The sky above the valley burned like a dying sun.
Alan and Edward sprinted across the rocky path, the night wind slicing past their faces, carrying with it the stinging taste of smoke. At first, they thought it was just another wildfire, an unfortunate accident. But as they reached the final ridge overlooking the village, the truth struck them like a hammer to the chest.
The village was already gone.
Flames devoured houses. Roofs collapsed. Shadows of soldiers moved like demons between the burning huts. Screams-raw, desperate, human echoed through every corner. Women were dragged by their hair, tied together like cattle. Children cried until their voices broke. Warriors fought until their blades snapped and their bodies fell.
And the smell-the thick, suffocating smell of burning flesh, clung to the air like a curse.
Edward froze.
His breath hitched.
His sword slipped slightly in his grip.
His eyes trembled so hard that Alan thought he might collapse.
"M–mother…" Edward whispered, barely audible.
Alan stepped forward, eyes wide, heart pounding against his ribs. The fire reflected violently in his pupils.
"Edward… don't worry," Alan said, forcing strength into his voice even as his own stomach churned. "Believe. She's safe. She has to be."
But Edward wasn't listening. He wasn't even breathing. He stared at the burning village, like a child staring at the shattered remains of his own heart.
For a moment, Alan saw Edward in a way he never had before, not as the loud, joking, brave companion by his side but as a son, terrified he had arrived too late.
"Edward," Alan whispered, "don't lose yourself."
Before Edward could respond, the sound of metal slicing the air cut through the chaos.
Alan's instincts snapped.
He grabbed Edward's arm-
"MOVE!"
-just as a spear exploded into the dirt where Edward stood, splattering ash across their faces.
Soldiers on the lower slope had spotted them.
Another spear flew.
Another.
Alan pulled Edward behind a cracked stone pillar as the weapons clattered around them.
"Wake up!" Alan shouted, shaking Edward's shoulders. "Edward, get up! Don't freeze now!"
Edward's gaze remained locked on the burning village.
"...mother…" he whispered again, voice breaking.
Alan grabbed the front of his shirt and yelled, "EDWARD!"
The shout struck like lightning.
Edward blinked, once… twice… then he inhaled sharply, the world snapping back into focus.
A voice echoed inside him, his mother's voice.
"Edward… protect the weak. Protect your people. Don't ever stop moving forward."
Edward's expression hardened.
He took his sword, gripping it with silent fury.
"Alan," he said slowly, "this is my village."
"I know," Alan replied
"You go. I'll take care of the rest."
Alan frowned. "No. I'm not leaving you. If you stand here, then I'm standing with you."
The soldiers charged uphill, roaring like beasts.
Alan exhaled shakily.
"Then… we do this together."
But he wasn't an idiot.
Ten soldiers. Maybe more coming.
He needed to create a gap.
Alan scooped a handful of sand and ash and flung it forward. The wind carried it straight into the eyes of the front line. They stumbled, blinded, wiping frantically.
"NOW!" Alan shouted.
He jumped forward, sword flashing.
Edward followed, stabbing the soldier nearest him.
"Edward-GO!" Alan yelled through the smoke. "Find Meera! Find your mother!"
Edward's eyes widened.
He hesitated for a second-then nodded sharply.
"DON'T DIE," Edward said. "I believe in you."
Alan smiled despite the terror clawing at his chest.
"I won't. Not today."
Edward sprinted downhill, weaving between burning wreckage and collapsing houses.
Alan turned back to the soldiers.
They came at him like wolves.
He dodged a blade by a hair, rolled over the dirt, slashed another through the leg, and shoved a third into a fire pit. His lungs burned. His vision blurred from the smoke.
But he refused to fall.
I can't lose here… not now.
The remaining soldiers cornered him. Their shadows stretched across the flames, long and monstrous.
Alan wiped sweat from his brow, panting heavily.
"hurry, Edward…"
Edward reached what was once his home. Or what was left of it.
The entire structure had collapsed. Half the walls were gone. The roof lay broken like a dead beast. Embers glowed across the rubble.
Edward's heartbeat stopped.
"Mother…?"
His legs trembled.
He stepped forward, barely breathing-
"Edward!"
His head snapped toward the voice.
A figure stumbled out from behind a fallen pillar.
Meera.
