Special thanks to:
-CrazyLich -Xenophos24 -Ken Law -Xolef
I don't own Arknights or Type Moon content.
Ursus Empire's city Chernobog / year 1082 / 05:00 PM / Sunny
Another day has passed for the various citizens in the city of Chernobog, the ringing of the bell announcing the cherished moment of the end of today's studies.
An old Liberi man walked calmly on the sidewalk as he saw the various children run out of the school to go back home.
He was garbed in a black suit, the elegant design giving him a regal aura that made him stand out in the midst of the crowd, his disposition was also much more special than the average Chernobog citizen, it was understandable, given his identity.
He was a former general after all.
The man had gray hair that went past his shoulders, his tall form distinguishable amongst the crowd as he passed by.
He stopped as he passed by a familiar small manor, his gaze felt sad as he trailed the abandoned, broken parts of the home of his daughter's best friend, the building a mere shadow of its former splendor.
Deciding on a small detour before heading home, he changed directions, his footsteps slowly but surely following a road he's all too familiar with.
Memories came to him with every step, his daughter's hand that only he saw held him on as he arrived at a park, one of the few places he actually liked a lot.
"Here, this way."
A cheerful voice only he heard beckoned him through some bushes and trees. Pushing through the obstacles, the man found himself near a small, secluded field, almost akin to a creek, decorated by all sorts of flowers.
The place carried a refreshing beauty to it, a sanctuary of nature that calmed the mind and heart with its tranquility, the sight brought his heart peace ever since he first laid eyes on it.
The conversations and memories of the times he was here played in his mind as he sat down, he smiled remembering how the boy pouted at his daughter's cold reactions to his little surprises, and deadpanned at her disinterest in making friends.
He frowned slightly, as the images of the boy cheerfully teasing a smile out of little Neon overlapped with the quiet field of the present, the cheerfulness of those days plucked out so indifferently.
The sounds of snapping twigs dragged the old man out of his nostalgia, his eyes turned to the direction it came from.
He knew there was only one other person who knew of this place and had any interest in coming here, and although he knew she still came here regularly, he didn't expect to meet her here.
A young girl came out of the foliage, with her backpack on her shoulder, she stared in slight surprise at the man, before she walked and sat beside him.
"I see you've finished your studies today, Neon?"
"Yeah, I came here to stay for a while before I went to help out in the clinic."
"I see, that's good."
He knew she was a very helpful hand in the clinic ever since what happened, although the man could tell Neon was grieving still, he could see her actions were fueled with a desire to do right by her friend's memory, a thing he found admirable.
"Do you have any news of him, father?"
Hellagur shook his head, he noticed her eyes growing slightly despondent, before she sighed and once again focused on the scenery in front of her.
The duo remained there in silence, neither wishing to disturb the peace this little corner provided, but before long, Neon stood up to leave.
"It's okay, if you get any news, please tell me, I need to leave if I want to make it to the clinic in time to help with the children's examination, see you later."
"Farewell, take care Neon."
"Will do."
Hellagur's gaze remained on her figure as she left, before it returned to the scenery in front of him, wondering how the young man was faring in the mines.
His thoughts would have usually gone to the worst case scenario, it was fair to say that that scenario was both the most likely and the most logical result, it's hard to be optimistic about any of the infected in the clutches of the ursus mines.
His own watchful informant had told him that the mines near the one the boy was in had started their purging efforts lately too, the grim news did little to assuage his fears.
However, he also remembered those eyes of his, eyes that betrayed a certain wisdom beyond his age, and a determination that was unmatched by any of his peers.
Looking at the beautiful flowers, Hellagur found himself harboring a hope that maybe, just maybe, the boy might just pull off a miracle.
Ursus Empire's northwestern tundras / year 1082 / 09:00 PM / Snowy
The chilly winds of winter breezed through the many parts of the mine, as the children huddled together for warmth, it was their sole remaining option.
After all, they're the only remaining miners left in this cursed place.
Yelena continued to check up on each of her siblings, her eyes looking slightly tired, a lingering grief ever present in the place, everyone slowly coming to terms with the fact that they're completely on their own as of today.
