Hello, people. This is something different from my other works for several reasons. The first is that, unlike the others, this one got a lot of planning done before I even started with the first chapter, the reason for that being that I'm finally started working on my very own book as I've been writing for years now, over 6 years now so I decided to try my hand at making something in a professional sense. To that end, this story will serve as a test run, so I want you all to be as critical as you can, don't be dicks but I want to hear your honest opinions so I can refine my craft before I end up handing some publisher a pile of word garbage. You would think African parents would be against such a risky thing but my folks have been nothing by supportive of me, sure it's because I don't plan on banking my life on it, but still, it's the thought that counts. Another reason is that this will be the first story I write that will be cross-published both here and on archiveofourown.
Edit, this is a later announcement, but I now have a p-a-treon as I really want to continue to improve my work, but that requires funds since most of my cash already goes to my studies. Those that sign up will get to read new chapters 48 hours early or propose ideas for one shots, the full details on my page. Of course, if you just want to support me, I would really appreciate that.
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Chapter 1: Turning Point – Part 1
'C.C. are you going as well?' Lelouch asked as the three remained alone in C's World, the shattered remains of the Sword of Akasha slowly fading away as the very realm itself destroyed it. Even now, Lelouch felt like there was something more to it, more to why his mother turned out to be-he didn't let himself go down that rabbit hole, in time he'll accept this harsh truth, just like he had accepted every other aspect of their cruel reality.
'When death comes, you want to at least be smiling, right?' C.C's echoed his words to her back to him, as he eyed her out of the corner of his eye, he wondered if he even has anything left to smile about. Still, his silence didn't give off anything good to the centuries-old immortal as she pushed.
'And you two, what are you planning to do now?' At this, Suzaku turned to face her, his face a little confused by her question while Lelouch remained still, his eye still trained on her as she hugged her legs to her chest from her place on the floor. 'You rejected Charles' plan, and instead chose the forward march of time, however-' She didn't finish the sentence, the reason for it clear, as Suzaku turned his now aggressive gaze towards the banished prince turned rebel.
'I know, Lelouch is the one that murdered Euphie.' Suzaku uttered, his sword held at the ready as Lelouch finally turned to him, even now, after all this time, he couldn't help but flinch when he saw the crimson bird of geass, now having manifested in both his old friend's empty eyes.
'What of it? You intend to avenge her again, now that you have even more blood on your hands than me?' Lelouch asked him, his words as biting as ever as Suzaku ground his teeth in anger at Lelouch's lack of emotion over Euphie's death as if she was nothing to him.
'Again? I never-' He wasn't even given a chance to defend himself as Lelouch cut him off.
'As wrong as ever, I see.' Lelouch remarked as if speaking to himself, or thinking of some distant memory before he returned to the conversation at hand. 'You had your chance to take my life, to bring justice to her name, and yet, you didn't. You choose power.' Lelouch could still recall the humiliation and anguish of being defeated by him, being bonded and dragged before a man he hated over anything and everything else, all before being stripped of all that made him himself and made into a pawn.
'I choose to hand you over to the emperor for justice!' Suzaku yelled at him, on the hair's trigger from just impaling him and being done with it, even if C.C. was here, he could get the deed done before she could react, and it wasn't like she was moving from her place as he kept a good eye on her, and she hasn't even stood up yet-merely watching their exchange with concern and intrigue.
'Justice? Is that right? Then why didn't you hand me over to the Guilford, or perhaps my brother, Schneizel?' Lelouch asked him, getting him to pause. A pause that Lelouch scoffed at, barely interested in this entire conversation.
'I've grown tired of your lies, fool. You may be too much of a coward to admit it, but you know it to be true.' Lelouch told him, his feelings towards him clear even as he barely expressed any real emotion and just locked his empty, violet, and crimson gaze on him, trapping the Japanese knight in place. 'You'll achieve your goals even if it means betraying your friends, isn't that what you told me? What convinced Charles that you were worthy of being one of his most valued puppets and killers?' Suzaku recoiled as if struck as he was reminded of his words that day when he gained Charles's favor through his ruthlessness. He was reminded of his time in Europe, where he tried to regain himself when he attempted to help a little girl find her father after a battle, only for Gino to tell him the man was one of the hundreds of E.U. soldiers that had died fighting them.
