet! Not... yet!
Shadowy Monster: Grrr...
Vane: I'll... protect them all! Hraaagh!
Shadowy Monster: Graaagh!
Throwing all of his weight behind his swing, Vane pierces the beast's tough hide with his halberd, cleaving clear through its neck.
Mysterious Voice: ...
Much too slow. You'll never make it to the other one.
Vane: I will, just watch me!
Kicking off from the crumbling creature, he rushes to the second beast.
But this time, his goal is not its throat. Open wide before him is the beast's mouth, revealing rows of sharp fangs.
Shadowy Monster: Groooar!
Vane: Gngh!
I... made it!
Having landed in its mouth, Vane braces his halberd against the fangs hanging overhead as the beast fights to snap its jaws shut.
Mysterious Voice: Wha—fool! You would let yourself be consumed?
Vane: I told ya, didn't I!
Vane: I'll never give up, not till the very end! I don't care if I get hurt if it means someone'll be saved!
Shadowy Monster: ...
Vane: I... I'll never let anyone slip through my hands ever again! I don't want to see anyone suffer!
Vane: So it doesn't matter how desperate my options are—I'll do it. If it means I can save just one more person, I'll risk everything I have!
Vane: Get a real good look! 'Cause this... is my conviction!
Shadowy Monster: ...!
Without warning, the monster's jaws close around Vane, sending the knight into the depths of its maw.
Thou Shalt Not Die: Scene 4
Vane defeats the monsters without a single life lost, succeeding in the trial. Thrilled, the stranger bestows upon him blessed armaments. Explaining that a calamity is on the horizon, the stranger—Ortrud—charges Vane with the duty of protecting as many lives as possible, which he readily accepts.
Mysterious Voice: You great, big fool... You so carelessly throw your life away—and for what? To deny all peoples their worthy protector?
Shadowy Monster: Grnnngh...
Mysterious Voice: ...?
What's happening?
Shuddering as if wracked in pain, the colossal monster groans, piercing through the stranger's lamentations to draw her notice.
Giving one last violent spasm, it falls perfectly still.
A light begins to seep from the shadow beast's body, growing in intensity until the darkness is burned away. In its place stands Vane, cutting a finer figure than ever before.
Vane: Huff, huff... I thought I was a goner.
Vane: But how's that for ya! I protected them all, just like I said I would!
Vane: I'm more than happy to be a shield for everyone. I can live with that!
Vane: If I can save just one more person by sacrificing myself, I'll do it. That's the path I choose!
Mysterious Voice: ...
Mysterious Voice: Aha... haha... ahahaha! Oh, you are full of surprises!
Mysterious Voice: Wonderful, just splendid! How I do adore you!
Vane: Huh? Wh-what's going on?
After a short bout of laughter and a rustle of wings on the wind, a massive bird alights before Vane.
Demi-Avian Woman: There can be no finer knight than you. You are a true defender of the people.
Demi-Avian Woman: The weapon and armor you now bear are proof that I have deemed you a true knight. As you wished, I have granted you the strength to protect.
Vane: What do you mean?
Vane: ...
Whoa! Since when?
Vane: Now that I think about it... just before the monster swallowed me, I was hit by a feeling I've never felt before. It was like a flood of power coming from inside...
Vane: So that was 'cause of this.
As Vane stands looking at his new armaments in wonder, the woman clears her throat to catch his attention.
Demi-Avian Woman: I must admit, however, your brazen methods ruffle the feathers.
Demi-Avian Woman: If you mean to protect many lives, then stop acting with such little regard for your own!
Vane: Cut me some slack—that was my best option.
Demi-Avian Woman: Slack denied! Had you done that in the waking world, you easily could have perished!
Vane: I know, I know! I'm not that crazy!
Vane: Then again... If the situation calls for it, a little craziness never hurts—much.
Vane: I mean, I will try to think things through, but sometimes you just gotta let your instincts do their thing, ya know?
Demi-Avian Woman: Sigh...
I suppose that is another of your strengths as a knight.
The woman straightens her face after heaving a deep sigh, and fixes her gaze on Vane's own.
Demi-Avian Woman: A great calamity shall soon be upon us. It will plunge the land into a chaos far more devastating than this island has ever known.
Vane: A great calamity... You mean the story about Excalibur? How it was used to seal the calamity three hundred years ago?
Demi-Avian Woman: I do indeed. However, its pending awakening is far more threatening than before. This time will be a complete resurrection.
Demi-Avian Woman: Countless lives will be imperiled. You must endeavor to save as many as you can.
Vane: I will. That's always been the plan.
Vane: I'm Vane, vice-captain of the Order of the White Dragons. If anyone needs help, I'll save them, no questions asked.
Demi-Avian Woman: What of those who betray you? Would you still save them, even if they deserve to be felled by your hand?
Vane: That doesn't matter. I'll reach out to anyone who needs help, friend or foe.
Vane: Even if they betrayed me, and even if they're an enemy, I'll hear each and every one of them out.
Vane: If they still want to fight after that, then I'll give them all I've got. But I'll never abandon anyone who needs help.
Demi-Avian Woman: Hmm, I do believe you speak true.
With a satisfied smile, the woman throws wide her wings, and the feathers scattered by the quick movement are absorbed by Vane's new weapon and armor.
Vane: What'd you do just now?
Demi-Avian Woman: I have blessed your armor and halberd both. Think of it as... a good luck charm. I am nothing if not benevolent, no?
Demi-Avian Woman: Besides, Viviane and that furball from Wales would never let me live it down if my chosen knight bit the dust just like that...
Demi-Avian Woman: But never mind that! You're a bit—I mean, you are astonishingly, shockingly reckless. Thus the charm, for peace of mind!
Vane: S-sure, if you say so. Well, thanks for the blessing!
Demi-Avian Woman: Ahem.
Very good. Now then, the time has come for us to part ways.
Having said her piece, the woman flaps her wings, and Vane once again feels his consciousness begin to fade as a sweet scent pervades the air.
Vane: Oh, right! Hang on! Before you go, can you at least tell me your name?
Demi-Avian Woman: Hm? Ah, I'd completely forgotten to introduce myself.
Ortrud: My true name is Ortrud. Call upon me when you have need, and I shall become your wings!
???: —ane! Vice-Captain Vane!
Vane: Gasp!
Huh? I'm... back?
Wakened by the sound of his name, Vane opens his eyes to see a worried knight looking down on him.
Concerned Knight: I found you during my patrol, sir, and I tried waking you, but you were knocked out.
Concerned Knight: Not to mention you're not donning your usual armor and weapon. What's going on, sir?
Vane: Huh? Oh! Uhh... Just some new gear I asked for a while ago! Finally arrived earlier.
Vane: I decided to put 'em through their paces, but I guess I was more tired than I thought, 'cause I conked out the second I sat down.
Vane: Sorry for making you worry! I'll head back on the double, so you go on ahead.
Despite the knight's protestations, Vane manages to send him away and breathes a sigh of relief.
Vane: I feel like I just had the longest dream, but since I have this stuff now, it must've been real.
Looking himself over, his newfound armor and halberd gleam with a cold light.
Vane: I can't afford to let my guard down just because I've gotten stronger.
Vane: If what Ortrud said is true, then soon enough we'll have bigger fish to fry.
Vane: But calamity or not, I won't lose. I made a promise and I'm gonna keep it. I'll show her I'll protect everyone—my friends, comrades, and all the people on this island!
Fists curled tight, Vane looks to the sky and finishes his vow. A solemn moment later, he turns on heel and departs.
And drifting behind him, as if to bid the knight a safe voyage, white and black feathers slowly waltz to the ground.