The little rabbit looked to one corner of their living space, her eyes watering slightly at the sight of their big brother's mourning face, his ever present grin felt like it was ripped apart from him during his stay in the mine, his face felt stuck in a constant look of sadness and self-loathing instead.
Her heart ached at the sight, she wanted her big brother to be happy, just like the rest of her siblings, they wanted him to genuinely smile again like he used to, instead of his fake reassuring one.
They wanted their big brother back.
She approached him, his absent minded eyes turning to her as she sat beside him.
She felt his arm circling her as he held her close in a gentle embrace, his warmth filling her with comfort she didn't realize she needed.
A part of her wanted to cry, yet she tried to hold back, for her siblings and her big brother. She wondered if she even had tears left to shed after all this time.
"Yelena."
He called to her, and she found him staring at her, his gaze felt like he was reading her mind, a sort of knowing look that made her feel like her soul was laid bare before him.
"You don't need to force yourself."
It was but a single sentence, yet within carried a tenderness and understanding that broke down whatever resolve she had.
She simply couldn't contain herself.
Edward held Yelena in a firm hug as she let out her grief, her cries felt like a haunting melody that broke his heart bit by bit, his inability to do anything to ease her burden despite his magecraft and power only further dug the knife deeper in his chest.
"Please don't cry, big sis."
So entrenched the two were in their own grief, they didn't notice the young Vouivre boy that came up to them.
The boy looked to be eleven years old, with a slightly scrawny but tall build, his brown eyes matched his little horns and hair, a small scar on his right cheek.
Both of them were startled by their little sibling walking up to them, and they couldn't come up with anything reassuring with their emotions still running low.
The boy approached them and joined in on the hug, saying nothing as he buried his face in his big brother's chest, his little body was trembling.
Edward patted the boy's head as he smiled a bit.
"Come now, Ofnir, everything will be okay."
Ofnir tried to control his sobs, but failed.
"Please don't cry, both of you, I don't want to see you sad."
Edward looked down at his brother in slight discomfort, feeling bad for causing him to cry, he noticed the others coming to their little corner as well. He quickly thought of something to cheer them up.
"Do you guys want to hear a new story?"
Their ears perked slightly at that prospect, they always liked his stories more than anything, heroes were always the greatest beacon of light to all children everywhere.
The kids gathered around their big brother. Their eyes, despondent yet still hopeful, zoned in with concentration of their big brother's figure.
"Well, this story is one you're all going to like, too."
'Thanks again for providing these, Eden.'
'…'
"Now then, this story is of a kind hero, a man who existed for the wish of peace, this is a story of a hero named Arash. He lived as a great archer under a mighty king. He was a deeply cheerful and righteous person, blessed with an extremely strong body and great skill in archery, who fought with all he had to end the war that plagued his kingdom with its neighboring nation. After a great battle, both kings proposed a way to end their conflict, to bring peace and decide their borders."
"What did they agree to, big bro?"
"The agreement entailed making someone climb a mountain and shoot an arrow to the East from there, and the place where this arrow fell would mark the location of the national border.
The only volunteer at the time was the army's best archer, Arash.
During the first month of the summer, on a sunny morning, Arash drew his bow more than ever before and shot an arrow.
With that singular shot, Arash had ended all battles and performed a feat beyond the scope of mortal understanding, his arrow flew with such force that it was akin to a shooting star, from daybreak until noon, landing near a river.
His arrow was truly one of salvation, it carried his heart, his thoughts and everything he achieved, the arrow split the earth, ending sixty years of bloody conflict and establishing peace with his transcendent technique, crowning Arash as the master of the bow.
However, for performing a feat beyond his station as a mortal, he died, and became a legendary hero of his country. He was a Hero of the innocent, one who cherished peace, and would do what it takes to achieve it, and was celebrated as such thousands of years after his death."
The children's eyes widened somewhat as Edward continued on, recounting the tale of the noble hero.
Finishing up, Edward was glad to see their faces lighten up, if only for a bit. At least the tale served as a nice warm up for what's to come.
"Now then, I need all of you to listen to me very carefully, everyone."
