Uroa stared at the sky as her hands moved with finesse, shoving guts back into a fellow dwarf before sewing up the wound. She watched as her love, her muse, moved across the sky, battling alongside his master against a foe far greater than themselves.

How brightly they shine compared to me.

I’ve always wondered. Am I a leech? Do I even see the reality of the world or am I merely coloring it with my idea of reality? I’m just a shallow dwarf who chases after the unattainable, pressing my will upon others, hoping to be heard, to be important, to be loved.

Fire and bone danced around the battlefield as she finished dressing the dwarf’s wounds. He was lucky that none of his intestines hadn’t gotten nicked, or else he’d be dying a painful death.

Once Adster or another magical healer got to him, he’d be good to get back onto the battlefield.

“Next!” Uroa called as washed her hands using a basic water ball spell.

A fox-kin walked over, clutching her severed arm near her chest, a glassy look in her eyes.

Uroa sat her down and looked over the detached arm. At a glance, she could see the dirt and grime that covered both the stump and appendage. Uroa called forth her flames and ran them over both the fox-kin’s stub and her arm, using the fire to wash over the wounds and shift away the dust and grime while leaving the flesh unharmed.

Luckily the bone wasn’t fragmented, otherwise, I’d have to cauterize the wound.

Once the wounds were clean Uroa opened her bag and pulled out a small tablet inscribed with a formation. She also pulled out a bit and placed it in the fox-kin’s mouth.

“This is going to hurt. Bite on this so you won’t bite off your tongue. I’d rather not have one of our limited healing spells to be wasted on something we could have prevented. Help, hold her down.”

The female fox-kin bit down on the bit as a rat-kin held down the fox-kin, keeping her from moving.

“Sorry, if we had the time I’d knock you out. But there are too many injured. Endure it.”

Uroa placed the severed arm in position and the fox-kin screamed in agony as she used her flames like little tools, moving the sliced muscles back into place before setting the stone tablet over the wound.

“Now for the true pain. Sorry. Regeneration, activate.”

The stone tablet activated, causing the formation to slide off of the stone and latch onto the wound. The formation began to glow and give off smoke as it forced flesh to connect with flesh and revived any dead tissue.

The rat-kin struggled to hold the screaming fox-kin down as the dying muscles were revived and connected back to one another.

As this happened Uroa looked back up to the sky, towards Urist’s dashing figure, and let her mind wander a bit as the formation did its magic.

I remember it well now, my past life. I was a baron's daughter. The lowest of the nobility who only wished to marry into a better station so that I could live a life of luxury. I lived my life chasing after men, moving my eyes from one better than the next.

Years of my life were spent chasing after and marrying just the right man.

Till.

I grew old.

I had grown past my prime and in my greed, I never settled for any man. I lost my trump card of beauty and coupled with my low station...

No one wanted me anymore.

I was vain so I conspired. I poisoned. I spread rumors to drag innocent girls to their deaths. All for a better man.

Now I have a second chance at life and the me before I remembered my past life managed to achieve my old wish just by telling her true feelings.

Why... Why did I have to remember?

Why couldn’t I just keep being naive and happy?

“She’s good. Move her to the rest area and let her sleep for a bit. Next!”

A rat-kin with broken arms walked over at her call.

Nothing I can do but reset the bones and send them over to Adster.

Uroa got some splits and bandages ready before she began setting the rat-kin’s arms. While her hands moved her eyes wandered once again, but this time they wandered over to the stoic Uria.

Someone like her is far more worthy to be by his side. She is strong, wise, and they even know each other from their past lives. Even if she's schizophrenic with strange and unexplainable mood swings, even if she manipulates Urists with her whispers... She is always making sure to look out for him and raise him up higher and higher, supporting him the best she can.

She focuses everyone's anger, frustration, and dislike on herself and Ubel so that Urist can move as he needs.

What can I offer him that they don’t already provide… I am just...

“Head over to Adster, get your arms healed up, and then get back out into the fight.”

“Understood mam!”

After she finished dealing with the rat-kin she heard a cry of pain.

“My legs! My legs! I can’t feel my legs!”

“Shut up, I’m working on reattaching them. Hey Uroa, stop watching the battle and help me out! I need someone to clean the wound and bring over the needle and thread. If we don’t hurry my muse here is going to bleed out.” Adster called as he waved over Uroa.

Uroa grabbed her bag and rushed forward, wiping away the tears in the corner of her eyes that were slowly filling with determination.

I’m useless at this point in time, so I’ll give up for now. But. This life I’m going to be something. Wait for me, Urist. I’ll show you my ambition.

...

“For glory!” Warrior Littou rumbled as he smashed forth with his silver clad spear, crushing a skeleton’s head with his aura. Next to him, Elrish, his dwarven brother in arms, swept forth, crushing his way through the mass of skeletons swarming the dwarfen allied forces.

