Ah, so that’s what that sinking feeling in my gut was about. Vivia, the demoness, I think Anna referred to her as? Heh, pretty damn fitting… Really, I was too gullible and got swept up by the moment. I trusted my enemy, and got stabbed in the back. Well, shot in the front, I guess you could say, but same thing, really.

And look at them now. Vivia and her father are laughing maniacally at me, with their proud and annoying, shitty grins. Oh, they’re running away now. Looks like they couldn’t stay too long, given our side of the army saw all this unfurl in front of them.

“Lune!” Meil propped my head up a bit as he called out to me, “Lune! Cast heal, now!”

“Huh?” I could feel my consciousness slipping.

Heal? Oh right, that Iro Ability thing… How’d it go again? Uhh, was it the hand symbol? No, that’s the other one. The uhh… The happiness. Ack, my brain’s fried. I can’t do it.

“You fuckers!” Ed could be heard screaming at the top of his lungs, “You fucking traitorous bastards! I’ll fucking track down all of you and hunt you down!”

“Never mind that, Ed!” Meil told him to calm down, “Help me take Lune back to our side. The battle’s about to start, and we won’t be able to treat his wounds in the middle of it all.”

“The battle…?” I uttered, “Ish okay… I stopped it, guys…”

“You shut up and keep your strength.” Ed banned me from speaking as he and Meil hoisted me up, “Alright Meil, quickly now!”

“Quickly? He got shot in the chest! We don’t want to tear the wound open any more than it already is! We go carefully. Slow and steady wins the…”

“Fuck the race!” Ed shouted, “Fuck everything, we need to save Grim! And you, I know this isn’t enough to take you down, so cast Heal already!”

“Mn?” I looked up at him pitifully, “You are… Hm? What’s going on?”

What am I saying? I’m acting like I don’t know how to cast Heal, like I don’t know where I am. Like I don’t even know who my best friend is! No, I can’t give up. For whatever reason, my body isn’t listening to me, but I just need to cast Heal and everything will be okay.

“Hngg…!” I tried my best to force out a smile.

“Shit, what the hell is he doing now?!” Ed sounded worried, “Grim, stop playing around! This is serious!”

“I am seriuhs…!” I said drowsily, “Fawk you!”

“He’s in a state of delirium.” Meil explained, “The shock from all this is messing with his head, so don’t take his words seriously. Right now, giving him medical aid is our top priority.”

“Right!” Ed sped up his pace.

Dammit, I’m gonna die, aren’t I? Like, for real this time. There’s just no possible way to get me out of this situation. The guys are wasting their breath trying to apply first aid, given I was shot through the heart. I need to cast Heal, but my body refuses to move, and my mind won’t work properly. My Eyes, my Eyes are…

“Hold it, Ed!” Meil sounded worried, “His Iro! His Iro is…!”

“Holy fuck, no!” Ed cried out, “Hey, snap out of it, idiot! Don’t revert to Purple! You’re not dying on me! We’ll save you, so don’t give up hope!”

“Purple?” I smiled back at him weakly, “Like Marina…”

“Marina’s dead, you asshole!” Ed got up close so I could see his Brown Iro properly, “She’s dead, and because of that you’ve had to endure years of sorrow and mourning! So listen to me, dimwit, don’t put Cecily through the same depression you had to go through!”

“Who?” I asked as I looked up at the sky, “Ah, hello.”

Far out beyond the battlefield, above the clouds, a cute pink-haired young lady could be seen peeking her head out and giggling. She was as beautiful as the day I lost her. Oh? What’s this, someone’s next to her. A small yet equally as cute pink head of hair, but the little girl’s Eyes are bright Green.

“Ah, so that’s her, huh?” I realized, “That’s my daughter…”

“Lune, Nelly isn’t here.” Meil reminded me, “She’s safely laying low in Lichtenstelle, remember?”

“Lichtenstelle… Licht…”

That’s right. I never got to figure out a name for if Marina’s and mine child was a girl. Sorry about that, kiddo, but I do hope your mother found you a nice one. Actually, Lichtenstelle’s name came from me wishing for a son to name Licht, I think. Wait, am I seeing things? There are two kids next to Marina?

