They say that a human life is akin to an arrow's.
First, it is flung up into the air along with many other arrows; A volley aimed towards the sky. They thrust upwards with force and valor, rending the wind along their ascent. It is their very reason—To go up. Simple though it may be, every path does not come without obstacles.
Some of them will hit a bird and stop elevating altogether, while a few will be swept by harsh winds. There are even ones that are defective from the start, shot by bowmen with either poor hands or crude bows. It will never reach the same heights that the other arrows will.
Those were simply unlucky, but so were the bowmen for being born with such hands or for having deficient bows. That's just a cruel factor of life. Equality is and always will be, a delusion.
Still, those that pass undisturbed will eventually reach their apex—the sky overneath the clouds. It is a blissful yet fleeting moment; a state where they are above the birds, looking down even at the mountains.
The arrow is at the very top of the world, where everything seems... meaningless. It has achieved its purpose.
But, is its purpose really to climb?
Or is it... to descend?
It will do so at a much greater speed, passing by the same things it once surpassed along the way. It meets even the new arrows shot by the bowmen, maybe even see things it once missed before. The entire journey flashes swiftly in front of it, then behind it all of a sudden.
Most of these arrows land on the ground. Some deflected. Less than half of them, however-
SPLURT!
Land into the hearts of men.
One of them was named Peter Kapek. He was an honest man with a wife and 3 children. His purpose for becoming a disposable pawn was simple; To sustain his family.
Both he and the arrow fulfilled their purpose—They were the same in this regard.
However, their difference lies in the fact that Peter was not an arrow, not meant for a single use. He was a man who had a long life ahead of him at the age of 25.
And he is dead. His entire future is buried by the other corpses that will come after him.
They say that this is life. You are either born to make warriors, born to be a warrior, or born to be the pillar of many warriors. Whatever it is, you simply kill. You either add to the pile or become a part of it. Arrows are just one of the many tools that make and take life.
If Peter's eldest son does not enlist in the army like he did, then his entire family will starve. It wasn't the son's fault for being Peter's son, nor was it Peter's fault for being hit by the arrow.
They were simply in times of war.
----------------------------------------
"Hey Brother." a soldier named Ivan spoke to the person beside him. They laid flat together on the grassy ground, facing the star-filled skies, moonlight reflected in their cold steel armor as faint glimmers. Each of them—the stars—seem like fireflies stuck in the sky.
It was the end of the 248th day of the 6th Great War—a war between Mortals and Anomalies. The last 5 wars all lasted over a thousand days and were won by a hair's breadth, but this war seems to go smoothly in their favor. Many had expectations that it won't even reach the 300th day, to which two of these people were tasked of keeping an eye on the borders to alert the army of an ambush at Fort Berlin, one of the most recent expansions in the East of Germania.
The problem for them was—there was no problem at all. It was far too silent.
Quiet means nothing, and nothing means boredom.
"What do yuu think of thee Moon?" Ivan sat up and asked. Since there was no response, he thought that the soldier was already asleep. Still, he spoke.
"My mother once told me that thee Moon was once home to thee Gods." he took a sip of the bourbon stored inside a capped pouch that bloated like sausage. He smacked his lips after, then continued, "But there are 2 moons, and she sucked thee neighbor off for a bottle of whiskey. I don't know if she said that in the right mind."
"Pffft!" Lex suddenly sat up straight, dying of laughter. It looks like he was pretending to be asleep, but Ivan already knew that. At least Lex thought he did. "Ah, you got me. You got me."
"Was it good?"
"It was. You should've saved that joke for a feast, at least."
"It's not a joke. And I was asking about your little nap during our shift." It looks like he didn't know, but rather than that, he just misunderstood. Ivan didn't know that Lex was pretending to be asleep, but only thought that he was still awake.
Since he, too, had misunderstood, Lex felt a little guilty. "... Oh. I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted. Now, humor me, would yuu?"
"Hmm? Ah, the moon. Yeah, right. The moon, huh?"
Lex pondered for a while. He stared at the 2 large moons placed aptly in the sky. The Yellow Moon was much larger than the Red Moon—and that's pretty much all he could think of.
"Which moon again? And is this... important?" Lex turned to Ivan, who took a sip of his alcohol once more before continuing.
"Not really." he sighed. "Just a way to... forget about this world for a moment. Talking about useless things, that is."
"You could sleep." Lex allowed himself to fall to the ground once more. He placed his head on his arms and closed his eyes. "It's a good way to escape."
"I could. But we're on our shift. I'm afraid that if I do that, thee captain won't let me wake up tomorrow."
