Welcome to "A Past Life of Noah and Mio: Extras!" Thanks for checking this out! As the subtitle suggests, this is a supplementary collection in conjunction with "A Past Life of Noah and Mio." These extra chapters contain scenes that I've deemed either unfitting or too mature for the main story, hence their separation. As such, this collection will be updated infrequently, receiving new chapters only when needed. I apologize for any confusion that may arise from this.
Next, I'll explain the reasons for the mature rating since the main story has a teen rating. Multiple chapters are planned, based on my outline for the main story. The first 2 chapters are flashbacks, depicting nonexplicit executionary homecomings. Later chapters will focus on Noah's and Mio's intimate relationship when the time comes. The final chapter may consist entirely of Mio's journal entries once the main story is complete.
We'll begin with a flashback to Noah's life at Colonies 17 and 25, building off what he'd shared with Mio in chapter 8 of the main story.
Extra Chapter 1 "Flashback: Noah"
The howl was distinctive, coloring the breeze that carried it across the arid valley. All four fourth-termers heard it from atop their favorite hill along the northern border of the Fornis region. Leaving pawprints in the dirt below was a small, land volff pack, the perfect prey for Colony 17's younger soldiers.
"I count three of them," the boy in front relayed to his friends.
"Get your wings out of the way, Fereth!" a brown-haired girl shoved her way to the window in their hollowed-out Levnis shell.
"No, you keep your wings out of the way, Eunie!" he elbowed her back.
"Keep quiet, both of you," Noah admonished from behind, making sure that there weren't any additional beasts in the vicinity. "If they hear us, then we won't get a jump on them."
"When should we go?" asked the fourth soldier, a girl with two-toned, gray skin.
"Now, Yorde," Fereth relinquished his spot to exit the shell. "We can catch them over there, where we'll have room to fight."
"Right, I'm ready," she followed him out with her lance Blade in hand.
"Me too!" Eunie summoned her sharpshooter Blade but remained seated. "Do you want me to come with you guys or…?"
"Stay here to cover us," both gloves of his cestus Blade materialized over his fists. "Shout if you need us to turn around."
"Gotcha!" she stuck the thin barrel through the window.
"Good luck," the ponytailed soldier was the last one to summon a Blade. His veiled sword had only recently been upgraded to its current, intricate state, but Noah could already handle it well.
They were all expert hunters by now, having slain an innumerable amount of monsters for their contributions to Colony 17's Flame Clock. Due to the tight reign that the Kevesis held over the region alongside Colonies 4, 25, and 29, Agnian embers were difficult to gather. Therefore, their primary source of life came from the local desert fauna, such as the common land volff.
Fereth led Yorde and Noah down the dusty hill with seconds to spare before the lead quadruped noticed their presence. The winged boy leapt at it with a strong, right hook to commence the fight, soon backed up by his two comrades and their piercing weapons. Before long, all three soldiers had their selected targets thrashing on the ground with their claws flailing every which way.
"Nice one, you guys!" the cestus-wielder complimented his crew before checking his Iris. "Just look at how much our Flame Clock has filled!"
"Actually, I think some of the increase came from others within the colony," Noah attempted to reel in his enthusiasm. "We're not the only ones hunting, you know."
"No need to be a killjoy, man," Fereth stuck out his lower lip at him. "We all pull our weight out here."
"I didn't say we weren't," the swordfighter argued back before the sudden, sizzling sounds of Eunie's long-ranged shots rattled their ears. Spinning around, the three soldiers discovered a fourth volff tumbling down with a clear wound on its back.
"What the…?" the winged boy extended his arms protectively in front of his equally surprised teammates.
"Where did this one come from?" Yorde asked what the boys were wondering themselves.
"Were we flanked?" Noah upturned his wide-eyed gaze to the Levnis shell atop the hill. "Eunie?"
"You were almost volff dinner!" the sniper's Blade remained pointed through the window.
"What a shot!" Fereth exclaimed, nearly hopping in place. "Too bad I missed it!"
"Well, obviously you missed it!" Eunie finally vacated her perch, sprinting down the hill to rejoin the others. "You never saw that straggler coming, did you?"
"Good thing I made you stay at the top to keep an eye on things down here!" he ignored her admonishment by lauding his decision instead.
