Start of Act II: Ursus Winter.
"…"
The freezing polar winds interrupts a girl's thoughts for a moment, however as they never existed in the first place, she continues towards the white tundra like before.
"Captain, we are just a day of reaching our destination." Instead of the wind, the voice of a hulking man makes the cautus girl stop and take a look back.
There, a grand amount of people marching though the frigid tundra is seen. Giants armoured with plated armours and ginormous shields are mixed here and there with some small children wearing rags, shivering from the hellish cold of the surroundings.
However what was the most eye-catching wasn't the diversity the group had in it…
But the one leading it.
"…Advance."
Filled with no emotion, the rough voice commanded over all the legion. The gigantic being that easily stood out in between everyone with its antlers reminiscing of a great old tree and its blood red eyes, continued its marching without stopping a single second.
"Yes!" Everybody responded to his words, both warriors and children alike.
.
.
.
Except for one girl.
Not hearing her voice was enough to take the attention of the one denominated as 'Captain'.
With heavy steps that easily made footprints in the white snow, he got closer to her.
The moment they were one next to another, the mountain-like man extended a hand towards her.
"Let's go, Yelena." Its voice was rough as ever, but unlike before, a certain calmness is audibly heard. "Towards, Kazin."
The girl looked first at his hand, then at the main in question.
Thinking twice she grabbed his hand.
"…Yes." Yelena responded.
The freezing winds of Ursus didn't change as much as I thought, unlike when I was in Moscor. Even though I find myself with light clothing on one morning in the middle of the tundra, thanks to my constitution the cold doesn't bother me.
…Three years have passed since then.
The tension of the Bloodpeak Campaign finally fizzled out two years ago, however thanks to that, another event that made its ripples in Ursus happened.
The Great Rebellion.
'…Although all the empire felt like it was engulfed in flames, this little village in the middle of nowhere wasn't disturbed at all.' I thought while reminiscing how the TV anchors said some places were in war against other countries.
Not only things in Ursus changed.
Three years is able to make someone a bit experienced in handling some spears.
"Haa…!" I exhaled while slicing the air downwards with a spear.
.
.
.
'…It still feels wrong…' I thought while taking a glance at the worn out book titled The Basics of Spearmanship found on a tattered wooden bench. '…It began too high. Let's try again.'
In those years I didn't stop training for a single moment. Be it studying, hardening my body, or handling a weapon, I tried to make sure I never skip. After all, I need strength.
Not now.
But for later.
"Haa…!" The splitting of the air is heard again in the surroundings.
.
.
.
'Wrong again…'
The first half of the first year I felt frustrated by everything.
Of where I was.
Of how weak I was.
Of how young I was.
I regretted a lot of things.
But in the second half an idea came.
Well, instead of an idea it was a saving grace to me.
Chernobog, the nomadic city.
A place impossible for me to reach now, was a place where I had the majority of my hope now.
I don't know when, but someday, Misha will be there. It was mentioned somewhere in the game. Or at least I think it was.
Before reaching Lungmen, Misha was in Chernobog.
Then the following thought reached me:
If the future didn't change, or at least it didn't change much, then before she goes to Lungmen thanks to Reunion, maybe I can find her.
"Haa…!"
.
.
.
It's absurd.
Incredibly so.
A lot of time and luck needs to happen for that encounter to happen.
However I want to believe that I can make it.
"Tch. It felt better than the others but it still lacks something."
But first I need to get a lot of things done. One of them is the book Yith gave me.
I almost finished the book, however the last chapter is incredibly hard to understand... and perform…
Thankfully, a year ago, Yith came back from Moscor. He sometimes appears and disappears unlike before where he was always around us.
He corrected a good amount of mistakes I didn't think I had, while at the same time beating me for the sake of getting some 'experience'.
Plus he made me do a special kind of training that helps me to temper my body in a way that I didn't think before…
And that was cold training.
Just thinking about it makes me shiver.
He told me it helps with building up resistance to coldness, and it helps to speed up the metabolism, and it can be used after exercise to reduce inflammation of the muscles and the like.
Yeah, I know it sounds like a panacea but it's nothing like that. Moreover, as I am an Ice Vouivre I need to stand in harsher climates. Which means taking a little bath in one of the rivers nearby the village to accentuate my suffering.
