He smelled the smoke long before he caught sight of the flames. The smell assaulted his nostrils, urging him to go faster. And when he finally burst out of the forest and caught sight of the village, his eyes widened in horror.

Every structure he could see was burning, orange and yellow swathes of flames covering everything. Yet as the fear rose up inside of him, threatening to take his mind, he breathed slowly, cycling breath throughout his entire body as he’d been taught, calming his emotions. He then ran into the village.

He was overwhelmed by the flames and the smoke and the ruins of the edges of the village, but then finally, after a few minutes, he was able to make out a landmark and use that to direct himself towards Mera’s house.

He found his first bodies only a few minutes after that. They were charred and had been stabbed with many blades and it was easy to see that it had been a mother and her child that she’d tried to protect using her own body as a shield.

Kai felt it. A surge at the edge of his calm state, rising anger that didn’t touch him just yet, but waited just beyond the edge of his mind. He moved on, knowing that the time to grieve would come much later.

It took him another quarter bell, with panic slowly starting to rise in spite of his attempted calm state, before he finally burst out into the middle of a fight. He saw men covered in glittering armor fighting against obvious villagers armed with pitchforks, hammers, and crude axes.

He recognized the blacksmith’s daughter, Para, futilely using a large hammer against who Kai assumed to be slavers.

He wanted to keep running, his mind and his heart pulling him away from the fight, but his soul, the same thing that had saved the bully Taran from two Blood Boars in spite of the overwhelming danger, won out in the end and he turned towards the fight.

At this point there were only five villagers left, with Para at their head, while there were still seven of the original nine slavers. They were holding their own, but not for long.

Kai rushed the closest one, his eyes easily catching the vulnerable spots on the slaver’s armor. However, instead of taking a chance on the chinks between each plate of armor, he chose to go for the head, easily decapitating the man in one quick motion, before he had even caught wind of a new threat.

However, two others turned away from the villagers to Kai and after looking at him and their dead comrade with surprise, they rushed him, a pair of daggers in one’s hands and an axe in his friend’s.

As Kai settled into the Forms, he felt a resonating thrum in his blood as the flow of battle washed over him. Movements that seemed important before looked so unnecessary to him now.

His body started to move of its own accord, letting the flow of battle dictate his movements. The blades and the axe passed inches from his skin as his attackers swung and thrusted again and again, his body moving out of the way of the attacks at the last second each time.

And Kai clearly saw his opponents’ expressions turn from amusement at fighting another kid, to fear as his body flowed around their attacks with ease. He then finally lashed out once and then twice, killing both with two smooth motions.

The thrum of war, however, didn’t leave his body, and instead only enhanced as he moved to the rest of the slavers. He flowed around them the same way he had the other two, killing them even quicker.

And when their bodies dropped to the ground, when their heads and other detached body parts landed in different places with thumps, a large breath finally slammed into Kai as his spirit finally returned from its dance.

He found clarity as everything came into focus once again and he startled, surprise etched onto his face as he stared at the carnage around him.

He’d dispatched the slavers with brutal efficiency, decapitated heads and detached hands laying on the ground as symbols of his cold rage.

Kai turned and saw the awe etched on the faces of the villagers.

But wait, why are there only three?!

It took only a second of searching before he found the dead body of Para on the ground next to one of the slaver’s, a sword stabbed cleanly through her chest.

“Another one lost to the madness of these honorless fools,” Kai spat and then calmed himself quickly, settling back into his breathing rhythm.

“May you find peace in the Great Beyond,” he murmured after a few moments.

As he breathed in and out, he startled once again after seeking out his Meridians. For there was a fourth golden cord, a full golden cord, stretching from his Soul to his body, symbolizing his 4th Rank in the Meridians Stage.

Impossible, yet it was there, shining in the darkness of his mind. The only thing that could’ve made this happen was the fight, yet Kai had no idea how. He could feel it though, that extra cord pushing energy into him, enhancing his stamina and his strength.

He turned from the surviving villagers, hoping that they would be able to get out without him.

It took another half bell of running, of finding his way through the flames and smoke, of fighting those accursed slavers and sending more villagers out, before he finally made it to the center of Brasbury, where fighting was the thickest.

He slashed and stabbed his way through the slavers, searching through the smoke, hoping that his eyes could find her.

And find Mera he did, just as he’d killed yet another slaver. He caught sight of her across the square, sprinting through the fights. She had blood all over her, along with dirt and sweat, yet Kai was sure it was most beautiful he had ever seen her.

He didn’t hesitate, and ran towards her, lashing out with his sword a few times to help the others in their fights.

Her eyes widened as she finally caught sight of him and they came together in a crash. He held her for a few seconds before stepping back.

“You should’ve left, Kai,” she said. “You should’ve ran and not gotten caught up in this mess.”

“You know I couldn’t have done that,” he answered. “Not without you.”

“Whats the point, Kai? We’ve lost everything, our village, our homes, our livelihoods? Why? Why must there be people who only want to bring chaos to others?”

He could see her starting to crack, this terrible situation having pushed her to the edge. Kai reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“For every person that chooses chaos, there will always be another that is the opposite, one that chooses peace.”

Mera closed her eyes, scrunching her lids tight. “Please, Kai. Please tell me there won’t always be people destroying other people’s lives, that one day, this human need to conquer will end.”

Kai stepped close to her again. “I can’t tell you that. Look at me.”

He tilted her chin up as she finally opened her eyes. He gazed into them as he said, “There will always be people, people like them. But I can promise you, there will always be those like us there to stop them.”

“But what if we become like them, Kai?” Mera asked, fear on her face.

“What?” Kai asked, bewildered.

“What if we realize one day that conquering is easier than protecting, what if we become the very people we used to destroy?”

Still confused, he still answered. “That will never happen. I would never…”

“Promise me Mordekai,” she said, cutting him off. “Promise me that no matter what happens, you will always choose to protect.”

“I promise, love,” Kai said. “Now come on, we have to get out of here.”

Mera’s eyes suddenly widened. “My father, he’s still fighting out there. I can’t leave without him.”

She turned, grabbing his hand, knowing his answer, and led him around the many fights occurring throughout the Central Square, searching for her father.

They found Cohen first, a bloody sword in his hands.

“What are you doing here, kid?” Cohen asked and then said, “Never mind,” as he caught sight of Mera clutching his hand.

Kai glared at him as if daring him to say more before he asked, “Have you seen the mayor?”

“Yeah, he’s… you know what, just come with me.”

They followed Cohen, getting into two more fights, both ending in resounding victories for them, before they found themselves at the edge of a square, where only one fight was occurring. Or well, had been occurring. Kai heard Mera’s choking sob beside him as they caught sight of her father.