Her hair burned at the ends, her clothes torn, her arm bleeding. She carried Renfar on her shoulder half-conscious, gasping.
Edward's entire face lit with relief and terror.
"MOTHER!!"
He rushed to them, dropping to his knees.
He lifted Renfar carefully, letting Meera collapse back, exhausted.
"M–mother… Renfar… what is happening here?!"
Renfar coughed, blood trickling from his lips.
"No time… no time for… explanation," he whispered, voice cracking. "Leave…"
Edward didn't argue.
He understood immediately.
He hugged Renfar close.
Tears burned in his eyes.
"Let's go. We need Alan."
They ran.
Meera stumbled beside him.
Edward carried Renfar, forcing his shaking legs forward.
They reached the uphill path-just in time to see Alan, half-drowned in blood and ash, desperately fending off a circle of soldiers.
"ALAN!" Edward screamed.
Alan looked back, just for a heartbeat, enough to see Edward alive.
"RUN!" Alan shouted. "I'll catch up!"
But a voice suddenly cracked through the burning air.
A scream.
A child's scream.
Alan's head snapped toward one of the burning houses.
A small voice-
"Help… please… anyone…"
Alan's entire body froze.
The girl.
The same girl who always watched him from afar, Quiet, Gentle.
Her silhouette trembled inside the collapsing hut.
Alan's stomach knotted.
His breath vanished.
Edward shouted behind him, "ALAN, NO!"
But Alan had already made his decision.
He turned-face wild with desperation.
"EDWARD! Get them out of here!"
"ALAN-!" Edward shouted.
"BELIEVE!" Alan shouted, voice breaking. "I WILL COME BACK!"
Edward's lips trembled.
He whispered back:
"I'll be back for you…"
Alan ran toward the burning house, toward the child, toward the heart of the nightmare.
The smell of smoke was suffocating, thick and choking, curling into his lungs, clawing at his throat. Each step felt heavier than the last, as if the fire itself was trying to pull him back. His mind was a hollow echo of sound and shadow, blank, screaming at him with the same desperate questions.
The roof groaned, a low, trembling sound that made the walls shiver. Alan slipped inside, coughing, eyes burning, lungs on fire. Sparks rained down from the beams overhead, some falling close enough to hiss on the floorboards.
The girl was there, kneeling beside two still, broken forms of her parents. Her body shook, small and fragile, like a leaf in a storm. When she saw him, her wide eyes turned to panic. She scrambled backwards, Hands shaking.
"P–please… don't kill me… please…"
Alan's heart tore in two. He didn't know what to say. What words could matter now? His mouth opened, closed. Breathless, he tried again.
He knelt slowly, hands raised, trying to seem smaller, non-threatening. He didn't even know who he was. How could he offer comfort? How could he promise anything?
"I'm… I'm not here to hurt you…" His voice trembled. "Please… take my hand. I'll get you out."
Her lips quivered. She hesitated. Tears carved clean lines down her soot-streaked cheeks. She looked at her parents, lying so still beside her- breathless, and her mind refused to accept it. Refused.
"Please… don't lie…" she whispered, a tremor shaking her words.
Alan's chest tightened. "I can't lie. I can't… I don't even know if I can save her."
The roof groaned again, louder this time, and a piece of timber cracked, falling inches from him. Dust and smoke choked the air.
"I won't," Alan whispered. "I swear."
He reached out a hand. "Please… just trust me… just this once."
"Look at me!" he shouted, voice cracking. Smoke curled around him, the heat gnawing at his skin. "Look at me!"
She didn't. She couldn't. Her body shook as if her mind might shatter completely.
Alan "I… I don't know how to fix this," he admitted, voice barely audible over the roar of fire. "I… I don't know how to make it right. But I will get you out of here. You are not alone. You are not-"
Another beam crashed behind her. The floorboards groaned, cracking. Dust fell like grey rain.
"I know it's terrible," he said, breathing hard, voice trembling. "I know it's too much… but you are not… alone. Not now. Not while I'm here. Please… trust me. Just… trust me for one moment!"
Her eyes flickered toward him, fear still there, but a glimmer, just a spark of something else.
He forced a shaky smile, his own heart breaking. " I couldn't save her parents… at least I can save her… at least one of them."
