I don't own Arknights or type moon content.
He still dreamt the same dream.
His feet screamed in pain, yet he continued to run, gritting his teeth as his heart pounded against his ribcage. His lungs felt ripe to burst as he jumped through a window and ran up the stairs, his ears noting the sound of a bullet ricocheting off the wall.
The shouts of Ursus officers behind him was all he needed to hear to force himself to push on, finally reaching the top floor, bashing the door open with a shoulder charge.
Ignoring the biting cold and heavy rain, he quickly analysed the surroundings, before he sprinted towards the nearby roof.
Just as he was close to the edge, he felt his foot slip. His momentum propelled him off the roof, his ankle breaking against the ledge as he fell to the ground four stories down.
Unlike his first time, his expression didn't falter, nor did he feel any fear or terror as he knew what came next. He closed his eyes, ignoring the sound of the rain and traffic as he concentrated.
He heard hurried steps in his direction, and a heavy jump. His little body was no longer falling, arms encircling it as a hand grabbed one of his and another carrying his small frame.
His heart and throat constricted in agony, His eyes opening to the figure of a ursus boy a few years older than him, small tufts of his brown hair ruffled by the winds and wet from the rain, his equally brown eyes looking down on him from under the cover of the hood he had on, with a relaxed and caring smile.
A singular moment that was carved into his mind, a small glimpse of his savior's glory.
"Hey there, you look like you need help."
Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, the young Sarkaz not trusting his own voice and nodding without a word. He held tight as his savior ran past all the crowds.
Almost in a flash, the ursus boy moved between alleyways with a great sense of familiarity, carrying him silently to a familiar mansion after half an hour of constant running.
The sarkaz gazed at the impressive building, noting the respect the guards displayed to them as they passed through the entrance. His gaze returned to his benefactor, his encouraging smile was undeterred by the coldness he must have felt, drenched as they both were.
An ursus man in a butler outfit came running from inside the mansion, carrying an umbrella with him. He looked quite alarmed to see them in such a sorry condition.
"Young lord, you are drenched, we must get you both in immediately."
"Sorry, I wasn't planning on coming back like this."
The man sighed, most likely used to such situations from the young lord. He hurried them into the building under the cover of his umbrella. All the while the sarkaz boy's gaze never left the young lord's carefree face, no longer covered by the hood.
Darkness began to overtake his vision, even as he fought with all he had to stay conscious. Soon enough he succumbed to the dream's end.
Ursus empire's city of chernobog / year 1086 / sunny
Ivan's eyes slowly opened as he let out a long sigh. He impassionately observed the ruined hall he currently sat in. These ruins used to be lively with racing workers and the head butler chastising Edward due to his fear of the great dame's wrath.
He brushed his disheveled white hair back, his fingers scratching his cut horns to relieve the itch annoying him. Ivan rose from the old chair he occupied, his feet moving through the old, decrepit hallways, ignoring the other people who used this place as shelter.
He wasn't surprised to meet Neon in the gardens, taking care of the flowers with whatever tools they could get their hands on. He silently proceeded to help her.
"I noticed you were dozing off on your favorite seat so I didn't want to wake you, did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, it was nice."
Neon put down her tool as she gave him a pointed look. He guessed that the elephant in the room wouldn't be so easily shrugged off even with his attempt.
"You're still upset, aren't you?"
"Yes, but nothing can be done."
"Dad only did it because he cared about us, Ivan."
Ivan silently continued watering the flowers near him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I understand, even though I will not leave, I still have a few plans I've been considering for a while."
"I can feel a headache coming already."
"Very funny and mature of you, Neon."
"Well, you do need an adult, Ivan."
"You're not an adult."
Both of them chuckled, enjoying the peace and quiet as they continued their work. Neon smiled as she shook her head.
"Well, I guess I'm stuck with you in any case, whatever you're planning, I got your back."
Ivan felt shivers down his spine as he broke in a cold sweat. Phantom pains from his many training sessions flared as one and he subconsciously backtracked from the girl.
