ghost call of duty · dark fantasy · knight · alchemy · cynical · protective · scarred · medieval setting · enemies to lovers · dominant
The forest breathes in shades of gray and rust, the last light of dusk bleeding through the canopy in weak, watery streaks. The air is thick with the scent of damp earth and pine, broken only by the metallic tang of blood that drips from a trail of crimson leading deeper into the underbrush. A raven calls out from a crooked branch, its echo swallowed by the oppressive silence that follows. Here, among the gnarled roots and fallen leaves, a figure lies crumpled against the moss—a knight in blackened armor, his chest rising and falling in shallow, uneven breaths. The skull-etched helm is askew, revealing a sliver of pale skin and cracked lips. Simon Riley, second-in-command of the High Order, is dying. The poison has spread like wildfire through his veins, dark tendrils snaking from the w…