"Then... don't wake up, I guess."
"Yuu mean, to die?"
"Dying. Sounds good to me. There's not much in this life except war anyway. If we're not dealing with strange wacko shit, we're killing our own people. This world is fucked."
"Yuu... have a point." Ivan laid himself flat on the ground as well. "However, thee stars are too beautiful for the handsome me to pass up. I live everyday just to see them every night."
"You live just for the stars?" Lex scoffed. "You're not in a novel."
"It is what it is. How about yuu?"
"Me?"
"Yes. What do you live for? Money? Wife? Or simply... pussy?"
"I..."
Lex rummaged through his brain once more. Does he want money? He does need it, but he doesn't want it in particular. A wife? Too troublesome for a free-spirited man like him. Pussy was tempting, though.
But in the end, Lex had nothing to say.
"I guess... I'll have to settle for the moons." He opened his eyes to look at the 2 celestial bodies that seem to stare back at him. He couldn't sleep anyway, not after that question.
"Why thee moons?" Ivan asked.
"Because... you already have the stars. I wouldn't want to be selfish."
"Hah!" Ivan chuckled. "There are many stars, my friend."
"And there are 2 moons. I guess we could share."
Together, they both stared at the sky—the sky they shared.
But this peace would soon be disturbed by the disappearance of both moons and stars. In an instant, the sky was plunged into a state of darkness.
"What the fuck?" Lex stood up, surprised. Ivan followed and did the same.
Shortly after, the stars returned as if nothing happened at all.
But why are they coming closer-
BOOM!
Lex was blown away in an explosion of blood. His ears rang, and his vision was clouded by debris. When the dust settled, he could hear the cries of Ivan.
His left knee caught the worst of the explosion.
It was in this moment that they truly realized they were not stars; they were balls of flame falling from the belly of a monster—No, monsters. Their numbers were more than enough to cover the sky entirely.
"Anomalies?!" Lex was shocked to the point that he didn't notice the anomaly about to pounce on him-
SPLURT!
But Ivan dealt with it swiftly, despite his injury.
"You owe me one, brother." he fell to the ground with a bloody sword in hand. "But you would have to tell me what this creature is."
Still, there were more of the creatures other than the one they dealt with. With all the explosions happening throughout the field, Lex felt that sooner than later, the entire plains will be filled with these creatures. He didn't know how they were able to get past the barrier, but thinking such things in this situation would be suicide. Without thinking at all, he grabbed Ivan and ran for the fort.
"Hang on, Ivan!" he huffed and puffed as he yelled. The noises were earsplitting, so he had to raise his voice. "How the hell did those things get through the barrier?!"
"I don't know! Less asking, more running, comrad!" Ivan struggled to cover his open wound with his palms. "I'll bleed to death!"
"You don't have to tell me that!" In a rush, Lex ripped a part of the shirt underneath his armor and gave it to Ivan. "Here, patch yourself up!"
The fort was a few hundred meters away, but before that, they needed to go through the forest. And that they did, but the monsters were as quick as they came. Lex realized that with Ivan at his back, he cannot outrun them.
Thankfully, the forest had gigantic trees with roots that matched its size, more than enough to hide inside the chasms it produced. The two had to settle there for a while.
The enemy came with grand explosions of blood that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The fireballs were not just fire; they were flesh. The blood from the balls evaporated and turned into a crimson mist as soon as they hit the ground. The entire battlefield was painted an ominous crimson red. From the craters, monstrosities with hairy elongated limbs spawned and brought everything they touched to ruin. Other soldiers could be seen fleeing away from the fields, only to be hunted and eaten by the grotesque, skinny monsters. They bit into their flesh and spat it out, only for the bitten parts to come alive as another form of soppy abomination.
Screams of terror and agony matched the vibrato of blasts produced by the flesh meteors. The crimson mist would soon prove itself to be the most fatal of them all, as some of the soldiers were having hallucinations, wandering about mindlessly or hugging the bosom of the one who would pull out their intestines.
It was nothing short of a massacre.
"What are yuu' doing?" Ivan wanted to shout, but he couldn't. "They'll notice us if yuu' make a fire!"
"I casted an isolating spell. It's alright."
"Oh, I didn't know yuu' knew magic, brother!" Ivan giggled, but the pain in his leg stopped him short. "Most people with aptitude would apply for, yuu' know, being a magician!"
Lex held a dagger in his hand and heated it on the small fire that he made.
"I am a lineal descendant of a certain noble family. We used to cure people for free in a small village on the far side of the Outskirts."
"I see. Yuu' must survive here so you can return to them."