Slowly, carefully, he extended her hand, steadying himself as the house behind them threatened to collapse in on itself. "Take my hand," he whispered. "Just one hand. I'll carry you out. I promise."
She looked at him, trembling so violently he feared she might break apart like the walls around them. But then, trembling, almost reluctantly… she placed her small hand into his.
And in that moment, a boot slammed into Alan's stomach. The world exploded in pain.
He flew backwards, hitting the dirt outside with a sickening crack, coughing blood.
Pain flared, bright but worse than the physical agony was the helplessness, the raw terror in the girl's eyes. She backed up again, hitting the wall of her collapsing home. Her breaths came in sharp, uneven gasps.
A tall figure stepped out of the flames, carrying the girl easily in one arm.
Louis.
His grin twisted like a beast's.
"Trying to be a saviour, boy?" he said mockingly. "Pathetic. You're all slaves. Nothing more."
Alan struggled to his feet.
"Why… why are you doing this…?" he gasped, clutching his ribs.
Louis laughed, tilting his head.
"Oh...You have questions? Cute. You're all sacrifices. That's all you are to us."
Alan's eyes darkened.
"S… sacrifice…?"
Louis dropped the girl to the ground like she was nothing.
"I'm not here to answer you."
He snapped his fingers.
Soldiers surrounded Alan instantly.
The girl looked at Alan, eyes full of pity and terror.
Alan lifted his sword.
His body could barely stand.
But he refused to kneel.
He didn't know why he cared so much.
He didn't know who he truly was.
His memories were broken, scattered like ash in the wind. He didn't know why he felt deep, and heavier.
But there was one thing he knew-
One thing that refused to die inside him:
I can't let them die. Not in front of me.
Alan screamed through the burning in his limbs and rose to his feet, leaning heavily on his sword.
Louis laughed.
Then a horse burst through the flames like a comet.
Light cut through the darkness.
Kaelira.
Her blade glowed brighter than the fire around, cutting down soldiers before they even realised she was there.
Louis stepped back, his expression unreadable, yet his hands began to twitch as crimson veins crept along his skin. Dark blood magic shimmered in the air, forming jagged shards that hovered, waiting.
"W - who are you-?!" he stammered.
Kaelira didn't answer. Her eyes locked onto Alan with a sharp, commanding gaze.
"You did well, boy. Leave the rest to me."
She charged at Louis, blade slicing through the smoke.
Louis smirked, letting her come closer. With a flick of his fingers, blood erupted from the ground, forming thick, whip-like tendrils. But Kaelira was quick. She dodged, spun, and slashed, cutting through several tendrils before they could reach her.
"You rely too much on tricks," she hissed, sidestepping another strike as a tendril whipped past her shoulder.
Louis chuckled, his voice low and cold. "Oh? Tricks? No… these are only the beginning."
With a swift motion, he sent a wave of blood shards flying like razors toward her. Kaelira leapt through the air, landing behind him, blade aiming for his chest. He spun, barely deflecting her strike with a dark, metallic shield of hardened blood.
Kaelira's instincts screamed-something about him was off. He was letting her get too close. Too calm. Too… inviting.
Before she could react, Louis' grin widened.
"Crimson Lock."
Suddenly, blood ropes erupted from the ground, lashing around Kaelira's arms, legs, and waist, tightening with unnatural speed. She struggled, but every pull only made the bonds constrict further.
Louis leaned close, his fingers brushing her chin mockingly. "What was it you said? Will you take them down? Look at you now, trapped like a little bird."
Kaelira's eyes widened-he had baited her, letting her reach his range so he could strike.
And then, a sudden roar behind her.
Alan's sword sliced through the air, catching Louis off guard. The crimson magician stumbled, eyes widening in shock as Alan's blade tore through his defences.
"You!" Louis gasped,
Louis fell, shocked.
Alan's legs moved before his mind could catch up. He dashed through the smoke, the girl's terrified scream echoing in his ears.
Louis froze for a heartbeat-then rage bloomed in his chest like wildfire. How dare this pathetic nobody charge at him? His pride, wounded and burning, demanded retaliation. His hand shot out, a blood knife.
Time slowed. Every movement, every heartbeat stretched to an unbearable length. Alan's shadow seemed to cling to the ground, stretching toward the girl.
"NO!!" Kaelira's scream tore through the chaos.
The knife flew.