He never found out if he had been the one to kill him, nor did he ever look into it for the fear of what he would uncover, so being here, in a world where all those dead would be watching him, judging him as his sins were thrown in his face by this…devil-given-form carried with its emotions and thoughts he refused to deal with. 'Lelouch!' He charged him, his speed as high as ever but to his surprise, Lelouch countered this with his pistol, using it to protect his heart from his thrust as the steel of his blade dug into the polymer of the service pistol. Still, despite this, he got into his face and near growled at him in fury.
'I never wanted any of it! I wanted to bring change, real change through peaceful means but you-you all just couldn't stop fighting.' He knew this to be true in his heart, he had a plan and he had known it would be a high mountain to climb, but he had made progress, he could have done it but every time he made a step forward, every time he reached another checkpoint, he was undermined, he was slowed down, he was sabotaged by people who insisted on fighting for nothing!
'So, it's not your fault that you have so much blood on your hands? That you helped conquer millions? That you betrayed the friends that welcomed you with open arms for your own means?' Lelouch asked him, his grip tight on the weapon that saved him from his foolish adversary's charge. His empty eyes were able to see right through the knight of seven as he tried to come up with all manner of justifications and excuses for his actions, for his failures. With an impressive showing of strength, and taking advantage of his former friend's instability, he pushed him back, his pistol aimed squarely at his unprotected chest.
'By the same token, does that mean that I'm absolved for Shirley's father's death? I didn't want him to die, after all? Am I pardoned for those hurt by my action which I didn't wish hurt?' His smile both sickened Suzaku and worried C.C. even more as it seemed like something had snapped in him, as if the raging fire of rage and love that once burned bright was snuffed out, leaving nothing but the few smoldering embers, a mockery of the man they both knew.
'Wake up, already. We rejected Charles and Marianne's world of lies. Accept that all you cared about was your own mortal soul, you wanted so badly to prove me wrong that you never stopped to wonder if you were right.' Lelouch kept his smile up, as he mocked his old friend with a truth he had come to realize long ago about him, as he read up on what he had been up to while he was used as bait to draw out C.C. It was the very basis of his Zero's exile plan as while he knew his sister, Nunnally would never give the order to harm the over 1 million people that he planned to lead out of Japan, he also knew that she had no real power. So, his plan banked on Suzaku's obsession with appearances as if there were no cameras, he couldn't say if Suzaku would have given the order to fire if it meant undermining or killing him.
'I didn't start a rebellion.' Suzaku's weak retort brought out a small bark of laughter from him.
'I didn't let our friends be used as pawns in Charles' schemes.' He wasn't ashamed of how Suzaku's face grimaced with that as he twisted the knife in his heart.
'So what, you're saying that we're alike?' Suzaku asked, his sword lowered a bit as C.C. finally got up and walked over to her contractor's side.
'We certainly share similarities in some aspects, but we differ in far more.' Lelouch shook his head, he knew that if things had turned out differently, they would have been nigh unstoppable together, as they always were. But he had seen a while back that their differences would never see that come to any meaningful place as even his pleas for him to ensure Nunnally's safety required that he cast his pride and goals aside.
'Suzaku, do you remember when you told me that results gained through immoral means were meaningless?' Lelouch asked him, getting both to pause as C.C. hadn't been present for their first talk that night of his debut, whereas Suzaku was taken back to it as he recalled how he was angry with Zero for killing Clovis, disregarding that the same slain prince ordered a purge of his people to cover his own ass.
'I do.' He answered as Lelouch lowered his gun, his eyes softening though they still lacked any warmth to them as he instead rose his hands to gesture to the entire place, to this realm of the dead as it faded away, returning them back to the badly damaged entrance on Kamine Island.
'Well, this is the result of your choices, you stayed true to the empire, you abandoned Euphemia's legacy, you become a monster…but you followed the rules, so I must ask again, do you still believe it?' Lelouch couldn't resist it as he asked the question he had wanted to be answered for quite some time now, ever since he had returned to Ashford. Suzaku looked like he was about to retort, to claim that he still believed that out of some reflex before he stopped himself, his expression calming even if it remained as unwelcoming as before.
'I don't. I was just an idealist child, clinging to a lie for comfort.' Suzaku admitted, saying the same thing he had told Cecile and Gino before he came here to kill Charles for Schneizel. With that admittance, he sheathed his blade, knowing that with Lelouch and C.C. ready, trying to kill him and take him head to Schneizel would be too risky. With that, he turned and walked away as the
'And where are you going? You can't take the coward's way out.' Lelouch reminded him as he stopped, his back turned to the two.
