Mark Liscar POV–
We stood still as the new troll approached the barrier Nicolas had placed before us. The barrier shimmered, dark and tense, its surface screeching as Nicolas struggled to maintain it.
I glanced at John and Kohoi. Both stared at the barrier in silence, eyes widened. They looked frozen in place, as if their bodies had forgotten how to move.
I turned my gaze back towards the bridge.
From the fog stepped a troll.
A troll unlike the others trolls.
He was taller. Broader more masculine. His blue-skinned shoulders alone seemed wide enough to block the bridge itself. His presence bent the air around him, pressing down on everything nearby.
A deadly aura radiated from him—one that made my skin crawl.
I tightened my grip on my spear's shaft and forced myself to breathe slowly, never taking my eyes off the beast before us. Every instinct I had screamed at me to be careful.
Thick, brown, coarse fur wrapped around his forearms and waist, clinging to his massive frame as if it had grown there rather than been worn. A heavy, tangled mass of hair spilled from his lower face, forming something close to a beard. He stood well over two meters tall.
He stared at us.
First he looked at Kohoi.
Then at me.
That single glance was enough to send a chill through my spine.
Then his golden color eyes shifted to our captain—and lingered there longer than on either of us.
"Why is this creature staring at me?" John asked.
I couldn't bring myself to answer. I held my spear tighter in my right hand, refusing to look away from the troll.
His head was wrong in both shape and proportion. Blue skin stretched tight across it. His eyes sat too deep, too narrow, gazing across the bridge with unsettling focus. His jaw was wide and rigid, packed with crude, uneven teeth meant for crushing, not speaking. With two large tusks that rose from his lower lip.
A dull red strip was wrapped tightly around his forehead. Coarse, uneven hair pushed out above it in rigid tufts—more bristle than hair.
He didn't move.
He didn't rush to hit the barrier.
He simply stood there, and watched us carefully.
It was unsettling.
No troll had ever acted like this before. They usually would charge forward on pure instinct, desperate to kill. But this one was different. From the moment he appeared on the bridge, the other trolls changed how they behave as well. None of them attacked. They all watched him—just as we did.
"What do we do, John?" I asked.
John turned his head towards me.
"To be honest, Mark… I don't know," he replied quickly.
The cold certainty of his answer made my stomach tighten. Hearing doubt from our captain unsettled me more than the troll itself.
I glanced at Kohoi. His right hand was shaking as he stared at the beast. He tried to hide it by clenching his fist, but I noticed.
We could hear the troll's breathing through his nose—slow, heavy, deliberate.
"Kohoi!" John shout. "This isn't the time to be scared!"
Kohoi shook his head slightly.
"I know you're all afraid," John continued, his voice rising. "But don't forget—I'm here with you, alongside your comrades! We've faced this before. And now, what I want to see from green-badged soldiers like you is pride and will!"
He stepped forward.
"You will face even bigger threats than this once you rise in badge rank. This thing is nothing compared to what's out there you know! We were trained for this! There is no fear here—not in my presence! Do you understand me?" John said, slowly turning his head back.
"That rule relies on everyone here as well! Do you understand that soldiers!
"Yes, sir!" I answered as heat surged through my chest. My heart pounded, my doubts fading. The fear loosened its grip.
John smirked and turned back toward the bridge.
"RRRRAAAAAUUUGH!"
A loud roar thundered from the other side of the barrier.
The new troll roared.
It was nothing like the others. Deep. Steady. Unwavering. White vapor poured from his mouth as the sound tore through the air. It felt as if the very atmosphere bent around the roar.
The Kinuki Bridge vibrated violently beneath our feet. The sound broke through the wind—and even through the barrier itself. Small stones bounced across the bridge as the structure trembled.
Pain stabbed into my ears. I raised my arms instinctively, my uniform whipping violently around me.
The other trolls reacted—but not with fear. His roar did nothing to them. They stood firm, then roared in response, stepping closer to the barrier.
One step away.
But they didn't strike it.
