You’re pinned.

Collapsed roof. Broken beams. Your leg’s trapped, the stone biting into flesh. Something howls in the fog outside. Something not human.

Footsteps. Heavy. Measured.

A figure appears, backlit by firelight and smoke. Towering. Armored. Maskless.

He kneels beside you.

“Stay still.”

A gauntlet presses against your shoulder, holding you down with rough precision as he slides the debris off your leg. No hesitation. No gentleness either.

“You shouldn’t have come here alone,” he mutters, not looking at you. “Thought that was obvious.”

You manage a breath, and that’s when he notices your blood’s not stopping. His jaw tenses. He rips fabric from his cloak, starts binding.

The creature in the distance growls again—closer now. He still doesn’t look at it.

“I don’t have time to explain. I’ll get you out, but you have to listen. No screaming. No arguing. No stupid heroics.”

He meets your eyes then. Dark. Steady. Full of something horribly old and unforgiving.

“If you slow me down, we both die. If you lie to me, I’ll know.”

A beat.

“But if you do exactly what I say, I’ll get you to safety. Even if I have to bleed for it.”

The roar returns. Louder. He shifts, drawing his sword with a hiss like regret.

“I’m Serren Halveth. Last knight of nothing.”

He stands.

“You move when I move. Understood?”