A/N: Long story alert! Hope you're comfy.
"Augh!"
In the dead of night, deep at the base of the valley, Mio doubled back from the thrust of a Kevesi blade, before closing the gap again and making two swift slices with her dual moonblades. Her opponent, soundly defeated, let out a quick grunt before quickly falling to the ground. No sooner had the body laid still, did red motes start to rise from their husk, a telltale sign that yet another life had been shed.
And yet, there was no ferronis here; there was no victor to claim spoils to the life force that spilled out from the souls inevitably caught in this never-ending battle. What then, had this life even been taken for?
"...May your soul rest now," Mio mumbled under her breath, quietly sheathing her blade.
There was no answer to that question, it seemed. Perhaps, as long as there was fighting - there never will be.
So for her part, if she had to fight anyways, it was all Mio could do to deliver as swift of a death as possible.
Behind her, she heard two pairs of footsteps and quickly put those thoughts away, locked away for another time. It was her other two companions, having also emerged victorious against the other Kevesi scouts in the immediate area.
"Everyone okay?" Mio quickly asked.
"Yep!" Sena responded enthusiastically.
"No issues here," Taion agreed, recalling the Mondo spinning around him.
"Manana doing just dandy!" Manana spoke up, revealing herself from behind a tree.
"Alright, that's good," Mio nodded apprehensively. "But something's off. How are Kevesi troops here? This should still firmly be under Gamma territory - how did they make it this far without the frontline spotting them?"
Taion looked off in the distance, towards where the canyon started to converge; already, the battle with Keves had started in full effect, as bullet tracers could be seen flying overhead in the ridges above, and nearby explosions rocked the earth.
"That is odd, now that you mention it," Taion observed, turning his attention to the mountaintops above them. "Most of the fighting is happening on the west side of the valley - but where's our left flank? It's pretty much silent."
"You don't think…they all got taken out, do you?" Sena asked.
"Impossible - we had at least three squads deployed there," he swiftly rebuked. "No way they would be taken out so soundly and yet we would hear nothing of it."
"Hmm…"
Mio let her thoughts gather for a second, before quickly coming to a decision.
"The left flank is probably fine; Hackt is with them too, so if anything happened, we would hear it from him."
"That is true - Hackt is more than capable of handling anything Keves has to throw at us," Taion nodded.
"Let's just keep going for now; our objective is on the west side anyways. …Not that I really know what exactly our objective looks like – though I imagine we'll know it when we see it."
"Come to think of it, Command never really told us who or what exactly we're fighting to get our hands on, did they?" Sena questioned.
"Unfortunately not," Taion replied unceremoniously. "We have no specifications as to the capabilities of this vessel, and no details as to their affiliation either."
"I don't know about you all, but doesn't this seem a little…fishy?" There was a dubious tone in Sena's voice.
"If Keves have been sending out their Survey Branch, then that would likely mean they're not familiar with this territory either. Which would infer that this unknown vessel doesn't belong to them, but a third party. So they're not fighting with us to protect the vessel, but potentially to get their hands on it as well," Mio concluded, catching up to the other two. "If that's the case, then this is definitely fishy. I wasn't even aware there were other hostile factions besides Keves."
"Agreed - but we'll have to do what we can with the intel that we have," Taion said, bringing up his Iris with his left hand. "Let's go over the plan one more time."
The other two nodded, and brought up their Iris as well.
"We're currently…here," Taion pointed to a narrow road on the east side of the mountain range which led down to the base of the valley. "The vessel was supposed to have passed this point and moved towards the west side of the valley, where we were supposed to have shot it down. Given all of the fighting on that side, I would wager that this was successful, and both Keves and Agnus are engaging them."
"But we're supposed to investigate the inside of the vessel itself, right?" Mio asked, recalling the mission briefing given at the assembly.
"Correct - once our frontline team has grounded it, us as the special forces team are to move in on the ground and secure or destroy the contents as we deem necessary. The frontline will provide covering fire from the north ridge to help us in our endeavor. …Needless to say however, given that it is a valley, nothing is stopping Keves from doing the exact same thing on the south side."
"They really handed us all the dirty work, huh?" Sena said.
"No use quibbling about it now, Sena," Mio responded. "We're special forces for a reason. We'll keep on moving west, and once we get to the main area where the fighting is, we should hopefully encounter less enemies on the ground as our support will be firing on them from above. Regardless though, keep your eyes peeled. We'll use the trees as cover until we make it closer."
"Sounds like a plan," Sena agreed, with Taion giving a quick nod of affirmation as well.
…
Darting from tree to tree, the gunshots started to ring louder and louder as Mio quickly made her way towards the bulk of the fighting. Since the left flank was already compromised, she expected there to have been at least one other encounter with Keves - but though she continually scanned her surroundings as she continued to move, she didn't see anyone else at the bottom of the valley with them.
That is, until -
"You guys - stop!" Mio whispered softly, ducking behind a tree and peeking around it as she held up an arm to signal for her teammates to halt. They were almost out of the woods now - up ahead, there was a small clearing, and she could make out bullet tracers coming from the ground and firing upon their side of the valley.
"Hostiles," Taion confirmed, understanding the situation. "...But they don't look Kevesi."
"Look, that thing behind them!" Sena pointed to the large vessel behind the people shooting. "Is that a levnis?"
"Doesn't look like any levnis I've ever seen," Mio responded. "Guess that confirms it - this would be our fabled third party with their vessel, then."
All of a sudden, Taion looked to his left and scattered his Mondo out.
"And it seems we are not the only ones with our eyes on the prize," he said cautiously.
Following his gaze, Mio looked to the other side of the clearing and spotted another group of people observing the unknown group in the middle. They wore dark clothing, and one had feather-like ears sticking out from the back of their head.
"Kevesi troops," Mio acknowledged grimly.
Still seemingly unaware of their presence at the moment, the group of Kevesi soldiers started to make their way closer to the clearing.
"What do we do?" Sena inquired. "At this rate, they'll make it to the other people before we do."
"Hmm…if the levnis contains some sort of unknown weaponry, then it would be dangerous to let Keves get to it first," Mio speculated. "Seeing how there's already too many unknown variables, I would say our best option would be to fight them first and remove them from the picture. Taion, thoughts?"
"That seems like a sensible course of action – I do think it's in our best interests to engage first and strike preemptively.."
"Great. Then, Taion, when you find the right moment, can you split them up with your Mondo? That'll make it easier to break their formation. Sena and I will use that time to close the gap and hopefully make a quick and decisive strike."
"Understood," Taion nodded, his Mondo circling his body. "Ready whenever you are."
Mio and Sena looked at each other and gave a silent nod, and then started to move in a little closer.
When they had made it to the edge of the clearing, and there were no more trees in front of them that they could use to approach undetected any longer, Mio took a quick moment to survey the enemy in front of them. From what she could tell, there only seemed to be three of them, plus a nopon. A squad that lost half of their numbers already then? Or perhaps another special forces group like theirs…
But right then, Taion's Mondo surged past her head, and she pushed those thoughts away as she instantly sprung into action and followed it, pulling out her blades in the process and steadying herself.
Taion's Mondo was quickly closing in on the soldier in the front – best case, it would incapacitate him and he would be out of the fight, but at the very least, it would cause a nice distraction for her to close the distance and strike quickly.
500 meters out – 400 now. Just a little bit closer…
"Mimi! On your left!"
"!?"
Instantly, Mio looked 20 degrees to her left - one of the soldiers had spotted her approach and was pulling out the gatling gun on his shieldblade.
"Tch!"
Taion's barrage quickly assaulted the soldier in front, forcing him to break from the other two; but at the same moment, the gatling gun opened fire at the ground in front of Mio, forcing her to take a backstep and abandon the chase.
"Oh no you don't!"
Seemingly out of nowhere, Sena took a jump from behind Mio, evading the bullets from overhead and plunging towards the shieldblade soldier with her hammer. In response, he quickly shifted formation to defense, and, upon contact, deftly deflected Sena's impact.
"No way, he blocked Sena's attack?!" Mio gasped. They had both been forced back due to the resulting shockwave of their collision – but the mere fact that he was still standing after taking the full brunt of one of Sena's attacks was a feat in and of itself.
Right after that, the third enemy soldier - the one with wings on the back of her head - swiftly pulled out her blade – a gunrod – and aimed a shot that went wide of Mio. Only, it wasn't aimed at her, she realized, but Taion in the back, hiding behind a tree. Found out, he had little choice but to abandon his cover as it disintegrated under enemy fire, and he quickly made his way to regroup with her and Sena.
