It is morning.

Kavlina stretches, feeling the wind blow against her sore body. She stares at the dirt mound before her, the soldiers’ weapons and armor just lying in a heap to the side. The residue of a stale metallic smell still linger in her palms, the dark red filth still clinging onto her clothes.

She turns behind her and looks at the house, the door creaking as it swings back and forth. The house, corrupted with carnage, the smell of blood still wafting around the air. Even after an entire night, the traces remain.

She heaves a sigh. It all happened so quickly back then. She remembers Avalel’s moment of irrationality, his mind completely changing into something else just for a short while. The remorseless slaughter of those soldiers, the emptiness that she had felt from him, the fanatical attacks using the sword… How much she had hoped it was a nightmare.

As she enters the house again, the shattered furniture, the touch of the sticky blood-stained walls, and the increasingly overwhelming smell attack her, reminding her once again of the night before. Taking each step slowly and with deliberation, she makes her way to her room, picking out a set of clean clothes to change into.

It certainly bears a resemblance to that scene four years ago, doesn’t it?

She should’ve been used to all this. After four years, she should’ve been accustomed to seeing blood all around her. The metal blade stabbing into the soft flesh, the screams or whimpers as each soldier fell… It’s all too familiar for her. Then why, why does she still feel that same sensation of disgust, of guilt? Why does she feel the same for fifty-six strangers compared to one of her closest relatives? She didn’t kill them. Avalel had protected her as he had promised. If he didn’t do so, they’d be the ones buried in a shallow grave.

Then what is this heaviness pulling at her?

Ah, right… The Old Man still hasn’t returned.

Another one snatched away from her by the clutches of fate. Despite her weak stature then, Faresoenn had taken care of her as well as a guardian possibly could, teaching her, raising her as if she is his own child. The man, despite being long past his prime, still stubbornly protected them at the village square with his abilities. With magic. Something she used to only read about in stories suddenly revealed through him, shielding her and Avalel at the likely expense of Faresoenn’s own life.

First a stillborn sister, then her father, her mother, the friends she once knew… now Faresoenn has left her behind as well. The house, once a peaceful shelter for the three of them, is no longer safe, already far too corrupted, tainted by the night’s massacre. The village will eventually find out, and despite whatever explanations she or Avalel may conjure, they no longer can live as they had. If the faction decides to take revenge upon their lost soldiers, their own lives will be in danger.

They need to leave. They no longer deserve to live in the village defined by their peace and isolation. It is not that Kavlina dislikes the village, but rather… they must.

She packs some essentials into her bag, being mostly made up of food, before she enters Avalel’s room, expecting to find him still sound asleep. Instead, the boy is awake, changed into a set of clean clothes as he stares blankly at the sword. The sword of a recent past, the symbol of an Empire gone over a decade ago, a weapon supposedly disappearing along with the Empire it once represented.

The Anapadeia, its status commonly known even to her generation. Yet, somewhere inside, she just hopes Avalel won’t have to be exposed to its tale… lest his fragile mind breaks down further.

The night has taken a heavy toll on him. Kavlina notices his unusually disheveled hair, his usually bright pair of eyes so empty. Even with his clean clothes, the entire room is still a scene of red, so chaotic and barely cleaned. He doesn’t even look at her, just hugging his legs as he continues to silently stare at the sword.

Unlike his usual words of encouragement and comfort, Kavlina simply doesn’t know what to say. It’s far too obvious that Avalel’s state is dire, but… what exactly should she do? Is she just going to stand there, staring down at him as he does to the Anapadeia?

“We should go,” she says after a long while, pretending the sword is simply not in her sights.

“Where to?” Avalel asks unenthusiastically. “Where else can we even go?”

“The Outside. We have no place in this village anymore… Not after what happened yesterday night.”

“The Outside, huh…” There is no expression from Avalel, his mouth barely moving.

“You wanted to leave this place, didn’t you?” Kavlina asks. “To… explore what the world really looks like.”

Avalel doesn’t budge. “Then Dad…”

“We’re…” She stops her sentence. They are going to leave Faresoenn behind. It’s an obvious given. But she finds herself unable to even state that clear truth, unable to just speak her mind to her closest friend.

“We’re going to leave him, aren’t we?” Avalel mutters. “Or maybe you’re thinking that maybe… he’s gone.”

Kavlina kneels, looking at Avalel’s dejected face. The energy just sapped away from him, the fear trickling out from his reserved posture. As she reaches for him, he just turns away, unwilling to even look her in the eye.

It reminds her a little of the two of them back then, when she was still so fearful of what she had done, what she had witnessed.

“Lel,” she calls. “Are you… scared?” She reaches for his shoulder but hesitates, careful not to disrupt him too much.

“I guess, maybe, you could say so,” Avalel says. “I’m probably just thinking too much.”

Kavlina shuffles, putting herself between Avalel and the Anapadeia. “It’s something to do with the Old Man… and the sword as well, isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

“Well… I…” The Anapadeia, although once a well-known symbol, is just a somewhat special weapon in Kavlina’s eyes. Yet Avalel’s unwavering stare seems to speak of something different, something likely related to his actions and abrupt change as a person altogether. “You just don’t look good.”

