Volume One
117
Chapter 1
The End
Rain...
The night weighed down by cold air that seeps into the bones suffocates the whole world. The earth bubbled up with mud, soaked with water. Amid the cold rain, a figure staggered forward, his hair drenched, his eyes icy cold.
In the darkness, he caught the reek of blood. The reek clung to his face, stuck to his eyes, a thick nausea rising in his throat—like something was rummaging inside, trying to claw up vomit from his guts. It coiled around him, binding him, trying to drag him down into hell. Is hell real? — He asked himself. In this Heart-Dream World, "hell" was just an ancient concept, something that wouldn't even scare children. But now he wondered: did hell truly exist?
As if hearing his question, the dark night answered immediately. Thunder exploded and roared, and lightning tore across the sky. In the flickering lightning, he saw a land of chaotic corpses faintly revealed. Tens of thousands of bodies lay scattered, blood seeping and staining the mud, turning the ground into a huge, fishy-smelling swamp as if a brutal slaughter had just taken place. Every face bore frozen eyes that stared at him. Even the faces that were broken to pieces tracked him. So much death, so many buried dreams.
This was hell.
He stared at the scene, his windpipe seemingly frozen. He asked himself again: Are dreams for real?
He laughed. A bitter laugh choked in his throat, then turned into sobs. He knelt down, gasping, vomiting. His hands trembled, covered with mud and blood. He began to imagine that unreal dream:
"I wish there was a world made entirely of dreams!"
A few kilometers away, in the heavy layers of dark clouds, a spaceship carrying six people quietly appeared. They wore black-gray camouflage uniforms, carried marching packs, and had long swords at their waists. Every face was filled with worry. One of them spoke up in a stammering voice:
- The explosion was too big... maybe no one survived. Captain, what are we still looking for?
The captain asked:
- Are you afraid?
The other nodded, his gaze showing no concealment of fear. The captain continued:
- Our comrades are here. We must find survivors. Until we find them, we aren't going home. Remember who we are! We're the Iron Sword! We don't abandon Skyborne, we don't abandon comrades.
Hearing the captain's words, the soldiers' confidence grew stronger. The captain ordered the pilot to land. The lightboxes on the side of the spaceship illuminated the ground. The spaceship landed in an open area, and its hatch opened. The search team put on gas masks and rushed out. Under the dim light, thousands of corpses were submerged in mud, with blood oozing out. The soldiers dared not look directly, only hurriedly passing by as if avoiding something, yet also as if in fear. Suddenly, someone shouted:
- There are still people alive, there are still people alive! Over there!
The light shone directly on a person kneeling in the sea of corpses. The search team cautiously approached the target. Seeing the dazzling light, the kneeling man raised his hand to grope, his lips moved, uttering meaningless words. The captain shouted loudly:
- Who? Who is there?
The man opened his mouth and made several hoarse sounds, then fell to the ground. The search team ran up and surrounded him. A medic checked his uniform and said:
- Our soldier! Look… severely injured… spine broken… gunshot wounds… stab wounds… so many! Damn it, how the hell is he still alive?
The captain shone his light and felt around the soldier's shoulder rank badge. He rubbed the bloody rank badge repeatedly with his hand, and a faint line of text appeared:
Vo Phong. Earth Element. Deputy Squad Leader.
The captain was startled and hurriedly turned the wounded man over, revealing a face beneath - the once-fiery red hair now a mud-caked mess. Red. He quickly patted the man's face and urgently asked:
- Phong! Can you hear me? Phong?!
The man named Phong opened his eyes. He looked at the captain, gasping:
- Bat Vong… is… that… you…?
- I'm here! Where is your squad? Where is Manh Ho?
Phong laughed nervously:
- All… dead… You… get it?
Then he grabbed the captain's collar, stopped laughing, and snarled like a wild dog, teeth gnashing and dripping blood:
- Dead…! Do you get it? My squad… all dead!
He sobbed, crying like he had never cried before. The captain was silent. Soldiers are trained to die, but not trained to witness the death of their comrades. The captain opened the radio and communicated with headquarters:
- Report to Supreme Commander, we found one alive. Repeat, one survivor found.
The radio emitted bursts of distorted static, then an echoing reply came:
- Got it, get out of there quickly, Bat Vong ! Your mission is accomplished, leave now!
The captain felt confused:
- Possible other survivors—request search clearance, sir.
- You must retreat, that's an order!
The captain pursed his lips thoughtfully, then replied:
- Yes, Supreme Commander.
The rescue team sent Phong onto the spaceship. The spaceship roared and flew away, leaving the silent wasteland behind. The heavy rain still poured down, as if trying to wash away the blood on the ground. But the more it rained, the more the blood spread. The red-haired guy's consciousness gradually sank into darkness. Bat Vong glanced at him, then lowered his head to look at the battlefield below. The captain lit a cigarette, his hands trembling slightly from cold, fear, sorrow, and shattered dreams. In this life, everyone has dreams.
But in this place, dreams were already dead.
All dead. Leaving nothing.