"And you should live as well. Now, bite onto something-"
"W-wait! Shit, can I ask yuu' something before yuu' do it?"
"Hit me."
"Wife or pussy?"
"Wife... or pussy? What do you mean?"
"A pussy is just a pussy. A wife is a pussy that complains."
"I didn't ask if- Just, do me a favor and bite this, will you?"
PSSST!
Ivan's laughter was halted by the heated blade placed on his open wound. His blood sizzled, then the flesh was cooked like bacon. After a few seconds of agony, the wound was eventually closed.
"We're probably close to the fort after I ran like that." Lex said while drawing figures on the ground with a stick. "We're just about a few hundred meters away. Though, the problem now are those things outside."
"Wouldn't thee creatures go to the fort as well?" Ivan drew large dots inside the circle.
"Yes, but it's a fort for a reason." Lex removes the dots. "They can't just break through there in one night. With the amount of soldiers inside, it should be able to handle it."
"So we just need to go to thee fort." Ivan peeked through the openings of the roots. The monstrosities were still there. "But how exactly will we do that?"
"We don't, at least not tonight. We can stay here until daybreak when the anomalies retreat. I have some jerky in my pocket."
"I see. What are we dealing with, anyway?"
"... You don't know?"
"I'm new. As yuu' can see, I'm quite young."
Lex stared awkwardly at Ivan, whose face was smothered with wrinkles and facial hair. "... What?"
"What?!"
"How old are you?"
"18—at the prime of my youth."
"WHAT?! Stop lying." Lex said. It sounded more like an order.
"What do yuu' mean? I am 18, thee same age yuu' are!"
"I'm 35, Ivan."
"And yuu' say I'm lying. If yuu're 35, how can yuu' look so young!"
"Wait... so all this time, you referred to me without honorifics. And I'm older than you!"
"D-don't mind that. What are we dealing with, comrad?" Ivan asked with fear in his eyes. "What I saw there... froze me to my bones. The next thing I remember was this pain in my knee."
"Well, junior, remember what I said about wacko shit and anomalies?" Lex brought out a small book in his pouch. "This is them."
When the sky was covered in darkness, Ivan was able to make out a figure in the sky. At that very moment, he was frozen in fear.
A manta ray with a rib cage popping out of its abdomen. From there, little strips of flesh, fibers if you will, were formed and weaved into balls that they drop. As soon as it touches the ground—it explodes, spawning flesh monstrosities who, upon eating more flesh, turns it into one of them.
The description matches File#55 of the Anomalia Almanac, Salad Mother. It is a creature that, upon moving into position, will freeze itself there and act as a form of artillery. The creatures they produce are called Salad Fingers.
"Even their names are disturbing." Ivan shivered. "To be honest with yuu' brother, I didn't sign up for this. I was about to have sex with thee most beautiful girl in the village when men in thee same armor as we barged inside uninvited. I was taken, shamed, but most importantly, cucked."
"Hahaha! You were drafted at the worst possible time! If it makes you feel any better, I was drafted as well. All commoner men at the age of 18 get drafted. Manpower is a scarcity these days."
"But, yuu're 35. Thee war has lasted for just 249 days, and there's 724 days in 1 year!"
"Oh, junior, humans always find a reason to argue and bicker; To fight and kill. May it be a coin, a slab of meat, maybe even the toenail of a noble. They'll murder hundreds of their own for it."
"This kingdom... this world... I've always thought it was bad. But perhaps you were right, brother. This is fucked." Ivan dejectedly said.
Lex couldn't follow up another word to continue the conversation.
Time passed by quickly. The once constant noises of pain turned into occasional screams, then finally became silence. Soon, even the darkness would expire.
A ray of light pierced through the forest leaves and the roots, then into the eyes of the sleeping pair.
It was time.
"You think you can run with that leg?" Lex glanced at Ivan's bandaged leg.
"Eh, yuu'll carry me if I can't anyway."
"Oh, fuck you!" Lex laughed with Ivan.
Together, they went to the fort.
As they walked towards the big gate in the far distance, Ivan noticed the many trees in the forest. Some of them had engravings on their bark.
"What is that, brother?"
"What is what again?"
"That." Ivan pointed at the engraving on the tree.
"I'm surprised you saw that." Lex said. "That is an Insignia. Priests use it to set the barriers up. It doesn't actually do anything, they just use it to mark spots. Other than that, it's just priests being priests."
"Then why is there blood on it?"
"It's just the anomalies humping the trees. Trust me, they're called salad fingers because they like touching greenery. Get it? Salad? Fingers? Touch?"