"You've got to be the best sniper in Colony 17!" the lancer staked the handle of her Blade in the dirt.
"You think so?" the winged girl ran her fingers through her feathers bashfully. "Surely, some of the older ones are sharper."
"No way, you're top of the class!" the cestus-wielder turned to leave. "Anyway, we've done our part. Let's head back before it gets dark!"
"Right," Eunie put away her Blade before catching Noah's lingering eye. "Hmm?"
"Thanks for saving us," her ponytailed pal smiled warmly.
"Ah, you would've survived a volff bite," she playfully pushed him along as they began their homeward hike. "I just enjoy yelling at you guys."
Her friends weren't the only ones to notice her sniping skills. Five days later, Eunie and a few others in the sharpshooter class were summoned by the commander. As the sun baked the grounds of Colony 17, Noah, Fereth, and Yorde watched the impromptu meeting through the chain-link fence. None of them recognized the guest speaker who'd allegedly arrived from the southern Aetia region. By the end of the hour, the sharpshooters were dismissed while the commander led the visitor to their quarters for the duration of their stay.
"Well? What was that all about?" Yorde couldn't contain her curiosity upon Eunie's return.
"Yeah! Spill the beans!" Fereth's fists shook in anticipation. "Who was that weird person?"
"That was Colony 3's lieutenant," Eunie appeared overwhelmed by what'd transpired away from her friends' ears. "They're starting some kind of program for sharpshooter specialists."
"Specialists?" This word stuck out to him above the rest. "See? We said you were good!"
"But what exactly is this program?" Noah crossed his arms, noticing her vexation.
"They've made some wicked upgrades to their long-range technology," the sniper explained, "and they want sharpshooters to use them."
"Oh, neat!" Fereth kept up the hype, oblivious to the downside. "So, that means you'll get an even better Blade, now!"
"Well… yes, but…" she started fiddling with her fingers.
"You'd be leaving us?" the swordfighter got to the bottom of it before she could do so herself.
"Y-yeah," her head hung low.
"Wait, what?" the winged boy's excitement quickly fizzled out. "Why?"
"It's Colony 3's program, not ours," Eunie clarified, absorbing everyone's reactions. "Commander Holly told me I have until morning to pack before their lieutenant takes us away."
"You haven't got a choice?" his jaw slackened, no less shocked than anybody else was.
"Correct, the decision is final," she nodded shyly. A deflated hush put the damper on their chatter while all four youngsters let the implications sink in. "I'd always wanted to hone my skills with the best tech, but…"
"Sounds like a dream come true for you, yes?" the two-toned girl attempted to inject some positivity into the slowly drooping discourse.
"Not if I can't take you guys with me," the sniper pouted, torn between the pros and the cons. "It's much less hot over there, too."
"Colony 3 is in Millick Meadows, right?" Fereth activated his Iris to access a map of the neighboring Aetia region. "Well, maybe we can still see you… like if we join forces for a mission or something…"
"I suppose," Eunie kicked a loose pebble around before focusing on her ponytailed pal. "Oi, are you okay?"
"Do you… really have to go?" Noah had never looked glummer to her.
"I told you, the decision is final," she poked at his arm. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, it's not your fault," he backstepped in response. "Really, it's proof of your skill."
"Thanks," the winged girl found it in her power to smile through the downheartedness. After more than three relatively peaceful years together, the four child soldiers had become inseparable. This would be the first time that any of them would leave the group for one reason or another.
Before they knew it, morning had arrived and Colony 3's lieutenant was ready to depart with their new recruits. No sooner had they awoken than Eunie was summoned to the colony's rear gate, offering the youngsters very little time to say their goodbyes in the barracks.
"Hey, you," the sniper found Noah sitting on his bed with both hands clutching the edge of the mattress. "I have to go now. They're waiting for me outside."
"Huh? A-alright, then." Noah rose to receive a hug from his transferring comrade.
"Cheer up," she patted him on the back. "I'm not dying. I'll just be across the border, okay?"
"Y-yeah, okay…" he rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Never took you for a crier, Noah," her mouth widened into a grin.
"I-I'm not crying!" the swordfighter pulled back, nearly falling back onto his bed. "It's just…"
"Yeah, yeah… I'll miss you too," she saved him the trouble.