They looked at their big brother's serious face, something they didn't see quite often, and they straightened their backs subconsciously, and concentrated on what he'd say.
"Tomorrow, we're going to escape the mines."
The children's eyes widened, the mouths of some opening slightly in shock at that statement, yet none of them said anything, their eyes glued to their big brother's figure.
"No matter what you see tomorrow, no matter what happens, I need you all to promise me, that you'll do everything I tell you without any hesitation, do you understand?"
The kids nodded in response.
"Big brother, are we really going to escape?"
"Yes, I promise, everyone's going to leave this place, now then."
Extending his hand forward, food started to appear in all kinds, food he'd collected from the soldiers' supply using his inventory every now and then to keep the miners in good health.
"Eat up everyone, we're going to need all our energy tomorrow."
Although the kids were startled at first by the apparating food, they soon jumped straight in, happily satiating their hunger.
The boy looked at Yelena, the little girl munching on a carrot, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the taste.
He couldn't resist patting her head, her ears perking up at his touch as she leaned in closer to him, earning a chuckle from the ursus.
The group feasted together in their little corner, a childish impulse to hope blossoming inside them, a hope for freedom.
Tomorrow came, and everyone was prepared for what is to come, the children looking at their big brother with faith and confidence as they walked with him and the guards towards their usual mining place.
Once they were about to begin, an Overseer came by, crossbow in hand as he approached Edward.
The magus snorted at the action, he already suspected he'd be the first to be targeted after they killed all the adults.
He took a deep breath, as the mental image of an explosion entered his mind, the tingling sensation under his skin telling him his circuits were up and running, he coughed three times, the children reacting to the signal instantly.
In front of the astonished looks of their captors, all the children abruptly disappeared, the pickaxes falling to the floor.
"What the hell!"
"Did they just disappear?!"
"Where did they go?!"
"Quick, sound the-"
The overseer's command was cut off as one the pickaxes buried itself in his chest, blood pooling down as his lifeless body fell down.
Before the other two guards could fathom what just happened, they two fell to the ground as the mining tools embedded themselves within their midsections.
Edward flinched slightly at the slight lack of reaction present on his siblings' faces as he killed their captors in front of them, he guessed they'd grow desensitized to the act after all this time, but seeing it still felt wrong.
"Follow me."
The group quickly ran through the different paths as they made their way towards the exit, Edward grew suspicious as he saw a group of about ten soldiers seemingly freaking out.
He and the kids moved past the group, eavesdropping on them in the process.
"They came out of nowhere, I tell you! one minute we were keeping watch, the next I saw him and his troops mowing through us like it was nothing, no matter what we did, nothing managed to even slow down that monster."
Edward's eyes widened at the revelation that the mine was being raided, his eyes narrowed as he realized who's doing this, considering the location of the mine.
'He must be here for us.'
"Ah!"
Edward turned towards the fallen Petrova, he raced towards her and checked her ankle, grimacing at the realization that it was sprained.
He carried her over his shoulders and ran back towards the group.
Then, misfortune struck.
Edward's face paled at the sensation of the bounded field collapsing, the invisibility wearing off.
'Dammit, here I thought I was meticulous enough in the sigils' placements.'
'The anchor point near the entrance has been damaged considerably, something caused the sigil to become distorted, the bounded field's foundation has crumbled, you need to leave now.'
"Look over there!"
'Shit.'
Edward gritted his teeth as he looked back, seeing the soldiers pointing towards them, his eyes returned to his siblings.
"Run!"
His shout startled them from their momentary stupor, and they all ran in front of him.
"Don't shoot them, you idiot! If you want to leave this place alive, we need to capture them in one piece."
'They want to use us as hostages.'
The group ran as hard as they could, but soon the kids started to tire, their bodies unable to keep up with their demands, allowing their captors to catch up to them.
The minors backed up against the wall as their brother stood in front of them protectively, Ofnir quickly taking Petrova on his shoulders to allow his brother to act unimpeded.
"Listen to me, you little runts, you will come with us right now, or we'll make you regret it, do you hear me?"
