Chapter Forty-One: Tristan

Tristan was once the greatest knight across all the Celtic realms. Twenty years ago, his deeds were on everyone’s lips; he was handsome, powerful, and possessed a profound sense of justice—a knight truly worthy of the title. He had once resided in Camelot for a time, and it was during that period, through the matchmaking efforts of King Uther and the Queen, that Kay became Tristan’s apprentice. Tristan taught Kay for a year before returning to his own kingdom.

However, it was not merely these things that made him a legend. He held another, far more famous epithet: "The Child of Sorrow."

Before he was even born, his father, King Rivalen, fell on the battlefield, and his mother passed away shortly after giving birth to him. He was subsequently raised by his uncle, King Mark, and served him as an exemplary knight—a man in whom the King placed deep trust.

Under normal circumstances, that would have been the end of it, but what made his story truly lamentable was that Tristan fell in love with a woman he never should have—the Irish Princess Iseult, his uncle’s betrothed. She was the woman King Mark loved, and the King had sworn to take her as his wife. Under the King’s command, Tristan traveled to Ireland to escort the Princess back, yet during the journey, he and Iseult fell in love. This affair sparked the jealous rage of the King, leaving Tristan torn between his duty to his uncle and his love for the woman, causing him immense suffering.

Ultimately, due to the machinations and counsel of King Mark’s courtiers, Tristan was forced to leave his country.

It was then that he arrived in Camelot, seeking his only living relative, his sister—Queen Igraine, wife of King Uther. Alas, upon arriving in Camelot, the only news that greeted him was tragic: Queen Igraine had perished in childbirth.

Queen Igraine was Tristan’s only sister, and he was well aware of her condition: she was never meant to bear children.

Driven by grief and madness, Tristan blamed King Uther for everything and issued a challenge to the King. Kay had witnessed that battle; Tristan fought with a terrifying, merciless intensity, yet the duel ended with King Uther’s victory. Even now, Kay could not understand what had possessed Tristan that day. Though he appeared insane, his eyes were filled with a desperate, suicidal intent, as if he had come only to find his end.

***

The outcome of the following day’s duel was clear: Owain had lost.

Yet, it was precisely because of Owain’s death that King Uther was forced to accept a chilling truth: the Black Knight before them was not a living man.

The movements of this Black Knight bore the unmistakable style of Tristan—identical to his final duel, characterized by the same reckless, desperate ferocity. The only difference was that when Owain pierced the Black Knight’s abdomen with his sword, the knight did not bleed a single drop, nor did he even flinch.

When Owain saw this, he stood frozen in shock, and the Black Knight seized the opportunity to run him through the chest. A promising knight had met his end.

After killing Owain, the Black Knight did not stop. He walked to the front of King Uther’s royal box, leaned upon his greatsword, and once again cast down his iron gauntlet.

Faced with such blatant provocation, Arthur stood up, unable to restrain himself, but someone was faster. Kay gripped the wooden railing of the gallery and vaulted into the arena to retrieve the gauntlet.

"I, Sir Kay, accept this challenge!"

"Tomorrow at noon, until death," the Black Knight replied, devoid of emotion. He spared a single glance at King Uther before shouldering his greatsword and departing the arena.

Watching that familiar yet alien figure, Kay felt a complex stir of emotions.

***

"How could you be so foolish!" King Uther raged, never having expected the usually composed Kay to act so impulsively. "I shall annul this duel!"

"No, Your Majesty. The Code of Chivalry must be upheld," Kay replied with calm resolve.

"But this is different! He is a dead man! You cannot kill him!" King Uther was no fool, only stubborn, but when the safety of his people was at stake, he would no longer indulge in self-deception.

"That is exactly why I must accept this challenge. Aside from me, can you find a better candidate?" This was one of the reasons Kay had accepted.

Indeed, a Death Knight was a terrifying foe, one beyond the reach of an ordinary man, but Kay was different. Given his current strength, dealing with a reanimated corpse was not particularly difficult. Resurrection was nothing new to him.

Years ago, on the plains of Mesopotamia, he had fought a green mummy named Osiris, who claimed to be the Lord of the Underworld and the God of Fertility. As a resurrected deity, he was a formidable foe, not only powerful in combat but capable of raising the fallen from the battlefield, summoning waves of the undead if one were not careful. Kay had faced him several times, only for the creature to escape through his necromantic tactics.

The Death Knight before him, resurrected from the corpse of Tristan, was leagues below the level of Osiris and posed no real threat.

"I am familiar with Tristan, and have you not noticed? Compared to when he was alive, his strength has significantly diminished. I am confident I can handle him."

"He is already dead! How do you intend to kill him? Nothing can kill that which is already dead!" King Uther refused to relent. He cared deeply for his own, but for others—like Owain—he had not uttered a single word of intervention. In fact, had Owain backed down, the King would have been furious.

It was a display of blatant favoritism, but such was human nature; even one's own fingers were not of equal length.

"That remains to be seen..."

***

As King Uther attempted to persuade Kay to withdraw, Merlin was pacing back and forth in a state of great anxiety.

It must be said that Merlin was a good soul. Though he had once been beaten half to death on Kay’s orders, he held no grudge. On the contrary, after learning certain facts from Gaius, he felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Kay.

If nothing else, the fact that Kay had discovered his magic and yet chose to conceal it—even encouraging Gaius to guide him—was enough to earn Merlin’s eternal loyalty.