'I'm well aware of that, so I'll take the better option and try and bring meaning to all this destruction.' Suzaku's retort took a moment for Lelouch to comprehend before his smile grew even more amused.
'I see, you're going to try to beg for Schneizel's favor, are you?' He didn't know the specifics of why Suzaku had come to the island, but he could only assume it was self-serving like his other actions, and with Schneizel in the picture, he could theorize that he had given him an offer of increased power if he took out Charles.
'The throne is as good as his, Charles is dead. I'll reveal to him what has happened, I will take Area 11 and ensure that this fighting, this carnage never happens again, not as long as I live.' Suzaku had lost everything else, but he could still retake his lands and try and make things better for the people, through force if necessary. If people wished to fight pointless battles, he'll give them quick deaths.
'For a man whose eyes are open, you're blind to the world, or perhaps you just wish to see the writing on the wall.' C.C.'s comments didn't phase him as much as they once would of. He didn't care about what she or anyone else thought of him. Lelouch was right, he was so obsessed with looking good that he didn't do good, that's going to change and he didn't care how people saw him for it.
'I'll try to kill you, but I have a feeling that C.C. won't let me.' He'll let them go, but this would be the last time he did that as the death of Charles, he could prove with the imperial shield that he had picked off the fallen emperor as he was turned to nothingness, though he wasn't looking forward to explaining to the emperor-to-be how his father died.
'What a fine man the knight of Princess Euphemia has become, I'm sure she's proud.' Lelouch put his gun away, and their encounter was about to end with no further bloodshed.
'Only as proud of me as Shirley is of you.' Suzaku's retort got him to pause, but only for a moment as he took an unperceivable breath to still himself.
'Touché. I hope we never cross paths again.' Lelouch replied.
'Agreed.' With that said, the two parted as Suzaku left the cave, heading for where he had landed his helicopter. With him gone, C.C. turned her full attention to her contractor but before she could say anything, he beat her to it.
'What about you? Do you intend to leave and seek out another contractor?' His question caused her some level of pain, she disliked that he would think she would just leave, but then again, she had done so in the past to others, right? Was he in the wrong for thinking she would do the same with him now that he knew the truth?
'I have no plans of the sort.' Her response was measured and calm as most of the things she said but his lack of a response didn't inspire any confidence in her as she had seen many people with those eyes, she had seen them in herself for centuries.
'We should get moving, even if Suzaku doesn't tell them we're here, it's only a matter of time before they find us if we don't leave.' So she chose to shelf that for now, it was a conversation that while badly needed and gearing up to be a painful one, wasn't important at the moment.
Once the two left the cave, they could see in the distance Vincents and Akatsuki's flying about, far enough to not be able to pick them up, but close enough to respond to anything that could draw their or the attention of the three floatships in the sky. Charles's flagship, the Great Britannia, the Black Knight flagship, Ikaruga, and Schneizel's personal floatship, the Avalon.
Seeing the ships and machines of the two sides of what was once a bitter war flying side by side twisted something in him as he wondered about the alliance that had been born between them over their mutual hatred for him. 'How peculiar, I wonder, C.C. Was I doomed from the beginning?' C.C. turned to him, wondering what he meant by that question.
'What?'
'I was mocked for my mother's blood in Britannia, ostracised for my Britannian blood in Japan, forced to hide my true feelings in Ashford, and now, even my own army has left me. Was it my choices, was it fear of my powers, or some combination of the two? Or was it something else entirely?' He explained himself, looking at his hands, though they were physically clean, he couldn't help but see red when he looked at them. But, so were the hands of everyone else present, from those like Schneizel who ordered the actions, to those like Kallen who carried them out. He wondered that it was his true self that made him an outsider, as the Black Knights had been willing to follow him when they didn't know who he was, was he a poison? He didn't quite know.
He was reminded of C.C.'s presence when she hugged him from behind, her head resting between his shoulder blades. 'Lelouch, I still don't know the full details myself yet, but if nothing else, I'll remain by your side, we are partners.'
