"Step… step."
The biting cold, sharp enough to pierce the bone, had tormented me countless times.
Now the only thing I could do was keep walking, relying on my trembling body that shook like an aspen leaf in the wind.
I had walked for so long that I no longer knew where I was heading.
I was like a puppy abandoned by its master, lost, confused, and without hope.
Again and again, I asked myself where I was going and how much farther I had to walk,
but the world never gave me an answer.
"Hoo…"
I blew into my hands, so numb I could hardly feel them, almost convinced they were frostbitten.
Looking around for shelter, I saw nothing but a vast white field buried in snow and rotting chunks of flesh, half-buried and half-exposed, the corpses of soldiers left behind after the Helprism strike.
My stomach growled, a painful reminder that my insides were sticking to my back.
But I had nothing.
So I scooped up a handful of snow, maybe tainted by the Sorg from the blast, and shoved it into my mouth again and again.
Eventually, I stopped. Whether I was full or simply too cold to feel hunger anymore, I couldn't tell.
I tried to move again, but my body refused.
Like a stubborn child throwing a tantrum, my legs would no longer obey.
No matter how much I begged them to move, the result was the same.
Finally, I gave up. With trembling fingers, I pulled a few photos from my chest pocket.
They were torn and worn from countless battles, but faintly, they still held the bright smiles of my beloved family.
Before all this, there had been a woman.
We met, we fell in love, and we built a home together.
These photos had been taken on our wedding day.
Without realizing it, thick tears rolled down my face.
After the Helprism attack, I had no way of knowing whether they were still alive.
The more I thought of them, the deeper my longing grew.
Through blurred vision, I stared at the photos for a long time before tucking them back into my pocket.
Then, forcing my broken body to rise, I turned away.
Everything around me was shattered and useless,
but holding onto the memory of those I loved, I forced my unwilling legs to move again.
"Step… step."
Guided only by fading consciousness, I wandered until I reached a mountain valley.
It was dark, ominous enough to crush even the fragile will that had carried me this far.
Still, I went in.
I walked on, glancing around like a frightened animal.
Before long, I felt it, hostile presences creeping closer.
Their murderous intent scraped at my back like blades.
At first, I tried to ignore it, but it was too sharp, too deliberate to dismiss.
Two figures emerged beside me.
I stopped and turned to face them.
Both were Glaveron soldiers armed with swords and guns.
"Heh… heh… heh."
Their laughter cut through the cold air.
I decided I would never have to hear it again.
The moment one of them swung his sword, I moved, striking him down with the Guidance Sword in my left hand.
"Guh!"
He fell instantly.
The second soldier fumbled for his gun in panic, but before he could fire, I lunged forward and cut him down.
"Argh!"
Two bodies hit the snow.
I turned slowly. Another soldier stood there, trembling, clutching his sword.
His hands shook so violently that the blade rattled.
His eyes darted between me and the corpses of his comrades, and I saw despair swallow him whole.
I tightened my grip on the Guidance Sword and stepped toward him.
He screamed and charged.
As we crossed paths, I swung for his neck, but my body, already past its limit, finally gave out.
Like a fan losing power, I collapsed.
When I woke, I realized my life was already in his hands.
He toyed with me, using my own sword, before driving it deep into my leg.
"Argh!"
My scream echoed through the silent valley as he twisted the hilt, grinding the blade inside my flesh.
"Uaaaaagh!"
The valley howled back with my pain.
When he pressed the blade to my throat, I snatched another Guidance Sword and slashed across his neck.
"Guh… guhkk…"
The sword buried deep.
He writhed, gasping, but I twisted the blade until the fight left him completely.
Only then did I stop, my eyes scanning the bloodied snow, empty of thought.
Another meaningless battle was over.
"Ugh…"
Using a fallen sword as a cane, I clenched my teeth and forced myself upright despite the agony in my leg.
My only reason to live was my family, even if I didn't know whether they still existed.
Clinging to their bright smiles, I leaned on the sword and kept walking.
The bitter wind cut into me as I trudged through the dark valley, barely able to see ahead.
Everything frightened me, but I couldn't stop, not yet.
Not until I found them.
After a long while, I saw something move, a small puppy standing in the snow, staring up at me.
I stopped and reached out a hand.
"Did you lose your way? Want to come with me?"
But just as I reached to pat its head, every instinct in my body screamed.
I froze, and too late, I saw them.
A pack of wild dogs had appeared, silently devouring the corpses of the Glaveron soldiers.
"Grrr… bark!"
The little puppy in front of me snarled, and the rest turned toward me.
Their growls filled the valley, chilling the blood in my veins.
Rage flared within me. I had survived soldiers, only to face beasts that saw me as their next meal.
I tried to step back slowly, using the sword as support, hoping to avoid a fight.
But one dog blocked my way and barked louder.
"Grrr… bark!"
Again and again.
There was no escape.
"Grrr… bark!"
My broken body didn't stand a chance, yet the dogs, done feeding, bared their yellowed fangs and advanced.
They circled me, barking, tightening the ring.
Two lunged for my neck from behind.
I reacted.
"Yelp!"
I slammed my left elbow into one's jaw and drove my blade into the other's throat, twisting hard.
More rushed at me. I met them with steel, cutting wildly, fueled only by instinct.
When the last one stopped moving, I stood shaking, bloodied, surrounded by stillness.
The remaining dogs barked furiously but didn't dare come closer.
"Grrr… bark!"
Somewhere inside, a strange thrill rose, a cruel joy in the struggle to live.
Pain no longer mattered.
I had one wish, and to fulfill it, I had to survive.
"Grrr… bark!"
They were the hunters. I was the prey.
They had claws and teeth; I had only broken flesh and fading strength.
They closed in again.
"Grrr… bark!"
I shut everything out.
I gripped both swords and focused.
"Aaaagh!"
My roar echoed through the valley as I charged headlong into them.
"Yelp! Yelp!"
I swung again and again, cutting them down one by one.
When the last cry faded, I stood trembling, surrounded by silence, snow, and corpses.
The weight of it all pressed down on me.
It wasn't just guilt.
The pain from my leg, from every wound I'd forgotten, surged through me, burning my nerves raw.
My vision blurred. My body fell.
The cold wrapped around me again, but I didn't care anymore.
Then, through the numb haze, I felt something warm.
The little puppy, the one that had first wagged its tail at me, crawled into my arms.
I held it close, curled up, and let myself drift into the darkness,
into the sleep that might as well have been death.