"You are all useless! Useless pieces of-"

"What the hell is your problem? It's' not like you-"

"Don't you dare talk over me, you goddamn-"

"Oh? I'll talk over you all I want, asshole-"

Georgie always hated hearing them argue. They were his friends, after all. As little as Dissonance showed it, as much as Sapana would deny it, and as rarely as he himself remembered it, they were three friends who had been through more than anyone else. But in this whole war that friendship had to be shoved aside, it had to be put away in exchange for professionalism that could lead them to victory. And even with all this, even with all these sacrifices, they were losing.

Dissonance's mask was lost in the explosion and there was a huge cut in-between his eyes, which he refused to even do anything about. He just kept yelling, spitting out insults and refusing to have his wounds bandaged. Next there was Sapana, silently staring into a lit match and trying his best to mute out his leader. Every now and then he would snap back, but mostly, he remained silent and focused on the flame. Peija had long gone – He agreed only to help in one battle, and seeing their defeat, decided he'd stop his support of them then and there. And finally there was Georgie – Bandaging up cuts on his arm, trying to ignore the headache he got from god knows where, and doing all he could to keep his mind clear with everything happening.

Georgie knew things wouldn't change until the war was over. This conflict was starting to inch on almost half a year already, and he could barely remember what it was like seeing his friend smile with genuine joy. He wanted it all to come to a stop already – If blowing Lasenberg to bits was the way to do it, hell, he'd go get the explosives right now. He just wanted to see the Dissonance he knew again, and not be forced to live with the Dissonance everyone else got instead. It made him think, in a way. These past five months or so with this tyrant as the only side he ever saw made him consider what it was like facing this man every single day, having to put up with his constant aggression and a tendency to snap even at the smallest bit of opposition. He didn't want to think about it too much – He had to remember that wasn't the Dissonance he was standing by. The Dissonance he was standing by was underneath, and that Dissonance would only show himself when everything was finally done. And right now he was losing, and he was losing badly.

At least he could sit here after that disaster of a battle knowing all hope was not yet lost.

After all, the three had prepared a back-up plan.

When Will woke up, he felt... completely fine.

No ringing in his ears from the explosion. No pain in his body from possible burns. No cold blood moving down his skin. Nothing. There was nothing, just... an average feeling of complete neutrality. Now, normally, this would not be something to be concerned about. But seeing how Will had just been in the centre of a massive explosion, with his last memory being a stranger crouching over him and dragging him away, it was more than concerning. He shot up and looked around – His surroundings only confused him further.

Will was where he was before, right where the explosives had gone off. He was sitting at the bottom of a small crater, his uniform covered in ash and slightly burned at the edges, smoke rising from the burned corners. His glasses were completely covered with soot, so he decided it would be best to take them off for now. The world blurred just a little – But he could still see. The thing that truly confused Will, most of all, was what was in his hand. He had only spotted it when he lifted his hand in order to take off his glasses – He was tightly grasping onto something made of gold. A small golden statue, in fact, with shiny gems for eyes. They seemed to have some sort of colour once, but it must have faded away. Strangely enough, when the president held onto it... he felt a strange sense of peace. He felt as though he was protected by... someone.

He finally decided to stand. He got up slowly, just in case the lack of pain was only a momentary state that would fade soon enough. Luckily, it did not. He carefully crawled his way out of the crater, seeing neither his own allies or Dissonance's allies in the battlefield. All that was left was the crater, the two towers, and an unimaginable amount of arrows stabbed into the ground below. He walked slowly, still in a daze from how... completely average he felt. He expected panic, he expected pain, he expected something, at least, but he got nothing. He just got confused, and that was all he had to himself. He walked a bit longer before he finally overheard four voices – The voices of his fellow revolutionaries. He rushed forward and slid down a nearby hill, finding himself standing next to Fonda, Tom, Errett and Taza, who all gave him shocked looks.

"I told you he was alive!", the vice-president suddenly exclaimed, his head snapping back to Errett.

His voice carried relief, and his eyes were red from tears.

"God, Will. Good you showed up. I genuinely thought we were gonna have to put a fourteen year old in charge.", Errett informed him, chuckling nervously.

"...You seriously have to stop having so many near-death experiences... this is the second time this year we thought you died!", Fonda exclaimed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"How did you even make it out of there, Mr. President?", Taza cut in, himself trying to get rid of tears.

As calmly as this group acted, they had been clearly panicking without him here.

"I... I have no idea, Taza. Honestly."

Will shrugged, looking aside and crossing his arms.

"I felt like I was gone. The pain, the smoke, the- Everything... and then... suddenly, I was just... fine. I faded out and had a weird dream for some time, and then, everything was just okay..."

The president, quite clearly on purpose, was avoiding talking about seeing a stranger at the scene. He didn't need to add onto the already growing stress of the day.

"...What's that in your hand?"

