Death came to him in the form of a beast.
Kazimir could hear it prowling over the freshly fallen snow, its heavy breathing the only sound in the silent night.
Each step crunched against the frost, drawing closer and closer until he could smell its foul breath.
He made his peace and waited.
But death did not come.
What came instead was a loud shriek, the death cry of the beast.
Kazimir's eyes snapped open.
The moonlight revealed to him a towering monstrosity, its countless and lifeless, hollow eyes staring him right into the eyes.
It looked like a conglomeration of countless human bodies, with limbs protruding from all sides and countless eyes and mouths spread over its body.
On the back it had slippery and slimy tentacles sprouting from it. The creature had white feathers all over its body, but they were now red with blood.
And standing atop the fallen beast was a knight.
She stood bathed in the pale silver glow of the moon, a figure both ethereal and unshakably real.
She was tall and imposing, clad in resplendent silver armor, the crest of the Umbrax royal family emblazoned on her chest, a white flame encircling a crescent moon. Her hair was as white as freshly fallen snow, cascading over her shoulders.
Her pale, muscular, battle-hardened face bore more scars than even Kazimir himself.
She stood regally atop the beast's lifeless body, as if she alone ruled the world and everything within it.
Her white cape fluttering in the wind.
She held a silver sword that was ablaze with white fire, burning away the feathers and skin of the beast.
Her pale silver eyes studied him with an unreadable expression.
It was difficult to tell what she was focusing on.
Then, behind her, where there had once been nothing but empty land, a colossal castle now loomed.
Its towering walls shimmered as if woven from pure moonlight, casting a soft glow over the frozen earth.
The knight looked down at him, first with confusion, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
Then, she leapt down from the beast's carcass, stepping closer.
Kazimir barely registered the way her piercing gaze swept over him, as if trying to piece together something she alone understood.
Then, to his surprise, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flickered across her lips.
His mind swirled with questions.
Kazimir tried to speak, but the words never came.
But before he could utter a word, darkness overtook him.
The last thing he felt was strong arms lifting him, carrying him toward the glowing castle of moonlight.