At dawn, the battlefield burned.
Villagers were screaming, their voices tearing through the smoke. Blood soaked the earth. Terrorists stormed the military bay, and soldiers were forced backward, step by desperate step, as chaos swallowed everything.
In the center of it all stood the Chief Commander and his unit — outnumbered, wounded, but unbroken. With fierce precision, they lured the enemy away from the villagers, fighting with every breath left in their bodies, clinging to unity as if it were the only thing keeping them alive.
Then—
A deafening blast split the sky.
The bomb tore through the ground and threw one of the commander's closest comrades into the air. When the commander turned and saw him fall, the world slowed, as if even time could not bear to move forward.
He ran.
Smoke burned his lungs as he dropped to his knees beside his friend, gripping his arm, refusing to let go. Blood poured between his fingers. The man who had laughed with him, fought beside him, trusted him… was now fading in his arms.
The commander's tears came without permission — silent,k violent, unstoppable.
Around them, the battlefield still raged — screams, gunfire, fire — but to him, everything else disappeared. There was only this moment. This loss. This unbearable ache.
Pain hung in the air like a heavy fog, and for the first time, victory felt meaningless.
Then… the scene shifts.
The world did not grow quieter after the battle.
It only grew heavier.
Inside the emergency care facility, the air was thick with grief. Injured soldiers lay on stretchers, some crying out in pain, others whispering the names of people who would never answer again. Civilians clutched one another, broken by loss, their sobs echoing through the halls like a mourning song.
Blood stained the floors. Hope felt fragile.
Behind a set of closed doors, the commander's closest friend fought for his life on an operating table.
Outside, the commander waited.
He stood still, his uniform torn, his hands still shaking from the battlefield. A red light glowed above the operating room — a small, cruel reminder that everything he loved was balanced on a single moment.
Minutes felt like hours. Every heartbeat was a prayer he was afraid to speak.
Then the light went out.
The doors slowly opened.
Doctors stepped into the hallway, their faces heavy, their eyes avoiding his. In that silence, the commander already knew. When they spoke, the words fell like stones:
They had lost him.
The sound of grief did not come from his lips — it tore from his soul.
In that hallway filled with suffering, something inside the Chief Commander finally broke.
And the war… truly began inside him.
The sound of mourning fades into the low hum of a moving bus.
By the window sits a young man with soft eyes and a hopeful smile. His name is Lyruos, though everyone who loves him calls him Lily. He holds his phone close as he talks to his family, his voice bright with excitement.
"I'm really going to enjoy the city," he says. "Uncle's house is big, Mama. I'll help around, maybe even drive his car one day… everything will be different."
His mother's voice comes gently through the line — warm, but careful.
"Remember, Lyruos," she says. "You see the world differently. Don't trust traffic lights alone — always look at the signs. Pay attention, my son. I don't want you causing trouble in your uncle's house."
Lily nods, smiling softly as buildings begin to replace open roads outside his window.
"I know, Mama. I'll be careful. I promise."
From their quiet conversation, we understand the truth he carries — he is colorblind. The world does not show itself to him the way it does to others, so he has learned to read shapes, signs, and patterns instead. He survives by paying attention where others do not.
Then, another truth slips gently into the call.
His uncle works for a powerful senator.
And that senator… is the Chief Commander's father.
Two lives — one broken by war, the other filled with gentle hope — are slowly moving toward the same house… unaware that their meeting will change them both forever.
The road was loud with rushing engines and impatient horns when Lily stepped off the curb.
A flash of metal.
A scream of brakes.
Pain exploded through his leg as a sleek sports car tore past him, knocking him to the ground. His bag spilled, his clothes stained with dust and blood. Before he could even catch his breath, the car stopped a few meters ahead.
The door opened.
The man inside was someone Lily recognized instantly — a face from childhood, now colder, sharper. He was his uncle's boss's stepson.
With his heart pounding, Lily pushed himself up and bowed deeply.
"I– I'm so sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to—"
But the man didn't recognize him. He only sneered, eyes full of annoyance instead of memory. Without a word of apology, he slammed the door and drove away, leaving Lily in the middle of the street, hurt and humiliated.
So Lily picked up his bag.
And he kept walking.
The maid knelt beside Lily, gently cleaning the wound on his leg — the one he had gotten from the accident with Lucas's car. Her touch was careful, as if she were afraid to cause him more pain.
"You should tell your uncle," she said softly. "How did this happen?"
Lily looked away.