'Partners? I doubt that, more like a witch and her more useful pawn, or am I mistaken?' He asked, getting her to freeze for a moment as she recalled that Charles and Marianne had filled him in, and she didn't know how to react as she didn't feel things like she used to, but she could understand that she had hurt him through her actions. Before she could retort, he broke her hold and started to move away from the cave and deeper into the island. 'I suppose it doesn't matter at the moment.' He figured that if she wanted him dead, she would have done it by now.
'Lelouch, what do you intend to do now?' She asked as she followed along.
'For the first time in years, I have no clue. I've killed Charles and found the truth about Marianne's death, and Nunnally's dead. What is there for me to do?' He asked her in return, getting her to recall what he had told her about his existence before he left to battle Cornelia for the first time. How he had lived without a purpose for years and hated every minute of it. His geass allowed him to start living again, to work towards a goal. But now, she didn't know.
'I have few allies, no home, no family, no purpose.' He finished her thought for her as he looked back at his hand, wondering about all the lives he had taken, all for an unobtainable goal, making all of it pointless. Still, he could see a warped sense of comedic justice to it all.
'Figures that someone who embodies destruction would have nothing but the ruins to keep him company.' He smiled there, thinking about his words on it back when he first attack the Tokyo settlement, and how he accepted that he was a demon.
'Still, despite that, I have no intentions of being killed by those traitors and imperials. We'll contact Jeremiah and make a plan from there to leave Area 11, there's nothing left here for us, anyway.' He told her, getting her to breath a small sigh of relief as they continued to trek with the occasional knightmare flying overhead, no doubt searching for the two of them. They reached another cave, smaller than the last, and walked into it, with C.C. noting how the path kept leading down.
Soon they reached their destination, a small beach, largely covered by an overhead cliff, it seemed to be a natural harbor as Lelouch had used it to get onto the island thanks to Shinkiro's underwater capabilities.
Before he could move toward his personal machine, another made its appearance at the entrance of the place. 'Halt.' Anya's one-note delivery didn't take away from the fact she had her Stark Hadron Cannon primed and ready to turn them, the Shinkiro, and most of the cave into nothing but dust.
'Crap.' C.C. couldn't help but swear, she had hoped that she would still be out for a while after Marianne left her body, but it seems like it wasn't their day.
'I memorized that Knightmare-I know you.' Inside her cockpit, the still confused girl spoke to them, having only gotten back into her machine to hear the tail end of Schneizel's words about the current situation. She would have to ask Gino about this later, though, for some reason, her mind seemed…clearer? She wasn't sure but she didn't have the time to settle it, not when she had Zero in front of her. 'You're Suzaku's friend…from school. I'll have to record that…Lelouch Lamperouge is Zero.' In response to her words, where she has seen others give in and surrender, or fruitlessly charge her in some attempt to try and stop her, Lelouch proved to be different as he merely laughed, as if finding the entire situation amusing.
'Haven't you heard? Zero's dead again, this time I'm sure it'll stick.' Lelouch said as he walked closer to her, no fear in his step which got her to pause. She didn't know what he could mean by that, he was dressed like Zero if only lacking the cape and helmet; his machine was present as well, was he trying to throw her off? It wasn't a particularly smart play, especially from someone like Zero.
'Then who are you then? Are you Zero, my enemy? Or are you Lelouch Lamperouge, my schoolmate?' She asked him, wanting to know if her memories were once more unreliable, to see if she had forgotten something else.
'You know, I'm not quite sure about that answer myself anymore, those masks were created with clear purposes in mind, purposes I either can't obtain anymore or have no point in my pursuing.' His response kept her hand from firing or calling this in as he kept his eyes on her, almost peering at her in her cockpit. 'I believe you can relate to that, can you? Not knowing what you are. I without a purpose, you without memories.' With that, she shook in her seat, her normally deadpan expression starting to crack, not just from his words but from everything else that has happened in the last 24 hours, she didn't know what to make of it.
'How did you…' She never told him that, she had only ever told Gino about that, hearing her confusion, and guessing what state she must be in, Lelouch's empty eyes got a little softer before he responded.
'Remember when we spoke at Ashford? You said that you trust your phone more than your own mind as at least with it, things your record don't vanish.' He recalled it when she showed him an image of his younger self. He had nearly had a heart attack when he saw it, and her complete lack of knowledge of where she even acquired the image only perplexed him more. But with what he found out, he knew that it was Marianne that had acquired and saved the image, most likely there was one of Nunnally but he hadn't seen it. Perhaps she kept them as some way to recall the children she tossed aside.