He knew very well how much Hellagur loved his adoptive daughter, and how scary he could be when he got serious or actually angry.
"Absolutely not! You want uncle Hellagur to skin me alive?!"
"I can get him to do that now if you'd prefer. I do believe he'd take the notion of your 'plans' quite well."
Ivan wisely chose not to comment, carefully trying to hide his fear as he avoided eye contact with the girl, her smile growing eerily disconcerting.
Maybe telling her he had plans was a big mistake…
Ivan's eyes trailed to the ruined mansion, his mind still lingering to that moment of long ago. His fist tightening as he tried to use all he learned from the veteran general and his teachers so far to perfect his plans.
Time to get to work.
Ursus empire's northwestern tundras / year 1086 / windy
Edward ran to cover as bullets and bolts sailed through the air and impacted on the boulder he hid behind. Tracing more arrows, he reinforced his body before jumping in the air, immediately shooting down the arts drones and Ursus snipers before speeding out of the place as it was bombarded by ursus artillery.
"Scythe, Reaper here, target E has been taken care of, I got the artillery's attention too, how are things on your end, over."
"We're already clear to go, target B has been cleaned up and Bull is currently pushing targets A, C and D to the brink, over."
"Roger that, Scythe, give me some time to get in a good position to cover you, I trust you'll recognize my signal, over."
"Copy that, be careful out there, Scythe out."
Turning off his communicator, Edward scanned his surroundings for a good position as he continued to shoot down the mortar shells in the sky. It didn't take him long before he found a good place to snipe from.
Taking a deep breath, Edward traced a few arrows before he took aim, flooding the projectiles with magical energy. The arrows sailed through the air, covered in a deep crimson hue, before landing on the artillery squads, and exploding.
Not long after the explosions decimated the enemy artillery, Edward spotted the siegebreakers moving into action as they flew behind enemy lines under the protection of his cover fire.
His job done, Edward moved to regroup with Patriot's group. He found the traces of their battle with the patrol unit, his eyes searching the surroundings for their tracks.
"We're here, Edward."
Edward jumped in surprise, his heart almost stopping as he looked at Patriot's hulking form behind him. He wondered how a guy as big as him could be so sneaky.
"The siegebreakers are in position, I've dealt with the artillery as well as whatever drones I've come across along the way."
Patriot nodded, before the group began to move into position for the last part of the fight with this new garrison. The enemy didn't last long stuck between their charge and the siegebreakers' pressure.
Edward frowned when he noticed they were herding the enemy to a certain direction once they were whittled down to about thirty soldiers, he turned to the wendigo next to him.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"It's time for Yelena's first battle."
Gritting his teeth, Edward jumped and followed after the fleeing soldiers without a word. His indecision clear in his eyes, he reluctantly held off on firing his arrows, simply letting the fighters continue their pressure on them.
Soon enough, he picked up the gradual decrease in temperature. His reinforced eyes spotted the frost altars the little rabbit must have set up. They were decently covered for their first time, but the intensity of the ice arts was too obvious.
Yelena must have decided to ignore that aspect since the enemy had no choice but to come in their direction, even if they didn't want to.
'Things to work on in the future, hmm?'
He saw his siblings moving around in the cover of the snow, and getting into positions. He noticed they were split into teams of four, two melee fighters and either two snipers or a sniper and a caster by the looks of it.
Once they were set, the attack began in earnest.
Yelena observed the incoming force, taking deep breaths as her heart threatened to burst from her chest. She recalled her brother and father's many lessons, the sound of clashing swords ringing in her mind, a mental trigger she learned to use over the course of her arts training with Edward.
Let ice become my blood.
Her hand reached out, power bursting forth as she channeled her arts. A stream of ice hit the group head on, freezing many of the vanguard. Those lucky enough to avoid the brunt of the attack found themselves pincered by smaller attacks from other casters in their ranks.
'Always work together, keep calm and watch each other's backs.'
Many of those partially frozen soldiers were shattered by the sword wielders and snipers among her brothers and sisters. Zack, Viktor and Nikolai lead the slow advance, making sure everyone stuck together in formation following the big sis's lead.
