It is 12 o'clock midnight. My neighbour's dog keeps barking at the black of night. What sort of thing budge that little dog to hysteria? are there a burglar out there on the street i asked. I just sighed and rests my body back to bed. I'm too tired to even check on my windows. I was just lying there, with a bottle of alcohol in my right hand like a sore loser. Just another night of piling bottles to drown what i assumed as 'my sorrow'. But in reality, i was just trying to drown the last bit of humanity inside me. Why do i talk so poetic you may ask? well perhaps it's because i've been through a lot of shit, so shut up! and don't frickin ask me about why i do certain things.

Anywho...this night was a little different than any other nights. It was certainly calmer, brighter and more hopeful, if you know what i mean. Yeah, i dont know, it just felt like when i walk through 47th Ave towards Exo-Bridge at 8 PM, it felt like there were more lights turned on. All those buildings was lit up brighter than usual. This was also the case with the usual jet-cars traffic up above the skyscrapers. The traffic produces the brightest lights that i've ever seen so far. Its like christmas, it truly was!. Somehow, this bustling futuristic city of Numbra with all of its high tech-lit up buildings and all of its flying jet-cars filling up the sky, felt very quiet tonight. Its as if all of its citizens have repented and become more 'civilized' overnight. No jet-car crashes, no yelling, no usual police chases. Just a calm, chilly, bright, and a hopeful night. And uh, i smiled, while walking through the streets. Yeah i did, its been such a longtime since i've genuinely smiled in relief for the simple things. What a beautiful night it was. But if it was a beautiful night, then why did i drink lots of alcohol? What's so upsetting that i had to drown it with a goddamn alcohol?.

See, there was this little girl, around age 7 or 8 i think. She was homeless and an orphan. I met her everyday on my way to patrol the city. She always greets me when i walk by. "Hey Mr. Oldman! how are you this mornin?!" She said. It was always that warm welcome every single morning that made my patrol throughout Numbra a little more cheerful. Because one thing that you need to know is that this city, Numbra, it is a hellhole. A literal hellhole. Advance technology just supports its citizens depraved mentality. High-tech video pornography, blacksite marketplace for guns and human trafficking, regular hacking on our smart devices, data stealing and such. It may not be that different from any criminal activities from whatever year you're from, but in Numbra, at 2029, its just too much to handle. Back to the little girl, each night when i come back to my place i always pass her place of sleep. It was under a bridge on terranouvre, a place for the homeless. I usually went by her sleeping tent and left her some warm food for the next morning. But, this night was different. Police lines are everywhere, obstructing. Lots of police jet-cars hovering around that place. What happened? i was trying so hard to go trough to see what happens, hoping that nothing bad happens to the little girl. Im forcing myself through the barrier while the police are holding me back, and that is when i saw her. She was carried by the medical team on a gurney. Whats left of her anyway. She was already dead by then, *****, with her head separated from her body. And on her chest, something is carved, a writing, a kanji to be exact.

到着.

That word means 'arrival'. Someone arrived on this city. Someone i knew.

With that girl dead, i lost one more motivation to keep living. She's my only hope of ever being a good man again. She's actually the only reason i went patroling to Numbra eachday. I'm just too afraid to acknowledge that and too scared to say to her that she reminded me of my late daughter. And for this little girl to be dead, ***** and being carved a writing in her chest. A writing that resembles a memento that was the marker of someone i knew. That was the real tragedy. She was being used as a message, for me. A message that a war is coming to my city whether i like it or not. And i swear to whoever did this, that they wont get a war. They're gonna get a bloody massacre. I won't stop until the one who kills her is chopped to pieces and being fed to my neighbour's dogs. Soon i'll kill you all. Just you wait my old friend.

...----------•03.00 AM•----------...

My 3rd bottle of alcohol is almost empty. Even my rage couldnt stop my heart from aching and my eyes from tearing. I wept and wept and wept like a child. I just can't seem to forget that little girl's face. I just kept remembering her sweet tenderness and warm greetings everyday. Yet after all this time, i never asked her name. That was perhaps the stupidest thing i've ever done in my entire life. No, IT IS the stupidest thing i've ever did. My greatest remorse. All this sadness and sorrow, all my running thoughts and anger, all of this just drains my energy to the brink. I dropped the alcohol on the bed. I lie there, powerlessly as i fell asleep.

.

.

Then, i had a dream.

In my dream i saw this war. Thousands of men fighting on the battlefield. It was on open green fields. The men uses longswords and samurais. Two opposing sides. the samurais and the knights. As the war goes on, the green fields slowly turns red. So much blood, so much death. From thousands, now remain hundreds. A second passed, and now the hundreds become two. Two men left on the battlefield from two opposing sides. The one on the left, standing with a samurai drawn on the side, ready to slash. And the man on the right, he looks like a knight from england. He raises His longsword and He ran towards the samurai.

BARF BARF BARF!

My neighbour's dog bark so loudly that it woke me up. And that is when i saw that my window is wide open.

Someone is in the room with me.

.

.

I lie still, very still, on the bed. Hoping that whoever broke inside my room, still thinks that i'm asleep. I try to clinch open my eyes, opening just a little bit to see my surroundings. But it is damn near impossible. It was too dark since turned off the light and my alley's lamppost is busted. The only light source is from the moonlight outside my now opened window. I try to focus on my hearing, trying to hear any creaks or little sounds. Yet it is super quiet. Even my neighbour's dog have stopped barking.

I reached my alcohol bottle with my right hand, while i heard a little creak on my right side of the bed.

CRANK!!! SWOOSH!

A sound of shards broken into pieces and a sound of sword slash. Then came a sound of loud thump.

Someone dropped to the floor.

It was me.

I threw my alcohol bottle and slash my assailant with my sword that are located on the right side of my bed. I did all this in under two seconds.

I got up and walk towards the assailant, who's now lying on the floor, bleeding.

"Who Sent You?!" i asked.

"Long Live Nagaki!" he replied.

i'm shocked for a bit by hearing that name. Quickly i grab my sword and said

"Long Live the King!"

SLASH!

With one slash, i cut his head off clean.

I grabbed his head, then walks toward my window, just to throw his head to my neighbour's dog.

I stand there overlooking the window, watching my neighbour's dog biting his head like a toy.

"Long live the king, for i am the king, i am the knight" i preach.

Because i am the king. The one that i see on my dreams, it was me.

I AM THE KNIGHT