“So it has finally come… today, either we stand victorious over Xeros’s corpse, or Polus will be writ as a mere footnote in history. My heart is ablaze, it beats with such thundering fervor, yet despite the dire straits I am not afraid.

“How swift has this month been. It is peculiar how much one can change in so little a time. I have borne witness to many travesties, but I have also deepened bonds the likes I never thought mendable. Hehe, a short journey to be sure; however, I wonder if someday our experiences shall be told in song. Like the heroes I’ve always admired: an epic to call our own.

“Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself. Forgive me for rambling for so long, my dear. Let us wish of dreams after this battle’s end.

“There is much to do; firstly, with the city’s barrier impeding our flight, we must break through the first gate—hm? You say that is not necessary? I see… very well. My trust is yours. Deborah! Ready the Shooting Star. We shall signal the horns of invasion with your piercing light!”

- King Ascalon, Ruler of the Polus Monarchy

———

Luxanne

Luxanne slams her foot on the floor and grits her teeth, struggling to keep balance as the spire’s foundation trembles from the explosion below. She looks around, mind still in a daze, and peers out the now-shattered pane, only to be greeted by a massive spiraling concentration of light hurtling towards the city.

What… what is that?

She doesn’t understand why this is happening. Not even a croak escapes her throat. But even so, she knows one thing for certain: if that ray of light hits, then everything, from the ringed layers to the highest peaks, will come crashing down in an indiscriminate wave of destruction.

“Luxanne!” a voice shouts by her side. Xeros roughly shakes Luxanne, his face deathly grim, and brings her back to reality. “I cannot stay here. You must reorganize the army and take command during my absence. Time is of the importance, do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, Grand General,” she groans, steadying herself with a wobble.

“Good. Libevich?”

“Yup, still here,” the old woman says while pushing away a piece of fallen debris on top of her.

“The enemy approaches us; therein lies the blood you so crave. I care not how you deal with them. Prevent their assault from reaching the inner stratum, and I shall take care of the attack in air.”

A wicked grin creeps onto Libevich’s face, one of pure, unfettered bloodlust. “Oh, you old geezer… to think you’d prepare such a wondrous surprise for me. It’s been so long since I’ve indulged in a proper war; I’m going to enjoy this. Just make sure you don’t steal any of my prey.”

“Fulfill your duties faithfully, then.”

“Fufu, if you say so.”

Libevich turns around and crushes Luxanne in a big hug. She attempts to escape her grasp as usual, but something feels different about the crazed woman. While there’s the usual air of madness, there is also a chill. Something calmer. Anticipation, eagerness, and… acceptance.

“I’m off!” Libevich says. “I love you, Luxanne! Oh, and don’t bury me if I die. I want the birds and maggots to strip my body clean.”

Luxanne highly doubts it’ll happen, though it would make everyone’s lives easier if she does. One can hope. She really, really hopes so.

With a final cackle, Libevich jumps out of the spire and disappears into the distance. Meanwhile, Xeros wraps his body in darkness and conjures a trailing cloud of smoke, his body soon levitating high into the air.

“Remember this, Luxanne,” he says. “The lives of all in this nation are in your hands. It would do well for you to abandon any foolish thoughts here.”

Her face pales. Huh? Does he—does he know?

But before she can ask, Xeros rushes off towards the light, leaving her alone to fester in a storm of fearful, confused thoughts.

What did he mean by that? I’ve worked so hard to conceal my hate, but maybe… damnit!

Luxanne wants to rush out and interrogate the Grand Grand immediately, but he’s right. The whole nation is in a panic, and if nothing is done, then hundreds of thousands of corpses will soon line the streets.

She knows this. She knows this with all her heart; yet, even so she can’t help but foster a seed of something sinister within. It latches onto her mind, whispers such dark and sweet words. It shows her everything she’s lost, every bit of suffering she’s endured these last twenty years, and a future where her one, true wish is finally fulfilled.

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The sudden attack is the perfect opportunity to enact her vengeance. This nation will crumble into an ashen-heap of ruin. This system where the strong thrive and the weak suffer shall disappear.

Everyone will finally be equal. This cycle of torment can end, and Xeros’s legacy will be forever erased.

Oh, how wonderful that would be. And all she needs to do is watch. Don’t move. Don’t say a word. Don’t even lift a finger. Just stay here, and watch as the world is consumed in flame. After all, doesn’t she have the perfect view? High up in this spire with no one else to bother her, she’ll watch as the bastardized remains of her mother’s beloved nation are reduced to nothing. Everything will be destroyed. Everything.

Those streets Luxanne has once walked upon as a little girl with not a care or worry…

The old workshop where her mom’s phantom still lingers, tinkering away on an invention she believed would change the world…

Even her old home, frozen in time after years of neglect and abandonment because it pains her to see the once-lively rooms now so barren…

All of it will be destroyed.