Teamwork was their best and only way to deal with the physically superior and well equipped soldiers. Ice spears blocked the sword coming from Yelena side, Ofnir taking the opportunity and stabbing his sword in the enemy's neck.
'Make use of everything you have at your disposal as efficiently as possible, and make sure your enemy has the least amount of breathing room as possible.'
Her siblings suppressed the enemy with the few attack drones they were given, while the altars continued to do their work weighing down on both the soldiers and their equipment, frost beginning to cover their armor and weapons little by little.
The ursus soldiers seemed to grow more agitated and desperate by the minute, before they started to push through the barrage of punishment. Fortunately, they no longer possessed the numbers to push through, as they were assaulted by a hail of ice spears.
'Once the enemy grows desperate, use their recklessness to your advantage with caution.'
The teams held the line as Yelena advanced, standing in front of them as the other teams successfully disengaged. She channeled her arts, the altars thrumming in response as the originium buried under the snow glowed in reaction to her spell.
The soldiers were thoroughly immobilized as the ground was completely frozen, Yelena frowned in concentration as she focused on her arts.
"Sleep."
In a blink, the soldiers were frozen completely, not a single one spared from the stream of frost that encompassed them. Yelena raised her arm, before signaling for the snipers to fire.
Bullets and crossbow bolts broke the ice statues into pieces, with the group standing strong and on guard. Holding onto the red shroud around her neck, Yelena sighed, her eyes hardening.
"Clean the battlefield."
"Understood."
Petrova, along with Zack and Nickolai got to ordering the rest and supervising the place, while Viktor got a group together to scout the surroundings for any stragglers.
Edward felt proud to see them working so hard after their first battle. He smirked as he spotted a certain miscreant flying straight at Yelena from behind, the girl releasing a shriek unbecoming of her cold exterior.
His raven flew off and landed on his shoulder, as if using his owner as a shield from the violent rabbit. Edward was less than enthusiastic about it, he dropped to the ground before he got hit by the hail of snow balls sent towards them.
He glared at the troublemaker, a wry smile on his face as the bird simply ignored him. He turned on his transmitter to see how the others were doing.
Lazarus was the first to contact him.
"Reaper, this is Scythe, do you hear me?"
His voice sounded hurried, and Edward could vaguely make out his labored breaths. The magus's eyes narrowed as he walked towards Yelena in the process.
"I hear you."
"Get Yelena and the others out of there as soon as possible, we've made contact with an extra unit, they had some sort of strange monster with them, we barely managed to disengage, but it headed your way."
It was shocking to hear that a single monster forced Lazarus and his team to retreat, Edward couldn't think of any war beasts in the Ursus army that would have been capable of that.
"Anything I should know about the monster?"
"It looked like it was made completely out of originium, conventional weapons barely scratched its surface, if it weren't for your magical enhancements on our equipment, we would have been turned to paste."
"Roger that, I'll take care of things on this side."
"Great, we'll regroup and keep an eye out for any other surprises, Scythe out."
Edward's thoughts raced as he called for the kids to assemble, he began to think on what to do against the incoming threat.
"Yelena, lead the others and retreat from here to the east, you should find Igor and his unit there waiting for you, tell him that there's a small delay and that we'll meet at the camp."
Before Yelena could answer, an earthly roar echoed throughout the battlefield. Edward and the group turned south, alarm bells ringing in their minds at the sight of trees falling like leaves.
"All non casters, retreat from here now, Yelena and the other casters, take positions in the trees and wait for any opportunity to strike."
Edward's voice shook the kids out of their fear, they hurriedly retreated as Yelena guided the casters to take their positions.
Edward braced himself as he stood his ground, waiting for the unknown monster to appear, and it appeared indeed. Its build was impressive, easily as big as a car, with a body very similar to a dog, only it possessed two heads, their sharp fangs of pure originium generated sparks from the friction every time they closed their mouths.
'It is an irregular form of golems, I detect an enormous amount of energy in its core, most likely from the originium that makes up its body. I advise extreme caution if you want to avoid a considerably strong explosion.'