Edward smirked condescendly at the conscript's shaking tone, noticing his friends were looking back and forth, as if a boogeyman would jump for them any minute now.
"We're not coming with you."
"What did you say, brat? Do you want to play hero or something?"
"Why not? It certainly beats being one of you."
The enraged soldier dashed at Edward, his sword poised to cut him in two, yet just as he was near him, the boy ducked under the sloppy slash, and a sword appeared in Edward's hand. In a show of surprising speed, the boy's sword pierced through the soldier's throat.
The ursus conscript could only let out nonsensical gurgles as the blade was pulled out from his neck.
The other soldiers froze up for a moment in pure shock at what just happened, before they managed to gather their bearings once again.
"Kill him quickly, we don't have much time if we want to survive."
The group of ten separated as half of them surrounded Edward, while the rest planned on cornering the children.
Edward scrutinized the opposition, his expression turning slightly grave at the odds he's facing.
'Three with swords, and two with crossbows, the rest are also melee, so I don't need to worry about them for the moment, I need to attract their attention from the others.'
"Die, you little bastard."
Edward parried the diagonal slash coming his way, and delivered a swift, reinforced kick to the conscript's vulnerable knee, causing the man to buckle and fall to a kneeling position, his momentary state of weakness was all Edward needed to fluently transition into a strong slash that beheaded his opponent before anyone could interfere.
Edward sidestepped out of the way of the incoming arrows, the projectiles embedding themselves on the nearby wall. He then parried a spear thrust, transitioning into blocking an overhead slash by another foe, his knees buckling under the pressure of the strike.
Noticing the conscript putting more and more strength behind his strike, Edward suddenly stepped to the side, causing him to stumble, the gaps on the right side of his armor easily accessible to the magus as a dagger appeared in his free hand.
The newly apparated weapon swiftly found its mark in the conscript's neck, one swift stab in the man's jugular was all it took for the victim's life to meet its end.
Edward did not linger for a moment as the warcry of the spear wielder warned him of danger, the boy using his small frame to roll out of the way of an incoming thrust.
He noticed the crossbowmen ready to fire again after reloading, so when the spearman came for another attack, Edward dodged and moved in with a kick to the crotch, effectively stunning the man, before pulling him close and using his reinforced strength to move him to the right.
The confused conscript could only scream as two bolts penetrated his armor and punctured his lung and heart, the dagger finally silencing him with a quick jab.
Edward glanced at the crossbowmen, noticing them reloading once again as three more of the other group were moving to join, he concentrated on the daggers strapped to the ranged combatants' belts, the familiar burning sensation in his body came to him, the originium in his blood reacting to his will.
For he was an arts user.
The daggers jumped from the crossbowmen's waists, and before they even realized what happened, the daggers stabbed into their craniums with great force, breaking their necks in the process.
Edward took a deep breath as he prepared to continue, most of his body was already covered in blood, and his muscles and bones ached fiercely from the heavy and continuous strain.
"Let me go!"
"Big sis!"
That cry sent his heart pounding a mile a minute, his gaze instantly locked on one of the soldiers trying to capture Yelena, Petrova and the rest moving in by grabbing their sister with all their strength.
The young rabbit's cry carried a deep misery and fear, and Edward could feel that something's wrong, chills traveled down his spine and the hairs on his neck stood as if he'd been electrocuted.
Then he noticed a peculiar phenomenon, his eyes widening at the blood on the floor, noticing its rapid, unnatural freezing, before his eyes went back to Yelena.
'She's using arts.'
'It's too powerful and wild, due to its spontaneous nature, the temperature here is starting to decrease, if nothing's done, it'll become too much for the children.'
Edward flicked the blood off of his weapons, his eyes glancing towards the crossbow bolts sprawled everywhere, his mind quickly formulating a plan to bypass the three weary combatants blocking his path.
The conscript holding Yelena as well as Petrova hissed in pain as they let her go and stepped back, they clutched their hands that felt like they'd been dipped in a frozen lake, their fingers almost rendered into popsicles.
'An arts user like her would be nothing but trouble.'
The soldier glared at the troublesome arts user, before he approached her with caution once more, sword in hand.