It cut through the air with a sickening hiss. And then
SLASH.
The girl's head rolled across the smouldering ground, coming to rest at Alan's feet. The world seemed to stop.
Alan's legs buckled. His lungs refused air. His heart, a fragile bird trapped in a cage, collapsed in on itself. He sank to his knees, shaking, his fingers reaching, trembling, longing for something, anything to hold, but there was nothing.
Louis's laughter pierced the silence, sharp and venomous, a sound Alan barely registered. The firelight twisted his face into a grotesque mask of victory.
Alan's mind went empty. The chaos, the screaming, the flames-it all receded to a distant haze. Nothing existed except the horror at his feet, the girl he had failed to save.
He felt hollow, a vessel stripped of warmth and purpose. Pain and anger churned in him, but it was distant, muted. He simply stared at the head, at the inevitability of the world's cruelty, at the helplessness that had nothing to fight against.
The flames danced around him, but Alan no longer felt their heat. The world had narrowed to a single point: loss.
And in that emptiness, a cold, terrible clarity began to form.
Louis laughed through the fire.
"You pathetic boy… who do you think you're facing?! You're nobody. "
Kaelira's eyes burned with fury.
"You monster…"
Alan didn't hear any of it.
His world hollowed out.
Inside the darkness of his mind-
A single drop of black fell.
His shadow reacted violently.
Louis stepped forward, eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction.
"Don't worry. I'll finish-"
Then-
Alan launched himself forward like a living shadow, faster than thought.
Louis barely twisted aside as Alan's sword cut across his face, leaving a deep, burning cut.
"WHAT-?!" Louis hissed, rage overtaking reason.
Blood spears shot from his hands, but Alan didn't dodge. He met them head-on, the shadows around his blade consuming each spear mid-air, turning them to black mist.
He moved too fast. Too wild. Too furious.
The shadows roared along his sword like liquid fire. Alan's scream tore through the chaos as he slashed, again and again, a storm of black steel and wrath.
Louis raised his blood-armour, shattering the first blow, then the next. And the next.
Then it cracked.
Then it broke.
Louis stumbled, hands useless, blood running down his face. Panic clawed at him. He had never faced this. He had never faced him.
Alan stood over him, chest heaving, shadows curling like smoke around his sword.
And then-
Alan vision blurred, he couldn't hold.
Alan staggered, vision spinning.
His strength drained like water from a cracked jar.
He collapsed, gasping. Louis crawled forward, snarling.
"That's all… You can do…?"
His voice trembled with fear.
Suddenly-
A new roar.
A wave of soldiers appeared over the hill, an entire battalion charging toward them.
Alan couldn't move.
Louis pointed at him.
"Kill them all!"
Soldiers lunged, blades aimed for Alan's heart.
A sword slammed into theirs with a metallic clash.
Edward.
His voice trembled, but his eyes burned with unyielding steel.
"Alan… I won't let you die."
He shoved the nearest soldier back, standing squarely in front of Alan, a living shield between him and the chaos.
Alan's lips barely moved. His voice was a fragile rasp.
"Edward…"
The world seemed to pause, the smoke, the fire, the screams-all fading around them. In that moment, only loyalty and trust remained, solid and unbroken.
Kaelira's eyes widened. "The boy couldn't hold them all. He wouldn't survive."
Through the agony, through the fire of pain that clawed at her body, she forced herself to move. Blood sprayed as her scream tore through the air.
With a guttural roar, she ripped herself free of the ropes and roots, the sound shaking the ground like thunder.
She became a storm. Her blade flashed silver in the smoke, slicing through soldiers, shields, and armour as if they were nothing.
Yet more kept coming, an endless tide of enemies, their numbers swallowing the battlefield.
Kaelira's chest heaved, eyes blazing, but she didn't falter. She couldn't. Not now.
Kaelira clenched her teeth.
"Boy! Take him!"
Louis screamed, "DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"
Kaelira whispered-
"Lunar Flash."
A bright explosion of light erupted, blinding the soldiers.
And they escaped.
Kaelira, Edward ran through the forest, carrying Alan.
Alan's breathing was ragged.
His eyes are half-open.
Shadow flickered faintly around his wounds.
The forest blurred around them as they ran, Alan slung across Edward's back, Kaelira beside them, Meera's voice echoing through the trees.