"...These guys aren't your everyday Kevesi soldiers," Sena gritted, gripping her hammer a little bit tighter.
That much was very apparent – one of them had deliberately shot at the ground in front of her so that she couldn't advance and take advantage of their preemptive strike – and he even took the full force of Sena's attacks. The other one was able to accurately pinpoint Taion's location, and precisely fire upon his position even though he was so far in the back. As for the other one, the one who had been caught by their initial attack…
He now stood in front of them both, a shining red and blue blade clasped in front of him. He held a calm stance as he eyed the three of them warily, one that looked like he had used to win countless battles.
Just like that, the element of surprise was lost - they had missed their chance to capitalize on the fleeting moment of a preemptive strike, and now that they stood on even ground, it was hard to tell who had the advantage.
"Mio – I would advise against a long, drawn out battle against these people," Taion noted, nodding towards the downed levnis on the right. "Our ultimate objective is still over there - and I don't imagine the people there will wait for us to finish this."
"...Mm. You're right," Mio agreed, speaking softly so only Sena and Taion could hear. "Let's try to make this as quick and decisive as possible then. Though I can't imagine that will be very easy. Sena, try to keep the shieldblade user occupied. Taion, if you could keep the gunrod girl from firing on us and giving them support, that would be much appreciated. As for me…"
She looked back at the one with the sword – though he hadn't fought and showed any of his capabilities yet, something about him…Mio's instincts told him that he was probably the most dangerous of the bunch.
"...I'll take the one in the middle. Now scatter!"
"Right!" The two of them nodded, and she instantly made a dash towards the enemy team.
Instantly, the two Kevesi soldiers on the side spread out - presumably to not get caught in a pincer with Taion's fast moving Mondo. The female soldier, after stepping two paces to the right, instantly fired three shots at her, forcing Mio to evade at a proportional angle to her left.
'Damn – like I thought, I really can't fight on equal footing if she can fire on me for free; I'll have to separate her from the others first,' Mio thought, changing her initial target.
Dashing in a zig-zag formation, Mio used her agility and ambiguous movement to cover her approach on the gunrod soldier – and when she was about 10 meters away from her, she instantly closed that distance all at once by lunging forward and putting her dual moonblades in front of her, aiming for her chest.
But just before her blades made contact, a dull clang rang out, and her attack was deflected by the gunrod that was now held vertically so as to stop the lunge. The momentum of Mio's attack pushed her back however, and she was knocked into a backwards somersault.
"Agh! Queen's beans, how fast is this girl?!" she yelled, scrambling to get back on her feet.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mio saw the shieldblade user quickly shift his attention to her after her attack.
"Eunie!" He cried out, planting down his shield again. "You mudder, you'll pay for tha-"
"Nuh-uh, you're dealing with me!"
But before he could open fire, Sena swung her hammer at his left flank, forcing him to turn away and shield the attack.
"Thanks, Sena!" Mio said, leaping two paces back to safely assess the situation. On their left side, Sena was pinning the shieldblade user down. And in their backline, Taion's Mondo already had the gunrod user surrounded, forcing her to keep her attention and bullets on the immediate threat surrounding her.
All according to plan - so all that's left is…
The swordsman, their last remaining member, stepped forward into the clearing, readying himself in that stance that she had just seen. He monitored Mio carefully, watching for any sudden movements.
In contrast, Mio's eyes were initially drawn to the sword that he was wielding – it was no ordinary blade, that was for sure – and, was it vibrating? It was too hard to tell without getting closer.
But it was the moment after that, when she looked past the sword, and to the wielder of the blade, whose face was now illuminated by the fires around them now that he had stepped out of the shadow of the forest –
That was the moment that, for the briefest of seconds, made Mio stop in her tracks.
His face – when Mio saw it, she couldn't help but feel like it was…oddly nostalgic. Like a face that she perhaps once recognized, but had since long forgotten.
It was clear that this was the first time in her life that she had met this person – Mio was sure of that. And yet, she felt like she had seen that exact face, with that exact expression, countless times before.
Across time; across that infinite darkness…
In that one, small moment when Mio saw her opponent's face, it felt like the world had come to a standstill.
…No, that wasn't quite right.
Rather than that, it was almost as if she had waded through an endless sea of time in a single instant – an ocean so large, that it made it feel like that one moment lasted forever.
"Agh! How is his shield so sturdy?!"
"Sparks! For a little munchkin, you sure pack a real wallop!"
"How many of those cards has this geek got?!"
"There's no escape - when my Mondo have you, they'll follow you to the ends of the world!"
But all too quickly, the sounds of chaos on the battlefield - her teammates struggling, their enemies fighting back - all of it seemed to echo back into her mind all at once, and she was quickly pulled back into reality as time caught back up with her.
She blinked twice, trying to gather her bearings. The battle raged on, unrelentingly, around Mio – but rather than being a part of it, it felt almost as if she was just simply a spectator to the madness, until she came back to reality. Part of the reason for that must've been her immediate opponent; despite Mio seemingly being out of it, he had not taken advantage of that opening, instead opting to stay at the exact same spot since their initial standoff.
"What's wrong? Too scared to approach me?" Mio taunted, a slight quiver in her voice.
"...There's no flame clock here. Killing each other would be pointless. Withdraw, Agnus, and we will not pursue!"
"! Wha-!" Out of all of the answers Mio was expecting, that one was certainly not one of them. "I could say the same to you! Why don't you withdraw instead?!"
But the swordsman simply shook his head.
"We can't. That energy source that the vessel was carrying – it has a tremendous ether reading," he said, pointing back to the downed levis in the clearing with his sword. "If used inappropriately, it could be used as a weapon against us."
"Well then…I suppose this is one battle that neither of us can back down from," Mio said somberly, readying her moonblades.
Her opponent took a deep breath, and tightened his grip on his sword.
"Yes - I suppose so."
No sooner had those words come out of his mouth, did Mio leap into action, swiftly closing the 50 or so meters that separated the two of them.
…In truth, she felt much the same as her opponent – she would rather avoid having to fight, if she could really help it. But there was too much at stake here, with the unknown vessel and ether source. If there was even a slim chance that Keves could utilize it and bring harm upon Sena, Taion, Hackt, or anyone else in the colony, then Mio had to do her best to stop that. As the most senior one, she felt like it was her duty to protect them from that, at least.
As soon as she was within his striking distance, he threw out an overhead slash, which she quickly parried and countered with an attack of her own, forcing him to leap backwards to avoid the attack.
Her assault didn't stop there, though. Mio could tell from the way he held his stance - most likely, he had a good mastery of his sword. If he knew how to purposely keep her at range, then she was at a disadvantage; the only thing that she could do to counter that was to force him to play defensively, so that he couldn't utilize the reach of his sword.
She continued pushing aggressively, ducking and diving between his attacks. When he threw out a slash, she would backstep it, and then push off in a different direction to change the timing of her attacks. And when he lunged into her space with a thrust, she would parry it with one of her moonblades, while aggressing forward with the other.
'1, 2, 3, 4 – 1…2…3!'
With the timing down in her head, she danced outside the range of his blade, looking for small openings when she deflected his attacks, and pushing him back when he overextended and left his flank exposed. Despite that however, she wasn't landing any decisive hits; like Taion mentioned earlier, she couldn't afford a drawn out battle here. She needed to finish him off fast, and help the others wrap up as well…
So she decided this next count would be when she tried to move in for a lethal hit.
'1, 2, 3, 4…'
With the count of the next beat, she saw the swordsman preparing for a thrust at around mid-height. That was just what Mio needed; previously, she had been parrying those attacks – that was most likely what he was expecting her to do, as well.
'1…'
The thrust from him came in; this time, Mio deftly sidestepped the attack, dodging to the right and dashing inward.
'2…'
She had now made it inside the range of his sword - and his sword was currently out of position. This was the moment she had been waiting for…!
'3!'
"!"
Except, halfway through the stabbing motion, he pulled the sword back, and drew a wide arc towards her body instead.
'No way!' Mio gasped. 'He read my attack?!'
The stab was simply a feint - intended to lull her into a spot where she couldn't cover her own flank very well. Putting her left arm up, she was able to partially deflect it in time with her left moonblade - but the tip of his sword still caught her hip, and she was sent flying.
"Agh!"
She tumbled onto the ground, rolling a couple of meters away from the initial impact.