While it gets dark.
I don't know how I didn't die of hypothermia yet.
Anyways, coming back to Yith, I must say that although I hated those spars he did with me, nothing beats practical experience.
The first stances and movements shown in the book feel more fluent after using them in combat. However, the greatest and most important move I learned from it was…
"Haa!"
This time the spear flew through the air. The small snowflakes tried to follow the projectile, however because of the speed behind it, they didn't have any choice but to be left behind. A breath later it reached a tattered target on a poor tree with a good amount of cuts in it.
Just for some sad centimetres it didn't hit the centre of it.
'...It truly feels good to throw the spear like that after failing so much.' I think with a slight grin while putting away the White Hand.
…It was throwing the spear like a Javelin.
However I must add that it wasn't only the greatest because it was the attack I liked the most, but because it synergized greatly with Acceleration.
With Time arts I am able to make the attack faster, making the spear reach a speed that shouldn't be possible at all with this body… But the only thing that puts me off about it is how the power behind the attack ends.
With a knowing but hopeful face I take out the spear from the tree.
I take a long look at the cut I did just now and compare it with my previous attempts. Seconds later I put the spear down with a bitter face.
'They are all the same.'
For some reason, even though the speed is greater than throwing it normally, with arts or without them, they always have the same deep hole.
When I asked Yith about how I can make it to have more force behind it, he responded cryptically as always:
"You are only accelerating the time it takes for the spear to reach the target. The attack will always have the same strength behind it. If you want it to have more power, then you need to handle your arts better. By my estimates… In around eight years you would be able to make the strength behind it inherit a fraction of the speed it's getting."
I mean, I kind of understand what he means, however there is something called physics isn't there? When a certain mass has more speed, then its energy should be greater, thus its force should be even greater!
When I told him that, he flickered my forehead and told me that if I had enough time to complain, then I should have enough time to train. After that he told me how I should hold the spear to throw it more efficiently and said that I was advancing great enough compared to others, so I should complain less… Then the next day he…
Before I knew it I was reminiscing my memories with him.
Bitterly I thought about the first time I met him.
At the start I thought he was some kind of demon that came to torture me, and with a good reason. Who makes a child go through such a hellish illusion? However, with the passage of time…
Although he is still as grumpy as ever, he appears every single blue moon, makes me near the state of hypothermia and beats me in the name of 'training', I learned to appreciate his company…
.
.
.
'…Eh. Maybe Stockholm syndrome is good.' I thought jokingly while sitting on the bench that the book found itself.
I tried to read it but in reality I was still immersed deep in my thoughts. Seeing that I am not getting anywhere, I give up and put it down while resting on the bench.
In Moscor when I went to school I saw the twins. When I was home I was always with Father or Mother and sometimes both, and the other times I was with Yith…
Now I can't see Misha nor Alex anymore, both Mother and Father are always out doing something, and Yith appears at most one time a week.
Before I knew it I was making my own foods and eating alone.
That's something a normal ten year old shouldn't do nor experience.
Thankfully I had Aunty Jury in the next house, but even then.
.
.
.
This sudden solitude is… a bit hard.
After all, the majority of the time now… I am alone…
.
.
.
Involuntarily I sigh.
I don't have any friends here, nor do I go to school.
Even though I am still at the time to go to it, I stupidly rejected the idea on the first year here. What's worse is that in my frustration, I said that I didn't need to go as I knew everything that they showed, and my Father, irritated, made me take a series of exams to prove that.
To his despair and to mine right now, I was able to pass the majority with flying colours. The only thing I had a bit of trouble with was Ursus History but even then I passed it. Hell, to not admit defeat he even put me in a program to graduate early from primary education.
Before I knew it, before I even reached the age of ten, I graduated.
Astonished, they made me do whatever for the moment, as there is no high school in this village. Of course, when I reach the time to go to a high school they'll do whatever they can to make me enter one.
So even though I was… okay at the time, now that is another thing that I regret.
Truly.
.
.
.
The surroundings are too silent.
Normally the strange bird would be around to sing, however today no noise is heard.
Only the wind accompanies me.
'...Let's go back, or I would get more depressed. If I am not wrong today Yith comes at the middle of the day.' With those thoughts I stretch then put on my coat for the cold.