'N-no.' Anya started to panic as she barely recalled that encounter, she tried her hardest to remember it but nothing! Just like with so many other things, she felt tears building in her eyes at it, at this fate she had been cursed with. Despite her condition only making the situation all the more dangerous, Lelouch showed no fear as he took a few steps closer towards the imposing knightmare, against C.C.'s pleas.
'Gino said that you sometimes have to ask him about events that you were present for, but can't recall.' Gino had been asking him for advice, hoping that he would have had some alternative method to help his friend that he hadn't tried. He hadn't been all that interested in helping her then, so he never got back to the blonde knight. 'I know why you have memory problems, it's because your mind wasn't truly your own.' Here, she stopped looking at him with a leading sense of need to her, as she tried to keep it together like she did every day.
'Lelouch.' C.C. didn't know what he was trying to do but she didn't like him putting himself in more danger, didn't he just tell her he wasn't going to kill himself? What did he call this?
'I don't believe you, you're Zero, that means you're my enemy.' Despite her words, it was clear to both the fallen rebel and immortal that she didn't believe them, or more accurately, she didn't want this to be a lie or con. In response, he removed his contacts, allowing the crimson birds of his geass to be seen by her, the sight of which caused her to jump in her seat, getting the Mordred to flinch a bit.
'You flinched, didn't you? I can't blame you for it, the last time you saw eyes like this, well, that's why we're in this situation.' He started, keeping his eyes on her with their cursed gaze.
'Lelouch, what are you doing?' C.C. asked him as he turned to her, a small smile on his face that looked so wrong to her.
'I'm merely telling her that I share the same power as the person that took her mind, and that I can give her a way to take it back, of ensuring that she can regain her lost memories and self.' In the middle there, he turned his attention back to her. Waiting for her response. For her part, Anya didn't know what to think about this. It seemed too promising, too ideal to be anything other than a falsehood, one that she wouldn't tolerate as she reached for her comms to call this in and see him locked up for the rest of his days if not executed. But she paused, she knew it seemed too good to be true, but she had also seen Zero work miracles in the past.
She could still hear the radio going off, people passing along information about the search progress for whoever stole the Shinkiro, with word from Suzaku confirming he was on the island only intensifying the search as calls were made for additional people to join in on the hunt, from both Britannia and the Black Knights. She should call in, she knew that it would take them a while to find this place as she had only happened upon it by pure chance. But…
She also wanted this to be real.
'H-how.' She could appreciate that either made a comment about how shaky she sounded right now as she powered down her Stark Hadron Cannons, it wasn't like she was letting them go, of that was what she telling herself at least. 'How do I know you're genuine? That this isn't some trick to get away or kill me?' She would turn him to bloody paste if this was just a trick. Lelouch, for his part, brought a hand up to hold his chin in thought.
'Good question, truth is that unless I can grant you a demonstration, you have no reason to trust me, it's not like we were ever close so it's not like this is the word of a trusted friend either.' He wouldn't pretend that they had been close, they had few encounters outside the battlefield, and she didn't know how he was for all those encounters.
'But then again, what do you have to lose my indulging me? If you find my lacking, you're well in a position to detain or eliminate me, an act my brother will no doubt reward you handsomely for.' Anya didn't know what he meant by that, was his brother in the justice system or something? Still, she would give him this one chance to prove himself, that was her choice.
'What do you need to do?' She asked him as he gestured towards his knightmare, his posture was as relaxed as ever.
'I just need to make it back to my knightmare and contact Jeremiah.' She wasn't sure about letting him board the machine, while it couldn't compare to her firepower, its shields could tank her attack long enough for him to make some sort of elaborate escape.
'Why him? Won't you call Kallen or Tohdoh? To reinforce you?' That was another confusing point, sure Orange was good as he could at least keep up with a Knight of Round, but wouldn't it make more sense to bring in someone with a 9th gen machine? Kallen had nearly killed Suzaku in their battle, and could surely do the same to her, was this a trick to get her to think he was calling for one when he was really calling for the other?