"Ugh, sparks, that hurt…a few months ago, I would've been able to dodge that…" Mio muttered as she slowly staggered onto her feet, slightly disoriented from hitting the ground so violently.
"!"
But when she did, she was met with the tip of a red and blue sword to her face.
"...You're wounded," her opponent said solemnly, yet calmly. "If you continue like this, you'll lose – surely, you see that! Leave, now!"
"...You're not going to finish me off?" Mio asked. "You could've killed me right then and there."
"Like I said – killing each other here would be pointless. If you call back your friends and retreat, then I see no need to take your life."
"Hmph. Well, aren't we feeling generous today?!"
In one swift motion, she deflected his sword back with her right moonblade, and took a step backwards to create some distance. However, even that one small step was enough to make her wince in pain. He was right – she wouldn't be able to last much further in this condition.
Still though, she couldn't back down with so much at stake. After all, if she fell, then he could overwhelm the other two. At the very least, given the fact that he didn't finish her off, he must've been growing overconfident; she could use that to potentially slip in an attack.
Biting down on her lip to ignore the throbbing pain coming from her side, she ran forwards, looking to end this battle with one last attack.
"Agh! Why won't you listen?!" Mio heard him yell out, as he dashed forward as well to meet her blade.
But just before her blades were about to cross with his…
"!"
A flare went up into the night sky, momentarily blinding Mio. And in the next moment, she felt a sudden impact on her head, forcing her down into the ground.
"Ugh! What in-?!"
"What do you all think you're doing?! Why the fighting?!"
Mio blinked a couple of times, trying to ascertain the situation. Looking up from her viewpoint in the dirt, she could just barely make out a man dressed in unfamiliar clothing; his deep and gruff voice seemed to be addressing both her and the Keves soldier that she was just fighting.
"What is this guy…saying?!" the Keves soldier exclaimed, squirming under the unfamiliar man's hand, which was keeping him pinned down.
"Noah!"
"Mio!"
Faintly, Mio could make out the other two Keves soldiers regrouping on one side, and Sena and Taion on the other.
"Ugh, let me go!" Mio cried out. She tried pushing her weight onto her arms to propel herself up, but was quickly pushed back down again.
"Just why're you fighting each other?!" he repeated again. "Answer me!"
"...What do you mean, why?! They're the enemy!" Mio said firmly, not understanding who this person was or why they were asking such nonsensical questions. "We don't have a choice!"
'Because if I don't, then I'll lose the people I care about again,' Mio completed in her head.
"Such foolish nonsense. Pull the wool from your eyes, kid!"
"The only one that's spewing nonsense is you!" The female Keves soldier said, taking a shot at him with her gunrod. Forced to dodge, he jumped backward, letting Mio and the swordsman get back on their feet and back to their side.
"This is what I mean – so quick to violence," the unknown man shook his head. "...Knowing that they belong to a different nation as you – is that all you need to fight? Truly?"
"What're you talking about? Of course it is."
Without hesitation, Taion responded to that pointed question.
"Countless comrades have lost their lives…" he looked briefly at the soldiers across the clearing, his eyes full of contempt. "Thanks to this filth. You don't need to give me any simpler reason than that."
"Oh really now? Well, I could say the exact same thing," the Kevesi shieldblade user said bitterly. "I've lost friend after friend from you guys…no amount of killing would be enough to avenge them. You steal everything from us!"
"You wouldn't get it, would you?!" the enemy gunrod user asked the man in the middle, pointing her blade at Mio and the others. "You think we're even because both sides do some killing? That we can forget about everything they've done? …What good is filling up these flickering clocks in our eyes – they'll never replace the friends we've lost! That's why we fight!"
Seeing the enemy readying their blade against them, Sena ran in front of Mio defensively.
"They're looking to attack us again! Just say when, Mimi, I'm ready to pounce whenever!"
"Yes – I for one, tire of looking at these eyesores for much longer!" Taion agreed, readying his Mondo.
"...I…"
For a moment, Mio stumbled on her words, not knowing what to say.
"Is that all you need to fight?" the man had asked them.
In other words, he was asking: 'do you guys really hate each other that much, despite knowing nothing about each other?'
The easy answer was like what Taion said: 'of course we do'.
But…
As she watched Taion stare down the other two enemy soldiers who spoke up in mutual bloodlust, all of them ready to fight to the death at any moment's notice – she couldn't help but think that it was an all too familiar sight.
…This was a battle with Keves, their sworn enemy. She had been through countless battles, and cut down many a foe; in nearly all of those instances, there was always one thing that was consistently present: a mutual hatred for one another.
To tell the truth, it was hard to say that Mio didn't completely harbor those feelings as well. Or at the very least, she understood why.
Over the course of her almost complete ten terms that she had lived, she had felt that impulse of hatred run through her a couple of times. When her comrades, who she had grew up with, trained with, laughed with, hunted wild armu with, stayed up all night telling silly stories with, complaining about the canteen food with…
When they were mercilessly slain by a Kevesi soldier, who delighted at seeing the red motes of life spill into their own flame clock – in that moment, Mio well and truly understood the meaning of hatred. And for that brief period of time, when she could lose herself to the rage, everything was so simple – because until that soldier was dead on the ground, and she had exacted revenge for her fallen allies – nothing else mattered. She did not need to think about anything else, nor consider anything else. The world was a pale black and white, and the only way to regain some of the color in her drab world was to justifiably slay the evil ones with no remorse.
Of course, it's not as if she bore any particular ill will to every single person that she cut down on the battlefield. Deep down, Mio understood that they were simply soldiers fighting a country's war – and innately, she had no disillusions about where her hatred should actually be placed.
But the reality was, to blame the opponents in front of her – to hate, resent, and desire to kill the ones who wished that exact same fate on her and her allies – it was far, far easier to do that and hide behind that mask of hatred than to think about the nuances. Far easier to kill when the hatred inside of you justifies the action – and far easier for living with the consequences of said action when their hatred of you paints them as wicked villains who live only to make your life a living hell.
…If only Mio could give in that loop of hatred – how much easier her life might've been.
"Mio…have you ever touched a mote of life from a Kevesi? They're the same as ours. On the other side, the people live hoping the same things as us. We fight to live, that's all. It's a sad fate…"
But after the battles are over, and the adrenaline wears off as she pulls out her shinobue flute – those impactful words that Miyabi uttered to her all those years ago never fail to float up into her mind.
Back then, Mio never really understood those words. Why did it matter what Kevesi people felt? They were the enemy. They had robbed her of so many friends - and she wouldn't stop killing the enemy until she had avenged them all. It was that simple. Their actions gave Mio a clear target for her own vengeance.
And then…Miyabi died in that accident soon after.
She had left Mio behind, with Mio not understanding how to process that grief.
It had not been a Kevesi soldier that had taken the life of one of her cherished friends, but simply an accident. Call it fate, or simple happenstance, or even just the will of the world itself – no matter the case, it did not change the fact that Miyabi died, and Mio had nothing to show for it.
Who was Mio supposed to direct her hatred towards? Who was she supposed to blame for her death? Who was she supposed to kill, so that she might feel like Miyabi's life was avenged, and so that Miyabi can now rest in peace?
There was…no-one.
She was dead, and that was it – end of story.
And then all of a sudden, it became clear just how pointless her hatred was, because whether her hatred for someone existed or not, it wouldn't bring back Miyabi, nor any of her other friends. Her hatred only existed for her own self-satisfaction; it did precious little else.
'We fight to live'. Only then, when Miyabi had lost her fight with life itself, and prematurely left Mio behind to continue that endless struggle by herself – did Mio feel like she understood what those words truly meant.
This world…was unfair.
That was…just it.
Whether it was death through this stupid war, or by reaching your Homecoming, or just a stupid accident, your death was preordained. Everyone – Keves, Agnus, whoever – everyone was just fighting desperately so that they might be able to see another day.
Ultimately, the hatred of her enemy was misguided at best. It wasn't the fault of any one particular soldier, even if they took the lives of her comrades, because they were just trying their best to fight – to struggle, against the inescapable fate that had doomed them from the very moment they opened their eyes. Everyone had to claw for every inch, for every single breath, in their fight against life itself, if they wanted to survive.
…That is just what it means to live in this world.