"That's the alpha," John said grimly. "He's the biggest threat here. We need to get rid of him fast otherwise there will be huge problems here!"
"Be prepared!" he ordered. "Here they come!"
The alpha stepped forward slowly. Each footstep landed with crushing weight, it sounded just like if an elephant walked across stone. He raised his left fist and roared again.
The other trolls followed his lead.
Then they struck the barrier.
All at once.
DUUUUM!
Cracks spread across the barrier like shattered glass before it exploded into thousands of black fragments. Dark smoke billowed outward as the pieces vanished into the air.
The trolls charged ahead through that smoke.
One after another, they kept going through.
All rushed toward us—except the alpha, who stayed behind, watching.
They screamed, roared, as they pushed toward us.
Two went for Kohoi.
One charged at me.
The rest surged toward John, like bees on honey.
I used my water element, compressing it into sharp spikes and launching them forward. They struck the troll's hardened body, but he didn't slow—only sped up.
I raised my spear just in time, preparing for attack, I stabbed his hard forearm and pulled his strike off course before driving a kick into his chest. It seemed like my physical attacks didn't had any effects on him, I could only rely on my spear.
To my left, John was holding back four of them as fire engulfed parts of the bridge.
I barely had time to turn before the troll attacked again.
Instinctively I dodged, missing the blow by inches.
An earth spike suddenly burst from the ground, slamming into the troll's right side of stomach sanking deep inside. The troll lost his balanced due to force of the spike and I went straight for attack.
I didn't hesitate.
I lunged forward, stabbing my spear edge into his throat. The blood poured down his body as he grabbed my spear with his right hand. I blasted his hand with water, forcing him to release it, then sliced through his neck as I pulled the spear free.
Another troll rushed from my left.
I blocked with my spear, but the impact shoved me backward. The troll I had wounded was already healed and charged on my right again.
I retreated, flinging water at their faces to keep distance.
To my left, I saw a troll missing his entire left arm. Blue bubbles formed along the stump as a new limb began to grow from them.
John used his earth element, he created a massive slab of earth and slammed it into the troll, sending it backwards crashing into another troll, both felling on the ground.
I launched three water spikes toward the group of trolls that attacked John, wounding one of the troll, my spikes sanking deep inside his flesh.
Suddenly, something leapt toward me.
The smaller troll.
He lunged with his little dagger in his left hand. I parried and kicked him back, but two larger trolls closed in immediately from my right. One of them wielded a broken branch in his left hand.
I hurled a large wave of water at them. The troll swung the branch at it, splashing the water across the bridge.
The small one kept coming.
His attacks were relentless—fast, precise and powerful. Left. Right. Stab after stab. I focused entirely on defense, parrying without pause.
Suddenly—
The bridge shook violently.
What's this? I thought
Earth surged upward, shifting the ground beneath us. The smaller troll and several others were thrown aside as the terrain split. While Kohoi, John, and I were forced backward.
A massive earthen wall rose before us, sealing off the bridge.
"We're getting nowhere like this," John said, his axe dripping with blood.
"So what do we do then? How are we supposed to get to the alpha?" I asked. As I glanced back.
Sofia was holding Nicolas, his hair all white as snow. His mana channels were completely drained—and he was unconscious.
John looked at them.
"I have an idea," he said slowly, putting his hand on his chin, "but I don't know if we can leave Nicolas in that state over there."
BOOM!
A heavy impact slammed into the wall, coming from the other side of it.
Then another.
The earth wall began to crack.
"Whatever you decide," I said, tightening my grip on my spear, "decide it fast captain. We're running out of time."
John stood like that for a few seconds. Before turning back pointing his hand and gesturing to Sofia to come over here.
She hesitated, pointing toward Nicolas, who lay motionless in her arms. John pointed at the snow beside her, then gestured again—firm, without room for debate.
After a short pause, Sofia did as John asked. She carefully leaned Nicolas against a stump and ran toward us.