'I can resist it, but nothing beats feeling warm after so much coldness.' I thought while preparing myself for the walk.
Packing my things I start carefully going down the almost frozen path. As I venture the small hill my thoughts yet again go back to Yith and Father.
'Maybe I should bet with him for information about Father again…' I think recalling one of the reasons he came with us to Kazin.
If my memory isn't wrong, he is helping Father with some things related to the noble that helped us to easily move here. I didn't meet said noble nor do I know of his name, however I became able to know of its existence thanks to another one of Yith's strange bets while training.
The only thing I know is that he supported the Fourth Army, and before the great rebellion, cut ties with them.
'A cowardly but wise choice.'
The reason behind that thought...
The revolutionaries, or better said, the Fourth Army was massacred.
I was able to learn about it while watching the tv as always.
Anyways seeing that the path started to be more barren I stopped that thought.
'Let's hope I don't trip and splash my head full of snow and mud.'
Cautious I went down, but just as I was about to finish the perilous path-
A certain sound made me stop.
The sound of a lot of steps.
And when I mean a lot.
I truly meant it.
Rapidly I hid behind a tree and before long I was able to see it.
An armed force was advancing through the snow.
Plated men from head to toe with such gigantic armour made me feel goosebumps. They had shields as big as them, and looked as heavy too.
Seeing that they came closer to where I was, I gulped and hid myself behind the tree again.
'Who are they?!' Frightened, I tried my best to rack my brain for an answer. One for the first question and another for how to get out of here. 'Fourth Army? No… it shouldn't be. They were massacred… Then another one? But which one?'
On the news, the ones who ended the Fourth Army was the Third one, so I hoped that it wasn't any of the two for clear reasons-
Before I knew it they were just around fifty metres from where I was.
In my panic I tried to look for a better place, but on a second thought I decided to stay where I was.
It was too late to change from the spot.
Slowly I tried to calm myself, but it was faster said than done.
My heart for some reason felt like it would go out of my chest at any moment.
'Deep breaths Micha, deep breaths.'
Seconds later I felt better, but to my misfortune they were next to me.
The earth was shaking.
Better said, It felt like the ground was trembling by the force of their marching. A bit more and the trees would do too…
'No, they are shaking!' I thought while feeling from my back the vibrations that the tree felt.
The last thing I did was take a deep breath and hold it in. As long as I didn't move nor made a noise they would go away.
I stayed still for a good time.
Too much for my liking.
I wished to accelerate the time right now so that this stuffy feeling would go away, however I didn't even think of using arts.
They could detect me like that.
Then I waited.
.
.
.
When the sound of the marching was long gone I slowly got out of my hiding place.
'How many were they?'
The amount of footprints in the muddy snow surprised me, as whenever you looked there was a trace of a foot.
It's a miracle that they didn't see me even though I was metres from them.
"Hey kid." The voice of an almost robotic burly man was heard behind me to my despair. "Can I ask you something?"
Turning, I found one of the gigantic men with plated armour looking at me.
Before we both knew it, I extended the spear in my hands.
"Woah woah kid!" He exclaimed. "D-Don't worry I am not a bad guy!" The panic in his voice was prevalent while he made space between us. He rapidly put his hands on the helmet and took it off. There, a brown coloured Ursus man with a nervous smile made itself known. "See? I am just a normal Ursus! I just wanted some help because we were a bit lost-"
Before he could continue I interrupted him.
"Which army?" I said while taking the White Hand from my pants.
Hearing my question, the face of the man hardened. It looked like it was a hard question to answer, as struggle was seen in his face. Before long he resigned and responded.
"...We... don't belong to any army."
'Deserters... or remnants of the Fourth Army… Whichever the case it at least looks like he doesn't mean any harm...' I thought while looking at the worn out armour. 'At least what he says looks true. If they truly were men from the army, the plate would look better than it does now, not to mention the poor excuse of a shield on his back.' Slowly I put down the spear. Seeing my action the Ursus man sighs of relief. 'I should at least hear him out. If he truly wanted he could have grabbed me from behind and forcefully made myself speak. But seeing that he didn't, means that he wants an amicable relationship.'
Now, thinking clearly, I ask him.
"Alright, what do you need?" I tried to say more carefully, but still with seriousness in my words.