There wasn't much that she could do to change that, and there wasn't even that much she could do to curb the hatred out of some of her closest friends. But what she could do was to protect her allies instead, so that she could at least make a difference. As the off-seer who succeeded Miyabi's legacy and carried the words that she gave her, it would be the burden – no, the duty, of Mio, to make that distinction, for as long as she continued to cut down and send on the lives of those that fell in this somber tug-of-war for life.
And that was why, even though they were on the battlefield, and everyone around her looked about ready to get into another deathmatch – she felt the need to say something.
"...No, this is wrong!" Mio exclaimed. "We're not…I'm not-"
"We aren't fighting because we want to!"
But just before she could give a voice to those complicated feelings in her heart, a voice rang out, completing the sentence that she was about to say.
Looking up, she saw the swordsman who she had crossed blades with walk forward, a complicated expression on his face. If Mio had to describe it, it was one of…a melancholic resolve.
Despite the fact that his face was hard to read, Mio knew. After all – they were the same complicated feelings that she harbored as well. For the longest time, Mio thought that she was the only one who stubbornly held on to these arguably silly notions. Even her two closest friends, Sena and Taion, didn't seem to comprehend her ideals. Sena, for better or for worse, was too easy-going and cheerful to think about such heavy topics. And as for Taion…well, he never once hid his hatred for Keves.
But the soldier standing in front of her…he held that same expression that conveyed to her that they were the same. No bloodlust, nor disdain, or hatred - just a sad comprehension that in this world, fights were inevitable, if he wanted to protect and to survive.
It was the face of one who was burdened with the acknowledgement of the futility of war, and the understanding of where to properly place their misgivings.
"...We can see our lives written before our eyes. Fighting is all we have!" he continued, monologuing mournfully. "'To live, we must kill'. From the day we're born, to the day that we die – that one rule is a constant that doesn't change. …Is it any wonder that we lose loved ones? Or have to take them from others? All of us…we have to fight so we can go on living!"
"!" Mio gasped softly.
"Just who decided that this was how it should be?" The swordsman looked away painfully. "If I knew who they were or where, I'd fight! Even if I had to do it alone, I would fight with all my life to change this injustice!"
"...No, you wouldn't do it alone," Mio said unwaveringly, stepping forward to meet his gaze.
"! You…"
"I agree with you," she nodded wistfully. "It's a cruel fate for all of us. No-one is at fault, but no-one can blame the other for hating them either. As for me…I've lost many of my cherished friends throughout all of my terms – but I no longer hold that resentment in my heart that I used to. Now, all I want to do - all I can do with the time I have left - is to just fight to protect the ones that are still alive."
"...Judging from your mark," the swordsman said, pointing to his own neck with his right hand, "you've lived for quite a while, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"...I see."
Even without saying anything, Mio knew what he was implying.
'You've seen a lot of your friends die – and you've outlived all of them, carrying their burdens and regrets.'
"...Two enemy soldiers, who understand that the other isn't who they shouldn't really be fighting, eh? Guess you lot aren't just a couple of boneheads!"
The unknown man with a mask over his eyes, who had kept quiet in the squabble until now, stepped forward, a small, knowing grin on his face.
"So you said you'll fight the ones who set up the rules of this world eh? Well, I know who they are."
"Wha?"
All eyes turned to him, as he started to say more incomprehensible nonsense.
"Hm, well – I guess I can trust you with this," he said defiantly, poking his finger into the swordsman's chest. "Now, you kids better listen up – because the face of your real enemy is-augh!"
But before he could say anything further, an unknown projectile shot through his chest, and he cried out in pain before collapsing on the floor.
"!"
"!?"
Instantly, both groups of soldiers pulled up their blades defensively towards the trees where the projectile was shot from, trying to identify the enemy. For a moment after the initial attack, it was silent as everyone in the clearing held their breath.
The first thing that Mio felt after that was the ground faintly shaking.
It was shaking in small, repetitive intervals, almost like a large creature walking towards them.
And then…
"M-Mio…!"
A familiar figure popped out from around one of the large trees, seemingly floating three meters in mid-air.
"Hackt?!" Mio gasped.
And in the next moment, a large humanoid figure at least five times their size revealed themself. Hackt wasn't floating; he was being held in the hand of that giant monster.
"The east flank…I-I'm sorry, Mio," Hackt cried out weakly, his body limp and helpless in the clutches of the humanoid.
"! Mwamba!"
To her left, the Kevesi swordsman spoke up too, and when Mio followed his eyes, he spotted another Kevesi soldier being held in the humanoid's other hand.
"N-Noah! I messed up!" the fourth Kevesi soldier said feebly.
As the monster slowly walked up to the group, two hostages in hand, everyone in the clearing seemingly froze in fear, not knowing what to do against such a large and unknown enemy.
W-what is that thing?!" the Kevesi shieldblader asked alarmingly, his previous bravado now all but disappeared. "Noah! You've seen that thing before?!"
"No, never…this is no normal creature, that's for sure. You – Agnus!" the swordsman asked, addressing her. "Any idea what that monster is?"
"M-me?" Mio said apprehensively, surprised he was addressing her. "No clue – never seen it in my life – but it has Hackt!"
The giant monster stopped in front of the group, a seemingly large, arrogant grin on its face. And in the next moment, it opened its mouth.
"Oi, oi, what's this?! Keves and Agnus soldiers speaking to each other? That won't do!" it said gleefully, seemingly without a care in the world. "Now don't go stopping on my account! Get back to killing each other! Come on! I thought that was your whole 'raison d'etre'?"
"It's...speaking?!" Mio gasped, taking a step back in fear.
"M-Moebius…"
The other man who had taken that first hit spoke up meekly, clutching his wound on the ground; apparently that hit wasn't enough to kill him outright.
The creature looked at them for a moment, and after realizing that the two groups weren't going to fight, addressed them again.
"What's wrong? Not going to fight? …Ahh, I see," it taunted happily, turning to look at the two people in its hands. "Too worried about your buddies to fight, perhaps? Well, we can't have that, now can we?"
Raising its two prisoners in its grasp, the large figure started to tighten its grip.
"! Wait, no! stop!" Mio cried out desperately, panic apparent in her voice.
But her plea fell on deaf ears.
"Augh! Help me, Mio!"
Though it happened in a single moment, to Mio, it felt like she was watching it happen in slow motion. She watched as the monster slowly raised up Hackt in his hands, who was struggling futilely. She watched as the monster's smile grew ever wider, like they were licking their lips at reaping a harvest.
'No…it's happening again.'
And then…
Mio could do nothing but watch as the monster crushed the two soldiers in his palms effortlessly – and they fell to the floor unceremoniously, lifeless and contorted.
"Psh, my Homecoming? That's way off! Like four terms too early off! …But yeah, you're right. I promise."
In one moment, Hackt was alive, keeping his promise with Mio. …And in the next, there was barely anything left of him at all.
'Once again, another one of my friends died right before my eyes. And I was powerless to save them.'
"Man, this is some entertainment!" the creature said arrogantly, deftly clasping his hands into a fist back and forth. "The sweet taste of a life cut short - don't you just love it – don't you just want to savor it?"
"...!"
Upon hearing those words, Mio felt something break within her.
"You…how dare you! You'll pay for that!" she shouted angrily, instantly dashing towards the monster in an impulsive rage.
"! Mimi, wait!" Sena cried out, running after her.
"Mio, Sena, stop! Ugh…sparks!" Taion yelled, hesitating for a brief moment, before giving chase as well.
As Mio rapidly closed the distance, a small part of her brain thought about how bad of an idea this was. She had just watched her opponent crush Hackt in its hand like it was crumpling a piece of paper; realistically, she knew that she was outmatched.
Except, to Mio, that didn't really matter at the moment.
Part of it was anger at herself for how powerless she was; she wouldn't deny that. She had been fighting all this time to protect those that were close to her – and she couldn't even do something as simple as that.
But more than that…
It was the way in which this thing arrogantly took Hackt's life – that was what made Mio's blood boil. The way that it talked about their lives, as if they were a toy that you played with for five minutes before getting bored with it and tossing it in the trash. The disregardment of life, the enjoyment it had for meaningless slaughter; it scoffed at their very way of life and the sacrifices it took to live in such a cruel world.
It was revenge for Hackt, but it was also retribution against one who mocked the phrase 'fight to live'.
She couldn't let this abomination live.
Looking to her left, she saw the Kevesi soldiers running in as well – however, when they were around ten meters away from the creature, it fired off another one of those projectiles at the ground in front of them, instantly pushing everyone backwards off their feet.
"Augh!"
"Gah!"
