Kamui's POV
After enough time of preparation, it is finally time to witness the next part of the journey. Never do I look forward to it a lot, as feeling tense is not fun. Needless to say, it is all necessary. The whole army is well aware of the potential danger that lurks. If we did not even try, the outcome could be tragic.
After calling upon Lilith to transport us back to the real world, we came across where we last stepped: Demon's Falls. Of course, solely the last trickles of lava connected to the bend toward Windmire. No Stoneborn was placed where we were, so safely did we travel.
Abandoning an area I loathe, Demon's Falls and Windmire made some sort of transition. The lava contrasted the dark sky, at least offering some warmth. This sad town, on the other hand, felt much more frigid. Breaths were visible around the entire army. Stars winked and the moon was entirely exposed above us.
Then, I realized it. Home. Where I recently left. The place I once called a sanctuary. The pleasant memories of being a captivated child was entirely welcoming at the moment. I would adore seeing my Nohrian siblings while drinking tea.
Leaving them made me come to think of how much I changed. While I am well aware of what has been going on, my heart ignores how they reacted. I just miss them more than ever.
"Ryoma," I called my true brother.
"Yes?"
"Do you know what it is like to miss someone?" I looked up at the Nohrian sky.
"Of course," he smiled and gestured at me.
"Anyone besides me?" I asked.
"Well, I did miss my father." He replied in a somewhat hesitant tone.
"Why do you not miss him now?"
"Let's just say I just got used to it." He shrugged.
"Oh, Ryoma. It seems as if you do miss him even now." I felt empathetic. I could read that he was hiding something.
"Kamui," He sighed. "The pain it gave me is not a good topic at the moment."
"I'm sorry, big brother…"
"It was never your fault." He smiled faintly.
"It's just," I held my shoulders with my arms crossed. "I have been hit hard."
He looked at me with these somewhat bewildered look. "What?" Then it clicked. "Oh! Yes, this whole war business, correct?"
"No, not just that." I huffed.
"And you expect me to know?"
"Well, not entirely."
"We've talked about this before?"
"Sort of, but that was a while ago." My mind thought of the arena, when I remember sparring being fun.
"I have been busy myself, Kamui." He tried to reassure me. "Believe me, it is pretty difficult. You just have to balance it out. Do you not believe in yourself?"
"I have been questioning myself lately."
"If you would like to speak, I am all for it." He invited.
I felt it was not time to say anything, because Silas decided to jump in. "Hello, friends." He waved and walked in between us. His breath was just as exposed like the rest of us. His face was red from the cold. "So, Windmire."
"Yup," I sighed. "Are you trying to be near me so you can talk about all of your nostalgic times here?"
"No," he replied. "As much as I wish I could, I cannot. I am here to warn you."
"What of?" An eyebrow raised.
"Hear me out. Nohr is not as evil as you think."
I was shocked. "There is no way you are serious!" Garon flashed in my head back when he threatened to kill Kaze and Rinkah. When he killed Sumeragi.
Ryoma added onto that. "Have you gone mad, Silas? They killed my father!"
"Again, take this with a grain of salt. Anyway, I know why they wage war against you."
We gestured for him to add on to his word. He got us a little closer to him. "Nohr is poor in resources. They have no choice but to plunder other countries such as yours, heir. Notice that they have no sun." He pointed to the stars.
"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "Explain Garon's threats of killing. Why did he use me as a pawn!?"
"Kamui, I am thinking of before he acted like that. I lived on the streets, not you. So, I recognized what citizens were suffering from. I have seen the homeless with nothing. Nowadays, they are scraps for the Faceless that roam the street!"
I was silent. "So…why do you think that it is like that?"
"No sun." He stated plainly.
"Wrong." I corrected. "Garon is taking all of the food for his pleasure."
"How are you certain? You have not been with him for a while now!"
"Ahem." Ryoma caught our attention. "Whether or not it does happen, we do not know. All we do is that we need this war to end. If that requires us Hoshidans killing Garon or creating an agreement, we do not know. Right, Kamui?"