The man smiles more naturally than before, however rapidly he puts on a bitter face.
"We want to reach the village of Kazin."
His words made me flinch.
"Reason?" Aggressiveness comes out of my mouth again.
"...We need to- Oh right!" The struggling man stops for a moment while taking something out from one of his numerous pockets. "Look at this."
Slowly he got closer, however seeing me put up the spear again made him stop in his tracks.
"It's an identification badge of the military." He said while showing me the emblem from a distance. It had the Ursus logo on the back, but in the middle of it a spear that for some reason was familiar to me was seen. "I don't know if you know it, however although we don't belong to the army, we are- Ah this is a bit embarrassing to say… Did you hear about the Aegis of the Infected? The Patriot's guerrilla legion?"
The name that came from his mouth made my eyes open greatly in shock.
Like a dam that it broke, a certain memory came.
One that I always saw when I had nightmares.
The one firing the spear that pierced me was always shrouded in what appeared to be black mist, but now I was able to recognize it.
Patriot.
It was so sudden that I almost felt dizzy for a moment.
'Why didn't I realise before? It was so obvious.'
For a moment I truly felt stupid with myself.
"Kid? Are you okay?" The man worriedly asked.
When I wanted to know, he was in front of me.
Seeing him so close suddenly made me halt for a moment.
"E-eh? Yeah, I'm okay." Stupefied, I responded to him.
'I let my guard down just for a moment…'
"Oh. You had me worried for a second there." He sighed in relief. "Then, can I count with your help?"
I stayed silent at his words but after thinking about it I nodded. Seeing that, the man smiled.
"Great then! First of all my name is Luka. I am truly sorry if it scared you seeing so many people pass just then. But we are in a bit of a pickle right now." He says while grabbing the spear that was on the floor and passing it to me.
'...Was I so shocked that I even dropped my spear? If Yith hears this he will give it to me.' I bitterly thought while grabbing and putting it away.
Like that he first guided me to the others. Of course small talk was made in the middle. The majority of it from his part.
"We wanted to reach Kazin as we were low on resources and because one of our guys comes from this village, however as a lot of time passed, and we didn't have the best means to localise ourselves he wasn't able to pinpoint the place. Finding you was a saving grace to us, as some of the kids started to feel feverish thanks to the coldish weather."
Hearing him talking about kids makes me look at the floor for a second, and there small footprints are seen. I ask him where they came from. He makes a bitter face.
"...Children and oppressed people coming from originium mines and labour camps. Some were left to die, while others were saved just before they executed them all. Even though they still are people, just because they contracted oripathy or thought differently, or were falsely accused they were sent to be tortured and die without any meaning in those… places…"
Hearing him makes me feel as deplorable as him.
'...Thinking about it, I was pretty fortunate now that I think about it.'
If I was born in one of those mines then… I don't know if I would still be breathing now.
Maybe because he saw my face, the giant gloved hand of the man caressed my head.
"Sorry yet again." He apologised while scratching his head. "What am I saying to a child really?"
"There is no problem mister Luka." I said to him while putting his hand away.
"Really, why are there so many good children in this world…" He says exasperated. "Anyways, it looks like we'll continue talking later, as we reached them." He says prompting me to look ahead.
A grand amount of people are seen in front of me. Giants armed from head to toe like mister Luka next to me, and children shivering in front of the coldish climate. Some of the kids were even lying down surrounded by rags on the floor while heavily breathing.
"Luka!" A woman's voice comes from one of the giants nearing us. "I see that you had luck with the kid right?"
"Haha, yeah, he… Now that I think about it, what's your name kid?"
"Micha." I responded to him.
"Yeah, Micha here knows where the village is, thankfully."
"Oh really?!" The woman says while crouching in front of me while taking his helmet off. A liberi woman with black hair appears before me. "Tell me kid, do you know the name Arlene?"
Hearing the unexpected name and the resemblance of her face one person comes to mind.
"Aunty Jury?"
"Yeah, exactly, that one!" She says excited and happy. "I am her daughter, Jessica Jury!"
"Oh I heard about you." I say seeing her face illuminate even more. "The good for nothing girl that ran off to the capital and never sends her letters?"
My words made her face harden while Luka's laughter resounded in the surroundings.