'Roger that.'
The two heads snarled at Edward, as it slowly circled around him. Edward calmly kept his eyes on the monstrosity, his shock at the fact that he was looking at a golem made of originium kept hidden behind an expression of indifference.
He attempted to force it down with his arts, but found it bouncing off the creature's surface, a red light shining on its skin in response.
'The originium inside it is very resistant to arts.'
The frozen ground cracked like cheap glass under the golem's weight, its speed surprising Edward for a moment, before he jumped to the side, the thing's claws leaving a small surface wound on his leg.
Arts blasts impacted on its body, although no frost formed nor did any impacted part freeze, steam rising from the two headed dog golem's black surface.
Swords flew through the air before they broke against the tough originium. Edward advanced, Kanshou and Bakuya slicing through the air and biting into the creature's leg, before sidestepping to dodge the incoming head's bite.
Kanshou and Bakuya stabbed one of the heads, but Edward was forced to retreat as the second head tried to bite him. The blades were stuck and wouldn't budge, so Edward used the head he stabbed as a platform to jump backwards, creating some distance between them.
Yelena and her casters wasted no time bombarding the golem with their arts to offer Edward some time to get ready, their attacks proved to be nothing more than a slight inconvenience to the enemy, the construct's eyes never leaving Edward's figure.
The golem's body shone a deep crimson, before it once again pounced, its speed far surpassing the previous attack. Edward could only leap back and cross his arms in front of him. His body, protected by a barrier formed from his arts, broke through a few trees from the force.
He didn't have much time to think as the golem was onto him in a second. Edward utilized his arts once again, the golem's strike hitting an invisible wall, creating an opening the magus didn't dare waste.
Edward's fist landed on the golem's body, the power gathered in it breaking through the originium and pushing the creature back, the damage done to it recovered in but a few moments.
The golem roared once more, and its body began to morph as its lifeless eyes glowed a deep crimson. The two heads separated, and the once single golem became two. They surrounded Edward and pounced towards him with great speed.
"Edward, catch."
It was then that a figure slammed into the one behind him, sending it flying as a halberd landed in Edward's hand, before he threw it at the one in front of him, the weapon impaling the magical construct with such force that it sailed through the air and tumbled to the ground.
The newcomer's hand reached out, and the halberd willed itself free from the golem's body and back into its rightful owner's grip. Edward smirked, his eyes trained on the enemy, he stood back to back with Patriot as the two monsters stood back up with seemingly no visible damage.
"Took you long enough to get here."
"I had to deal with some enemy reinforcements, what are these things?"
"Golems, constructs made from magecraft, just simply damaging them would get you nowhere, these things should have a core somewhere in their bodies, all we need to do is destroy that."
Patriot hummed as he blocked the pouncing construct with little effort, his halberd, covered in flames, struck with impunity, slicing the monster in two with a single swing. Patriot noticed the golem's upper body still moving aggressively despite being cut in half, a red stone shining where its heart should be.
Buldrokkas'tee huffed, his halberd stabbing the crystal and destroying it.
"Annoying."
''Annoying' he says, as he cuts it down with a single swing, what a showoff.'
Edward held back any sarcastic remark. Magic circuits thrummed with magical energy, the remaining golem's limbs were impaled in place by greatswords and heavy lances. Multiple noble phantasms surrounded it, filled beyond their limits with magical energy.
An invisible dome surrounded the golem and noble phantasms, as they struck as one, a big explosion completely obliterated the construct as the broken phantasms left nothing behind in their wake, contained within the barrier.
Edward dismissed the class card and his arts, trying his best to hide his fatigue and pain from the fight, his body stung from the slight abuse his circuits experienced. Soon enough, Yelena and the others joined them, their worried looks calming down greatly upon seeing Patriot with them.
'I recommend you brace yourself.'
Eden's warning was the only hint Edward got, before he got swarmed by the kids. Bodies piled on top of him as the kids cried out his name, leaving only his head poking out from the small hill.