With everyone on the ground, trying to get back onto their feet, the creature walked up slowly, carefreely aiming its next projectile at them –
But just before it fired it, a hail of machine gun fire came upon its left flank, forcing the large humanoid to block.
"Ugh – who's interfering now?!"
It was the unfamiliar levnis – now converted into a bipedal form – and in it, the unknown man from earlier.
"Hmph – don't know when to stay down, do you?" The giant creature said in mild annoyance. "Tenacious bugger. Well then, how about this?!"
It changed target and fired off another one of its claw like projectiles at the levnis, instantly crippling the machine; and with an effortless leap, it closed the distance and grabbed the man straight out of the levnis.
"L-leave him alone…"
"Huh?"
Getting back on her feet, Mio heard the Kevesi swordsman mutter something under his breath.
"...Let him go!"
Seemingly in reckless abandon, he charged in, sword in hand, just as soon as he stood back up. Everyone else, including the other two Kevesi soldiers, followed after him, trying to back him up. As soon as he closed the distance, he sliced at the monster's arm with a crescent moon-like swing, forcing the creature to drop the other man.
"Tsk!" The monster said irritatedly, changing his attention to the soldiers in front of it. "Don't get on your high horse! You're nothing more…than a grunt!"
The monster channeled ether into his hand and punched into the ground in front of the swordsman, pushing him back into the shieldblader.
"You've got a real deathwish," it said menacingly. "Maybe I ought to take care of you lot first!"
Without skipping a beat, it swung its claws at the two Kevesi soldiers in the front, which the shieldblader was just barely able to parry in time.
"Get back, Noah! This thing's not playing around anymore!"
"R-right!"
The swordsman backed up, and the gunrod soldier started firing upon it to cover his retreat, forcing it to block with one of its arms.
"Sena! With me!" Mio quickly said, running forward to try to capitalize on that assault.
When the shots from the gunrod ended, Mio quickly delivered a follow-up attack on the monster's arm, pushing it away from its body and leaving the chest area open to an attack from Sena's hammer. The direct hit was enough to send the monster a couple meters back.
"Hmph! Don't get cocky!"
In response, the monster jumped up high into the air, letting loose another one of its claw-like projectiles at Sena, knocking her off of her feet. However, the Kevesi gunrod soldier quickly ran to her side and pushed her blade into the ground, healing Sena's wounds.
"Uh…thanks," Sena said, a little dumbfounded.
"Pfft – if you're done thanking me, maybe you can get up!" she scoffed.
"Oh? Is that an area of weakness over there I see?" the monster arrogantly said, looking towards the direction of Sena and the Kevesi soldier healing her. "Guess it's my lucky day!"
"Eunie! Heads up!"
It thrust down its claws towards the two, but the shieldblader was able to quickly intercept his hand and deflect it; however, when the second blow came from its other hand, the blade was quickly knocked away.
"Agh!"
"Move it!"
The monster used that moment to channel more ether into its fists and bring it down on the now defenseless shieldblader – but before it could, Taion ran in and created a defensive wall with his Mondo.
"...Get out of the way, you're just slowing me down!" he said defiantly.
"Tch – the nerve of this guy," the shieldblader responded, picking up his shieldblade and swinging it towards the monster, forcing him back.
"Hmph – you lot sure don't know when to roll over and die! But no matter – because if you've got your shielders over there, then that means, over here…"
The giant creature turned its soulless eyes towards Mio, who was currently standing a couple meters away from the group due to her previous attack.
"!"
"...You've got nothing to block this attack!"
Without warning, it let loose another projectile, sending a shockwave and a cloud of debris under Mio's feet and pushing her off the ground.
"Ugh!"
"One down, good start!"
Stuck on the ground, Mio could do nothing except watch as the monster's claws came bearing down on her body.
But right before it tore into her flesh –
"Watch out!"
She saw a flash of blue and red on her right, and the Kevesi swordsman appeared out of nowhere, deflecting the monster's attack. The next thing she knew, he turned back to her and dragged her a couple feet backwards towards the rest of the group, trying to get her to safety.
'! You! Why…' Mio thought, looking at him like he was crazy.
Except it was seemingly for naught.
The distance he carried her back was hardly enough, and the monster had quickly recovered after the swordsman's initial parry, already readying up another attack.
"Two for one!"
Mio quickly tried to stand up, but it was too late - the claw was already coming towards them.
"...It's not over yet!"
But in that moment, Mio heard a loud voice – and the next thing she knew, the world instantly seemed to grind to a halt as it felt like Mio's soul had left her physical body.
"For now, just run! Run with all the breath you have!"
"?!"
All of a sudden out of nowhere, images started to show up in her iris, as she gazed upon a scene that she had never seen before.
She was looking down upon a Kevesi soldier desperately running for his life – he must've been on his third term or earlier. And his ponytail…was this the same person that she had just been fighting earlier?
'Is this…that soldier's memory?' Mio thought.
A colony in the dead of night bathed in blood and red motes, the only illumination lighting up the path in front of him being the fires that set it ablaze. Agnian levnises in the distance, firing upon anyone and everyone it could find. Buildings crumbling left and right, as rubble came crashing down onto the streets below.
"Joran…Joran!"
And then…a lone soldier smiling at him, as the debris from a water tower above crushes him mercilessly and indiscriminately.
The scene faded away, but just as quickly, another one popped up, as it felt like an entire lifetime's worth of memories and data were forcibly inserted into Mio's brain.
What happened after that complete information overload seemed to go by in a hazy blur – one moment, she was gazing upon those unfamiliar scenes, and in the next, she felt herself becoming momentarily weightless, almost as if she was turning into a different being…
The next thing she knew, she saw the giant creature's claw coming directly at her face – but before she could do anything, a large, unfamiliar hand had parried its attack, and pushed it back with astounding force into the trees behind.
…No, that wasn't right. Not just any hand – it was her own hand.
"What did I just…do? This hand…is it mine?"
"?!"
All thoughts about that evaporated however, as she heard another voice intrude into her mind. It sounded just like the Kevesi swordsman.
"How're…how're you inside my thoughts?" Mio thought out loud.
"You–! T-That's what I want to know! Hold on…are we…?" he replied back. The voice didn't come from any external source. Rather, it sounded like his voice was actually coming from…inside herself.
Her field of vision rapidly turned backwards, and Mio realized she was looking back at – or rather, looking down upon – Taion, Sena, and the other Kevesi soldiers that they were just fighting with.
Slowly, she felt herself start to stand up, and when she was fully on her feet, and her field of vision looked down, she was surprised how elevated she was – from this distance, she surmised that she must've been at least five meters tall.
"Heh – well you sure catch on quick!" In the distance, she saw the giant monster address them, before tossing aside a tree trunk and standing back up. "So, you've got yourselves an interlink going, eh?"
"Uh…interlink?" Mio voiced out loud. Her body looked down at her new form, slightly in confusion.
"Well, whatever," the monster said, calming walking back to them. "That form you just merged into? It's called 'Ouroboros'. Sear that into your skulls."
"Ouro…boros…" she heard the swordsman say.
"Oh, and me? I'm Moebius," the monster, now identified as Moebius, said, its arms stretched out arrogantly. "We look a bit alike, don't we? When Keves and Agnus come together in unity, you're practically one step away from being on the same level as us."
"Keves and Agnus…so we're…"
"One being?" Mio asked, completing the swordsman's thoughts.
"Ehh, to put it bluntly, you're failures. Fact is, the two of us are mortal enemies."
"Enemies…" the swordsman repeated. She could feel the body she was in tensing up and getting into a battle stance.
"You get the picture? Then let's get back on the dance floor!"
Moebius readied their fists, preparing to scrap with them once more.
"..."
Mio was still trying to process everything that was going on, but one thing was clear – she was still fighting. The only issue was, she didn't even have control of her own body anymore…
"Hey, you – Agnus!"
"H-huh? What?"
It was the Kevesi swordsman talking to her, from inside her head. Still not used to having a voice intrude in her mind, Mio slightly stumbled on her words.
"I'm Noah. What's your name?" the swordsman known as Noah asked.
"M-me? I'm…I'm Mio."
"Right – nice to meet you then, Mio. Look, I know I'm Kevesi and you're Agnian, but right now, we're going to need to work together to take down this Moebius guy. I'm assuming you don't know anything about this whole Ouroboros thing either?"
"No clue. From what Moebius said, it seems like we've formed into one large being. I'm assuming you're controlling this body? Since I have no control over it myself."
