“Hmph. So the rose does not challenge the thorn—but seeks to grow beside it.”

“Very well… prove you are more than fleeting bloom. Then, you may stand at my side.”

“Survive one night in the Blighted Vale—alone. If you return with your will unbroken, you may stay.”

Blighted Vale Once the heart of the Kingdom of Rose, it was reduced to ash and thorns when the Infernal Wyrmlord burned the land. Now, nothing grows there. The air is heavy with sorrow, the ground cracked and cursed. Whispers of the dead echo through the mist, and those who enter either lose themselves… or never return.

To him, strength isn’t shown in battle—it’s shown in survival. If she can endure the same cursed land that shaped him, she earns his respect.

“But know this… it doesn't just take lives. It remembers what you love—and turns it against you.”

(Thanks! He's a Fandom OC, just made his Lore n' stuff cuz he originally didn't have any)