It took some time to get them off, but eventually, the magus was successful in his labor. His eyes trailed to Yelena, merrily talking with Patriot while looking at him.
For some reason, he felt defeated in a sense. His shoulders slumped slightly, finding it difficult to believe Yelena of all people had abandoned him.
'I believe your behavior is childish, Edward.'
'You're just seeing it that way because you don't know what it's like for a big brother to see his little sibling not caring to give him a hug…'
As if sensing his thoughts, Yelena giggled before she whispered something to her adoptive father. The wendigo gave Edward a quick glance, before he knelt in front of Yelena. The little rabbit used Buldrokkas'tee's leg and climbed on top of his shoulders, sitting there and holding onto his horns.
Edward's eyes narrowed, his fists clenching at the blatant provocation. He felt challenged on a fundamental level, and he would be damned if he lost to an old geezer in it.
Thankfully, his chance came to him in the form of Petrova. The Kuranta smiled at him as she silently gestured for him to carry her, her request answered in a heartbeat.
Edward caught up to the father daughter pair with his head held high, a wide grin on Petrova's face, much to her big sister's annoyance. The rest of the kids could swear sparks were flying between the two girls, despite the friendly smiles on their faces.
Edward began to sprint, surprising his rider. Yelena and Patriot remained confused, while Petrova hugged Edward's head for dear life.
"I'm going to have some fun with Petrova, you think you can keep up with me, old man?"
"I'm not interested in your game."
"I'll see you in the camp then."
His speed continued to increase, moving through the trees and obstacles. While the magus was focused on his surroundings, he heard the laughter coming from his sister as she tightened her grip on his head.
"Hang on tight, Petrova."
Immediately heading his command, Petrova let out a shriek as Edward began jumping through the branches. The girl's heart raced in both excitement and fear as the wind blew against her face.
"You were outstanding today, little one."
"I knew Big brother was with us, so I didn't want to let you down."
Edward let out a sigh, his pace slowed down a bit at the sight of the camp.
"How can I ever be let down by you guys? You don't need to think of such things, little rascal."
"You always go on missions alone all the time, and you always try to do everything on your own, so I thought that if we did good on our fight, you'd let us fight with you."
"It's not as simple as that, I just do missions better when I'm alone."
"But-"
"You don't need to worry about me, Petrova, I know what I'm doing."
Petrova didn't seem convinced, her eyes betrayed her conflicted state. She remained silent the rest of the way to the camp. Once the two arrived, Edward felt a bit irritated at the father-daughter duo waiting at the entrance.
"I thought you're not interested in my game, old man."
"I asked dad if he could beat you to the camp, and he agreed."
Yelena's smirk didn't help at all, but that was solved thanks to his raven. Her promises of pain and suffering did not deter the bird from continuing to harass the girl.
'Well, at least he does something useful every once in a while.'
Edward noticed some of the fighters staring at Patriot with wide eyes. Lazarus was grinning from ear to ear despite the bandages all over his body, as he smacked a friend of his in the head and made a motion for him to pay up, the soldier in question grumbling as he handed him a portion of his lunch.
Viktor's mother Amelia stood beside the sarkaz fighter, scolding him for agitating his wounds with the action.
"Sisters, Dad and big brother must be tired, maybe you should-"
"Don't worry about it, Ofnir, those four are in their own little world right now."
Lazarus stood next to Ofnir, his hand patting the boy as he munched on his food. Ofnir looked between the sarkaz and the two girls laughing and smiling atop Edward and Patriot.
"Those two girls are the luckiest pair in the world right now if you ask me, riding on the mightiest mounts in all of Terra. Let them enjoy it to the fullest."
Ofnir's eyes returned to his sisters, they were laughing for the first time in forever now that he thought about it. Tears of joy fell from Yelena's eyes as she saw Edward fighting with his raven, while Petrova tried her best to catch the flying troublemaker.
Patriot's helmet hid the big smile on his face, his daughter's joy easily infecting him, an extra stride in his step noticeable by those watching.
Soon enough, everyone settled and began to unwind from the battle they fought.