As she approached, Kohoi grabbed John's sleeve and pointed at her with his index finger, worry clear on his face.
"Yes i do Kohoi. I know," John said calmly. "She needs to be here. It's a risky move for her to be here—but without her, we won't last for long. You see how it is, We can't kill a single one of them like this."
Kohoi released his grip and turned toward the earth wall, already cracked and unstable.
BOOM!
The bridge shook. The wall collapsed, and the trolls surged forward again.
"FOCUS THIS ONE!" John shouted, charging ahead.
Kohoi and I followed. John used his earth element and hit the troll with an earth piece that didnt do much damage to the troll. But it distracted the troll for a second—just long enough.
John swung his axe with his right arm. Maybe swunged too early.
The troll stopped preparing to block it—but, it was too late.
John pulled his left hand closer towards him, and a sudden gust exploded. John used his second element, a wind element. The force threw the troll ahead, straight into the axe's path.
His axe sank deep into the troll torso, his blood oozing everywhere from the wound.
Kohoi moved in immediately, flames flashing as he struck with his sword cutting it's left eye and nose inflicting huge wound. I followed, driving forward with my spear, as hard as i could. Straight to his heart.
fire trailing along my spear edge. Before i could stab his heart, he moved out of way and my attack went for his left shoulder instead of his heart.
My spear edge pierced through his hard skin like needle thread, probably beacuse of Kohoi's fire that he ignited on my spear's edge.
They didn't stop coming.
We all pulled our weapons from it's flesh, blood drifted everywhere.
As he whined, he got pulled behind by another troll who rushed towards us.
Kohoi advanced through the chaos, using his fire he ignited trolls fur, fire lighting the bridge. Yellowish color glowed around it's skin.
Two trolls turned towards me. I dodged, countered and kept moving—never stopping.
Then a water surged around me.
But it was not mine.
It flowed instinctively, deflecting attacks, guiding my movements. Protecting me from the trolls, interrupting them. A soft blue color glow surrounded my body.
Sofia.
She instantly came to my mind. It was her powers.
Mana flooded through me. My steps felt lighter. My reactions sharper. I could meet their force without being overwhelmed, striking and retreating in rhythm. Dodging and attacking at he same. She enchanced my physical abilities with the mana.
I was able to keep attacking and moving at the same time, i was moving exatcly like Kohoi.
I pressed forward, slashing one trolls chest, then stabbed another troll to my right multiple times in his legs, making him fell on ground. Never staying in one place.
But then—
„RRRRRAAAAAAAUUUURGHHH"
A thunderous roar split the air.
The alpha.
The sound carried authority echoing through the air. The trolls responded immediately, shifting their focus, moving as one. The one who was gravely injured already healed and came for me.
They closed in around me. Surrounding me
I slashed ones eyes, and launched myself in the air, trying to escape that position.
That's when something happened.
Something locked around my ankle, tightly.
I twisted and saw him.
The alpha.
Before i could do anything, the world flipped violently. I was lifted, thrown and slammed into the stone. Again. And again. As i got slammed i heard my bones cracking, most of them in my back.
Thoughts vanished. Sound dulled. My vision blurred into motion and shadow.
I couldn't feel my grip anymore. I couldn't feel my skin, I could only hear a whistling in my ears, a endless whistling with explosions occuring in the background, sounding like they were covered by a pillow.
I lay still, my body gave up. I was laying on the cold stone staring upward as a massive silhouette stepped into my view. Broad shoulders. Heavy presence. A faint blue outline against the sky.
His shadow swallowed everything as he looked down at me.
"…th—that's… the alpha…"
A distant hum replaced all sounds, like wind heard through stone. I was in the air, whole world rotating continuously, I was thrown away.
I felt something on my back, trying to hold me, something warm, it was water. It seems like it's trying to stop me from flying.
At some point, I hit something with my back, something very heavy. I couldn't move, while pain just kept coming. I was in sitting position, leaned against that hard surface. I looked down at blurry gray stone as world slowly dulled around me.