"Eunice!" one of the other recruits hollered through the door. "We're leaving! Hurry it up!"
"I'm coming! Sheesh…" Eunie rolled her eyes annoyedly before noticing Noah wiping his own. "Don't fall apart, now!" And with that, the sniper scuttled out of the barracks, her parting words repeating in his head as he reached for his boots.
Stepping outside himself, Noah caught one last glimpse of his friend leaving with her new team. For a boy soldier who'd yet to partake in any major confrontations against Agnus, his supposed enemy, saying goodbye to someone close was a foreign concept. Little did he know that this would only be the beginning of many difficult farewells to come.
One year later and well past the sting of Eunie's departure, Noah, Fereth, Yorde, and the rest of Colony 17 found themselves under siege by an unforeseen Agnian offensive. The opening attacks had come in the pre-dawn hours with neither warning nor detection, an ambush which scattered the Kevesis from the barracks like a disturbed skeeters' nest. Ether beams lit the sky as Testudos and Ululas raided the colony grounds and downed any fleeing target in sight. Hovering just outside was the aggressor's Ferronis, its small, nimble frame having snuck past the hilltop sentries to seize immediate control.
"Noah! Where are you?" The voice of the cestus-wielder was almost inaudible amongst the chaos.
"I'm here!" the ponytailed soldier made out his friend's wings in the firelit dust. "I don't know where Yorde is, though."
"Spark! We have to keep moving or else those Agnian mudders will get us!" Fereth used the glow from Noah's power frame to keep track of him while they ran for the canyon. Once they'd found a secluded spot to recompose themselves, he attempted to reach their missing comrade via her Iris. "No answer…"
"Maybe she's too busy fighting to respond right now," Noah suggested, hoping it to be so.
"Right… that's what we should be doing," the winged boy summoned his dual Blade. "Which Agnian colony is this, anyway?"
"It might be Colony Nu," the swordfighter brought out his Blade as well. "Remember the rumors of a roving colony, attacking at night?"
"Tch! If Eunie and the other snipers were still here, they would've stopped this from happening!" Fereth smacked the fists of his oversized gloves together. "Commander Holly was right. Agnians are nothing but trouble!"
"We've never fought a whole army before," Noah unsheathed his inner sword partway before sliding it back together. Despite losing count of how many monsters he'd slain with his friends, the ponytailed soldier was aware that he'd yet to take the life of another human.
"First time for everything, eh?" his slightly more confident comrade moved ahead with his sights on their burning colony. "C'mon! Let's take back our home!"
The two Kevesis only made it a third of the way before a trio of Agnians spotted them with their dual katanas at the ready. Outnumbered but motivated, Fereth dashed for the nearest opponent and smacked their weapons out of their grasp. With a following hook through the chest, the duoblade-wielder fell in a shower of red motes. Noah's eyes dilated upon witnessing their life fade before him, but now wasn't the time to be gawking.
"You'll pay for that!" another Agnian soldier lunged for the swordfighter who quickly held his Blade laterally to block both of their katanas.
"More like you mudders should never have messed with us in the first place!" Fereth retorted as he came to the rescue. "Now you'll be the ones paying!" Empowered by his first kill of the battle, he proceeded to beat the second one down until a fresh pall of motes expelled in his face.
As for the third Agnian, Noah hesitated on how to proceed with the imminent, unavoidable combat. Opting for an approach different from Fereth's, he slashed at his opponent's legs to drop them to the ground. However, further tactics eluded him at the sight of his opponent writhing in agony.
"Good setup, Noah!" his teammate leapt in for the finisher, pounding at the body until it hardened into a husk. The two Kevesis watched the motes rise once more, though their expressions couldn't have differed any further. "Er… are you okay, mate? Did they get you?"
"N-no… I'm fine," the ponytailed soldier trembled in his steps around the legs of the slain Agnians.
"I don't know about you, but I think I could get used to this," Fereth eyed the fresh stains on his arms and oversized gloves.
"Used to what?" Noah asked but immediately wished that he hadn't.
"Killing Agnians, of course!" the winged boy checked the Flame Clock through his Iris. "Their embers do wonders that monsters' never could."
