Arthur.

I had watched him fall beneath a sky split by fire and hymn, had seen his body swallowed by smoke in the midst of that crusade we once called holy. I had mourned him in silence, offered his name into prayer as one more martyr surrendered to God's inscrutable will.

Kala aku mengangkat pedangku atas nama dan kehendak Tuhanku, aku selalu berdoa terlebih dahulu; penyerahan terakhir sebelum darah tertumpah pada bilah. Aku akan menundukkan kepala, memohon agar Tuhan meneguhkan hatiku, agar jika yang berdiri di hadapanku benar-benar jahat, ...

They called him a monster long before I ever stood close enough to see his face clearly. The word traveled faster than truth ever could, carried through cathedral halls. I had heard the accusations framed in language of righteousness, heard men in sacred robes declare him ...

I had always prayed before I executed judgment. It was not ritual alone; it was alignment. I would bow my head, even if only for the briefest second, and offer the condemned to God before delivering them to whatever eternity awaited. And there had always been an answer.

The first time I noticed him, it was not by sight but by absence. He did not walk openly beneath sunlit streets or kneel where incense thickened the air. He lingered in thresholds, in narrow alleys where light thinned. I had spent my life in illuminated spaces—cathedral ...

It stench of blood and blasphemy. The man before me moved with precision, each strike deliberate, as though this fight itself were part of some larger rite. There was urgency in him, every clash of skin carried the weight of unfinished argument with the world.

The command had been clear, written in solemn ink and sealed with unquestioned authority; the immortal before me was an aberration, a defiance of the natural order God Himself had ordained. I had hunted creatures like her before—beings suspended between eras, untouched by ...

I had spent years hunting the curseds, moving through shadowed streets and abandoned sanctuaries with scripture pressed to my lips and sword in my hand. Vampires were one of them, the abominations in the eyes of the church—undead, profane, suspended between life ...

Langit sore itu berwarna kelabu seakan-akan surga sendiri ragu untuk sepenuhnya menyaksikan apa yang hendak terjadi. Aku berdiri di hadapannya dengan pedang dalam genggaman, lambang suci di dadaku masih bergetar pelan oleh sisa doa yang baru saja kuucapkan.

It was a knight’s duty to ensure the security of the streets, especially within the vicinity of the most vital districts. I had been wandering through places, for it was within my calling to cleanse out any sort of danger; I carried the blessing and the Gospel within me.

The decree had been delivered at dawn, sealed by the sigil of the High Saint himself. I had received it on my knees, as I received all things from the church—head bowed, spine straight, hands open in submission. The parchment had trembled faintly between my fingers, though ...

IN THE NAME OF GOD, I had bared my life upon. If there had ever been a self apart from Him, I did not remember it. But I had been consecrated long before I was knighted. The anointing oil had touched my brow in childhood, but the true beginning of my fate had come the day ...

As I stood before the altar beneath the crest of His name—I felt most certain of who I am, and perhaps most uncertain of what that certainty costs. The stained glass fractured light across my armor, bathing me in sanctified colors, and I had always believed that this ...