The army paraded the Demon’s corpse with cheers as they marched back towards Nebula Tower. Donte, Charly, and I were practically carried as the soldiers all pushed and shoved to get the details on how we killed the Demon. It was only thanks to General Arthur’s presence that we were not trampled by hundreds of overjoyed soldiers.

The celebration quickly died down however when the tower came into view. The general's plan had worked perfectly, but that did not mean there were no casualties. Between the desperate defense of the tower and the Demonkin that survived the trap, nearly a third of the troops were dead or severely injured.

Thousands of men and women were placed in rows outside the tower. They lay forever silent, casualties of a war that should have never been theirs to fight. My hand tightened into a fist as I forced myself to look at the mauled and disfigured bodies.

General Arthur sighed as we marched closer to the corpses. “This is always the worst part. Nothin’, but a battle lost can be half as melancholy as a battle won. We may have all come from different countries, but today we fought together as brothers and sisters. It was only through their sacrifice that we stand here now.”

I nodded silently as I stared at the empty gaze of a nearby corpse. He had been young, barely a teenager. He should not have had to die here today. If only I had been stronger, these sacrifices would not have been necessary.

I shook away the dark thoughts creeping into my mind as I turned to look at the injured. There were far fewer injured. Demonkin had no reason to take prisoners, and with their monstrous fangs and claws, even a casual attack could be deadly. Laying among the injured, I saw a familiar figure that made my heart palpitate.

“Mom!” I shouted, sprinting full speed to her side. My dad was helping her. Dark bags under his eyes as he tightened bandages around her chest and arm. She was barely moving, pale, with bloodstains that covered her face and clothes.

Charly dashed over as well, practical shouting. “Mom how bad is it? Are you ok? Has someone looked at your injuries? Is there anyone with a healing talent here?”

My mom spoke with a weak, soft whisper, “Hush Charly, you will disturb the other patients. It is just a few broken ribs and an arm. I have survived much worse.”

“Are you sure? What if there is an infection, or the bone does not set right? We need to get you treated right away!”

My mom shook her head. “General Arthur only has two people capable of using a healing talent, and others need them far more than me. I will not trade someone’s life just to avoid a few weeks of pain.”

Charly frowned but did not try to convince my mother otherwise. I knelt by her side, gripping her hand in mine.

“I am sorry. If only I had been stronger, you would have never gotten hurt.”

My mom reached over with her one good arm, ruffling my hair into a mess. “Do not be silly. None of this is your fault. I am not a child that needs to be coddled. I am a knight. Injuries happen. I did not die, and none of my injuries will leave any permanent disabilities. All things considered; I am very lucky.” My mom paused as she looked in the direction of the rows of corpses nearby. she took a deep breath before speaking, “Help me up. There is something I need to see.”

“You should not be moving right now!” Charly shouted in protest.

My dad nodded. “Listen to Charly. Whatever it is, it can wait.”

“No, I am going with or without your help,” my mom replied firmly, “If you do not want me aggravating my injuries, I suggest you help.”

My dad sighed in defeat. He gently placed his arms under my mom and helped her to her feet as carefully as he could. She hissed in pain but did not say a word of complaint. I could see her sweating heavily as she turned even paler than before. Her legs were unsteady, and she could barely take a single step by herself. My dad had to practically carry her as they walked towards the rows of bodies.

I looked at the face of each body we passed, burning the image into my mind. For each one, I could not help but imagine the kind of life they could have lived if this battle had never taken place. Perhaps this man would have been a baker, raising a family full of children. This one looked like he would have been a military man for life, decorated with medals of achievement. Another reminded me of a hunter I once knew, living freely off the land. Every single one of them had a story… a family…

I had always felt like I had so much time before Envy arrived. I was never in a rush to train or grow stronger because I knew there was little it would change in the grand war to come. I had overlooked moments like this. The battles that came before the storm. If I had taken things just a bit more seriously, I would have been able to take control of the snake faster. I could have wiped out the Demonkin army with hardly any sacrifice at all.

Regret always had perfect hindsight. I knew I could not change what happened, but I would not let something like this happen again. I refused to let it happen again.

After searching the rows of bodies for what seemed like an endless torment of time, my mom finally found the one she was looking for. The stench of Demonkin blood was stronger here than any other corpse we passed. I felt my throat catch as I looked down at the familiar figure. Even in death, he was still larger than any of those that surrounded him. His giant body was covered in hundreds of wounds. The skin on his knuckles was completely torn away, revealing the busted bones beneath.

My mom sobbed quietly as she looked down at Orias. “You stupid oaf…”

My dad supported my mom as she broke down. She clutched at his shirt and cried into his chest. My dad held her tenderly, stroking her hair. It was only several minutes later that she was able to wipe away her tears. She set her jaw as she took a single strained step towards the body. With a quick motion, she tore part of her bandages and draped the white cloth over Orias’s face.

She spoke softly, “You were always so stubborn, never listening to anyone’s advice. Things did not have to end this way, but I think… perhaps you always wanted them to. I hope that wherever you are now, you finally found everything you dreamed of. I hope your sister is there smiling down at you… and I hope she beats some sense into you for my sake… goodbye… brother.”

My dad sighed as he took my mom’s hand. They stood silently as the sun began to set and night fell upon the land.

“Pack up everythin’ you can, leave the rest. We are not stayin’ one more day in this horrible mist!” General Arthur shouted, waking me from what little sleep I had been able to get. It had been a restless night, plagued by the faces of the people I could not save.

My only solace was when I received a few flashes of information from Naga. The giant snake had found more than a dozen Demonkin overnight, and crushed them all. With her patrolling the mist, it would not be long before it became a much safer place, and maybe with time, the mist would fade completely.

