Somewhere, there was a door. Before it lay a lake emitting a faint white glow. A figure clad in heavy golden armor stood upon the water, kneeling on one knee with both hands resting atop the hilt of the longsword planted before her.
Her eyes were closed as though she were asleep, yet she did not even breathe, and not a single ripple disturbed the water.
In the darkness, she guarded a secret—a secret capable of threatening the entire multiverse. As a knight, this was her sacred oath and duty.
This place was located within a secret Pocket Dimension. Its entrance lay beneath a small Austrian town called Bruun, with an Augustus Convent serving as its cover, along with the bones and graves of saints.
She was not dead. She had merely entered a special state of hibernation. If nobody tried to invade this place and obtain that "stone," she would sleep like this forever.
But at that moment, clear footsteps sounded in the darkness. Their owner walked steadily, every step landing with force.
The knight's ears twitched. As though suddenly awakened from a dream, she snapped open her eyes.
She did not know how many years had passed since her last battle, but to her, it might as well have been a second ago. Her hands drew the sword floating above the lake and gripped it tightly as she shouted toward the approaching footsteps:
"Stop right there! I am Sir Ainala Rostu of Anatolia, Oath Guard to King Arthur! Whatever reason you have for intruding upon this sealed land, I demand that you leave at once and swear a blood oath to keep its secret. Otherwise, I will take your life here!"
Yet the newcomer showed no intention of stopping and continued to approach at a brisk pace.
Just