Fater takes me to the oter camp to see a boi my age. He told me the boi's name is Ewgene. He is very polit and fun and says funny things. I said there is no other five year old here to play wit me. He said he's gong to be my friend. I think that we will very get along. We will becom best friends and never fight!

Excerpt from "Melodi's Diary"

Eugene De Lavet

After a short while, the groves begin sparse on both sides of the road we ride, signaling that we're about to exit this forest. We keep checking if the lava wall has advanced and the diamond towers are still standing. Melodi wants to know if the General is still standing, and I (arguably more practically) want to know if we're gonna die.

Glimpses of my imagination flash before my eyes. The Socenian castle that holds a thousand men. The bazaar inside a crowded district. The ocean at the South Pole. Having lived inside a forest all my life, I just have a vague notion of them throught the words of Azra and Lek. I yearn to know more, to learn more. I yearn to visit those places at least once in my life, to see them for myself, to answer the ultimate question that's been burning in me my whole life: where in those places can I find a princess?

All of a sudden, shattering noises echo from both sides as the diamond towers break into two pieces and the lava bore through like a broken dam. The hot volcanic matter overflows the edges of the forest with a force so intense that even from here, I can smell the wood burning. Like a swarm of locust, its bright red engulfs every other hue until the whole scenery becomes a single, homogenous color. The trees and the earth melts before our eyes. Before long, the beautiful edges of the forest into seas of fire.

"No!" Melodi yells, before her voice grows smaller. "Father. . ."

Lek scans the flaming liquid then shows what it can do for me.

Scorching Lava Rank VI Level 747 Damage 19,9?? ~ 39,??? per second Effect 45% Stun Debuff -50% Movement Speed

What the hell? That lava kills me in two seconds AND makes sure I can't get away from it? For reference, a swing from me deals 1,456 damage, and that's after all the buffs! And this thing is a wall. A damn wall! Walls don't kill you, unless you're in Wetnam.

Nevertheless, thick, golden layers of dust a distance away from us signal that Kakwai desert isn't far away. My judgment is correct, as it always is. We get out of Likimi forest way before the lava wall is anywhere close to approaching us.

We'll stay alive!

However, Melodi doesn't seem to be fond of staying alive. She turns to Commander Azra and asks with a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice, "Commander. The diamond towers were cracked, but they have not fallen. Father is still holding out strong. This battle is not lost."

Azra sighs and clears his voice. "You don't understand just how powerful Lord Pyro is, Melodi. We're following the most pragmatic solution."

"And how would you know we won't defeat him despite his capacity?"

"Pyro is well-prepared. He's assaulted us when we were unprepared, severed our communication, and cut off the links within our force. His bandits are at every corner, looking to trap separate us, lure us in like rats, then slay us when we're alone. Do not be mistaken that simply adding yourself into the equation would change the tide of a battle. A battle is decided before it is fought."

"You say that because you've decided we'd lose since the get go! If we'd stood together, side by side, we would've put up a hell of a fight! I'm sure of it."

"Your Father and I have planned for this exact scenario. This is an order of the highest priority." He emphasizes on the word 'order', as if him talking normally isn't scary enough.

"I'm going to lose two people who are the closest to me in a single day! And all you can think about is some goddamn orders. Why do you think following order stands above living and dying by the ones you love, Commander Kolkov?"

"You aren't gonna say anything?" Lek whispers to me.

"Do I look like a mediator to you? The only thing remotely neutral I can say is 'let's get some chicken wings'. We best stay out of it, bud."

"True. Silly me to assume whatever you're gonna say isn't gonna trigger at least someone."

The two argue all the way to the sandy dunes of Kakwai desert, before Melodi ending the discussion with 'if anything happens, you're responsible for all of this.'

"Do not stop until at least sunset," Azra commands. "I know of a place we can spend the night. When the sun rises, we march again."

It's not until nightfall that Azra even lets us stop for a drink. The Commander wears a huge backpack on his back that makes him look like a camel, so I'd imagined he would store tons of water in there. However, when he opens the backpack, it's just full of weapons and some other junks. Azra only has three half-full water bottles along with him, and he gives each of us one.

"Is this it? I'm cold and thirsty. This water isn't even mango-flavored!" I rightfully protest.

"I think you too don't comprehend the situation we're in, Eugene," Azra replies with soul-crushing nonchalance.

"Geez." I rub my hands along my arms. "Why is this place so cold all of a sudden? It was scorching just before sundown!"

"I don't know, man," Lek chimes in. "Feels all the same to me."

"Shut up."

"That's how deserts are," Azra says. "Soon we'll reach the village. There, we'll have water and shelter."

"It should be in the distance," Alleria comments as she looks around.

I gaze at the vast nothingness stretching all the way to the moonless, starless horizon. Dredged, barren, and not a trace of moisture—the desert is exactly like what I've seen in image books that Melodi always deemed to be too childish for her taste but still kept them around anyway. She'd much rather wordy books, the type that's "contemplative" and "thought-provoking", and that means no colorful pictures that are undoubtedly easier to visualize because being serious means you can't have fun.

I gaze forward, and forward, and forward. However, I see nothing but sand and feel nothing but the wind blowing at my face.

"Where, where is the village? Could it be that it's been destroyed by Pyro as well?" I hug my head in panic. "Did we escape from the forest, following a perilous plan, just to realize that the place we're heading for no longer exists? Did we risk our lives only to get lost in the desert? Why, oh God why? What do we do now? We're gonna die here! Die to thirst! Die to hunger! Die to starvation! The greatest swordsman of all times is going to die because he can't drink some water!"

"You idiot!" Melodi knocks on my head. "Look to the right!"

I turn to the light, and sees a village.

"Ah, there it is, heh heh. . . It looks very nice and villagy. . ."

"Time to move," Azra waves his hand. "We're going to move village elder Kassam."