Edward's grip on his weapons tightened as he waited for the soldiers to approach closer.
Not yet.
The conscript raised his sword, ready to cut down the girl, the latter's blank stare conveyed only misery and anger as the temperature fell even further.
Two boys, an ursus and a Vouivre, blocked his path, their eyes staring at him with anger as they readied themselves to fight the man and his comrade.
Not yet.
The bolts on the ground shifted subtly with little to no noise, if one were to deeply observe their positions, they would notice that each soldier had five bolts pointed at them, including the last duo close to the children.
Now!
However, it seemed that fate had other plans.
It came out of nowhere, a colossal monster draped in darkest colors.
A hulking form barreled straight at the soldier attempting to kill Yelena with such force that the man's broken corpse sailed a great distance before completely contorting into a heap of blood and gore against the merciless mine walls, his skeleton turned in nothing but a heap of broken bones.
Beware the terror of the northern tundras of the empire, the demon who brings death upon those who terrorize the infected.
Before his companion could so much as scream, a big poleaxe stabbed completely through his chest, the monster used the polearm to throw the soldier's body at one of the remaining three who had their backs to the children, more concentrated on eliminating Edward.
Unwavering in his conviction, immovable in his might, and unstoppable in his charge, his title is carved into the souls of all who bear the mark of loyalty.
The flying corpse collided with the distracted fighter with such velocity that his spine and ribs broke on impact, his equally lifeless body sliding on the floor beneath the mangled corpse and innards of his companion.
Mildly surprised, Edward immediately proceeded with his plan, the crossbow bolts on the ground seemingly coming to life as they traveled with a burst of speed, turning the final two enemies into porcupines.
With the soldiers dealt with, Edward visibly relaxed, his eyes analytically observing one of the few men he thought very highly of ever since he heard of him.
For he was Buldrokkas'tee, the patriot.
Two red orbs zeroed in on Edward, the monstrous ancient's imposing figure made Edward's childish one almost comically small in comparison.
'With his speed and strength from that small display just now, getting close would have only led to instant death, that heavy armor he's wearing would have been troublesome to penetrate even if I used a Finn shot, although it doesn't look like it's well maintained.'
'Under current circumstances, defeating this foe is completely impossible, if he were an enemy, the best case scenario would have been holding him back enough for the children to escape, although that would mean you'd most certainly have died, and given that wendigo's speed and the children's fatigue, they would have suffered the same fate.'
'...Can't I just have a vote of confidence from you one time, Eden?'
'I have full confidence that you would have been dead if this person was an enemy, no matter what you do.'
Edward held back a sigh, his eyes narrowing as he felt itchy all over, a telltale sign he had come to associate with his arts usage reaching its limit for the day. Anymore usage would probably start damaging his insides, something he can't risk in his current predicament.
"I am not your enemy, child."
A hoarse voice rang out from the red eyed monster, it sounded calm, almost gentle, if not slightly off put by the the small coughs he made.
Edward released a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding all this time, realizing his body still rigidly maintaining its stance out of instinct, which made him look hostile towards their cavalry.
Edward observed the monster of an ancient turn to the children, he noticed his eyes changing somewhat when he saw Yelena's blank, miserable gaze.
His greatshield and weapon were discarded on the ground as he kneeled before Yelena and wordlessly pulled her into a hug only a father could give.
"Wait, don't!"
Edward ran as fast as he could to their side, he observed the ancient's clothes slowly getting covered by a layer of frost. Edward flinched slightly, knowing how cold it must feel for the big guy.
Yelena felt the embrace of this total stranger, holding onto her with a gentleness that almost felt suffocating, her heart calmed at the feeling of the big man holding her so protectively, completely disregarding the coldness that seeped into his bones. The temperature stopped plummeting as her arts stopped working.
Finally, after a few moments, Patriot withdrew from the hug, his clothes covered in a thick layer of frost, especially the parts that came in contact with the little rabbit's body, yet his eyes still remained focused on the child in front of him, disregarding his condition with incredible ease.
'That idiot must have frostbite because of that, hopefully it doesn't turn into necrosis before I can take a look at it.'
