It has been a few years since the Empire had issued war with the Abyss, many adventurers and mercenary went with the army at the first year, they were winning—but the hastiness of the Emperor soon proves to the worst, they soon start to require all adult male to participate. The Empire soon falls, becoming a target for the neighbouring countries to conquer.
A crowd gathers at the city center, a thick tension fills the air with fear. 'How cruel' 'Leaving this at the center? Those damned knights.' The murmurs continue for a while, some leaves with disgust on their faces, some with pity.
A boy, not too old, watches from afar, wearing tattered clothes as he eats a moldy bread in the alley. The crowd clears up almost as fast as they had appeared, revealing the body of a little girl—her eyes left open, shock on her face. He slowly stands up and walks towards it, before placing his bread on her stomach—he kneels down to pray.
A few moments pass, he stands up—he leans down, reaching to close the girl's eyes. "May God let you rest with Him." He stands up, his frame light—as if he'd fly with the wind anytime it's felt. Sooner later, a group of knights arrive, their armours covered in blood—the scent sickening. They've come to pick up the girl's body, their expressions of mockery fueling the people's hatred even more. They pick her up, the flowers and the bread falls down onto the floor—they soon drag her away.
The boy watches from the alley, watching as the knights trample all over the offerings. 'I should've just ate that bread.' He thought. He feels it, the coldness of the air, the ground, and his body—His eyelids are growing heavier.
He closes his eyes, memories from before the war comes flooding through his head—the field of flowers filling his nose up with their scent, that tree he took shade in, the candy his father had given him on his birthday. A tear slides down his cheek, 'Ah. I'm dying.'