“Twins…” I realized, smiling as the tears dripped down from my face “A son and a daughter…”

“No! Ugh, dammit Grim!” Ed slapped me across the face in a dire attempt to snap me out of it, “You have one daughter as of now, and her name’s Nelly! Wait, that’s right!”

“What is it?” Meil said as they carefully put me on the ground back at our side of the front.

“In times of emergency, we need to keep a constant conversation with the patient!” He recalled Doctor Harper’s teachings, “Grim, do you remember what you wanted to call your child with Cecily?”

“My child?” I turned to him, my Eyes just barely opened, “Yeah, that’s right. We talked about that…”

“Great! So, do you remember?”

“Y’know…” I struggled to even speak anymore, “You know why Carter gave Nelly her name?”

“Was it not because it was a mix of yours and Cecily’s names?”

“Heh, yeah…” I chuckled, “I think… Cecily and I once considered Cene as a good boy’s name. Ah, I still have no clue what to name it if it’s a girl, though.”

“Pheh.” Ed couldn’t help but crack up, “That’s such a stupid name!”

“Right?” I chuckled as well, before coughing up blood violently, “Ack, ew…”

“Lune!” Meil shook me up, “You don’t have much time! We’re patching you up right now, but that’ll only buy you a couple more minutes at best! Cast Heal!”

“Right, right…” I said as I closed my eyes, “Just let me… rest for like… five more minutes…”

“Grim?” Ed’s voice got more and more difficult to make out, “Grim? Lune?! Wake up! Wake up, damn you…!”

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Lune. Happy birthday to… you.

***

As the World War raged on, the brave Generals fought and commanded their troops valiantly. Of the original five Generals that were supposed to fight in this battle, only four remained on the battlefield. After the death of General Lune Grimheart, his fellow Generals and dearest friends General Meil Deram and General Edward Saint had been told to continue the fight in his honor, only being allowed to mourn the death of their friend after all was said and done.

That being said, the war was hard-fought, to say the least. The impenetrable army of Carmen proved far too numerous and strong for the small rebel group to take care of, leading to a crushing defeat of the Rebels. After more than two-thirds of the army were brutally killed on the battlefield, the Carmen enemy toying with their lifeless bodies like a pack of beasts, the Generals finally gave in and raised the white flag as they retreated from the front. What made matters worse, though, was that the King of Carmen had no intentions of leaving any survivors to tell the tale, so despite the Rebels surrendering, the Carmen army hadn’t at all let up in their attacks.

The Rebels’ vehicles were destroyed, and in the coming months they had to endure a treacherous walk back to their base. Many people died of starvation during this walk, and those who had survived were either left severely wounded or chronically impaired. The surviving Generals all miraculously sustained mostly minor injuries at worst, but some say this was because there was a high suicide rate amongst the surviving soldiers, who all gave them their share of the food as a sign of respect and resignation.

Making it back to their base in what used to be the village Wheats, the weary warriors couldn’t help but fall to the ground in shame as they told the people who were defending the fort of their failure. Immediately warning everyone of the impending doom that approached them even as they spoke, the Generals had ordered the soldiers to run as far away from Entropa and never look back. This war had always been an uphill battle, but it seems no one could have expected that it was more like an unclimbable wall. There was never any chance of victory for the Rebels to begin with.

By the time they had made it to the base, though, General Lune Grimheart’s wife, Cecily Grimheart, had already given birth to their son, who she named Cene Grimheart as per his wish. The boy was born healthy and energetic, much like his father. The Green Eyes had the same glint in them as him as well. Truly, it is a crime against humanity to take such a precious being’s caretaker and father away from them, not even allowing for them to ever get the chance to even meet once. But this is just how the King of Carmen operated. He already knew the face, names and backgrounds of every single person on the battlefield that day, so despite the Generals’ orders to run, it was only a matter of time before the King would track down and kill every single person that dared to oppose him.

With no signs of stopping, the King and his daughter had continued mercilessly taking over the land one town at a time, first by killing the youngest of kids as a horrifying demonstration of power, then by killing anyone who was against their new regime. The Princess, Vivia, appeared to have always sided with the King, even from the very start. Her ultimate goal was yet unknown, but one thing was for sure – this war would go down in history as one of the biggest tragedies to ever occur in the world.