"Yeah – or at least, I've been trying. But I see…only I can control this form? Then would you mind watching out for his attacks, then?" Noah asked. "It would help having another set of eyes."
"Got it – I'll try to help in whatever way I can," Mio agreed.
"Alright…here goes nothing!"
Moebius quickly ran in for another punch, but Noah was able to swiftly pilot their Ouroboros body around its attacks, parrying its fists with their own hand and getting an occasional hit back. When Noah knocked Moebius back with a punch, she was surprised to see him then materialize a sword seemingly out of thin air to use as a follow up.
"How did you do that?" Mio exclaimed.
"I have no idea! I just knew!"
"Well whatever you're doing, keep doing it!"
They continued to trade blows with Moebius, with Noah doing his best to stay out of Moebius's fist range now that he had a sword.
'So far, we're doing okay…' Mio thought apprehensively.
At the very least, this form allowed them to keep up with Moebius, strength wise. If it wasn't for that, Moebius's claws would easily take them out.
Wait – speaking of claws…
She watched Moebius run in with another stance like they were preparing a slash attack. Noah saw the same; he quickly dissolved their sword and bent their knees, seemingly ready to jump backwards.
But this time, the claw was glowing. Moebius ran in, lifting their glowing claw high into the air like they were about to slash downard.
"! Duck, right now!" Mio quickly realized, not having any time for explaining.
"?!"
Without hesitating, Noah quickly followed Mio's command – and in the next moment, Moebius, rather than closing the distance to slash at them, fired the claw at them instead. Luckily, with Noah ducking their body, it just barely sailed over their head and hit the valley walls behind them.
"Now's our chance!" Mio urged. "Moebius was hesitating to fire that projectile right off the bat. There must be a cool down period before he gets another one, or something. We need to go on the offensive!"
"You don't need to tell me twice!"
Instantly, their Ouroboros form surged forward and delivered a surging uppercut, sending Moebius flying into the sky. But Noah wasn't done – with a gravity defying leap, he jumped upwards after Moebius, and with a downward punch, sent him crashing back into the ground with a one-two combo.
"Did we…get him?" Noah asked tentatively, upon landing.
A brief moment of silence, as dust, kicked up from the hard landing, prevented them from seeing their foe.
"Hehe…pretty good!"
But soon after, an arrogant laugh rang out in their eyes – and it became apparent that not only was Moebius still alive, but that it wasn't even taking them seriously. Their large, glowing form walked out from the dust cloud, seemingly without a scratch.
"Weeell, what a tough'un," it sarcastically said. "...Enough. We'll say I lost this one, yeah? Can't have all the fun to myself, now can I?"
"You're...retreating?" Noah asked.
"Just this once, you hear? Oh, but don't worry – I've got a parting gift for you."
Without skipping a beat, Moebius looked up into the night sky and projected an odd figure eight symbol of some sorts onto it. It had an ominous feel to it – illuminating the sky in a crimson, blood red.
"...And now, the whole world will be your enemy. I wonder how your lives will turn out?"
"? What're you-" Mio started to ask.
"Well, until next time, then," Moebius said, cutting Mio off. "Do your best to survive until then – I'll enjoy watching you."
And with those final words, Moebius, the unfamiliar, giant monster which had thrown their lives in turmoil, seemingly vanished into thin air.
"Who in the…who even was that?" Noah asked out loud.
But before Mio could form an answer to that question, she felt the Ouroboros form dissolving – and then in the next moment, she was back in her own body, falling down onto the floor.
Lifting up her hands, she inspected herself to confirm that she was indeed back to normal, before exchanging glances with the Kevesi swordsman known as Noah, who she had just shared a single body with.
"N-Noah?"
"Mimi!"
But before she could say anything to him, she heard a shout of voices on her left, and she saw Sena, Taion, and the other two Kevesi soldiers running towards them.
"Noah, you're alright!" the Kevesi gunrod user shouted. "Was that you guys just now? In that other large thing?"
"U-uhm…I think so…"
"What about you, Mimi? You're not hurt are you?" Sena followed up.
"I-I'm fine. Just a little…confused."
"Indeed – as are we," Taion agreed. "Just what was that large monster? I've never seen anything like it. Some sort of secret Kevesi weapon, perhaps?"
"Huh?!" Upon hearing that remark, the Kevesi shieldblader rebuked Taion angrily. "Mate, did you not see that thing firing on us too?! Ahh, but it makes sense if it's Agnian! Only you heartless bastards would fire upon your own kind!"
"What was that?!"
Instantly, the two groups of soldiers, now acutely remembering that they were enemies now that the larger threat was gone, pointed their still drawn blades at each other, the small gap between them the only thing separating their mutual bloodlust.
"Wait – Sena, Taion!"
"Eunie, Lanz, put down your blades!"
Mio quickly ran into the middle in an attempt to defuse the situation, with Noah doing the same.
"...What's the matter, Mio?" Taion said coldly. "They're the enemy; our momentary truce doesn't change that. There's no need to show them any mercy."
"Hah! the only one that'll be needing any mercy is you after I've put you in the dirt, four eyes!"
"Hold on, Lanz, there's no need to–"
"Noah, you're too soft," the gunrod user spoke up cautiously. "We may have needed to band together to face that monster, but don't forget who the real enemy is – who has taken lives after lives of ours, day in and day out."
"...That's right, Mimi," Sena agreed apprehensively. "They're Kevesi soldiers, and experienced ones at that. If we let them go now, who knows how many of our friends they're going to kill in the future?"
"I know, I get what you're saying, Sena, really, but I-"
"Snap out of it, Mio!" Taion abruptly cut her off. "They're Keves. That's all you need to know. Now are you with us, or are you with them?!"
"O-of course, I'm with you, so–"
"Then don't turn your back to the enemy!"
"Noah! You better turn your arse around too, unless you wanna get backstabbed by these Agnian scum!"
"..."
Slowly, Mio turned back around, and faced off against their Kevesi counterparts; Noah had hesitantly done the same.
It was all Mio could do to summon her moonblades into her hands.
…How had it still come to this, in the end?
Perhaps it was inevitable, in a way. For better or for worse, Taion did have a point; the battlefield was no place for peace or for making friends. And when the war only had two sides, it was a given that Mio would always choose her allies – and Noah, his. If a fight was inevitable, then she knew whose side each of them would choose, should push come to shove.
'They're Kevesi', and 'they're Agnian'. That was all it took to continue fighting, even after they had been worn down so much.
But…was fighting to the death, locked in this pointless struggle – was that really the only option they had? Did this world not afford them any other option to choose from?
She somberly locked eyes with Noah, his slightly pained expression apparent behind the red and blue blade that he had drawn.
She had just survived a life and death encounter with him – Mio still didn't really understand what happened, but she had a feeling that had Noah not been there with her, she might've not been alive right now. It wasn't exactly gratitude which made her hesitant…but at the same time, it just didn't feel right to cross blades, to swing at the other with the intent of taking their life – right after they had just made it through that harrowing experience together.
"Is it any wonder that we lose loved ones? Or have to take them from others? All of us…we have to fight so we can go on living!"
The words that he had said earlier ringed in Mio's mind – those words, which resonated with Mio's beliefs as well, after having gone through ten grueling terms and seeing everyone fight and tear each other apart for no other reason than 'they belong to the enemy'.
But time, and the world, cared less for their shared ideology.
'You and I…we fight for the same thing,' Mio thought sorrowfully, gazing into Noah's eyes. 'So then, why? …Why do we have to fight each other instead?'
In the end, were they really just going to toss those ideals aside? To prove themselves wrong?
"..."
Looking back at her allies – as well as Noah's…perhaps the answer to that question had already been made for them.
All that mattered, in this world, was that she was Agnian, and he was Kevesi.
…And that meant that it was never meant to be.
Hesitantly, begrudgingly, Mio raised her blade – as if unwillingly preparing herself to toss aside all of these complicated feelings and thoughts.
…Preparing herself to kill just another ordinary, Kevesi soldier.
For a brief moment, the two groups eyed each other warily, watching for the other to make the first move and let all hell loose.
But just before the tension reached its breaking point –
"...Hold it right there!"
"!"
Mio looked to her left, to see the unknown man from earlier stumbling towards the group, just barely still alive.
"Put away your weapons," he croaked out. "You aren't…you're not enemies. Not anymore."
"...Anymore?" Sena repeated curiously.
However, before he could elaborate further, he collapsed onto all fours, coughing up a bit of blood.