"I-I see…" the swordfighter cowered at hearing his mate's response.
"Did I hog them all?" Fereth misinterpreted Noah's wilting demeanor. "I'm sorry, I'll let you take the next one."
"Oh, that's… not necessary…" Noah gripped his veiled sword, unable to shake the dread that the situation would only deteriorate from here.
By now, the sky had begun to brighten ever so slightly, though the morning sun hadn't yet graced the horizon with its presence. It wouldn't be long before the next fighting opportunity presented itself in the form of two more Agnians, this time a lancer and a healer. They, too, appeared to have been separated from their own group, but it didn't stop them from engaging in battle.
"I'll take the one in front," the cestus-wielder staked his claim, "while you take the one behind them!"
"Fat chance you will!" the lancer prepared their first strike. "We'll conquer ev-"
"Nobody's getting past…" Fereth dove in deeply for a fatal blow to the enemy's chest, impactful enough to crack their armor.
"Fereth!" the ponytailed Kevesi cried in horror upon witnessing the opposing lance appear through his teammate's back. Neither combatant uttered another sound as they both fell in a cloud of dust and motes. Time seemed to stop in that moment, the wretched scene being the latest of many in the senseless war. "No… g-get up, Fereth! Come on!" Noah tugged at his fallen friend's arm which had grown cold and hard, along with the rest of his fifth-term body. Even his wings had stiffened, no longer waving with the wind. Unlike when Eunie had departed a year prior for her reassignment, the tears came instantly this time for Noah.
"I'm so sorry…" the Agnian healer's voice snagged his ear while they mourned their loss as well. "I should've saved you… but I was… too slow." Noah looked up to find an equally teary face not so far away from his own. A green, healing circle began to dissipate the moment he'd noticed it.
"Spark… why did it have to come to this?" his voice softened to their level. It was clear to him that this Agnian was as close to their fallen comrade as he was to Fereth. Both of their weapons had long been withdrawn while they continued to sit together, observing each other's grief. There was no way that Noah could take the life of another soldier now, not even after what'd just happened.
Despite losses on both sides, the Agnians' raid had largely been successful with the amount of embers collected during their uninvited visit. For Noah and his few, fellow Kevesi survivors, Colony 17 was no longer inhabitable due to the destruction and its nearly depleted Flame Clock. With their consul's blessing, the others prepared to transfer to Colony 29, preserving but also unwittingly rechaining their lives to the war. Much to Noah's continued dismay, Colony 3 had no space available, so he opted for Colony 25 in Dannagh Desert instead. At least their salvage branch, one of the backup teams, offered him a way to keep combat to a minimum.
No detail from that awful morning had been left out when Noah told the whole story to Kesell, a tenth-term soldier who'd been tasked with showing him around Colony 25. The recently declared pacifist even divulged about his decision to avoid killing, though the reaction he received wasn't exactly laudatory.
"You should be careful," the older boy warned him. "You'll be snuffed if anyone hears you say it aloud."
"Oh?" Noah watched his new friend's expression carefully. "Is it… an uncommon ideal?"
"Man, you have been sheltered," Kesell chuckled at the newcomer's innocence. "We're made to fight, to take each other's lives as a means to survive."
"But I survived without taking anybody's life," the swordfighter stated it like it was an accomplishment. "Are you saying I cheated?"
"Lucky is what you are," the tenth-termer dropped his hands to his hips, "so you'd better not push it by repeating this to anyone else."
"S-sorry…" Noah timidly glanced around the plaza for any potential eavesdroppers.
"Don't worry, I won't squeal," Kesell relaxed his stance, hoping to put the younger soldier at ease.
"If anyone knew I told you, would you get in trouble, too?" the pacifistic Kevesi suddenly feared for his tour guide.
"I doubt it," the older boy stared between the tents towards the dunes beyond, "though it wouldn't matter since I'm nearly at my end, anyway."
"E-end…?" Noah was hardly assuaged by such deadpanned reasoning. "How much time do you have left?"
"One month, I reckon," Kesell's estimation came easily, nonchalantly. "I'm glad Commander Tolvis had us meet. I think he'd agree that it's nice to hear a fresh voice this late in life."
"Commander Tolvis is… also running out of time?" the ponytailed soldier rubbed his forehead.