"There was no accident," he replied quietly. "I met Lucas on the way."
The maid paused.
"He didn't recognize me," Lily continued. "Not even for a moment. He's changed… a lot."
His words were simple, but they carried something heavy — the pain of being forgotten by someone who once meant everything.
The maid said nothing as she finished wrapping his wound.
In that small, quiet room, the truth lingered:
The boy who had once run barefoot beside him was now someone he could no longer reach.
Each step sent pain through his injured leg as he made his way to his uncle's place. By the time he reached the tall gates of the senator's estate, his clothes were stained and his hands were shaking. He waited there, calling and calling until finally his uncle answered.
When the uncle saw him, his face twisted with alarm.
"What happened to you? Your leg—"
"It's fine," Lily said softly. "Just a small accident."
Concern was still written all over his uncle's face, but Lily smiled through the pain.
Later that day, as they rode together, his uncle spoke of the future — of work in the senator's garage, of learning about cars, of maybe even going to college one day.
And Lily listened, his eyes shining.
Because even with blood on his clothes and pain in his bones… hope had just found him.
The house was quiet when Lily was led inside.
A maid smiled politely and said, "We're preparing a clean room for you. But first, we need to clean the desk."
Lily followed her into a small, sunlit room.
There, against the wall, stood an old desk — dusty, untouched, as if time had forgotten it. The maid wiped the surface gently and paused.
"This desk belonged to Lucas," she said. "He used to sit here all the time."
Lily froze.
Lucas.
The name stirred something deep in his chest.
Memories flooded back — dusty village roads, childish laughter, four boys running barefoot under the sun. There had been four of them back then:
Lily, Lucas, Jeremy and one more whose name still trembled inside his heart(Ezekiel).
They were inseparable.
Even when people mocked Lily for seeing the world differently, Lucas had always stood by him. When others laughed, Lucas believed in him. Protected him. Chose him.
They had been best friends before life pulled them apart.
Lily gently ran his fingers over the desk, as if touching the past.
So this room…
This space…
This desk…
It was never meant for just anyone.
It was meant for Lucas.
And now Lily was here — standing in a place that once belonged to the boy who had once been his whole world.
The maid knelt beside Lily, gently cleaning the wound on his leg — the one he had gotten from the accident with Lucas's car. Her touch was careful, as if she were afraid to cause him more pain.
"You should tell your uncle," she said softly. "How did this happen?"
Lily looked away.
"There was no accident," he replied quietly. "I met Lucas on the way."
The maid paused.
"He didn't recognize me," Lily continued. "Not even for a moment. He's changed… a lot."
His words were simple, but they carried something heavy — the pain of being forgotten by someone who once meant everything.
The maid said nothing as she finished wrapping his wound.
In that small, quiet room, the truth lingered:
The boy who had once run barefoot beside him was now someone he could no longer reach.
The story shifts to Ezekiel.
A sleek sports car glides through the city lights as he drives back from a long day, music low, eyes tired. Tonight, he isn't going home. He's going to meet his friends at a bar — the only place that still feels familiar.
Inside the bar, laughter and neon lights blur together. Ezekiel sits with his circle — Lucas, David, Benjy, and a few others. The twins are there too, loud and careless, but they don't matter. What matters is the tension in the air.
Someone asks Ezekiel why he never seems able to leave this life behind — the streets, the parties, the noise. Lucas cuts in before Ezekiel can answer.
"Let's go outside."
They step into the street, the city buzzing around them. Lucas's tone is different now — colder, sharper. There is something heavy behind his eyes. Ezekiel sees it clearly: the boy he once knew has been replaced by someone shaped by power and ambition.
Lucas has his father's trust now.
He's being groomed to take over the family's empire.
A senior at Capital High, already stepping into a world far bigger than he should be.
Then Veronica arrives.
People turn to stare as she walks toward Lucas. Their history is written all over their faces — they had once been close, once in love, before something broke between them. Their reunion is awkward, tense, filled with things unsaid.
Drinks are poured.
Laughter grows louder.
Someone suggests a game — Truth or Dare.
David and Benjy pull Lucas back into the group. Cards are drawn.
Lucas picks Truth.
The room goes quiet as someone asks,
"What's the one thing you miss the most in your life?"
Lucas doesn't laugh.
He doesn't hesitate.
"Lily."
The name hangs in the air — soft, unexpected, and full of ghosts.
And in that moment, even Lucas doesn't realize how close Lily truly is.