Valentina

House Paxley ruled the regions near the Lantis Mountains, south of the Moniyan Empire. Generations of the house had guarded these areas for the Empire, defending against invasion from the Abyss with magic and swords.

As the eldest daughter of the patriarch of the house, Valentina had high hopes since birth. She underwent rigorous training and grew to become a proud perfectionist, the most qualified heir to lead this noble house.

As she grew up, she traveled to the border and helped the house fend off wave after wave of invading demons.

News of the victories in the Lantis Mountains became the only thing that could reassure civilians. As a result, House Paxley quickly rose among the nobles, while Valentina became the youngest and only female member of the house council.

Seeking allies, Valentina journeyed alone into the Moonlight Forest despite the Empire's prolonged hostility towards the Elves. The Elf King, Estes, refused Valentina's request, saying that the Elves had no interest in the human war. An elf hero named Irlan, however, was moved by Valentina's heartfelt words. Unlike Estes, he believed that with the fall of the human empire, the demise of Moonlit Forest would also be imminent.

A few heated words were exchanged, after which Irlan followed Valentina out of the moonlit forest with his friends.

Since then, elves and humans have fought side by side on the battlefields of the Lantis Mountains.

After the days and nights spent with Valentina, risking their lives, Irlan realized that he had fallen desperately in love with her. But Valentina was distraught when Irlan revealed his feelings for her: she had always been taught that a noble lady should not indulge in ridiculous romances and that she should marry someone of equal status for the sake of the house. Nevertheless, Irlan's passionate courtship awakened the feelings buried deep in Valentina's heart. She experienced the wonderful joy of being loved for the first time.

Just when Valentina was pretending to be calm but didn't really know how to react, Irlan took the opportunity at the House Paxley election meeting and proposed that he was willing to fight under Valentina's command with the other Elves permanently, but on one condition: Valentina had to say yes to his marriage proposal.

Irlan's suggestion perfectly solved the problem that was troubling Valentina. Now she could follow her heart and accept her feelings for the sake of the house. And so[,] they shared their sacred vows under the moonlight, and Valentina became the head of their house as the house clapped with joy. But among the enthusiastic crowd, his uncle remained silent: the position should belong to him according to the rules of the house.

With the help of the Elves, House Paxley gained power every day and Valentina was given the title "Duchess" of the Moniyan Empire. And she also counted on Irlan who showered her with love. Accustomed to facing death, Valentina finally tastes the sweetness of life.

But then disaster suddenly struck: after biding their time and gathering their forces, the Abyss once again attacked the stronghold of House Paxley with powerful troops. Before the Emperor's reinforcements arrived, House Paxley was left to its own devices.

Realizing that the strength of the house was no match for the army of the Abyss, Valentina decided to resort to the last expedient: gathering all the mages of the house and casting the "Coffin of Souls", a forbidden spell that, when completed, could create a deadly zone and devour all the souls of the living. Even demons would not be spared.

To cover the mages preparing the spell at their backs, Valentina and Irlan led the bravest warriors to the forefront, confronting the Abyss army head-on.

The battle began and thousands of demons invaded the Elves and humans like the waves of the ocean. But the alliance remained firm as the strongest rock, letting the waves of troops from the Abyss break into a thousand pieces.

But these brave soldiers still fell one after the other. Seeing this, Valentina became more anxious as she waited for the signal for the end of the spell. Their plan was to withdraw from the battlefield with all their troops as soon as the signal came, so that the magic zone covering the front line would destroy the demon army in one fell swoop.

However, Valentina suddenly noticed the Soul Casket symbol appearing above the engaged armies, but the rear had not fired any withdrawal signals! Confused, she turned around to find her own uncle and the mages mocking her.

Knowing that she had been shamelessly betrayed, Valentina shouted for everyone to stand down immediately. At the last moment before the coffin fell, Irlan used his last strength to push Valentina out of the area, before falling on the battlefield losing his soul.

The Battle of Lantis thus ended and the invincible legend of Valentina continued. But only Valentina herself knew what price she had paid for this victory...

The Duchess executed all those who betrayed her and escorted the body of her beloved to Aberleen Castle.

She built a sacred hall in commemoration of Irlan and the other martyrs and has since dedicated her life to seeking a way to bring back Irlan's soul. During this process, Valentina became more and more desperate and eventually turned to dark magic and awakened a trace of consciousness from the evil god of trickery, Kalon.

Kalon told Valentina of the miraculous powers of the Heart of Anima, a broken piece of the Twilight Orb, and tricked her into signing a blood pact with him. According to the blood pact, Valentina would gain immortality and the power of shadow, but at the cost that since then all the souls of House Paxley had to be contaminated by Kalon. And when his power truly awakened, he would be resurrected thanks to a descendant of Paxley.

To prevent Kalon's return, Valentina left a prophecy informing her descendants that if the Cursed One appeared, they must get rid of the person at all costs.

Since then, Valentina had been hiding in the shadows, silently awaiting the appearance of the Heart of Anima, the day when her beloved's soul could be recovered...