The two dwarfs led the melee rush with fox-kin, rat-kin, and dwarf warriors following along behind them. The rat-kin shattered bones with their claws as the fox-kin used their fists and bodies to crush the skeleton troop’s bones into power. The allied forces moved quickly and agilely, each separated from one another yet all focusing on destroying controller skeletons in order to have fewer guns around.

The opening volley of boulders and the sliced Mangum bullet managed to reduce the skeleton army’s numbers by about six hundred. And both of our flanks are battling it out with a necromancer, each leading around four hundred skeletons. By those estimates, there are still a little more than two thousand skeletons left.

Compared to our forces, that’s massive. We’d probably be wiped out if we had to kill every single skeleton. Littou thought as he dashed forth and crushed another controller skeleton.

But if commander Ubel is right, then there are only about two hundred and ten controller skeletons. If we focus on them, this fight is more than manageable.

“Gah!”

Hearing a rat-kin get shot, Littou clicked his tongue as he stabbed his spear into another controller skeleton’s head.

Even if we only need to kill less than two hundred controller skeletons to disable all of the skeletons, once you're hit you're usually dead. We’ve already lost ten fighters and we’ve only killed about twenty controller skeletons. If this goes on we’ll suffer too many injuries, too many deaths.

“Rawr!”

Twang. Twang. Twang.

The roar of a tiger rang out, followed by three distinct twangs of a bowstring. Littou’s eyes widened as he saw his commander, Unicy, dash into the battlefield. Her tiger slaughtered skeletons left and right as she began sniping controller skeletons with perfect precision, killing at least one controller skeleton, sometimes even getting up to three, with a single arrow.

Littou smiled at the sight.

“Commander Unicy is here! With her, by our sides, we will win the battle with ease! March forth for glory!”

“For glory!”

Those fighting around him shouted as they wound through the lines of death. His spear in hand, Littou drove himself into the enemy line stabbing and crushing as he moved farther and deeper into the enemy forces, even as gunshots killed those around him and his comrades went out in their own wondrous blazes of glory.

He drove so deep into enemy lines that at some point he’d left his brothers and sisters in arms behind. Yet none of that mattered to Littou as he aimed for the controller skeleton’s heads. He could dodge out of the way of six shots at a time if he really pushed himself and was lucky he could even dodge seven.

Bang.

Finally, after slaying tens of controller skeletons all by his lonesome, a bullet hit his stomach.

As the wind was knocked out of him, time seemed to slow. Images of his life and even his previous life flashed across his eyes. Littous watched as he, a simple farmer, was conscripted to become a soldier only to die pitifully in a battlefield filled with orcs. Now, in his second life, he was going to die at the hands of these skeletons?

Is this how far I go? When commander Volt said I had the talent to become strong? To die after just one hit? To fall so easily when my brothers in arms have suffered through worse?

That... That isn’t how I want to die.

Something shifted within his brain and cracked.

Littou’s view of the world around him abruptly turned monochrome, as if something had sucked away all the colors.

In this new colorless world, his breath returned and his body responded to him once more. Littou shifted his head slightly, cracking his neck and dodging an incoming bullet.

Then.

He moved.

In an instant, silver light moved to cover his arms, feet, and spine. Littou stepped onto the hard bone floor, cracking it as he moved at a speed he’d never before reached in his life. He tightened his grip on his spear, ready to strike down another controller skeleton when all of a sudden, Volt’s words rang out within his mind.

If I had a few months to train you correctly I’d teach you how to parry, block, counter, and the basics of how to use your aura. But I don’t have the time, so I’ll forgo teaching you fancy moves. All you need to know is how to slash, thrust, smash, and dodge. That will be your bread and butter. You’ll focus on one hit kills. If you have to attack twice, you’ll already be dead.

Littou instinctively used the movements Volt had taught him, rapidly killing controller skeletons with a single attack as he dashed through the enemy hoard. He’d become such a threat that the remaining controller skeletons even focused their sights on him.

Despite Littou’s advanced speed, his enhanced reflexes, his robust force of will, by the end of his rush he was heavily bleeding and breathing, having to use his spear as a cane. Behind him lay a lake of bones, as he had single handedly killed the remaining controller skeletons.

I feel heavy.

Littou looked up to the skies and watched as his King and Master Mo battled against a raging mecha.

Even as he coughed out blood, Littou stared on.

I wonder when I’ll reach that level? For now… I’ll just... take a little rest… Just a little shut-eye… I’ve... earned it... right?

“Littou! You beast, how did you do tha—”

Elrish enthusiastically ran over to Littou’s standing figure only to see Littou’s empty eyes staring up at the sky and the sight grin plastered on his face.