Errett's interest was suddenly piqued, all of his usual focus leaving him as he spotted the glimmering gold in Will's hand. He practically snatched it out of the man's palm, looking into it with a smile full of... greed? It was so unlike Errett, no one really spoke, so he got the time to carry on;

"...This tiny statue... I've only ever seen them in pictures of stories before... but... it's weird. They're supposed to have red rubies as eyes. These gems just have... no colour."

"Do you know what it is, exactly?"

The president came closer and looked over the other's shoulder, trying to figure out exactly what he saw in this little golden statue.

"They call them the Statues of Revival."

Errett fixed up his glasses.

"They say these little guys could bring someone back from the brink of death with magic..."

"...Where did you get something like this, dad?", Fonda asked, his eyes shocked.

Will, having pieced everything that went down together in his head, took the statue back from Errett.

"...I just... I don't know... I found it... in the rubble."

He shrugged.

"Maybe Dissonance dropped it?"

He could see everyone was suspicious of him, but there was nothing forcing him to tell the truth.

"Wherever it came from, it may very well be the reason you're alive right now."

Errett moved his head towards Lasenberg vaguely.

"We should go back and regroup. There's actually something I've been meaning to show you guys... I think right now is the right time for it."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Errett and surprises? Never thought I'd see the day...", Fonda muttered as he passed the other.

The whole group began turning and heading for their nation, one by one, Will noticeably sticking to the back. Tom eventually approached him, speaking in a whisper;

"So what's the truth about the Statue, Will?"

The man sighed. If there was one person he couldn't lie to, it was Tom. That trust they had built between one another because of their dreams had been something he did not want to break – So he spoke.

"I think... someone may have pushed it into my hand, and... it worked. I don't even know if this statue thing is real, but- I'm alive, so I guess there's something there."

Will looked at the statue, its cold and colourless eyes looking back.

"...And I think I know who it was."

"Do you?"

Tom tilted his head, getting closer. His eyes were drawn to the statue, but definitely not as much as Errett's had been. Whatever overtook him when he saw that little golden sculpture was... something else. Something unnatural, and something worrying.

"...I think... it was The Blade."

Tom flinched.

"...Just as he saved you from the brink of death, he saved me. He defended the forest while Dissonance was gone. Whether we want to admit it or not, he is on our side. I think... he wants us to win this war."

"Why? He doesn't even know us! And we don't know him!"

Tom crossed his arms.

"I don't know... but isn't it slightly comforting? Knowing he's watching over us?"

"I..."

Tom sighed.

"I guess. Doesn't mean he still doesn't make me feel weird."

"...I guess that's a mystery for another day. Come on, Errett's waiting for us."

"...Gentlemen, in Lasenberg, I have hidden a secret weapon."

The group marched in through the front gates of their nation, looking around. The flag still moved lazily on the flag pole, the walls still stood tall. Once the whole group caught up, Errett lead them to the edge of the west wall, moving a few bushes aside and revealing a person-sized hole drilled through. Behind it was a long pathway, leading into the heart of the overgrown woods.

"Is this the part where Errett pulls out a goddamn cannon?", Fonda said jokingly, meanwhile Errett let out a dry laugh.

He looked back and reached out with his hand, beckoning for the group to follow him into the woods. Whatever he had prepared, he had hidden it incredibly well. It must have really been something special, if he kept it a secret even from his own allies.

"When you all left for that hunting trip two weeks ago, I decided to take action. Create a final weapon that could win us the war when there was something that had to tip the scales. Of course, I kept it hidden. You know, in case there was some sort of traitor in our ranks."

Errett paused for a moment, his lips curving into a smile.

"But I doubt that would ever be the case."

"What even is it? Can you tell us?"

Taza rushed forward with excitement, nearly tripping on the path laid out below them. Errett chuckled to himself, but did not respond. Fonda grabbed him and pulled him back for a second, clearly noticing the man needed to focus on where they were and where to go right now. Eventually, the group reached a clearing.

"Hiding things in the woods seemed like a good idea, with the monsters and The Blade roaming around. Dissonance rarely even goes past the edge these days. He's far too comfortable at home."

The group stood in a small clearing in the forest, watching the scene before them.

In the middle of the large, open area with no trees there was a building, built from that same, black brick Errett had gotten for building the wall. It had a mostly flat roof and was clearly put together very quickly, with only one door and no windows. Errett waited for a moment before entering – He seemed to check the area for any possible interference. Of course, the only things in these forests were animals and the monsters that emerged at night, but even they might have been able to interfere with whatever Errett's secret weapon was. Of course, the four had no idea what said weapon could have even been. The man with the sunglasses finally stepped inside, meanwhile his companions stayed outside reading the sign above the front door;

FINAL AUTHORITY ROOM

Without any more hesitation, they entered.

"Errett, what is all this? How did you get this?"