Footsteps echoed. Slow. Heavy. Then faster ones—lighter.
"Mark…"
Something called my name in the distant, something with very deep voice, it sounded like a voice you hear when someone talks to you underwater.
"Mark! Hey—stay with me!"
It sounded like a man's voice, no, maybe woman, I couldn't tell. The voice kept getting closer and closer as well as It's volume.
Footsteps become more louder, they were coming towards me.
As I tried to keep my eyes open, my head tilt slightly ahead, and with it everything went black.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Warmth.
That was the first thing I felt.
"Mark! Mark! Hey Mark! A familiar voice kept calling me.
"Hey! Wake up! Don't play! Come on! It's not time for jokes!"
My eyes fluttered open. Blurry shapes sharpened slowly, colors bleeding back into the world. A woman hovered over me, her brown hair falling forward as she leaned down.
Sofia.
I was lying in her lap.
Golden color aura pulsed faintly around her palms as she pressed them against my side.
"You're finally awake," she said, relief cracking through her voice.
I tried to sit up.
As I moved a pain flared instantly in my right ribs, forcing me back to laying position.
"Don't move!" she snapped. "You were thrown halfway across the bridge. You're not walking anywhere. Not unntil I heal you completely"
"…What happened?" I asked.
"That thing," she said, pointing with her finger toward the battlefield. "The alpha. He caught you."
I followed her gaze. Even from here, I could feel him.
"You won't be able to move for a while, so stay still until I heal your wounds."
"He's fast," I muttered.
Sofia nodded. "Too fast."
She hesitated, then looked back at me. "But you held your ground. You fought two of them alone, you are improving."
"That wasn't me," I said. "That was you. You enhanced me with your mana. That's why I was able to fight them."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"No," she said slowly. "I didn't."
I frowned. "Then how—"
"I only controlled the water around you," she continued. "The rest came from you."
My heart skipped.
"It seems you learned how to apply mana onto your body to increase your physical abilities."
It was not her that applied mana to my body?
That means I did it myself, but how did I do it?
It doesn't matter how I did it, I need to get back to the battlefield.
I clenched my fist weakly, feeling a faint echo of that power still lingering.
"I have to get back up," I said.
"No," Sofia replied immediately. "You're not finished healing."
"They need me."
"How long is this going to take Sofia?" I continued, "They can't hold that many trolls on their own, especially now that alpha joined as well."
"No!" Her voice hardened.
"You can't go there, and stop fidgeting around. three of your ribs are broken, even some organs from inside are cut by the bones. If you go over there in that state you will just die Mark. So just wait here until I heal you"
"Please." She said her voice softening.
I turned my head, staring back toward the bridge. John and Kohoi were still fighting. Still standing.
"But they are fighting over there."
"Don't let Nicolas efforts be in vain Mark, even you know he wouldn't let you go fight like this as well."
"I know it's hard to look but that's what weak can do, stay by side and watch other do the things we want."
Stay by side and watch? I am tired of watching. I want to help people, I want to do something for them, I don't want to watch somebody do it for me.
How am I going to become a Snow Guard like this…
As I watched the battle a sudden pain occurred in my right ribs.
"Ughhh, It hurts! Sofia!"
"It has to Mark! Your bones are returning back to their original place! Be strong!" She shout.
The pain felt like if someone cut my skin from inside with a sharp knife, most likely it was my broken bones doings.
I squeezed my eyes shut and endured. The pain didn't stop, it just kept coming.
"Can this be a little easier please?"
"No" A instant reply came.
"I told you this would hurt didn't I? Be a man and put up with it. You know as well that I don't know how to control this power either, so even if I wanted I cannot do it.
"So how long will th-" I stopped.
I started to cough, blood came out from my mouth as I coughed. Blood, it went all over my uniform. I moved my head out to my right, the blood still came out, falling on stone.
"Are you okay Mark?" Sofia asked, grabbing my head with her left hand.
