My mother's body fell. First to her knees, then forward into the earth, beside my father's.
The sound was small, but it thundered through me.
The sound of an innocent body, falling to the ground.
"No… no, no, NOO!!" My voice broke.
I tried to stand, but it felt like time itself was frozen. I pushed again, but my knees just wouldn't move.
The only thing I could think of were my mother's dying words:
"Run"
Run, away from the corpses.
Run, away from the shadows.
Run, away from the truth that shattered my world.
And right then, my body finally broke free.
I didn't think. I didn't plan. I just ran.
I sprinted across the village, moving towards the only exit I could find.
But then my feet caught on a plank sticking out from the ground.
I slammed into the earth. Pain exploded through my arm as it landed on something sharp - splintered wood or sharp stone.
I grunted, clutching my hand, only to feel blood already slicking my skin.
I didn't have time. Not for this.
Behind me, the Nyx was wreaking havoc. It didn't need to rush. It didn't need to run. It was certain - absolutely certain - that it was the strongest.
But it wasn't interested in me. More like... It was avoiding me. It was...
Letting me escape.
It moved with incredible speed. My eyes could barely follow it. Everything behind me was dying, yet the monster barely seemed to struggle at all.
Destruction followed it simply because it existed.
That was... Its twisted purpose.
Roofs collapsed, fires roared higher. The ground shook as another wall crumbled.
I couldn't look back. If I did, I knew I would never move again.
The edge of the village came into view - the wall between the dark forest and dying village.
I kept running, clutching my bleeding hand to my chest, forcing my legs to obey, until I finally escaped.
Smoke still rose behind me, flames scorching whatever was left.
Something buzzed at the edges of my mind again.
That same whisper. But this time, it seemed to want to lead me somewhere.
This way...
My feet moved before I could think, as if a part of me already knew where I was supposed to go.
I didn't understand why, and I didn't care. I only knew that each step forward pulled me farther from what had once been my home, my world.
Finally finding a moment, I leaned on a tree, barely breathing.
But then...
I saw her.
From between the branches, I could distinguish a body, curled on the forest floor.
Time seemed to slow down again.
Right now, all that existed was her - fragile, yet somehow untouched by the nightmare I had just fled.
Her bright blonde hair with black ends fanned around her like a soft golden halo.
She had a face so calm, almost angelic in the dim light.
A single spark of life in the ruins of everything I had known.
It felt less like I had found her… And more like something had led me straight to her.
She didn't look older than me. No more than fifteen years old.
She wore a simple white dress that was impeccably clean, as if someone had intentionally placed her here.
I knelt beside her, hesitant, afraid to disturb the miracle. My hands shook as I brushed a strand of hair from her face, and she exhaled faintly. That made my chest tighten with relief.
Alive. She was unconscious, but alive.
I leaned her against my chest, and I lifted her carefully, grunting under the weight, ignoring the pain flaring in my wounded arm.
Holding her was holding hope itself - a fragile light I could not let go of.
Through the trees, I glimpsed the distant outline of Neoshima. The city waited like a colossal lotus, its metallic petals acting like walls.
I had never set foot there in my life, but it was a silent promise of shelter - or at least a chance to survive.
I whispered, more to myself than to her, "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
For the first time since the village fell, hope felt real.
I tightened my grip around her.
Suddenly, the air vibrated faintly - not thunder, but something sharper. I glanced up. An aircraft that looked like a jet flew across the clouds, lights blinking blue beneath its wings. Two silhouettes dropped from it.
Someone else was heading towards the hell i just ran from.
My heart pounded so loud it felt like the whole world could hear it.
"Just… A little farther..." I whispered, words meant more to encourage me, than for her ears to hear.
---
I don't know how long I walked for. My body just kept moving on instinct and sheer will.
My legs trembled, my vision wavered. But I held her tighter.
Dropping her wasn't an option. Not ever.
The trees thinned. I stumbled into a field, with well-traveled paths made of concrete and cement, gasping at the sudden expanse before my eyes.
And there - beyond the swaying grass - rose the city.
Neoshima.
An impenetrable fortress, a bastion of humanity. The heart of these lands, to us peasants only spoken of in stories or exaggerated tales.
Light glimmered faintly from within, hidden yet undeniable.
Life.
The city didn't feel like it belonged to the same world as my village. It felt unreachable, existing on the boundary between dream, reality, and legend.
The fields stretched longer than I thought. No matter how many steps I made, the city walls never seemed closer.
The girl's weight pressed on like a precious stone against my shoulders.
Her warmth was faint. I lowered my ear closer to her chest whenever I faltered, listening for that fragile heartbeat. As long as I heard it, I kept moving.
I finally reached the city walls. They now looked less like protection and more like judgment. I wondered if they would turn us away, if...
But I had no choice.
I staggered the last few steps, in unorganized movements. I was driven by one thought and one thought only: Keep her safe. The whisper told me this multiple times.
I was a coward. I was weak. I couldn't even fight for my own family, let alone protect them.
But this time, I could not let go. Not of her, too.
"I'll become stronger" a thought rose in my mind.
But then I stumbled and fell to my knees. I couldn't go on any longer.
"I swear- I will kill... All Nyxes..."
Exhaustion pulled me down. Darkness crept in from the edges of my vision. I finally collapsed, clutching her even as I became unconscious.
--- A few hours later ---
A pair of heavy leather boots stepped into the earth. A faint metallic clink rang out - the subtle hum of a mechanical arm.
The man walked with the weight of war visible on his body. His hair, streaked with gray, was bound loosely, strands falling over a scar-
marked face. Marks that told of battles fought, battles lost, and battles survived.
He moved with the weight of inevitability. Like a man who had survived too many wars.
He suddenly stopped in front of Neoshima's walls.
Before him lay a boy sprawled in the dirt and gravel, clutching a girl as though she were his last hope.
For a long moment, he didn't move. His jaw tightened, unreadable.
Then, faintly, something flickered in his gaze - not pity, not softness, but memory.
As if he had seen this before.
He suddenly stiffened. His mechanical hand twitched instinctively toward the pistol at his side.
A soft, inhuman whisper sneaked into his mind - too sharp to ignore, too calm to fear.
You failed your family once.
Don't fail again.
Not a threat.
Almost… A warning.
As if the darkness already knew what he hid all his life.