“I talked to… something,” Avalel explains. “There was a voice calling itself the… Anapadeia. It spoke to me. I didn’t want to… kill so many of them. I just don’t want to be controlled again, but somewhere inside, I feel that one day, I’ll lose myself again. I was lucky to not harm you in the process, but what if I did? What if I just gave up myself to the Anapadeia, to become its puppet? I may have resisted it now, but what if I forget? What if I just… slowly turn myself into something different?”

“You won’t,” Kavlina says. “I’ll… make sure you won’t.” She herself is unsure, but at this point, Avalel needs just some words of comfort, words she can only scrape together. No matter how strong her physical capabilities have become, her words will never hold the same power.

“Thanks,” Avalel whispers.

She sighs, standing up as she makes her way out. “I’ll give you some time to decide.”

“Can we visit the village square before we leave?”

Kavlina stops momentarily. “Yes.” Perhaps it is also of her own subconsciousness, but she wishes, even if there is only a sliver of a chance, that Faresoenn is still alive.

“Are you ready?”

Kavlina returns to the room again, finding Avalel sitting patiently on the ground, the Anapadeia wrapped in a bundle of cloth along with a bag of his personal items. His appearance is still as disheveled as before, but a calming presence has finally taken over, his eyes ready to meet hers.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Putting on a cloak each, they exit, Kavlina lightly touching the walls as dried blood flakes off the surface. The Elyfesta is already setting, the sky a warm orange towards the direction of the village square. Whatever fear or anxiety they had before is already compartmentalized, internalized within themselves. Even as they walk on the same familiar path, they do not expect much, only hoping, at least, to see the village once more before they depart.

“They’ve probably buried Dad by now,” Avalel mumbles.

Kavlina nods. “At least we can say a brief farewell.”

It’s strange without the humorous presence of Faresoenn. The silence is expected, but the emptiness, the rift between the two of them is gradually made apparent. Kavlina doesn’t know how to communicate with Avalel, her closest friend seeming to be drifting further and further from her. In the journey ahead, they are to rely on each other, but how is that even possible when Kavlina herself is already hiding her limited knowledge of the Anapadeia to Avalel?

It’s been four years. She hasn’t returned to the outside world for four years. Is the war still going on, the war that had torn her family apart? Is the east still a safe haven for refugees, an arid land full of opportunities as they say? Four years ago, she and her mother had attempted to flee there. Now, she is about to continue the same route. A rather “free” region compared to the Core Regions where she was raised as a child, she can only wish such a place can truly offer a new start for her and Avalel.

I’ll miss this scenery, she thinks as she admires the forest around her for the last time.

Soon, the village square and hall is in sight. To their surprise, a small crowd is still gathered around the area, transporting various building materials to a certain fenced off section. Curious passersby occasionally stay for a look or two before they continue on their way. The street is littered with rubble mostly piled up to the sides, leaving the center still available for people to walk to and fro. In the distance, they can see a pillar of smoke rising to the sky, polluting the air with its dirty, suffocating particles.

Faresoenn is nowhere to be seen.

Kavlina sighs. They have no reason to cling onto their wishful thinking now.

“They’re still burning the bodies?” They suddenly hear a villager say.

“There’s just so many to burn at the pyre,” another answers. “I think the council said there were forty four in total.”

“What happened?”

“Apparently they were soldiers from the Outside. Faresoenn killed them all.”

“Then how’s he—”

“He’s resting, don’t worry. I’m sorry for young Avalel and Kavlina.”

The two of them jolt at the mention of their names, but thankfully, no one has noticed their presence.

“The man was always so helpful to our lives,” the villager continues. “But alas, good things are to be liberated from this world first.”

“He hasn’t even reached the middle age of fifty.”

“A shame, really.”

Kavlina suddenly notices Avalel turning away from the square, picking up pace as the Anapadeia begins to glow. She hears a light sniff, but otherwise, Avalel is silent, his footsteps heavy, slouching as he distances himself from the noise.

Taking one last look at the villagers and the square, she too turns away, quickly catching up to Avalel before she forces an awkward pat on his shoulder. Seeing him suddenly cough in shock, she finds herself naturally putting on a smile, both amused at his reaction and embarrassed at her action.

“W-What was that for?” Avalel asks.

“Well, uh… to cheer you up for our journey east beyond the mountains,” Kavlina hastily explains.

Somehow, Avalel returns her smile with a grin, laughing a bit at her awkwardness.

“Thanks,” he says. “Thanks for cheering me up.”

“I-I did?”

“Just a little bit, but you did.”

Kavlina sighs in relief. “Good to see you again, Lel.”

Despite the loss of Faresoenn, perhaps it is an opportunity for the two of them to become independent, to support each other in the coming days and weeks. The dark, towering mountains await before them, and beyond, the lands of the east where they may find another haven to settle in.