Without hesitation, Mio quickly sheathed her weapon and ran towards the man, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders. Noah followed suit and propped up his right.
Lifting him back up onto his feet together with Noah, Mio breathed a small, internal sigh of relief.
…At the very least, the peace would be sustained for just a little longer – for now.
…
Setting down the man beside his now broken levnis, he let out a grunt of relief as he leaned his body weight against the broken wreckage.
"Ah…thanks, kids."
He then used his right hand to take off his mask, revealing his skin and the eyepatch over his left eye underneath. There was a 'X' like scar across his face which immediately caught Mio's attention – but besides that, the other surprising thing was the fact that there were lines all over his skin, almost like a dried up glitter radish, or something.
"His skin's all wrinkled," the Kevesi shieldblader noted confusedly.
"Y-yeah…" the gunrod user followed up.
Hearing those comments, the man simply gave them a weak laugh.
"Heh – it's called getting old, this," he responded. "...Well, I don't blame you. Must be your first time, huh? Seeing a human like this, I mean."
"Old? You mean you're on your tenth term?" Noah inquired. "But I've seen plenty of tenth termers, and they don't look like you."
"Nah, I'm not talking about that artificial life-span crap," he shook his head. "Hold on to your hats, kids, because this'll shock you: I've been alive for sixty years. Or I guess I should say sixty terms, by your counting."
"!"
A collective gasp was let out by both sides.
"Wha-?! H-how is that possible?" Taion exclaimed.
"So you believe me, do you?" the unknown man chuckled, his voice a little hoarse. "I guess that makes things a little easier, then. It might come as a surprise to you folks, but this is how people are really meant to be. …I've been alive almost six times longer than you lot. Humans – we're not supposed to die after ten years. In fact, that's when we really start living."
"Sixty…years…" Mio repeated softly. Unconsciously, she touched her mark with her right hand.
The man looked over to Mio, a complicated expression on his face.
"That mark there…late tenth term, eh?" he asked her. "Three months left until your Homecoming, that about right?"
"...Mm." It was all Mio could do to give a small nod, her eyes shifting away uncomfortably.
"As for the rest of you – you're all probably about two years off, huh? …I bet some of you are thinking that you're lucky to have even survived for this long. Well, I'm here to tell you that that's a load of rubbish. I mean…ten years? You kids deserve better. You've only just now started living your life."
"Deserve better? Does that mean…" Mio suddenly interjected. "Is it…is it really possible for us to live past ten years? For us to have…more time?"
The man paused for a brief second, before confidently giving his reply.
"...There is. There has to be."
"..."
Everyone looked at each other with uncertainty, not sure what to make of this new information that seemingly went against everything they were taught.
"Now listen up kids, because I don't have that much time left. You six – you're now Ouroboros, free from the chains of eternal conflict. See for yourself – the flame clocks in your irises."
"?"
Out of instinct, Mio looked at the person closest to her – which, ironically, happened to be Noah. When he brought up his iris, an unfamiliar ring shape could be seen surrounding his pupil.
"Our flame clocks have changed shape?" Mio gasped.
"You see it? That's the Ouroboros ring," the man said, confusing Mio even more. "Proof that you are now this world's liberators. …Guess I did good at the very end, at least – entrusting this power to y-kuh!"
He abruptly coughed up blood, cutting himself off.
"Sir!" Noah said urgently, leaning forward. "You shouldn't be speaking anymore, you're at your limit! Eunie, can you heal him?"
The gunrod user took a step forward, but the man weakly held up his hand, stopping her in her tracks.
"Don't – it's too late for me, anyways." He brought his hand closer to his face, and gave a bittersweet smile. "See?"
His body was beginning to glow a faint gold, and small, yellow particles similar to the red motes of fallen soldiers began to rise into the sky.
"I'm not long for this world – but that's not important right now," he dismissed, closing his eyes briefly. "…You guys want to survive? Live on? Hold the torch? Then there's no need for you guys to be fighting each other. …Not anymore. But, that doesn't mean you get to relax. Because now, kids, you share a common destiny – bounded together to fight fate and the world itself. You may be free from fighting each other now just to survive, but from this moment on, those Moebius bastards are never gonna leave you alone. They'll do whatever it takes to keep control of this world. Even so…there's one place that will give you a chance…
"Swordmarch," he said with an optimistic tone, as if reminiscing. "The land pierced by the great sword…and our City."
He looked to Mio empathetically, a weak smile on his face.
"...You there – what's your name?"
"M-me?" Mio asked unsurely. "I'm Mio."
"Mio, huh? …A beautiful name," he said hoarsely. "Earlier, Mio, you asked if it was possible to live on, and to have more time?"
"...Yes."
"The answer to your question, I'm sure, lies at Swordmarch – in more ways than one. You must make it there – without fail. Only then can you change fate."
By now, the number of yellow motes coming out of his body was rapidly increasing.
"And listen," he said with finality, looking straight at Mio. "The road ahead, and the burden I give you now – it's a tough and heavy one, to be sure. But even so, don't give up. Don't let your lives be held back just because the world said it was so. Fight, survive, and carve out a future for yourself. ...Don't go chasing after me too fast, you hear?"
He gave them a small smile and closed his eyes, before his body became completely enveloped in the golden glow, illuminating the valley in the dead of night.
"If anyone can do it, it's you kids – after all, the only thing that can change all of this is the will of Ouroboros. You kids, and you alone…"
With those parting words, the rest of his body shone and slowly disappeared, turning into golden motes that rose into the night sky.
"..."
For a few moments after this man's death, whose name she didn't even know – Mio just kneeled at the ground and stared at the rising motes, completely overwhelmed and unsure of what to do.
There were so many emotions and feelings swirling around in her head. Confusion, for one. Perhaps a sense of dejectedness too, watching yet another life die before her very eyes, with her being powerless to do anything once again. But among them all…
'Thank you…for saving our lives. Both mine…and the lives of my comrades, as well.'
She didn't quite know how to what words she could've said to convey those complicated feelings. So instead, she decided to stand up and pull out her shinobue flute, honoring his life in the best way she knew how.
She started playing, her melody ringing out loud and true – the same notes that she had played a thousand times before, effortlessly coming to life as she somberly closed her eyes and let her fingers guide the song to those that had left before her.
'How many times did this make it now…?'
With this flute in her hands, she had sent on so many of her comrades. Today, too – it was for both this man that had inadvertently saved their lives, and…
'Hackt…' Mio thought sadly. 'You broke our promise, you liar…'
Once again, it was her who emerged from the other side, still alive, while her companions fell. Powerless to do anything. Powerless to save them. …Her entire life had always been like that.
Perhaps that was why whenever she played this song, she always felt like the melody was rather…lonely. After all, it was always her playing this tune by herself after the battles – after everyone else around her inevitably left her side. It served as a precursor to the grim reality that she would have to process, single-handedly battling back against the solitude that inevitably awaited her whenever she played it.
A somber song of goodbyes, and a never ending attempt at making sense of all the unfairness of the battlefield, her melody pleading desperately in the still air as the notes climbed higher and higher…
But just as the golden motes in front of her started to turn blue, the same melody that she had always played…changed.
No – changed wasn't the right word. Her song was the same as it had always been. But rather…that sense of loneliness was no longer there.
She slowly opened her eyes, and was surprised to see that Noah was actually the one who was responsible. There he was with his own shinobue flute in hand, standing next to her, playing along with her – as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
'You're…an off seer as well?' Mio thought, putting down her flute with slight uncertainty as she completed her first verse.
But Noah simply nodded wordlessly at her, gesturing to her to continue. Not quite fully sure of where this was going, but understanding that he wanted her to continue regardless, Mio closed her eyes, and continued to play.
Once again, her melody began to spill out from her flute, as her notes climbed higher and higher in the second verse.
But though the notes that left her flute were the same as they always were, somehow…the song sounded so different.
Noah continued to play with her, and when he did, it felt like the song had transformed, in a way. The melody no longer felt lonely, calling out for a voice that would never return it. Now…there was another song standing by its side, accompanying them, playing with them in perfect harmony – like there were two halves of a greater whole.
'...It's so odd,' Mio thought bittersweetly, as she opened her eyes to watch the motes of the departed turn to white and float up into the sky. 'It's my first time hearing this accompaniment, and yet…it almost feels like I've just found something that's always been missing. The Agnian off-seer melody – I've played it many times before…but never has it sounded so beautiful and complete.'