Ursus-Sami borders / year 1086 / snowy
Deeper within the tundras near Sami, within a devastated battlefield, two figures veiled in black stood amongst the dozens of corpses. A certain terror radiated from the two beings, even as they casually cleaned their shashkas.
Their masks, black as the abyss, completely hid any features from view. An array of various pipes and tubes attached to their helmets giving off a horrifying aura. One of the two snorted, his voice twisted and unnatural.
"That experiment was quite an interesting show."
"Indeed, his majesty's peerless wisdom continues to astound us."
The monster of a man casually swung his shashka, the force strong enough to cause a strong wind that stirred his surroundings. Runes ominously glowed on the saber's blade, a darkness covering the weapon as curses pulsed inside the weapon.
"I was pleasantly surprised by the Akhmatov heir. He could have been an invaluable asset to Ursus, had it not been for the ageless snake's machinations."
"His majesty still wishes for him to be recruited rather than eliminated, his performance in the battle would easily qualify him to join us, and given his age, he might even become the next grand sword in a few years."
"Indeed, although I believe his majesty still seeks to give governance of Chernobog to him despite his infected status. Even with the duke's interference, his majesty's undertaking remains as steady as ever. I believe that he must have sensed our doubts, and thus instructed us to come here under the guise of testing the newest cerberus prototype and dealing with this insignificant rabble."
"As expected of his majesty, his limitless consideration is awe inspiring."
The two monsters stared at the incoming group of Sami ritualists, an aura of terror began to radiate in the surroundings. One of the pair gave a hollow laugh at the signs and magics the ritualists used to influence the demons sealed in their armor, as well as their own minds.
"Your pathetic rituals can never hope to equal his majesty's dominating presence, even the demons in our armor swore loyalty and submitted to his might with a mere glance."
In an instant, the monster stood behind the group of fifty men, half of them fell in a single swoop, their heads rolling in the air as the ground was showered in blood.
Power, however strong, was meaningless against the cursed edge of their blades.
They were fear incarnate.
All resistance was futile against their unrelenting advance.
Nations flowed in their veins, the pride of Ursus empowering their terrifying presence.
"Fear is abundant today."
His partner did not sit idle, finishing off the rest of them in the time it took for the severed heads to reach the ground. Sheathing his saber, the soldier arm reached forth and his hand clenched, dark spears bursting from the hiding Shamans in front of them.
"Sami has grown bold, daring to send vermin on Ursus soil. His majesty's observations were correct as usual."
"Indeed, were it not for his majesty's instructions, I would have given Sami a taste of Ursus's wrath for this transgression."
"They are inconsequential fools, the elder one in Sami will make sure to remind them of their place. Let us head back to report the performance of the prototype and more importantly the Akhmatov boy."
"I wonder how the mission concerning the traitor ended."
"Kal'tsit isn't an easy target, but I think a huntsman should be able to handle it."
"I'm still trying to understand the reason why his majesty requested the hunt to not require her death."
"His majesty's foresight is vast, and a single traitor shouldn't demand much attention to begin with if you ask me. Kal'tsit should count her lucky stars his majesty saw fit to grant her the mercy of not being the target of the grand sword's fury for her betrayal."
"Indeed, I hear the grand had taken out two marquis and their entire forces of one thousand in two days to vent his frustration, perhaps his majesty still has uses for her after all."
His partner nodded, the pair disappearing into the darkness, leaving nothing but carnage and destruction in their wake. Such is the might of Ursus's unrivaled troops.
Its emperor's mighty swords.
Edward sighed as his final patient left the medical ward, he stood up and stretched his body. He breathed out in relief as he felt his bones let out satisfying pops. Exiting the tent, he was welcomed by the cool autumn breeze, everyone running around, going about their business.
His steps took him to the kids's resting place, the brats enjoying each other's company by the bonfire. He took his seat between them without much trouble, and it didn't take long for all eyes to be on him.
"You all performed magnificently today, you should be proud of your accomplishment. Allow it to be your drive in your training, the motivation to remain vigilant in the field and diligent in your efforts."