"Follow me, I will take you to safety."
The children turned to their big brother, waiting for his decision.
"What should we do, big bro?"
Edward glanced at the Sarkazian, his body finally relaxing completely as he smiled.
"We'll follow of course."
The man's red eyes lit up in delight as he stood up and tried to grab for his shield and weapon, only for Edward to stop him.
"You're not carrying those with your frostbitten arms, I'll carry the shield, Ofnir, you, Zack and Nikolai are going to carry the mister's spear."
"Yes, big bro."
"There is no need."
"Like hell there isn't, there's no use in arguing so please do this, now let me heal your arms before they get any worse."
The boy approached the warrior and then silently sighed, a small part of him felt triggered by the sheer difference in their height, as he was barely able to reach the man's chest.
"Can you kneel a bit for me, can't reach your arms from down here."
The man's red eyes had a glint of amusement in them, Edward's shoulders dropped in humiliation as he could finally examine the damage their savior sustained from the chilly hug.
"You're lucky this is just frostbite and hasn't turned into necrosis, I guess wendigos are very tenacious, right Patriot?"
Patriot grunted in response, wondering what the little ursus is going to do.
Thirty four magic circuits came to life as one, blue lines appearing on Edward's right arm, all the way to the right side of his shoulders, the sight causing the wendigo's eyes to go wide.
Edward placed his hands on the frost covered arms of the sarkaz, a warm energy seeping into the limbs. The latter could feel his arms getting better, the numbness slowly disappearing bit by bit, and a warm energy flowing through them, invigorating his body's cells.
After a few moments, the glow receded as the lines on Edward's arm disappeared. He sighed, marvelling at the workings of healing Magecraft.
'I can't help but imagine how useful this would have been in a lot of situations I've been through in the past.'
Shaking his head, Edward frowned upon seeing the wendigo once again reaching for his weapon and shield.
"Oh no you don't, your arms need a bit of rest in order for them to be back at full strength, just lead the way, we'll handle your load."
Patriot looked uncomfortable for a moment, a part of him wanted to just ignore the child, but given that he had healed his arms, he thought it would be best to listen to his request.
Seeing Buldrokkas'tee nod, the magus sighed in relief before he approached the man's shield. Edward balked slightly at the sheer weight of the enormous greatshield, the thing was even bigger than his body, he subconsciously sweated as he looked at the corpse of the conscript that got rammed by this thing.
Using no small deal of reinforcement, the magus managed to heave the greatshield up, although his arms and legs shook from the strain.
"Let us help, big bro."
Edward felt some of the weight ease up as Petrova and company came up from the other sides and helped with the load.
Ofnir shyly approached the stranger with the Liberi Zack and the Ursus Nikolai, the trio gazing at the big warrior with admiration and wonder, if a bit of fear.
"Don't worry mister, we can handle this weapon."
The man glanced incredulously at the group of children carrying his shield together, and the trio of boys carrying his spear, before he sighed, surrendering to their wishes with exasperation.
'What a peculiar group of children I came across.'
With that thought in mind, the man guided the group towards the exit, his men having already swept through the opposition, he expected them to be cleaning up the battlefield by now.
"Are there any other miners?"
He was saddened at the sight of the despondent faces of the group at the question, his heart going out to them. Words could not describe the joy he felt when he managed to save them, after failing the ones before them.
The group gradually exited the mines, Patriot could notice the children getting more excited, their breaths growing faster as their bodies started to slightly tremble in excitement.
The light of day slowly filled the group's vision, their steps becoming a tad faster, as if an unseen force was pushing them from their hell into the salvation of freedom.
The children covered their eyes from the bright light as their feet carried them beyond the threshold, a slight breeze caressing their faces.
Soon their eyes adjusted to the light, and they opened them, the scene of soldiers, garbed in similar clothing to Patriot, moving about cleaning the battlefield is what greeted them.
The soldiers instantly perked up at the sight of the group, those who were close saluted their leader, while others greeted the kids or waved at them.
"Lazarus."
Patriot's calm voice called as his gaze shifted as he looked towards one of the nearby fighters, a fellow sarkaz, Edward noted.