"He's actually further along than I am," the tenth-termer continued to be frank. "In a few weeks, the consul will lead a group down to Ecto Hollow to witness his homecoming in our ritual."
"Ritual?" The word sounded especially ominous to the impressionable newcomer.
"You've never heard of this? All of our northeastern Fornis colonies do this." Kesell's reflective gaze returned to his new friend whose own stare projected nothing short of confusion. "Hmm… perhaps, I'm bombarding you with too much information for your first day here. It's nothing you need to fret over."
"Is it… bad?" Noah couldn't fight his curiosity as it ached for an illustration.
"Please, Noah, you've just lost your friends, along with your old colony," his tour guide refused to acquiesce more, choosing instead to put the fifth-termer's mind on something lighter. "I think a hearty meal at the canteen is in order."
Despite Kesell's efforts to steer Noah away from this apparent source of perturbation, fate would have other ideas in the near future. When it was time for Colony 25's consul to select soldiers to attend Commander Tolvis' homecoming, the pacifist was one of them.
The night wasn't unpleasant by any means, but Noah had an uneasy feeling grabbing at his gut while the consul led the group northward across Dannagh Desert. Whatever this mysterious ritual entailed, he was about to experience it firsthand. Looking ahead, he observed how his superior officer of a mere three weeks walked with the calmest of gaits. It was evident to the newcomer that Commander Tolvis had already resigned himself to this predetermined end of his.
After passing Devil's Skillet, the muted group turned toward the cliffs where the path led them to a cave entrance. Scorpoxes and aspars inhabiting the sandy cavity fell by the wayside upon the consul's glowing, outstretched hand as they trekked deeper. Eventually, they reached their destination, an opening in the cliffside with a precarious view of the neighboring Cent-Omnia region and its moating chasm. The winds stung the soldiers' faces like they'd never felt before, but they knew better than to utter a peep now.
To commence the proceedings, the witnesses were directed to form two lines and honor their commander with the upturned, fisted salute. The consul spoke, but Noah couldn't hear him. Perhaps it was too windy, or maybe he was overfocused on the sword that the red-armored hierarch had summoned over the now-kneeling Kevesi.
The pacifist so badly wanted to shut his eyes, but the grave scene unfolding before him was simply too captivating. In one swift, precise motion, the consul beheaded Commander Tolvis like the expert executioner that he was. Noah slowly dropped his salute upon the vilest of sights while two of his fellow soldiers ran to the walls to retch. The winds scattered the red motes instantly before the caped man dragged the husk over the edge.
No detail from that awful evening was omitted when Noah recounted the experience to Kesell the following day. The two soldiers were sitting in the canteen, however, the younger one hadn't the appetite.
"Doesn't sound like it's changed at all," the tenth-termer sighed into his plate.
"Y-you've attended it yourself?" the swordfighter presumed with ragged breath.
"Indeed," Kesell closed his eyes, brows furrowed. "Witnessing it changed me."
"I… don't think I'll ever be the same, either," Noah regretted to admit, "and I'm just a fifth-termer."
"I hear the new commander will be Colin, a fourth-termer," the older soldier attempted to alter the subject again. "I sense change coming for the colony, but I won't be around to see it."
"This is… your final week?" the ponytailed Kevesi slumped his shoulders.
"Pretty much, but I'm considering leaving for good, tomorrow," Kesell twirled his fork in his meal.
"W-what…?" Noah's eyes widened at his new friend's response.
"If I stay longer, the consul may get on my case for my homecoming," the tenth-termer expounded further. "It's my life, so I should be able to choose how it ends."
"I think I follow…" the pacifist slowly nodded.
"I know you do," Kesell smiled upon rising from the table. "I'll find a quiet spot for myself and fade away when I'm ready. It's what we all deserve."
"What we all deserve." These words resonated with Noah as he watched the older boy return his tray on his way out.
It was an easy enough concept for him to grasp, having already sworn himself to pacifism. After four terms in peace, the war between Keves and Agnus had finally chewed and spit him out. Noah now understood that nobody was exempt, regardless of their beliefs. With colonies all over Aionios, he wondered if there was someone else out there who didn't wish to fight. Surely, there had to be.