"Edward! Here!"
They sprinted toward her. When they reached Meera, Renfar sat nearby, battered and bloodied, his side ripped, his breathing ragged.
"What… happened to Alan?" Meera's voice cracked.
Edward's jaw tightened. "He's unconscious… but alive."
Kaelira's eyes sharpened. Her voice cut like steel.
"There's no time for explanations."
The distant clatter of soldiers grew louder-hundreds, closing in. Kaelira's teeth ground together.
"Tch… those bastards…"
Renfar lifted his head, voice strained but firm.
"I'll hold them."
Edward nearly faltered, panic flashing in his eyes.
"RENFAR?! No-you can't-!"
Renfar chuckled weakly, a breath that sounded more like a sigh of a man already halfway gone.
"Edward… listen to me."
He lifted his trembling hand, placing it against Edward's shoulder.
"You think strength is about winning fights. About standing over enemies."
His eyes softened-old, tired, but wise.
"But real strength… is knowing when your life is worth less than the lives behind you."
Edward's throat tightened. "Don't-don't say that-"
Renfar continued, voice breaking but sincere:
"We live in a world drowning in blood. People kill for pride, kingdoms fall for greed… and children pay the price."
His gaze drifted toward Alan, the boy unconscious, broken, yet still fighting to breathe.
"But sometimes… just sometimes… a single choice can change the course of fate."
He wiped the blood from his lips, breathing hard.
"Protecting others is not sacrifice, Edward. It is freedom. The freedom to choose what kind of man you become… when the world tries to make you a monster."
Edward trembled. "Renfar… please…"
Renfar squeezed his shoulder with what little strength he had left.
"This is my path. The last one I will ever walk. And I walk it proudly."
He forced a small smile-warm, sad, accepting.
Renfar pushed Edward gently, almost painfully calm.
"Edward… go. There's no time."
He looked at Kaelira, blood streaking his face, his body trembling from wounds.
"Warrior… take them. Act wisely."
Kaelira nodded silently, determination burning in her gaze.
Meera's voice broke through the tension, tears catching in the firelight of their fleeing path.
"Elder Renfar… thank you…"
Renfar's lips curved into a faint, bitter smile-soft, almost peaceful, carrying the weight of years, of memories, of a life spent protecting those he cared for. It was a smile that said This is my last duty, and I do it willingly.
Kaelira, Edward, Meera with Alan pushed forward, deeper into the woods. Edward glanced back, heart breaking, tears streaming down his face.
Renfar stood tall, blood dripping from his wounds, from his nose, from the corners of his mouth. Every breath was agony, every heartbeat a hammering drum of exhaustion-but he didn't move, didn't flinch. He knew this was his final stand.
The wind gathered around him, slow at first, whispering through the trees, carrying his resolve. Then it grew, roaring, twisting into a violent storm.
The soldiers charged, their numbers overwhelming, but Renfar's power held them at bay. Invisible walls of wind slammed against them, throwing them back, keeping them from advancing even an inch. His body shook with effort; crimson streaks marred his face and clothes. Yet he stood, unwavering, unbroken, the storm bending to his will.
A shudder passed through him, a fleeting thought of the past, a life of battles, laughter, and camaraderie. His lips parted in a final, fleeting smile: not of victory, not of joy, but of quiet satisfaction. He had done his duty. He had bought them time. He whispered in a weak, cracked voice, remembering Edward and Alan. "The world needs people like you."
The soldiers slowed, confused.
"What- what's happening..?"
"Why is the ground-?"
"GET BACK- GET.."
Renfar whispering into the raging wind, his voice steady even as blood ran freely from his mouth:
"Good old days…"
Then - BOOM!!!!.
The storm erupted into a cataclysm of wind and fire. Trees shattered, rocks lifted and hurled, and the forest around him became a tempest of destruction. The shockwave tore through the earth, ripping through the battlefield. Edward staggered, nearly thrown to his knees. Kaelira gritted her teeth against the force. Alan, clinging weakly, whispered hoarsely:
"Why…"
They ran, carried by desperation and grief, until the forest behind them was nothing but smoke and ruin.
Renfar's sacrifice echoed through the night, a final, heroic stand that would never be forgotten. He had given them life, at the cost of his own, and the storm he left behind would forever mark this night.