"Yes Sir?"
"Tell the soldiers to rest up, tomorrow we move out at dawn."
"Roger that, sir."
Lazarus nodded and saluted before he turned his attention to the kids, his eyes all but showing his slight confusion at seeing a group of children carrying the commander's weapon and shield.
Seeing Patriot sigh, Lazarus held back a snicker, his eyes lighting up slightly at Buldrokkas'tee's attitude.
"Welcome aboard, young ones, we're happy to have you with us."
Waving at the group of children with a friendly smile, he moved to inform his comrades to start making camp.
Patriot guided his new little group to a small space upon which he'd set up his tent, he nodded towards the children to let the equipment down, the spear and greatshield falling to the ground with a loud thud as the kids sat down and breathed heavily.
Edward looked to Patriot in a new light, he could see the wendigo's red eyes shift slightly behind his mask, the only sign that told him the old ancient was either embarrassed or amused by this.
As he finally caught his breath, he turned to his little "siblings", the smile that started to appear stopped dead in its tracks as the entrance of the mine landed in his vision.
'You don't need to worry, miss Ana, Alexei, everyone, I'll make this right.'
He noticed them smiling happily, some marvelling at the fighters that passed by, while others curiously looked around.
"Listen up, kids."
The kids turned to Edward, their eyes widening slightly as they saw him giving a toothy grin like he used to a year ago, his hands on his hips.
"You're free."
Neither chains, nor jailers shall hold you any longer.
Looking at their big brother, the children grouped up as they tackled him to the ground and dogpiled on top of him in their joy.
Edward almost suffocated under the combined weight of the brats, but he smiled still as he accepted their hug with enthusiasm.
As he looked at them, he couldn't help but notice the lack of a certain pair of white rabbit ears, standing up with some effort, his gaze finally landed on Yelena sitting a bit away from the group, her eyes looking at the ground.
He moved towards her, the kids making way for him, as soon as he stood before her, he kneeled down and noted that the little rabbit was too distracted by something that she still didn't notice him.
He knew exactly what to do in this situation, so used to dealing with such cases with Arthur back in the days he was too stuck in his research.
He flicked her forehead.
The act drew the girl from her thoughts as she yelped in surprise, her hands caressed her forehead as her eyes looked at her big brother.
He looked at her with a blank stare, his finger still held close to her forehead, and he could feel a deep chill in his fingertip. He smiled, and a red piece of cloth appeared in his other hand. He tied it around his hand before he reached out to pat her head.
Yelena recoiled slightly from his hand, remembering what happened to their savior when he hugged her, she didn't want anything bad to happen to her big brother too.
"Do you really think a little cold will be enough to stop me, you foolish girl?"
Yet his hand patted her head all the same, caressing her hair and ears delicately and gently, just like her grandmother used to when she felt sad.
"Listen well, little rabbit, though life gives us grief, and injustice is inflicted upon us, but we'll surely reach the light we yearn for in the end. One day, these difficult times will become nothing more than echoes of a past we overcame, and so..."
He trailed off for a moment, before he smiled encouragingly as he held her hand, his warmth encompassing it.
"...Show me that beautiful smile of yours, Yelena."
Yelena's shoulders trembled minutely as she struggled to hold back her tears, she cracked a smile that was so familiar to a certain girl Edward knew, that his own smile grew subconsciously.
'They really do feel alike sometimes.'
He watched as Yelena stood up, she wiped her nose and eyes, before she walked towards the nearby Patriot, the wendigo's eyes softening considerably as he looked at her.
"What is it child?"
"I'm sorry for hurting your arms, I didn't mean to harm you."
Yelena tried to bow to the man, yet his hand gently grasped her shoulders, stopping her from doing so.
Once again, Buldrokkas'tee completely ignored the coldness of her body as he moved his hand and laid it on her small head, and patted it quickly before retracting it.
Patriot wondered how the young ursus managed to keep patting the little rabbit for as long as he did, looking at the strange piece of red cloth that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, he guessed there was something special about it, given how even the thick gauntlets and leather gloves couldn't resist the coldness of her body too much.