"...Yeah… that one." She said more dispirited than before.
"Ah… Well the thing that matters is that he knows you." Another of the people surrounding us says awkwardly while nearing me, however unlike the others, his armour has a reddish tint to it. "It's good to meet you Micha, my name is Leonard." He rapidly introduces himself without taking his helmet unlike the other two. "I'd like to continue talking with you, but right now we need to get to the village rapidly, as these kids aren't feeling too good now."
He points to the children with the rags on them.
"Alright."
"Thanks." Then he looks at another of the guards. "Tell the Captain that we will start to slowly go towards Kazin right now."
After that short exchange, nodding that man runs somewhere.
"Everybody! Hear me out!" Leonard screamed to the people in our surroundings. "Micha here will help us arrive at Kazin, so please hold on just a bit more!"
Some affirmations are heard while everybody gathers all the stuff rapidly. Some of the guards grab the kids hands while others put the kids with fever carefully on their back.
"Now let's go Micha." He says grabbing a shield even bigger and in better conditions than the one Luka had on his back.
I nod to him.
"Follow me."
.
.
.
An hour later we reached the village. We took a long time because of the sickly people and the heavy armour the others had, if not it would have taken twenty minutes at most. Of course a bit of a problem happened as the sudden appearance of armed people scared everyone, however when Aunty Jury saw Jessica everything resolved itself pretty easily.
As for me?
"I can't thank you enough Micha." Leonard said while bowing to me. "If we were just a day late I would never forgive myself, as the children were on their last ropes..."
"Ermh. Mister Leonard please put your head up." I said hurriedly while feeling the look of confusion on the other villagers. "Don't worry, I just helped because I had to."
"...Yeah, you are right, Micha." He says something a bit strange.
While I tried to dispel the situation here, I think the same guard as before, came to talk with Leonard.
"Reporting in! Captain is almost here with the rest of the platoon. He commanded that we should stay for some weeks then continue and return back to the north."
"...Really?" His voice had a bit of confusion in it, nevertheless he nodded. "...Understood. Go help the others in treating the wounded and the ill." Leonard's careful voice changed to an affirmative one when addressing the man.
"Yes officer Leonard!" With a quick salute the guard went away.
"Now, I need to continue directing the people. As you heard we'll be disrupting you with our presence for the following weeks, so please forgive us." Leonard said while taking his helmet off. Greyish short hair and a pair of Ursus ears were found in his head. He had some wrinkles here and there, while in one of his cheeks a nasty looking scar was seen. "If you ever need help in something then don't hesitate to ask."
Then he extended a hand towards me.
"Likewise, officer Leonard." I said taking his hand.
Although I am bigger than most children thanks to the training, it still was a bit awkward to take his hand. After all, he is enormous.
"...Haha. You reminded me of someone… Just call me Leonard. The officer is no more, kid." He said with a saddening but at the same time hearty laugh. After that he went away.
'You reminded me of someone…'
Feeling odd I walked back home… Or at least I tried to.
"Micha what is this?" Yith's indignant voice appeared next to me.
I flinched at how sudden his voice was.
"O-Oh Yith. N-Nothing, just when I was getting back from training just coming back, a group called The Aegis of the Infected found me and needed my help to reach the village." I tried to surmise everything rapidly.
"...The Aegis of the Infected eh?" Yith said while looking at the various soldiers moving from one place to another. Before long he shrugged. "Well, it's good that you are okay at least. Tell me about it while we go back to the cottage."
I nod to his words.
Just as I was going to take the first step to go back, for some reason I took a glance back.
At the entrance of the village more of the guerrilla fighters were coming, and even more children too.
'...I just hope that nothing goes wrong with so many people suddenly.'
I move my eyes from the back to the front, and the one leading all of them-
Antlers which resemble a great old tree.
Suddenly blood turned cold.
Colder than the water of the river and the winds of Ursus.
Blood red eyes that showed the inextinguible will behind him.
The village disappeared.
I was on a battlefield.
Dilapidated buildings which surrounded me, blocked any chance of escaping.
Bodies of already long gone people on the ground. Some were intact. Others carbonised. Yet more frozen. Then for the final group, only their clothes remained.
Crystals of Originium came from both the buildings and the corpses surrounding us.