As I coughed my blood out, the pain slowly vanished, I felt good and I could finally move from the sitting position,
I wiped blood on my mouth with my hand and stood up.
"I fell way better now, thanks Sofia"
"WAIT!" she screamed, "You are not healed fully Mark! Don't force yourself."
I am sorry that I cannot do that Sofia, I said to myself,
They need me over there.
As I rushed towards John and Kohoi, I used my water element to bring my spear back to my hand. On the bridge there was an earthen hill, more looking like a shelter than a hill.
As I run towards the hill I couldn't help but notice the alpha's back wide open. A blue color aura lit up my body and I charged in for a direct hit.
I shot my water arrows at his back, it pierced his back but didn't go fully through. They stopped on half and poured down his back.
He turned around, with his mouth wide open I swung my spear at his head directly, He tried to dodge it, but my spear's edge pierced his left cheek. I pulled spear instantly towards me, tearing through his cheek, opening his left side of mouth.
"REMEMBER ME BITCH?" I shouted at him.
He responded with his roar, other trolls looked at him roaring and the earthen hill turned into a giant boulder knocking other trolls across the bridge.
The boulder opened, and from within it John appeared, some parts of his hair slightly white, his left side of head covered in blood.
I noticed a smirk on John face appearing, as he looked at me.
"KOHOI" he screamed.
From his shadow Kohoi appeared, the alpha swung his fist towards John, only for Kohoi to interrupt it with his sword forged by fire.
"You seriously thought I was going to die this easily huh?" I said.
Alpha's gaze shifted from Kohoi onto me, his golden color eyes lasted on me for a few seconds, as if he understood what I just said. Before shifting them back to Kohoi again.
Between alpha's legs I saw axe's edge slowly dropping down to the ground soaked in blood.
Kohoi went for an attack with his sword, me following his moves aiming my spear at alpha's head. He slowly bring his fists into a guard, while a strong impact came from behind his massive back blood dropping to the ground, making him take one step forward.
Kohoi's sword got stuck in his left forearm, while my spear pierced through his right forearm.
The alpha replied quickly, throwing his hands upwards made Kohoi and me lose balance. With his right hand he grabbed my spear and pulled it to him. His strength overcame me and bring me closer to him.
I noticed his mouth forging a vast smile, revealing his crude teeth and tusks. With his knee he attacked, directly hitting my stomach, throwing me to my knees, gasping for air.
As I gasped for air, trolls kicked in, one of them hitting Kohoi launching him towards Sofia.
In the corner of my eyes, I saw a severed troll head come flying, hitting bridges stone parapet, it reflected and started rolling next to me.
John erupted from within alpha's back screaming, carrying his axe in his left hand, covered with blood.
He grabbed my right arm and launched me at Kohoi, who caught me and put me on the ground.
I looked back instantly, seeing John in the air, launching towards us, blood oozing from a wound on his left arm.
I gazed as John hit the stone, his hair already turning whitish.
Sofia rushed in, immediately taking actions, a yellowish aura breaking out around her palms, which she put on John's wound. Blood oozed less and less from his wound with every second passed.
The alpha screamed again.
He pulled my spear from his forearm and hurled it back toward us. An earthen wall rose just in time—the blade pierced halfway through before the structure collapsed, stone crashing to the bridge. My spear hit the ground beside it.
John staggered forward, breathing heavily. His hair had almost completely lost its color.
"Why did you do that?!" I shouted. "You're out of mana—stop using your elements!"
"There is… no time for questions," he replied, voice strained. "Focus on them… not me." He said, blood dripping from his head.
I stood, gripping my spear once more and taking my stance, as the remaining six trolls charged.
Kohoi spread fire towards them. Heat rolled toward us as the creatures ran straight through it, the smell of burning flesh and fur became stronger. their movements never slowing. One attack came from the front, another from my side covered with fire. Before I could react, I was grabbed and dragged back, closer to the bridge and alpha himself.
Three of them surrounded me.
The alpha stood among them, arms crossed, watching.