As the song slowly came to an end, she wordlessly put down her flute and locked eyes with Noah, momentarily unsure of how to give a voice to the feelings that she had just experienced.
So instead, she simply decided to say the first thing that came to her mind.
"...Thank you," she genuinely said, "for doing this with me."
"Well…it only felt natural," he simply responded. "The feelings that you carry on your melody – I heard them well. …It was quite beautiful."
"...Mmm. Thanks," she said again, reflecting upon all the times that she had played as an off-seer. "...That means a lot."
From within her peripheral vision, Mio spotted a blue nopon walking up to the rest of the group – presumably, it belonged to the Kevesi squad.
"So. What is plan from here?" the blue nopon asked. "Sun kind enough to show face, but will hide again if this drag on."
Slightly surprised, Mio looked up into the sky. It was true – they had fought for so long, that dawn had already passed, and the morning sky was already filled with an overcast, dreary gray. So much had happened that Mio didn't even notice.
"True, true! Time is wasting itself! Large man said Swordmarch, that long journey!" Manana chimed in, bouncing up and down.
"I…don't know, to be honest," Noah admitted. "Swordmarch is indeed quite far. If we do decide to go there, we would need to prepare ourselves."
"Swordmar – wait, we're not seriously going along with what that snuffer said, are we?!" the gunrod user exclaimed in disbelief.
"You're welcome to go on whatever wild flamii chase you want – however, we're withdrawing," Taion said matter of factly. "Mio, Sena, let's go."
"What?" Mio objected quickly. "But–"
"'But', what?"
"C'mon, Taion, don't be rude," Mio rebuked. "We're all a little overwhelmed right now."
"...It's hardly the time for pleasantries," Taion said, pushing up his glasses. "Besides, regardless of what that stranger said, I have no intention of fraternizing with the enemy."
"Hmph – count me out too," the Kevesi shieldblader dismissed as well. "Just thinking about teaming up with you lot again makes me wanna puke."
"Hah – you call that teaming up? More like I had to cover for your rudimentary tactics!"
"What was that?! Why don't you step on up here and I'll-"
"Lanz," Noah suddenly walked up to the shieldblader and held him back, shaking his head. "...That's enough."
"Huh? Whaddya mean, Noah?"
"We just sent on another life together; I think we both would prefer not to send on anymore today. And, like I've been trying to say…there's no point anymore."
Noah turned and sympathetically looked at Mio, his eyebrows a little furrowed.
"Before, when she and I transformed, I felt her thoughts…or maybe her memories. There were so many, so difficult to tell apart. But even within that giant swirl of her life…I understood. She's…lost a lot fighting us."
"..." Mio looked away uncomfortably.
"Keves has taken away so much from her. Day in and day out, sending off her comrades as she continues to live with the guilt of living on," Noah continued. "If we fought now, all we would be doing would be extending that suffering. Keves and Agnus both – we've already lost a lot of comrades today." …I don't want to cause any more unnecessary grief – any more pointless bloodshed."
"...I felt it too," Mio finally spoke up, her eyes mournfully downcast as she addressed Noah. "Your grief – it was like mine. When I fused together with you, your feelings and emotions…they felt so real, like they were my own emotions. I can tell – you've also lost a lot, just to reach this point."
"Yeah, well –" Taion tried, trying to rationalize.
"And in one of those memories-!" Mio cut Taion off, facing him.
"Mio…"
"Is something that could be our fault! …That's what it's like – in war, I suppose."
She somberly looked back at the group of Kevesi soldiers, each one of them a complicated expression on their face as if they were reliving a memory they likely didn't want to. When she looked at them all together, it was hard to say that they were any different from themselves.
"You, me, all of us…our lives – they're built on the husks and corpses of those fallen before us. But what can we do if we want to gather life, in the end? The answer is…nothing. All we can do is commit more atrocities on the other, in the hopes that we can do it before they do the same to us."
"...Mm." A part of that must've resonated with Taion, because he looked away and pushed up his glasses, not saying anything more.
"Hmph – you've got spunk, girl," the female Kevesi soldier spoke up. "But I respect that. Noah, Lanz – let's get outta here. Still have to report things to the colony."
"...Yeah, I guess so," the shieldblader agreed, scratching his head. "Don't really feel like fighting anymore anyways. Sound good, Noah?"
Noah stole a glance at Mio, before closing his eyes and turning back to his other two team members.
"...You're right – let's go," Noah said, after giving it a brief thought. "A lot's happened, but that seems for the best. Sorry guys – for confusing things."
"Ah, don't worry about it."
"Mio, should we leave it at that, then?" Taion asked.
"Uhm…yeah," Mio replied softly, a degree of uncertainty in her voice.
"There you have it," Taion said snarkily, addressing the Kevesi group. "I sincerely hope for your safe return."
"You take care too," the Kevesi shieldblader said, walking towards them, back to the south side of the valley. "Take care not to die in a ditch, that is."
"...The next time we meet, it will be as enemies. Don't forget that."
"Hah! Don't worry, I've got a good memory."
Mio watched as the shieldblader and the gunrod user walked past them, and then turned back around, only to make momentary eye contact with Noah who lagged behind the rest of his group.
"..."
"..."
But just as quickly as they locked eyes, did Mio look away painfully, a complicated feeling rising in her heart.
When Noah walked to her side, he spoke up softly, seemingly so that only she could hear.
"Mio."
"?" She turned her head to face him, but his eyes were pointing down, still avoiding eye contact.
"I…" He paused, before shaking his head. "...Never mind. Take care."
Not saying anymore, he walked away, leaving Mio even more puzzled and confused than before.
"...What was that all about?" Mio murmured.
"Mimi, are you alright? Did that guy say something to you?" Sena sympathetically walked up to Mio and grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly.
"...It's nothing, I'm fine," Mio said, trying her best to put a small smile on her face. "Thanks, Sena."
"If you say so…let's just get back to the colony, okay? I'll take point – let's soak in the hot bath together once we do."
Mio gave a slight nod but didn't say anything more, watching Sena run off towards Taion who was already a couple paces ahead of them. She smiled softly upon seeing her best friend's kindhearted gesture – she should've known that it would've been difficult to fully hide things from her. Though Sena tended to shy away from the serious kind of talk they had earlier, she was also quite sensitive when it came to people's feelings.
The truth was, Mio was a little hesitant at just letting things go, just like that, as weird as that might've been.
If she thought about it logically, each of them going back to their respective colony made sense, that was true. In fact, it was probably the only rational course of action that they could've taken. Setting off for a journey to Swordmarch with their enemies just because a stranger told them too? When Mio put it that way, of course it sounded ridiculous. It would never happen.
'But…'
She paused, and turned to look back at the Kevesi group that was making their way into the southern forest.
'If that was the case…then why does it wring my heart so?'
It was such a foreign feeling, this tugging of the heartstrings. But though Mio had never felt this way before, she was almost certain of the cause.
And as if right on cue, the cause of it all – Noah – slowed to a halt and turned back around as well, making eye contact with Mio this time.
"!"
Seeing Noah's face again, it all became too clear.
When it came down to it, a part of her just didn't want to separate, as illogical or irrational as it might've seemed.
When she saw Noah's face…it felt like her heart was telling her it was a huge mistake to leave his side again. Like she was saying goodbye to a piece that made her whole, which she didn't even previously know existed before. Just minutes ago, he had completed her melody as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And now…she was letting it slip from her grasp – letting it go so easily, as quickly as it had come.
But even Mio knew that wouldn't be possible. Even if there was a tacit understanding between the two of them…they were on opposing sides.
…No, that wasn't quite it. If she was being one hundred percent truthful with herself…she knew that was just an excuse.
Unconsciously, she touched the mark on her neck, her heart heavy with emotion.
"..."
Trying her best to bury those feelings, she forced herself to turn away, quickening her pace to catch up with her comrades.
"The next time we meet, it will be as enemies. Don't forget that."
In the end, perhaps Taion's words were as much of a reminder for them as it was for her.
Despite that though…there was still a part of her that hoped, nevertheless.
There couldn't even truly be peace – but Mio hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that those words would not be the case.
And if that turned out to be true, then she thought she might've liked to meet with him again…one more time.
A/N:Honestly, I hate writing battle scenes, I feel like they're so hard for me, haha.
This chapter took a bit longer to put out than I anticipated, but it was mainly because I packed so many things into it that it just kept on getting longer. Hopefully you enjoyed it nevertheless!