His eyes gazed at each and every one of them, and it became apparent to him that some of them were still dealing with the aftermath of the battle. A good number of them were the casters who saw the golem monstrosity, and are likely terrified of the prospect of fighting such things.
"Keep calm at all times, and maintain a serene heart. Give in to neither despair nor bloodlust, and above all else, remember for what reason you are fighting, and you won't easily lose your way."
He grinned reassuringly, a gentleness in his disposition that calmed his siblings. He smacked his own chest with confidence.
"And in all cases, always remember that I'll be there to protect you."
Unfortunately, his heroic line was cut short by a certain bird's feces landing on his cloak. His siblings laughed at his misfortune, but his smirk didn't leave his face as he discarded the cloak and dismissed it into motes of magical energy with a thought, his real clothes unmarred.
Shirou's tracing really was too handy sometimes.
Left in his usual attire consisting of an ursus soldier's uniform, the magus pulled out his flute from the inventory. The kids attentively waited to see him play it.
He closed his eyes, and began playing. A melodious tone filled the silence in the place, the tunes attracting people nearby as they enjoyed the performance.
'It seems you have finally regained your proficiency in this tune, Edward.'
'I mostly played the flute as a hobby, although I'm used to playing this particular tune a lot, so it was easier than other ones. Leliana enjoyed it and she always asked me to play it when she became ill.'
'I see.'
His fingers danced as the tune picked up a bit of speed, the melody approaching its peak. Time seemed to fly by as Edward allowed his memories to drift into the time he'd play the same tunes half assedly to the ill girl in her bedroom, her eyes encouraging him to go on despite the terrible sounds.
An innocent giggle.
A whisper of endearment.
Within the cold barren tundras, the warm and gentle melody eased the minds of the people nearby. A sense of peace, however fleeting, gave the bystanders a certain tranquility.
The tune soon ended, Edward's eyes opened to see the people nearby nodding in approval. He subconsciously scratched his head with a wry smile, turning around to see Patriot and Yelena also smiling his way.
"Where were you two?"
"We were saying goodbye to some of the infected leaving us today."
"How many left this time?"
"Around thirty."
Nodding his head, Edward patted Yelena's head, waving at them as he walked to his own tent to rest.
"Well, I'll go take some well deserved rest, make sure to tell Viktor that if I catch him drinking again, I'll personally make sure he won't eat anything other than tree bark and leather boots for a month."
"I will, good night Edward."
"Oh, Yelena."
"Yes?"
"Watch your flank."
Thankfully, Edward's warning allowed the rabbit to evade the unruly creature that aimed for her tail as usual. It cawed aggressively at Edward, flying towards him hoping for payback, only for the magus to successfully grab it by its beak and legs.
"How ungrateful you are, I guess I can find out if your meat would taste good or not."
His casual smile hid the terrifying intentions he had for the captured misfit. The raven calmed down, and obediently flew away once he released it, its head downcast as it sat on a branch.
"Don't act all depressed and pissy with me after you've been so shameless lately, you're lucky I didn't let Yelena turn you into a popsicle a long time ago."
The raven cawed, aggrieved. Although its cries had little effect on the present crowd, many of which were victims to its many acts of mischief. The bird seemed to understand that, flying off to its own corner.
Edward got into his tent and laid down to rest. Even though he seemed relaxed, his mind was still in turbulence from today's shocking revelation.
To think he's not the only one of his kind foreign to this world.
'Whoever made that golem is not a simple magus.'
'Yeah, I can also say that much. I've had my fair share of scuffles and fights with golems and chimeras in my line of work, so I know for a fact no ordinary modern magus, even one specializing in the field of golems, could make such a resilient and versatile construct.'
'And given what we know so far, it's safe to believe that whoever this unknown entity is, they have a high position in Ursus, one that is high enough for them to be attributed the resources needed to manufacture their creations.'
'Life always has a way to make itself more complicated.'
'Isn't that part of life's beauty? '
'Well, you're not wrong, but I would appreciate simplicity every once in a while, especially with such a sensitive topic.'