Stone ripped from the bridge and flew toward me. I deflected one, then another one. The alpha shattered the bridge's stone parapet with his bare hands, launching fragments like weapons. Smiling while doing it.
His two golden color eyes never left me.
Fear crawled up my spine. My hands shook. Darkness crept into the edges of my vision—the same darkness from my dream. My breathing turned ragged. Pain flared in my ribs, then vanished beneath a rising heat inside my chest.
Something snapped.
A troll lunged at me, sending many attacks at me that I dodged without thinking.
It's like if my body moved on It's own.
The world dulled around me. Sound faded with every second, to that point until I couldn't hear anything. Pain in my ribs became irrelevant, it was there, but It faded away. There was only movements, theirs and mine.
"Only me," I whispered.
I went forward, slicing through one trolls fingers. The other one tried to catch me from behind, I tightened my fist and hit him directly in his jaw, tusk felling out from his mouth.
I could feel it, I could feel my body. My body felt lighter with every step. Faster. Stronger. I cut, I struck, moved again. Their limbs no longer felt unbreakable. They healed and went back to attack.
One of the trolls carried a wooden branch in his hand, launching it towards me. I slashed through that branch, my spear sliced through that branch like a sharp knife through butter, I ended up cutting through that branch and trolls fingers as well. Making him drop the branch on the ground.
I sliced his legs off, and moved to another.
I sliced them and they always came back for more fighting.
"Fine then, I'll slice you faster than you could regenerate," I growled.
My breathing became more and more stabilized, my hands stopped shaking, I saw multiple earth pieces thrown on me. I dodged all of them, and all of a sudden, the alpha was standing in front of me.
His punch was already mid air when I noticed it. I bring my arms up, directly blocking his attack.
His punch had force, it sent me across the bridge, I hit the bridge parapet, but there was no pain. My hands worked all fine after that punch, just as new. With my water element I created arrows and launched them at him, only for him to destroy them with his bare fist. They pierced his knuckles, but the damage got healed immediately so he kept doing that.
Simultaneously we ran towards each other, he sent another attack that I dodged under his hand and sliced his right shoulder and stomach.
He didn't needed much time to send an attack with his leg, then another one after. His attacks were already fast, but they got faster and faster with each attack. Many of his attacks he sent, I couldn't dodge, but parry them.
As I walked backwards I hit the bridge parapet with my legs. As I hit it, his enormous leg flew towards me. I jumped on parapet and jumped off the way just in time to dodge it. His attack made a huge hole on the bridge.
One of the trolls attacked from my right, I moved out of the way, turning my back against the troll.
I heard a huge explosion behind me, blood fell from the sky onto my face, and arms. I turned around and saw alpha's fist in the air, beneath the alpha's fist was a lower body of that troll that attacked me. It's whole upper body gone.
As I blinked, his punch was coming for me. I didn't had enough time to dodge it nor parry it, I watched as his fist become bigger and bigger.
As I waited for his punch to hit me, a thunderous impact echoed behind me.
Then—I felt a touch on my hand.
Someone grabbed my arm and shoved me aside.
"It's not your fault, Mark."
It was John, whole covered in blood, his hair gone white.
He stood where I stood.
I heard those words right before, his whole upper body vanished in front of my eyes, alpha's punch pierced right through his body. Blood burst, flying everywhere, mostly at the bridge parapet, painting it red.
A scream tore from my throat. Smell of blood becoming stronger in the atmosphere
I turned.
"AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!"
A voice broke through the chaos behind me. It was Sofia's voice, she was on the ground, wounded, covered in blood. Her right leg cut off by that little troll. Nicolas lay unmoving nearby being eaten by trolls. Kohoi—gone. Torn apart by them,
Blood was everywhere around them, coloring the snow in red.
The bridge was covered in ruin.
The smell of blood was too strong.
It was disgusting.
My body wanted to puke, but I couldn't force myself to do so.
I felt pain. I felt discomfort. I felt burden. I felt responsibility.