I stretched as I tried to wake up my stiff muscles. I was tired of sleeping on the ground. I wanted our wagon back at the very least, but once again it had been commandeered to help transport the injured. Most of all though, I wanted a bath. Everything smelled of rot and Demonkin blood, but there was not enough water to get the smell off our bodies. The most we could do was wipe down with a wet cloth in hopes of getting even slightly cleaner.

Once I felt ready to face the day, I joined my dad, Charly, and Donte as they collected food and water for us to carry. He handed me a small sack with my portion of the rations. It would still be a long walk before we got out of the mist. If we were careful with how much we ate, the food should last us most of the way. The real problem was the awful rations the Avari brought for the trip. It may have been able to stave off hunger, but it looked like a bar of dirt and tasted like manure. It made me long for the days of bread, cheese, and dried meat I had complained about when we first started our journey north.

As we were gathering our supplies, General Arthur approached us. His red coat was still as vibrant as ever. Despite fighting at the front with everyone else, his clothes did not have so much as a single stain or speck of dust on them. He also did not smell of Demonkin rot like everyone else. It made me wonder if he knew a glyph that could clean and disinfect.

“Renald, how is Tia?” General Arthur asked, draping an arm over my dad’s shoulders in an overly friendly gesture.

“She will be fine. She just needs time.”

“She always was a tough one,” General Arthur said with a laugh, “Once the more serious injuries are dealt with, I will have one of my healers visit her. Can’t have one of my blades down at such an important time.”

My dad looked at the General curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s just call it a hunch. Ye know a have a knack for things like this.”

My dad nodded. “I will be ready for a fight.”

“Glorious!” General Arthur said with a big smile, “But before we get on the road, I have a couple of questions I have been meanin’ to ask ye.”

“Like what?”

“Like, how ye knew about Envy’s invasion weeks before anyone else? How ye met with and set up an alliance with Chancellor Otto of the Free Cities? Why are ye goin’ to the Kala Kingdom of all places? Ye are keepin’ quite a few secrets from me that I would like to know the answers to.”

My dad froze, unsure how to respond to those questions. He furtively glanced towards me as he tried to think up an answer.

General Arthur still wore that same smile. His expression did not change, but now it seemed to have a different meaning than the friendliness and excitement he had shown before. “Don’t want to answer? That fine. I have other questions. How did ye know about the catacombs under the tower? Where did ye get the weapons ye and your family are using? Weapons like that have only just been introduced to the Novus kingdom, and only for generals and the high nobility. Seein’ so many in a single place is the same as stumblin’ on a box of diamonds. It does not happen by chance. Of course, all these questions pale in comparison to the biggest one on my mind. How did three children kill a Demon that over twenty thousand trained soldiers could not even hurt? My scouts found the clearin’ where they fought. That level of damage was not somethin’ any normal kids can manage.”

My dad pulled himself free of General Arthur’s grasp. He stood in front of Charly and me, shielding us from the General’s gaze. My dad’s voice was practically a growl as he spoke, “General, I have always looked up to you, but if you try to do anything to my children, I will not hesitate to turn against even you.”

General Arthur shook his head. “Renald, I am hurt. How many years have ye known me? Ye were only twelve years old when ye first became my squire. Ye know, if I wanted to hurt anyone, I would not be askin’ ye directly like this. If I wanted to hurt them, I would have acted before they woke up, catchin’ them before they could repeat whatever they did to the Demon. Truth is, as a general, and as a soldier, I have always prided myself on understandin’ what others try to hide from me. It is what has allowed me to be so successful on the battlefield, but now when I look at ye, I do not understand anythin’. None of your recent actions match what I know about you. I am simply tryin’ to understand what has changed.”

General Arthur’s gaze shifted as he crouched down to look me in the eye. His smile faded. “You are the reason, aren’t you? Your dad is not very good at keepin’ secrets. He looked at you every time I asked him a question.”

I stepped out from behind my dad, meeting the general's gaze without wavering. “And what if I am.”

“Are ye manipulating him? I have seen your talent. Are ye usin’ it to control his actions?”

“Never,” I replied firmly.

The general paused as he examined me closely. A few tense seconds passed in silence before the smile returned to his face. “Interestin’… ye seem to be tellin’ the truth, but ye are not the same child I met the other day are ye? No, she was more timid, uncertain… scared. There is no fear in your eyes. Who are you?”

I felt a chill travel up my spine as I stood in front of the General. Even without me answering, it felt like he had already seen through me as if he knew my mind better than I did. Even Otto with his innate talent did not make me feel like this.

I took a deep breath and shook away the discomfort before returning the general's smile. The green in my left eye burned brightly. “Are you sure you want to know? You said you spent your childhood in the Church of the Myriad Realms as an acolyte. I know more about what that means than most. If you want me to reveal my secret, you will have to pay the price for it.”

The general blinked a few times before standing up and laughing. “Ha! I like ye kid. Got some real fire in ye. I will leave ye be, and we will be friends. No need to get the church involved.”

The general stood, looking at my father quietly for a moment before practically running away. He glanced over his shoulder at me a few times, almost as if he was afraid I might follow him. I grinned slightly in response.

“Wren, what did you just do to the general?” my dad asked sternly.

I put my hand behind my back as I put on my best innocent expression. “Whatever do you mean dad?”

“Don’t play coy. Tell me the truth.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “Nobody leaves the church, not really. It is a responsibility for life. I may not be the empress anymore, but this is still my realm. The church has a contract with me that allows them to be here. Every single member of the church is bound by that contract, including your General Arthur. Part of that agreement states that they are not allowed to interfere with me in any way without my approval. If this stipulation is broken, I can immediately execute the one who broke the agreement… put simply, I just threatened General Arthur as the Immortal Empress.”