The sun's rays beat down on me, and as I slowly woke up, I heard faint giggling. When I opened my eyes, I saw the others standing with Gregorion, laughing at me and Senna.
"Good morning! What kind of fun did you two have in the living room last night?" Selena's mocking voice woke me up completely.
I glanced at Senna, who was also waking up. It didn't take long to realize what the others were thinking.
With a face as red as a pepper, I stammered:
"We didn't do anything!"
"Reaaally? Then why did you both sleep out here?" Selena was clearly enjoying this.
"Nothing..." I wished I could just disappear.
"Why is everyone here so early?"
"I came back to discuss a few things, but when I walked into the living room and saw you two, I immediately called the others," Gregorion answered. It was clear he was responsible for the chaos.
"Good morning... why is everyone here?" Senna sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes.
"Because of you two!" Selena snapped back instantly.
It took Senna a moment to realize the situation, and then her face turned beet red.
"We didn't do anything! He just asked me to stay with him in the living room!"
"Reaaally?" Selena's smile reached her ears; she loved watching Senna struggle.
"I hate to do this, but I must interrupt," Gregorion's voice broke the lighthearted mood. "I have an immediate mission for you."
In an instant, the warmth vanished from the room, and everyone's expression turned grim.
"We found a hideout where Presporian soldiers are stationed. We don't know exactly how many there are, but that's not the most concerning part. We found them near Eldora."
Gregorion's face was shadowed by doubt and worry, then he turned his gaze toward me.
"Narihu… do you know anything about this?"
The information surprised even me — and I thought I knew everything.
"No… they never told me more than what was necessary for my missions."
A seed of doubt grew inside me. The thought returned again and again: was I really as valuable as I believed?
Gregorion saw that I wasn't lying and continued:
"I'm ordering you to go there and kill everyone, except those who might be useful to us."
"How many Wielders are we dealing with?" Selena asked. Her face was more serious than I had ever seen it.
"We don't know. We discovered the place yesterday, but we didn't have time to scout it. Anything could be in there," Gregorion replied.
"How many units will join us, and where will we meet them?" Scarlett asked.
Gregorion shook his head.
"There will be no other units. Only the four of you are going. Every other unit is at the front, and we can't risk Eldora's special forces. It might be a trap."
Silence fell over the room. No one knew what to say. Least of all me, who knew the true strength of Presporok.
Suddenly, I stood up. My heart was pounding.
"Do you think the four of us can stop a whole Presporian legion? You don't even know how many Wielders are there." My voice rang out so strongly I barely recognized it.
Scarlett smiled at me, but the same fear I felt was hidden behind her smile.
"Trust us, Narihu. We are strong."
I shook my head.
"I know exactly how strong you are… and that's why I'm afraid." I took a deep breath.
"Let me tell you something. Presporok hasn't deployed them in this war yet, but there are five warriors. They are so powerful they can turn the tide of a battle at any moment. They are called the Five Bastions of Presporok."
The air in the room froze.
Everyone was thinking the same thing:
Do we even have a chance to win this war?
Gregorion broke the silence.
"Why haven't they used them until now? And why would they do it now?"
"There are several reasons," I answered immediately.
"One is that they were needed elsewhere. The other is… that they were experimented on."
"Experimented on?" Gregorion's face tightened.
"I mean that—" A sudden, lightning-like pain shot through my head.
My vision blurred. I saw a room in front of me. A chair. Someone was sitting on it, but the figure was too blurry to see who it was.
"Narihu! Are you okay?" Scarlett grabbed my head, worried.
"Yes…" I whispered. "Just… my head hurts." My vision slowly returned. However, the words were hard to find.
Gregorion stepped closer to me.
"How strong do you think the Five Bastions are?" He wanted to gauge the danger.
"Well… alone, they are capable of killing thousands of soldiers without a scratch. But their true strength isn't in that."
I paused briefly, then continued:
"They are connected."
Gregorion and the others looked confused.
"What do you mean, connected?" he asked.
"They can communicate telepathically and teleport to each other at any time. That's why it's impossible to hunt them down one by one." My gaze sank to the floor.
In his tension, Gregorion slammed the table.
"I see…" He could barely mask the desperation in his voice.
"Go to the hideout. I will pass this information to the King." He headed for the door, nearly breaking it with the force he swung it open.
A deathly silence remained in the room. Everyone was thinking the same thing:
How hopeless this war truly was.
"Let's go, guys," Scarlett finally said, forcing a smile. "We've already lost too much time."
Everyone stood up and headed for the door. I, however, remained motionless.
"If we encounter them…" I spoke up. "Run away. And leave me behind."
"Will do!" Selena snapped instantly.
"That was mean, Selena. Apologize right now," Scarlett scolded her.
Senna stepped up to me.
When I raised my head, our eyes met, and this time, she didn't look away.
"Why would we do that?" she asked, but her face was calm.
"Because they will want to kill me… because I am a traitor. And… I don't want you to die." I couldn't look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry. I can't do that." I was surprised. I raised my head, but before I could see her face, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. "We are a team!"
The sadness slowly faded from my face.
After that, we set off toward the hideout.
We all hoped that our fears would prove to be unnecessary.
Within an hour, we reached the place. It was an old mine cave.
The same question arose in all of us:
How did they get here?
"This is alarmingly close to the capital," Selena noted.
"That's exactly why we need to kill everyone inside as fast as possible."
Fire burned in Scarlett's eyes. I could see how much she worried for her father's safety.
Then, she stepped into the cave.