Edward groaned at the building headache, his hand ruffled his hair and scratched his head in mild irritation. He shut his eyes and slowly drifted to a deep slumber.
Within the great hall of the Duke of Kashchey, the pythian noble sat on his throne, looking down on a gray haired female draco. His adoptive daughter and heir, Talulah, kneeled before the duke.
"I have returned, the mission is accomplished."
"Well done, Talulah, your performance was outstanding."
Her distaste couldn't be any more pronounced if she tried, the girl gritted her teeth in frustration. She had half a mind to stab her sword into that monster's smug face, but she knew that he must have plans even if that would occur.
She must endure, the time is not ripe yet.
"However, it seems it's his majesty's win this time."
Not many could ever get close to getting under the deathless snake's skin, fewer still would remain alive to do so more than once. Talulah took solace in the fact the emperor was probably the only one to break the duke's confidence into pieces with each "bout" they've had.
If memory serves her right, this was his fifth defeat in a row this week alone. It seems like his majesty's increasing the difficulty for her "father".
She honestly almost couldn't contain a giggle, a not so small sense of satisfaction bubbling in her core at seeing the heartless manipulator frowning so deeply and being outplayed so well that he was clenching his hands in such frustration.
"Your target was nothing more than an unnecessary pawn to his majesty, his heir is already making headway in his agenda, all my informants have been thoroughly annihilated in the process, and two marquis following me have been with unfortunate accidents and have tragically lost their lives."
"How unfortunate, you'll forgive me if I'm completely uncaring for your plights."
"What an unfilial daughter you are, taking pleasure in your own father's misfortune. Life is such a thing, Talulah, a series of victories and defeats in all manner of things, you should contemplate more on your shortcomings more if you wish to grow beyond your current self."
"Why you-"
Talulah reigned in her anger, taking a deep breath and remaining silent. She could only grit her teeth and avoid his gaze.
"I need to review my current strategies for now, you are free to leave, do try not to burn any paintings please."
Not wasting a moment, Talulah left for her quarters to rest. The deathless snake took a sip of his wine as his reptilian eyes stared at the horizons as he thought of his bizarre situation.
Never in his wildest imaginations did he believe his struggle to weaken the royal family would be such a labor. As one who is proficient in manipulating people, his senses could almost feel the strings some being was pulling on him as a puppet of their ambitions.
The feeling was...unique to say the least.
Each time he thought his work would finally pay off and he'd acquire some semblance of control, the newest emperor would begin pulling all his rugs out from under him with euch efficiency that he began to doubt if they knew everything he did in detail beforehand.
But it didn't matter now, even if he lost in this century yet again and Talulah failed, eventually, he would win when the emperors grew weak. More than a thousand years has passed for him to come this far, and he'd gladly continue for a thousand more for his vision.
Eventually, an ageless and deathless one such as him will have the last laugh.
The duke raised his glass elegantly, toasting to the glory of the empire and in memory of the dear people and comrades of ursus.
Long live the great empire of Ursus, and all praises to its people and emperor.
Name: Ahkmatov Edward Viktorovish. (Formerly Edward Miles)
Race: Ursus.
Age: 19 years old.
Element: Fire, Air, Earth.
Originium-Cell Assimilation: 5%.
Originium blood concentration: 0.4 u/L.
Arts: Telekinesis.
Current condition: Healthy.
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. "
-" Puppets. "
-Ursus equipment and weapons.
-Food and Rations.
-Class card( Archer class heroic spirit: "Nameless" )
-Holy shroud.
-5000 LMD.
Points: 6000.
Shashka (or shashqua): is a kind of saber, of russian origins: single-edged, single-handed, and guardless backsword. In appearance, the shashka is midway between a typically curved sabre and a straight sword. It has a slightly curved blade, and can be effective for both cutting and thrusting.
(this is the closest weapon to the ones used by the emperor's blades, and might even be them to be honest, although I don't have concrete proof other than the good amount of similarities between them)
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day and stay safe.