Aurther woke up choking on air.
His chest burned.
His shirt clung to his back, soaked.
"Haah… haah… haah…"
He grabbed the bedsheet like it was a lifeline.
Darkness.
Wooden ceiling.
Curtains swaying slightly in the night wind.
No screams.
No fire.
No collapsing bodies.
It took him a moment to understand.
I'm home.
Not kneeling in mud.
Not holding a dying friend.
Not running.
Home.
Still, his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
He lifted them.
They were trembling.
Again.
The same dream.
The same ending.
Blood on his palms.
Smoke in his lungs.
Arora's voice calling—
"Arthur!"
Dazai crying—
"Don't go!"
And then silence.
Always silence.
"Arthur?"
Beside him, Arora pushed herself up, eyes heavy with sleep.
"Hey… hey," she whispered. "Look at me."
She cupped his face.
He tried to focus.
Tried to breathe.
"It was… the battlefield again," he muttered.
Her fingers brushed his hair back.
"I know."
He swallowed.
"I couldn't save them."
Arora hugged him tightly.
"You saved enough," she said softly. "You're here. That matters."
His voice cracked.
"What if next time… I'm not?"
She didn't answer immediately.
She just held him.
"I won't let you face it alone," she said at last.
He closed his eyes.
But even in her arms—
The war hadn't let him go.
⸻
Morning arrived quietly.
Sunlight spilled over ASHURA's stone roads.
Shops opened their shutters.
A baker placed fresh bread outside.
Children ran past, laughing.
It looked normal.
Too normal.
Arthur noticed the difference.
People spoke in whispers.
"They found bodies near the border…"
"Both sides…"
"My cousin lives there…"
"War is coming…"
Fear slid through the streets like winter wind.
Dazai walked beside Kaizer and Azlea.
He kept his hands in his pockets.
"Why does everyone look so scared?" Kaizer asked.
Azlea's eyes stayed forward.
"Because they've seen this before."
Dazai frowned.
"Seen what?"
"Cities burning," she replied quietly. "Families running. Graves without names."
He stopped walking.
"…Do you think it'll reach us?"
Kaizer opened his mouth.
Closed it.
No answer.
They reached the training ground.
Usually, this place was loud.
Laughing.
Arguing.
Showing off.
Today—
Only metal sounds.
Only breathing.
Only effort.
Dazai lifted his sword.
Swung.
Missed.
Again.
Swung harder.
Again.
His arms burned.
His lungs screamed.
Still nothing.
No magic.
No spark.
Just emptiness.
"Again," he whispered.
Slash.
Again.
Slash.
"Dazai," Kaizer called. "Slow down."
"I'm fine," he snapped.
Azlea grabbed his wrist.
"You're shaking."
He tried to pull away.
"I said I'm fine!"
She didn't let go.
"Lying won't give you power."
He looked away.
Tears burned his eyes.
"…What good am I," he said quietly, "if I can't protect anyone?"
No one spoke.
Kaizer finally said, "You already do. Just by staying."
Dazai didn't reply.
⸻
Fifty-seven kilometers away—
The ground thundered.
Boots struck in unison.
Two thousand soldiers.
Armor gleaming.
Blades sharpened.
Flags snapping in the wind.
At the front sat Liam Skycross (Captain of human army )
Scar across his jaw.
One eye colder than steel.
He raised his hand.
Silence fell.
"Men," he shouted.
"We march today!"
Cheers erupted.
"They hide in forests like animals!"
Rage rose.
"They think we're weak!"
Shouting.
"They think we'll hesitate!"
"No!"
Liam's voice hardened.
"We will take their land."
"We will take their future."
"And we will never apologize."
"FOR OUR CHILDRENS , FOR OUR FAMILIES AND BELOVED ONES , FOR THE EMPIRE!"
The roar shook the hills.
He leaned toward his lieutenant.
"No prisoners."
The man hesitated.
"…Women and children too?"
Liam didn't blink.
"If they breathe, they resist."
"Yes, sir."
The army moved.
Like a storm.
⸻
Deep in the forest—
Beastlings gathered.
Wolves.
Bears.
Tigers.
Deers.
Rabbits .
Monkeys. etc.
Scarred.
Tired.
Angry.
Only fifteen hundred.
Some were barely adults.
Anugus Night (tribe leader of beastlings)
stood before them.
Silver fur stained with old blood.
He raised his hand.
Silence.
"My people," he said.
His voice trembled slightly.
But he stood firm.
"We planted crops."
"We built homes."
"We asked for nothing."
Murmurs spread.
"They burned it."
Growls.
"They killed my brother."
Someone shouted.
"They killed my mother!"
Augus clenched his fist.
"I am afraid," he admitted.
The crowd froze.
"But I am more afraid… of living on my knees."
He drew his blade.
"If I fall, don't mourn me."
"Win."
Weapons rose.
"For our home!"
"For our dead!"
"For freedom!"
Augus looked toward the horizon.
"…They're close."
⸻
That evening—
Arthur stood at the edge of the training ground.
Watching Dazai.
Fail.
Again.
His chest tightened.
Not him too…
That night, he wrote another report.
This time, his hand shook.
"Enemy movement confirmed. Estimated invasion within days. Evacuation recommended."
He sealed it.
Sent it.
Waited.
No reply.
Again.
⸻
Above ASHURA—
Clouds thickened.
Wind shifted.
Even the sky seemed nervous.
Two armies advanced.
Two leaders hardened their hearts.
And between them—
A boy without power.
A town that trusted peace.
A family that believed love was enough.
The war had chosen its road.
Straight to ASHURAS people