“No, No I…” Luxanne covers her face, and she collapses onto her knees—tears streaming free. “I’m sorry, mom. This isn’t what you would have wanted. So many years, gone, and I’m still just pathetic. Hah, you’d probably be so disappointed if you could see me now. You’d scold me and shake me around like I’ve lost my mind, and I probably have, but you never really did stay mad for long. In the end, you’d give me a big, warm hug and tell me that everything’ll be okay. That I should look deep into myself and ask if this is who I truly want to be.

“But you’re not here. All I have left is my memories, and this nation that you worked so hard to change. I thought I wouldn’t care about anything after Xeros finally dies, but I… I don’t want to lose my home. It’s dirty, filthy, and the people are just as crass, but I still love it anyways. What worth is there in getting revenge if it means destroying all you’ve ever built?”

Luxanne gazes out to the city below. Cries echo from every corner, and the citizens frantically rush to get to safety—trampling those unfortunate enough to be caught in the raging surge of bodies and footsteps. There’s so many screams, so many wails filled with pain, but nobody will answer their pleas. They’re forgotten, swept away into the ever-growing chaos.

“I remember the day you were elected. Just a little, though. Turns out the memory of a six-year-old girl isn’t the best, but what I will never forget is that image of you standing so proudly to the cheers of the people: the oath you swore, dignified. Proud. You promised to protect everyone and usher us into an age of advancement, yet here I am planning to destroy it all for my own selfishness. I really am… a vile person, aren’t I?”

Luxanne smashes her first into the wall, pummeling it until her knuckles are bloody and sore. It hurts, but she doesn’t care. She needs something, anything, to distract away from this darkness gnawing at her sanity.

She won’t be like Xeros. She won’t give up on her dreams, foolish they might be. No, she will be better.

She would rather live while following her heart, rather than casting it away.

Xeros must die one day, that still hasn’t changed, but for as long as Luxanne still lives, she will prioritize the safety of her people and the nation above all else. That is what defines a proper ruler.

Luxanne takes a deep breath, and she slowly gets up. Her head is clear for the first time in ages. She knows what to do next.

Without any hesitations left to chain her, she dashes out of the room and leaps past the stairway—descending the spire’s levels with rapid speed as she free-falls in the air. All around her, soldiers haphazardly run about - confused and bewildered - though luckily they seem to be a bit more orderly than the people outside. This can work.

It’s time for Luxanne to say goodbye to the little girl obsessed with her own well-being. Now, she must act with the authority of a commander.

She covers her throat in a sound-altering sorcery, and then bellows for all to hear. “Attention, all units of the Nox Caelum Empire: The capital is under attack! I repeat, the capital is under attack. Grand General Xeros has left to confront the invaders. From here on out, I, Praetor Luxanne, shall take over his duties as Acting General. Do not panic. Report to your assigned divisions, and all upper-level personnel must immediately begin preparations for Protocol Omega. I repeat, Protocol Omega is currently in effect!”

Luxanne fires a bullet from her gunblade at the wall, and soon a large mass of roots grow from the impact—blanketing her fall with a bed of leaves and branches. But there’s not a moment to spare, and she quickly bursts into the central command room. Thankfully, the people inside aren’t as lost as the other lot, and they’ve already begun running diagnostics on the current state of the city. If there’s one thing she’ll begrudgingly give to Xeros, it’s that he knows how to pick his people.

“Where’s the chief of defense and chief of engineering?” she barks. “You’ve heard the announcement. How soon can we mobilize the army?”

A burly, gruff man dressed in uniform steps up. “Not long, Acting General. The troops are slightly disorganized due to the sudden situation, but there will be no problem in deploying them to the city gates. As for the citizens, we’ve opened the underground tunnels for traversal. A total evacuation to the shorelines of the south has already begun.”

“Good,” she says. “And do we have eyes on the invading force?”

“It appears to be the Polus army. King Ascalon himself has personally joined the siege, and the winged knights of the Seraph are rapidly approaching from the sky.”

Luxanne groans and rubs her eyes. Damnit, they’re really going all out for this… but like hells I’d let them raze this place. I’ll make amends after Xeros is dead.”

“Commander Libevich shall take charge against the ground troops for now while Xeros deals with the airborne forces,” she continues. “Moving on, what about the barrier?”

A woman in greasy overalls speaks up. “Not looking good, ma’am,” she says. “Something, or someone, destroyed the main core down in the lower levels. It’ll be impossible to make a new one with the time we have now, and the control systems for weapons like the Elysian Ray and the Chain-Arc Lightning Arrays were fried in the scramble. At best, the turrets are still operational, but we ain’t getting anything more than that.”

Everything’s looking a lot more dire than Luxanne’s thought, but she’ll just have to make due. “It’s better than nothing. For now, we’ll keep our eyes on the outside and act accordingly. Have the engineers fix what they can and take out every piece of ammunition we have stockpiled. Don’t let a single resource go untouched, am I clear?”

“By your command!” they all shout.

“Good, then let’s get to work. Caelum will not fall here today!”