With a shield as towering as himself, and a rusted spear that looked bathed in blood.
He advanced.
In front of me he appeared.
The one I always see in those nightmares.
It's hand moved so fast that-
"...!"
I couldn't even think before I knew what happened.
I looked down and there it was.
.
.
.
Yet again.
His spear-
"Hey Micha are you okay?!" Yith's voice suddenly took me back. He put himself in front of me, blocking my sight with that. "Look at me, and breathe okay?"
One.
Two..
Three…
An uncountable amount of seconds passed before my body finally took a deep breath. The battlefield was no more. The strewn corpses, the destroyed buildings, the dusty winds, the bloodied floors, the originium… It wasn't any more.
I was back in Kazin.
The Ursus winds.
The familiar cold.
The busy street.
Everything was as before.
"Nod if you can hear me." Yith's worried voice continued.
.
.
.
I nodded to him.
"Thank god, you made me… Mh?" Yith was relieved after seeing that I finally responded, however he stopped after looking at my hand. "...Give me that."
Rapidly he took the White Hand that for some reason ended in my hands. As I parted with the catalyst I found that all this time I was using arts.
"...I truly don't know what's with you Micha- No maybe I do know… I should tell the Dame about this." He murmured to himself, however said mumble went from one ear to the other. "...Anyways let's go back."
Without resisting he took my hand and before I knew it I was walking back home.
"Captain." Leonard says while nearing the Wendigo.
Time flew past fast.
Moving from one place to another, the guerrilla men worked all day, and before they knew it, the moonlight was above their heads.
Although a small minority went against it because they were infected, the villagers were kind enough to let the troops use an old cabin for the sick, wounded and children to rest. The others gathered and rested outside the village in tents. Even though the temperature went beyond what it should be normal to survive, living in the harsh weather of Ursus makes you quickly adapt.
You want it or not.
"Leonard, what is it?" The sarkaz responded back in the most silent voice he could muster while getting up.
The ursus was able to glance just for a moment behind him. A white cautus girl was sleeping soundly. Apologetically he continued.
"I am sorry to interrupt you, however there is something I want to ask you urgently."
Leonard's voice had preoccupation and nervousness all over it. Sensing it, the wendigo nodded.
"Alright. Let's go outside." Patriot declared.
Getting out of the cabin, what greets them is the wind that always surrounds the Ursus winter. Slowly the lights smother from the houses close to them. It's already late. Each family under those roofs go to sleep and await for the next day.
"...Is it alright to stay in this place to rest so suddenly?" Leonard hesitantly asks while feeling his face become colder. "If the Fourth Army find us, then I worry what would happen to the-"
Hearing the reason behind his nervousness, Patriot stops him.
"This place is protected by a person I know. I trust her."
Those words made Leonard stop for a second.
"Even then Captain!" The man shouts, but rapidly covers his mouth. "I am sorry."
To his outburst, the sarkaz doesn't mind it.
"Do not apologise. You are worried, it's easy to see." Hearing those words coming from his captain makes Leonard be more embarrassed with himself. Shamefully he looks at the floor. He can't make eye contact with him.
"Even if this place is protected, I worry that they ignore everything and cull this village that's kind enough to have helped us-"
"Leonard."
Hearing him be called out, he instinctively raises his head.
There he saw it.
"Don't forget. We are called the Aegis of the Infected."
The gaze of someone who will give it all.
Patriot's words and his gaze made the heart of the old veteran beat rapidly yet again.
"But we don't only protect the infected. We exist to protect the oppressed and the innocent."
Ursus… His sweet homeland… Isn't the same as before, and Leonard knows that. But even though he knew it, hope and despair slowly engulfed him through the years.
Ursus… His beloved homeland… Betrayed them, and Leonard knows it. But he can't just accept it. His whole life was spent in this never ending tundra, and although some times were harsh. Others were good.
Ursus… His ruined homeland… The country is done for, and everyone knows it. From the threat to the north, Columbia, Yan, Victoria and now the infighting and injustice. Today it exists, but he fears of the tomorrow.
"We need to do it for nobody else will."
His words rekindled the sad and hurt heart that tormented him.
"And to answer your question. If the occasion comes that the enemy does find us…"
The man awaited holding his breath at his words.