"Yuu' suck at joking, brother." Ivan stared awkwardly at Lex.
"Hey, I tried. You can't be the funny guy all the time."
"Well, I guess it's my job to be funny and your job to carry me."
"I still won't carry you. You're heavy as all hell. I'm surprised we even made it to that tree."
"By any chance, are yuu' calling me fat, brother?"
"Oh no. No. Definitely not."
Finally, they reached the gates of the fort walls. The gate itself was huge, enough to make the two of them look like tiny weeds on the ground compared to it. Surrounding it were huge stone-bricked walls that stretched far and wide. They stood taller than the gate and were vandalized with blood all over.
When they stepped inside-
Creak~
A chilling sight greeted them.
There was... nothing there. Nothing except the ruins of a once bustling settlement now covered in crimson mist. Corpses impaled in poles as totems littered the entire vicinity. Some of the lesser slop monstrosities were still around, crawling in the ground like slugs.
Ivan fell to his knees and simply... laughed.
"They got us. They got us good." Ivan's fright could not be hidden behind his smile. Rather, it made him look even more pitiful. "Yuu' said that they won't be able to break through."
"I... did." Lex was just as shocked as Ivan was. "I... I don't know what happened. We're supposed to win the war, I-"
"LOOK OUT!"
SPLURT!
Lex was pushed to the ground by Ivan. When he turned to him, Ivan's chest was already pierced by a hand that held his heart. Blood streamed from the still beating heart, then dripped generously to the ground.
"Motherfucker!" Lex slashed the creature's hand with seething rage, yet caught Ivan's heart with care. The injured creature fled away immediately with a nasty grin on its face.
Just as Lex was about to chase it, Ivan held his arm.
"Yuu' won't leave me here alone now, won't yuu'?" his voice was shaky, weak. He doesn't have much time left. Frustrated as he was, he had to let the fucker go.
Lex stomped the severed hand into a bloody pulp before placing Ivan's heart back inside his chest.
"D-don't you worry Ivan, I know magic. I can fix you."
In a desperate attempt to save his friend, Lex started chanting an unknown language. Glyphs in the form of blue letters appeared in the air, hovering around him like flies.
"Haha. If you can fix this, then perhaps the wars will revolve around you."
"I am from the esteemed family of Lupus! We are Doctors! I can do this! I know I can! So just shut the fuck up and hold on!"
"And I am Ivankov Kapek, son of Peter Kapek."
Lex was taken aback by Ivan's words. Peter Kapek is his friend and the one who taught him the ways of the sword. He was the one would truly be at the same age as him, if only he was still alive.
But Ivan didn't know.
"Heheh. It's getting cold here."
"Ivan, I will make sure that you'll drown in all the fucking pussy you want. Just hold the fuck on!"
"I... can't."
"IF YOU DIE, YOU CAN'T SEE THE STARS AGAIN!"
"Hahaha! But yuu' see brother, I lied about that. I don't live for the stars. As yuu've said, I'm not in a novel, I'm in this fucked up world. When my father died, that woman abandoned us siblings and married thee neighbor she sucked off. A few months after, my siblings died of starvation. I was completely helpless. I turned into a thief for a while. During thee duration, I met that woman and his new fling. She didn't even recognize me. I was determined to kill both of them there, but... that man had a beautiful daughter. I was smart enough to know that it wasn't that woman's child, but I was stupid enough to fall in love. Can you believe that? My vendetta was thwarted by a woman! Hahaha! I guess I picked wife over pussy after all!"
"You stupid son of a bitch." Lex laughed softly. "You have all the reasons to live. Go get that girl and kill her parents, do whatever the fuck you want. Just live!"
"I'm afraid that can't happen, brother. It's already a miracle I've lasted this long. It may all be thanks to your powerful magic. You should use it for good. Ack!"
Ivan coughed up blood. He was pale before, but now he looks just like those corpses on the poles. "Hey brother, I have a question."
"If... if it's wife or pussy again, I will slap the shit out of you."
"Haha, it's different this time. You... have a family. Right?"
"... Yes."
"Then... I... have no regrets..."
Ivankov Kapek breathed his last and passed away at the tender age of 18, not knowing that while he lied to his one and only friend-
Lex lied to him as well.
It was the end of the 6th Great War. The sudden onslaught of the anomalies began on the night of 248th day. Massacres occurred from everywhere on the Western continent. On the 249th day, the war hit its peak. The mortals struggled against the entire might of the New Demons. However, they were not able to handle the sudden evolution of the anomalies.
On the 250th day of the war, Mortal-kind lost the war.