"There no need to apologize, I am happy to see that you're happy."
Yelena nodded before she sat next to him, she felt safe and calm in the man's presence, and despite his appearance, she liked him and enjoyed his company in the small amount of time they've spent up until now.
Meanwhile, Edward just glanced to the sky, seemingly absent mindedly staring at the clouds above, but in actuality, the magus was examining the spoils of his success.
'Mission accomplished, rewards allotted, would you like to summon a Heroic spirit to inhabit the class card?'
'What's a class card, Eden?'
'Servant cards, or more commonly known as class cards, are artifacts created to seal a portion of the power of a heroic spirit, it can also be said that they are the heroic spirit themselves, they draw out the power of the heroic spirit inside, allowing either a mystic code or the user's own body to act as a medium for the heroic spirit's power, the cards are split into seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker and Assassin. '
'I see, so now I'll have to perform a summoning to see which heroic spirit's power I'd get?'
'Affirmative, it is advised to find a secluded place to perform the summoning.'
'Roger that.'
Edward stood up and stretched his body, feeling the satisfying cracking sounds his bones emitted, before he started heading to a more secluded area.
"I'm going to take a walk around, be back in a jiffy, behave yourselves."
"Ok, big bro."
Soon enough, Edward found a good spot away from everyone, an empty card the size of a tarot card appearing in his hand.
'Eden, begin the summoning.'
'Affirmative, summoning ritual initiated.'
An intricate magic circle appeared on the card, it glowed as Edward began channeling magical energy to the card.
'Catalyst: "Holy shroud" found, heroic spirit invocation starts.'
Blue tendrils of pure mana began to coalesce towards the card, the previously empty space gradually transformed into a radiant golden color, the figure of a bowman began to appear bit by bit.
Edward was slightly startled by the use of the shroud as a catalyst, but the thought was swiftly put aside in favor of completing the summoning.
'Heroic spirit invocation successful, finalizing the ritual and establishing the contract.'
Edward's mind was suddenly overwhelmed by a vision, he saw a familiar wasteland, riddled with all kinds of weapons of all shapes, natures and sizes, his eyes widened upon seeing that all too familiar back of the man standing alone on top of a lone hill, the same red mantle the magus had on him worn by the lone heroic spirit.
Realizing who he just summoned, Edward's eyes widened at the sight of his best friend, before he noticed an anomaly about the reality marble.
He could never mistake the fact that he never saw those monolithic gears in the wasteland of swords before, nor did it ever feel so jaded and gloomy.
Suddenly, he was back to reality, he steadied himself with the nearby boulder as his ears rang and his heart felt like it was going a to burst.
He looked at the card he held in his hand, still not sure if what he saw was real or not.
'Heroic spirit summoning successful, heroic spirit's spirit origin stabilized, archer class designation confirmed.'
'Eden, who did I summon?'
'Accessing true name…access denied by the heroic spirit. Processing designation given by heroic spirit: "Nameless."'
'As if that's enough to fool me, Shirou.'
Name: Ahkmatov Edward Viktorovish. (Formerly Edward Miles)
Race: Ursus.
Age: 14 years old.
Element: Fire, Air, Earth.
Originium-Cell Assimilation: 3%.
Originium blood concentration: 0.4 u/L.
Arts: Telekinesis.
Current condition: Slightly malnourished, Fatigued.
Inventory:
-" Introduction to the field of Alchemy. "
-" Intricacies of Transmutation. "
-" Advanced Bounded Fields. "
-" Advanced Runes and the engraving process. "
-" The paths of healing magecraft and Spiritual healing. "
-Rations.
-Class card( Archer heroic spirit: designation "Nameless" )
-Holy shroud.
-5000 LMD.
Points: 15000.
Holy shroud:
A holy shroud formerly used by Shirou Emiya, Edward's closest companion. After his friend's death, Shirou Emiya had chosen to bury the shroud with his best friend. This item was placed in Edward's inventory as a result.
AN: Shroud of Martin has been changed to Holy shroud since Archer's cloak isn't made from that particular shroud. My mistake.
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day and stay safe.