"Then we will do as always and protect Kazin."
Leonard exhaled and a white mist came out of his mouth. He closed his eyes to carefully think about his words.
Like that he remembered.
He remembered the child he had before the civil war started. He was little, and at the same time his pride. He always talked about wanting to be like him with a smile, and sometimes imited him like an adult, even though he didn't have any hairs in his chest yet.
He remembered the woman he loved. She wasn't anyone incredibly beautiful, nor someone great. She was enough for him. And it was the same for her. For that reason he loved her. She always got angry at him for getting late, even though he tried his best to run back home whenever he could, but even then, after all that, she always smiled when she saw him.
Then he remembered the tatters of the building. The lifeless corpse of his still little son atop his loved one in an attempt to protect her from the collapse, to no avail. The debris covering the two of them.
He can clearly remember and reminisce.
They died because they found a so-called revolutionary living just above them, when in reality was just another innocent man trying to live his life.
It was unfair.
If only he could have protected them as well.
It was so unfair.
Tears involuntarily come out of his eyes.
"...I-I am sorry Captain. When I suddenly saw the families happily going here I-." He tries to justify himself, but a hand on his shoulder stops him.
"Do not worry, for warriors shed tears too." The almost always emotionless voice sounded with empathy.
Hearing those words made the man's eyes open in surprise, but even then he smiled. It was faint, however a response came out of his mouth.
"...Thank you." Leonard expressed his gratitude to him while swearing on his heart.
To always remember the reason he fights for.
.
.
.
Before long, Buldrokkas'tee found itself alone, looking at the white moon in the silent night…
"..."
Reminiscing the words of his once officer.
"When I suddenly saw the families happily going here I-"
"...Even this old warrior shed many tears… and regrets with them." His deep breath created a bigger white mist than Leonard.
If I moved faster.
If I didn't hesitate so much.
If I didn't believe so blindly.
If I talked with him better.
Then…
Where would I be?
.
.
.
"...It's freezing. I should go back." With those words the Wendigo entered the cabin and turned off the lights. Before closing the door he took a last glance at the white cautus girl sleeping, then at his calloused freezing hand.
"This breeze… Yelena's body is colder than this wind." Sorrowfully, the lament of the old Wendigo was heard by no one.
End of chapter 9: Sudden Visit.
Author's note: ON!
Hey, how's everyone? I am not dead so don't worry~
.
.
.
Yeah I am sorry.
I said I wasn't going to go into a Hiatus, but here we are!
More than a year later.
.
.
.
Let's go with the reviews.
Notice me sempai.2nd: Thank you and sorry for waiting! About the image I don't know, however I should look into it. After all, I remember I spent a lot of time making it. Thanks for telling me!
The Rupture:Now he did!
Theberg: Thank you!
Guest: Ermh, alright? You are interesting too!
Zet4: They exist, and Yith can use them! On Code of Brawl, the story of CB-7 after the battle one of the mafiosos asks why the fire turned solid, to which Mostima responds by saying that Yith should be nearby.
JackRaiden23: I am sorry you didn't like it. But I can understand why. After all, reading it back is pretty cringe for me too. Plus I would like to make some changes to the story in the first arc, but what's written is written.
Cringyusername SBSVQQ:I am sorry for showing more so late, and thanks for waiting!
TebsKebriel: Here!
Yukon: Thanks for the rating! And yeah, you are right. Some parts remind me of some cheap light novels I read too. Let's not talk about some parts that feel like the mental struggle of Micha feels forced (At least for me.) nor lore check it. I want to change a lot of the things I wrote, however as I said before, what's written is written.
Ascandas: Incredible deduction! Then you would like how I use that part of him having dulled out feelings in the future.
Magikfred5: Thanks! I tried to make the start of the story a bit different from other fanfics or light novels / web novels I read. And if i don't lose so much time updating it, I have a lot of twists for the story!
Guest: ...Can I not comment on this one? Nah jk, I hate you for pointing that out (Not really).
And that's all the reviews from a year!
After some exams I'll continue with Never ending, and Fate: Foreign Order already has a 10k chapter ready! But I am deliberating whether to put an image on it or not.
Ahem. Anyways.
Thanks for waiting for so much time!
Then.
I'll see you later!
Author's Note: OFF!