"Yes, I would prefer peace by agreement, despite my hate towards him."
We all walked speechless for a while.
Continuing on, I had yet to lay eyes on a single soul that lived there. The area remained the way it was; cold and dark. The rest of the army behind me seemed to shiver harder than what was seen earlier. That should mean we are close. At least, I hope so. My bare feet began to ache with every step against the cold soil. It felt like whatever my feet felt resonated with the rest of me. They felt cold, so my body had a slight reaction from it.
My body was becoming a little colder than I was used to. So, when I saw a shadowy figure ahead of me, I believed my eyes deceived me. Albeit my situation, my assumption was false.
There was an actual man standing there.
"Well, looks like you are on the wrong side of the street, kiddos." The rough voice began.
I peered my eyes on him. I could only make out a shape of a man, and that was it. I remained quiet.
"Speechless, eh? You are not much like the commoners around here, I see. They usually shriek and run."
No one responded.
"And, what's with the getup?" He asked. "Are you part of some foreign circus?" He stepped out. A tip of white hair spiked out, and one foot was shown. "That must mean you are full of loot! Especially with that beautiful weapon in your little, fragile, hands." A slight smile was displayed in front of me after "little" and "fragile" were emphasized.
I was reluctant to do anything, and no one would respond unless I commanded so. The mystery man stepped back and that same old shadowy form appeared once again. He snapped his fingers, and with that, some maids rose from the dark.
"Take care of them," He smiled. "We've a big brawl tonight."
When everything in place seemed frozen, the barrier was thawed. A dagger flew toward Ryoma, who jumped backward. A few more evasive attacks were launched, with every dagger landing on the ground.
"Onward!" I commanded. As usual, the good people around me responded. My army clashed with his. Daggers flew, spells created explosions.
I once believed there was nothing but a sea of maids. However, berserkers and snipers began to appear out of nowhere. Berserkers began trying to slash down our falcon knights Subaki and Hinoka. In the process, snipers began to fly arrows to them as well.
"Get back!" Hana guarded Subaki. "Get a grip on yourself!" She yelled as she slashed a sniper.
"I got it all under control!" He winced. "Don't worry about me!" Hana thankfully ignored it and continued in battle.
Mozu was hitting her stride. As a sniper, she landed a decent amount of critical hits to the foes around her. The growth she experienced made me smile. Sadly, only for a short while. I got occupied once again by the constant chaos.
Success was created through the army with little issue. I had yet to witness injury or fatigue from any of our members. They all went through a drill-like flow from training in past times. The experience of battle was nothing new to our army. Even growing numb of watching others suffer became something in others.
No POV:
In a forest far away, a soul stood. They have been troubled in recent time, but have felt content doing their own time of pondering. Although at peace, it ended. Pressure was laid on the unfortunate soul. A pink beam of light shone through their body, afflicting great pain. It happened to it three separate times, and the being collapsed.
Kamui's POV
When I believed it was time to defeat Shura, I was corrected. Several maids appeared with pink eyes, ready to launch their merciless weapons. Where are all of these coming from!? I grasped my Noble Yato harder and began to call commands. Takumi, Mozu, Setsuna, and Rinkah stormed in to defeat the maids.
I myself was blocking daggers with the sacred weapon held with both hands. This protected my younger sister Sakura, who began to become frightened by the sudden attack. "T-thank you!" was how she replied as she remained behind me for some time.
It seemed as if the storm was not going to end. The maids did not stop coming. Are they human? I was beginning to wonder where the source was coming from. Due to the blur the color silver surrounding us, the possibility was no there.
I wanted to advance, but I began to grow nervous. My bare feet were in danger of stepping on sharp shapes that laid on the floor. Around me, the others were reluctant as well. The situation grew dire. My comrades were showing signs of fatigue. Sakura would have tended to the others, but we were all separated by a field of knives. Her rod broke, and was just as exhausted. Azama was cursed with the same issue.
"Come on, little piggys!" Shura taunted. "The wolf is hungry," his hand rubbed against his bow.
I was beginning to feel lost hope. Will we make it out alive?