'I have no intentions to fight you, nor would they answer the call of a dead man in the way you're thinking of. Jeremiah's the one with the device which can cure you as while I could use my own power, I've never seen what happens when two commands collide, but I can only assume that it won't do any good.' She wasn't too sure about that, but something about those eyes made her want to avoid them. And then there were his words about being a dead man, why was everyone treating him like he was a fugitive? None of the radio traffic seemed to explain this, all being about how someone stole Zero's machine, but how would that even be possible? She was used to working without the full picture, she was prone to forgetting details anyway when things were explained to her, but there was something more going on her. So, keeping her eyes on him, she gestured to his machine, to which he started to move towards it with the strange woman by his side.
'I have to admit, I didn't think you would use such a cruel trick.' C.C. whispered to him as they moved towards his knightmare.
'When did I say it was a trick?' Lelouch asked her back as she nearly paused mid-step, that didn't sound like him. 'I intend to deliver on my words, she shouldn't have to deal waste years of her life looking for some truth when I can grant her that.' He looked at her, his eyes telling a story that she already knew, and being enough to convince her.
'What would you have done if she didn't listen?' She asked as it seemed like a big risk to her.
'No clue.' He responded as they finally made it to his machine, he reached for the keys he kept on him and opened the cockpit block, as he got in and powered up the communications, he noted the small heart shape keychain hanging from the control column, right where he left it.
'Rolo…' He uttered, not really knowing what to feel about him but putting those unclear feelings aside as he got off the main communications line before he started imputing the codes for one of his private ones. While he had a private link to most of his command staff, in case he had to discuss somewhat sensitive information, he also knew that with his escape, they'll be monitoring those channels for even a hint of activity.
'Give me a moment if you will.' This left him with only one option, to use the secret channel that he had created without Rakshata's knowledge, though because he did it without the aid of their IT department, its main strength was its only strength-the fact no one knew about it as it wasn't nearly as encrypted as he would have liked, but it was his only option. It took a few minutes, but he managed to boot it up and quickly input Jeremiah's contact information, when it connected he felt relief that he had been in the Sutherland Sieg as a phone call would have been out of his reach. 'Jeremiah, it's me.'
'Oh, thank goodness! It brings me great joy to hear your voice, when Ohgi informed me of your death, I knew that there was something fowl when he refused to allow me at least the moment to see your corpse but I couldn't act without a clearer image of the situation as it seems as if even Lady Kozuki has gone with this betrayal. Are you alright, my lord? Are you injured?' Both he and C.C. couldn't help but smile at how worried he sounded, clearly, he was still on their side and extremely confused by recent events as the last he saw him, he was in a sorry state after Nunnally's demise.
'It's good to hear from you as well, Jeremiah. I'm short on allies at the moment but it lightens my heart to know that I can still count on people like you. I am unhurt, thought for not lack of attempt from my traitorous command.' He swore that he could the cyborg's blood pressure rise there at the confirmation of the coup against his master, though before he could no doubt fly into a rage, he calmed himself.
'Even Lady Kozuki turned?' He felt his heart break a little more at the reminder of how she wasn't here with him, of the remainder of another person he loved being lost to him, but he did appreciate that Jeremiah hadn't bought that she too would turn on him, he never spoke with her but he understood her.
'She did, but it's more complicated with her. Jeremiah, I need you to head to my location as fast as you can, do you have me on your screens?' Lelouch ordered him as he could see Anya's gaze on him, most likely waiting for him to make good on his promise.
'I do, I'll be there shortly." Jeremiah replied as he looked to the side, no doubt confirming that he could track him down.
'Make sure that they don't figure out where you're going, else we'll have both the Empire and the Order coming down on us and I don't have any miracles that can stop that.' He joked though he didn't feel any amusement, only bitter surrender.
'As you wish, your majesty.' Jeremiah, if he picked up on this, didn't comment.
'And be aware, the knight of 6 is present but she isn't hostile at the moment, keep that in mind.' He told him before he signed off and shut down the knightmare, climbing out of it and taking a seat on one of the comfortable-looking rocks in the cave. Both to rest after what has been the longest 2 days in his life, and to give Anya additional assurance that he wasn't trying anything as she could easily kill him before anything could happen. Now all he had to do was wait.
And we are done! This was meant to be much longer as I had more planned for chapter 1, but I'm trying to limit chapter sizes to below 6k but above 5k as again, most books I've read keep the chapter word count somewhere in the same ballpark and don't go on for too long. Again, please leave your thoughts in a review, don't be a dick but try to word would any praise or critics you have so that I know where I can improve.