I wanted to scream as loud as I can, but I couldn't even say a word.
I wanted to run away as much as I could and forget about this, but my legs failed. I dropped to my knees, frozen, unable to look away. Grief crushed me. Fear hollowed me out. Guilt wrapped tight around my chest.
Tears just fell out of my eyes, they fell like waterfalls as I watched my comrades, being killed and eaten right in front of my two eyes.
Sofia crawled, while the little troll made a sounds that sounded like he was laughing, stabbing her in her leg with his small dagger.
This was my fault.
I was too weak.
I should have been faster. Stronger. Better.
Tears fell freely as the alpha's shadow stretched over me. A hand closed around my throat, lifting me effortlessly. I was being dragged forward closer to Sofia, forced to watch Sofia's fate.
The look itself was already disturbing, when suddenly the other two trolls grabbed Sofia's hands and turned her around holding her in one place. The little troll struck his knife in her stomach. Ripping her organs out and eating it.
Blood came from her mouth as she scream with bottom of her lungs.
As the alpha slowly walked towards them, I could see her torture in more detail.
Her gaze met mine, I could see her green eyes, full of sadness and tears, slowly losing it's light… Her last struggle, her last breath….
There was a fear in those eyes, pain… Such a tragic death.
It was all over in a matter of seconds… She was dead.
My vision began to blurry, tears just kept coming down my face as I watched the remaining of her body being eaten by trolls.
There was a fear there, deep inside me. Pain. And something worse—unacceptability
I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you Sofia. I failed as a man, and as a soldier as well.
This isn't real… This isn't real… This isn't real… Someone tell me this isn't real, someone, please help… someone.
I kept saying it to myself
I wanted to scream.
But nothing came out.
I felt something, something that broke deep inside me completely.
I am so useless, this is all my fault, If only I wasn't as weak as I am this would go otherwise. If only I didn't got knocked out by alpha, if only I didn't got knocked out by him. This would go otherwise, I could've save Sofia and others.
Yes, this is all his fault! I said to myself, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!
Kohoi… John… Nicolas… Sofia… all of them served and died for their people and country, including me. I hope we helped the people as much as we were able to. May Akira bless your souls in the endless paradise that he created for us.
My mother? What about her? What will happen to her now that I am gone? Who will provide for our house?
I never regretted becoming an essencer, or a soldier in my life. But now I am regretting my decision.
A sudden memory surfaced.
Flashback –
"Son, don't go there. That bridge is dangerous."
"It'll be all fine, mom. I will not be alone over there, after all we need to pay the rent for the house. Let me at least provide money for our house."
"Mark I already told you, we are good with finances currently, you don't need to take such a dangerous job for those payments. It's not worth the money." She continued. "You have other jobs beside that, you can choose to guard the city around instead of going over there."
"Mom, I know you are worried about me but everything is going to be fine, just trust me."
One month later –
"Son, when are you going to stop going there to work?"
"Mom I told you before as well that everything is going to be fine. You see that I am working with John and his squad. Everyone is good to me over there, we help each other and support each other. They saved me many times and I saved them as well. After all we are not just a squad, we are family on those shifts."
"Son is there anything I could do to convince you to stop doing that job? It's not worth it Mark."
"I am sorry to tell you that there is nothing you could do to convince me to stop work there. I choose this, and I am looking for a soldier career, I want to become a Snow Guard mom, and I worked hard for this there is no way I will stop doing this."
"You want to become a Snow Guard?"
"You never told me that."
"Yes mom, I do want to become a Snow Guard."
Present –
I wish I had listened that day and said otherwise mom.
The alpha slammed me into the parapet. It hurt but I couldn't say a thing. I just stared at the blurry ground as Tears fell and splattered against the stone.
He leaned close, closer to me, blocking any sunlight from reaching me.
I forced my gaze up, as my vision slowly came back I saw his face. His golden color eyes and his giant smile stretching to his cheeks.
He was smiling as he lifted his left leg.
"I… hope… you all die…"