Will was first to go in, the other three right behind him. He looked around quickly – The room was a lot smaller than it seemed on the outside, with five boxes tightly fitted in with the names of all the revolutionaries inscribed into them. There was a large button on the back wall – He didn't give it much thought.

"...Trades. Work. Just a whole lot of struggle, but it will win us all this war. Everyone, please stand in front of your box and get ready to open it. But don't do it yet."

The group did as the man instructed – But the whole time, the president couldn't help but feel nervous. When could have Errett gotten the time to prepare all of this? It seemed impossible...

"Now before you do look at what's in those boxes, I'd just like to apologize."

At his words, Will perked up and glanced at him in confusion. Errett was turned away, his gaze set on his own box. And that button above it... what could that button possibly be there for?

"Apologize?"

Before he could even speak more, the president was cut off by a hissing sound. The doors to the building had shut themselves, and by this point, all four had looked away from their boxes and focused fully on Errett, who started giggling under his breath.

"This revolution, this war, this country..."

Errett suddenly turned back, and what he did shocked everyone there more than anything else could have. He removed his sunglasses. He took them off in a swift motion, his eyes shooting open.

Behind them there was no colour – All that there was was his whites, no pupils or even anything resembling them. Along with this, there seemed to be this strange light escaping them... this glow emitting from them, like lanterns searching for something only known to the man in the darkness of the room they found themselves encaged in. And while his hollow, empty eyes continued glowing with this greedy glow, he said only a single sentence. A single sentence they would never forget;

"It was never supposed to exist."

Errett turned around, pressed the button, and everything else was a blur.

The walls, which Will knew were far too close for them to be normal, suddenly fell down, revealing three people behind them. Three people fully dressed in steel armour, holding their usual weapons and watching them with bloodlust. Dissonance, Georgie and Sapana had revealed themselves from behind the walls and were now attacking the group. Errett was passed some potions and a weapon by one of them and did not hesitate to switch sides, attacking Taza first of all, who had been standing the closest to him. Will didn't have time to even think through what happened – He had to focus on what was around him right now.

The miniature golden statue he had been grasping onto since the explosion was knocked out of his hand as he tried to reach for his sword, being knocked down by Dissonance. He was kicked in the shins, forced to the ground, and felt the cold edge of a blade being pressed into his shoulder. He screamed in pain, trying to free himself in some way, eventually seeing as Fonda grabbed onto the tyrant and pushed him to the side. Will felt himself being pushed into the wall by someone, heard something cracking, could hear Tom screaming for help, but whatever happened around him he couldn't focus. As far as he was concerned, he was going to die here. There was no way out. There was no way to save himself. Before he even knew how to react, someone's hands were wrapped around his throat and he couldn't breathe, coughing and wheezing.

This continued for some time – Getting close to what he would consider his last moment, being miraculously saved, saving someone else, getting kicked down and beaten again. With each attack he felt weaker, with each attempt at getting away he had less and less hope, and eventually, he just fell to the ground and lost himself completely. His armour was stripped away from him, his weapon was taken away, and he couldn't even register what was happening around him any more. He was kicked in the stomach, over, and over, and over, leaving him dizzy and barely able to breathe. He wasn't even sure who was attacking him any more – But did it matter? He would die here, as far as he was concerned, and that was all that mattered to him.

"Who- Who the hell is that?!"

There was a shout from somewhere, but Will could barely hear.

"Hey! You there! Who are you? Speak before I shoot your-"

An arrow whizzed by, bringing silence.

"What the- You want a fight, you idiot-"

The person was cut off by someone shoving them.

"Shut it! Don't you realize who that is?!"

Dissonance's voice, the only one Will recognized, was the only one stricken with fear.

"Let's go! These guys won't make it out of here anyway!"

After this, Will heard the sound of footsteps getting away, leaving them all behind. Now, with the attackers gone, everything finally settled in for the president.

Will's ears were ringing, blood was running down his nose and face, his eyes were blurry, he couldn't feel half of his body and the other half pulsated with so much agony he wished he couldn't feel it. Why? Why would Errett do this? He was their friend, wasn't he? He helped them build those walls, he signed the goddamn declaration! Why would he leave them here like this? Am I really that awful? Am I really such a horrible leader that even my own men don't want to stand with me? Would it really have been better if I just stayed in those dreams? But I can't go back now, they won't let me in. I want to see my partner in crime again, I want to train with the man from the Arctic. Why am I here? Why am I being put through this? What are those memories and why have I left them behind, what sort of life did I lead before I was left here to die?

I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die without knowing. I don't I'm not gonna die here I'm not I can't Tom we will find out we will find out about the dreams I will see him again I will see my partner in crime I will find the fourth disc I will learn about the war I lost but right now I need to stay awake because it's getting cold and I'm so cold

I'm so cold I'm so cold I'm so cold I'm so cold I'm so cold I'm so cold I'm so-

Will Ash passed out.