Once again, Yna, Han and I stood on the grassy planes north of Coh.

They needed a name.

They were grassy and… I suck at naming things. I’d have to ask Yna for help later.

Standing a few meters in front of us were Lunësse and his men, only this time Lunësse had his head lowered.

I cautiously walked towards the knights and they did they same.

We all silently stared at each other as the sun scorched everything around us.

I looked into Lunësse’s eyes and for a man who was giving up, he looked extremely determined. There was a fire in his eyes that almost made me wanna ask him to join our side, but I knew that same fire would keep him from doing so.

I then glanced at the encampment behind him.

We had halved his forces and many of those who were left were wounded and probably sick.

I wanted to help Lunësse out by offering supplies and healers before he and his men left, but lord knows how the Rendaro would see that.

All I could do was accept his surrender and allow him to leave although something didn’t feel right about letting our enemies just walk away.

What if they went through a training montage and came back stronger than before?

I bit my teeth while desperately to wrap my mind around everything.

“Katsíki.” Yna called.

I looked up at her with a pained expression but all she did was gently pat my head.

I nodded before stepping backwards.

Lunësse raised a single brow as Yna walked to him.

“Five thousand lives… five thousand deaths.” Yna said, but Lunësse frowned in confusion.

“What?” He winced as the two golden knights behind him glared at Yna.

They gripped their golden lances so tightly I could hear the sound of metal scraping away at metal.

“I want five thousand of your men. Their lives will be absorbed, along with their deaths.”

“What in the world do you plan on doing with all that magic?” The knight called Rinka gasped and even Han and I were taken aback by Yna’s demand.

“That’s for me to know and for you to ponder. Hand over five thousand of your men or die.” Yna said and just as her lips closed, fifty dark warriors, Kommáti all, appeared at various points in the field.

Lunësse didn’t even bother looking at them.

All he did was glare at Yna, who simply crossed her arms.

“Fine, Yna! But how will we go about separating-?”

“Don’t worry. My boys will handle it. All I need is your confirmation.”

“I already gave it to you!” Lunësse yelled. His face twisted and I couldn’t tell if it was from despair or pure rage.

“SAY IT AGAIN, CAPTAIN LUNËSSE! UTTER THE WORDS THAT WILL DOOM FIVE THOUSEND OF YOUR MEN TO SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATHS!” Yna spat.

“You conceited bitch!” Rinka yelled before dashing towards Yna at an incredible speed but Lunësse grabbed the knight by his collar and forced him onto the ground.

“FINE! TAKE THEM!” Lunësse yelled but, for some reason, he had a smile on his face.

“SHOW YOUR NEW COMRADES WHAT YOU TRULY ARE! YNA, CAPTAIN OF THE TSUDO LEGION… RED DEATH.” Lunësse choked as drool covered his lips.

Yna simply scoffed before raising her hand and clicking her fingers.

Distant screams then filled the air and I quickly noticed the Kommáti were disappearing one after the other.

Lunësse along with everyone else watched in horror as one could clearly see dark figures appearing in the encampment. Those figures then grabbed as many soldiers as they could before disappearing and reappearing shortly after with nothing in their hands.

“HAHA!” Lunësse chuckled.

“How reserved of you.” Lunësse said before facing Rinka who was still glaring daggers at Yna

“Do you see now? Our opponent is a creature born from the darkest pits of evil. A being that can be spoken of in the same breath as the Hawks, Yilon, Five Stars and even the Helma. So, if you still want to throw your live away, go ahead.” Lunësse said before dismounting Rinka who got up and rigorously shook the dirt from his golden armour.

He then walked back to his other comrade before facing the encampment.

“Umm… may I ask you one last thing?” I asked nervously.

“Alright. What do you want to know?”

“How many more are coming-?“

“It depends.” Lunësse interrupted.

“If we had emerged the victors of battle, the Grandmaster would have sent ten thousand more soldiers and a few thousand workers who would then set up various camps in key locations which would then be harvested. This force would have been led and overseen by a few legions of silver knights. But that is not what happened. We lost so the Grandmaster will stop at nothing to carry out the will of the Sun and Moon. Fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, it does not matter. The only Legions that he will not send are the Yilon, Helma and possibly the Five Stars because he does not have the authority but I can almost guarantee that the Stormhawks will come and if I remember correctly, you served alongside those monsters in the great War.” Lunësse said but Yna didn’t respond.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“I assume that’s all?” Lunësse asked as screams continued to fill the air.

“Yes. You are free to leave.”

Lunësse nodded before leading his men towards the encampment.

Yna sighed before looking down at my petrified self.

Her brows furrowed.

“With the magic we get we’ll be able to heal as many people as we want. Also, the death will make our soldiers that much more lethal.” She explained almost nervously but I simply grabbed her index finger.

“Don’t worry. I-I get it.” I said before turning to face Han, who looked like he had aged rapidly.

“This isn’t over, is it?” He asked as he and I followed Yna back into the forest.

“Far from it. What? Do you guys want a break?” She asked.

“No, not really.” I said with a yawn.

It had grown rather dark and cold so I pressed my head onto arm further, only for her to pick me up and wrap me in her arms.

We walked in complete silence for a few minutes and it wasn’t long after that Anda and Calëb arrived with a few of their men came into sight.

“Is it over?” Anda asked.

“Far from it, apparently.” I said with a yawn.

“How large will the main force be?” Calëb asked.

“Anywhere from ten to a hundred thousand soldiers.” I sighed.

“I see. Then I suppose we better start preparing for the next fight-“

“No! You all deserve a break! This is Coh’s second victory against Lanceberg and that in itself is worthy of celebration.” Yna said before dramatically pointing to the south.

“Gather every soldier at Coh’s northern gates and feed them to their hearts content. Give them all the booze they want and for tonight and tonight only!” Yna yelled, but we all looked at her with faces that ranged from confused to perplexed.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. We need to raise morale somehow.”

I looked at the Rendaro leaders before sighing.

“You heard her. We earned this victory, let’s celebrate it.” I said with a week smile.

“Woo!”

One of the soldiers in the tree line exclaimed and this led to a wave of cheers from just about every soldier within range.

“Pipe down, maggots! You guys up here aren’t going anywhere until the last of the enemy has left.” Yna said, but the cheers didn’t die down at all.

The only one’s who weren’t as joyful were Anda, Han, Calëb and I.

We silently walked deeper into the encampment which was now home to a sea cheers.

But, for a reason that escaped me, I couldn’t feel joy.

If anything, I felt a burning sensation in my chest.

I placed my hand on my above my heart as we walked towards the war room.

Yna must have noticed my distress because she placed her hand on my head and gently rubbed my hair.

This helped soothe the pain, but I knew for certain that it would soon return.

.

..

“Stand proud captains! Thanks to your leadership, casualties and injuries were kept far below what we expected. This is as much a victory for you as anyone!” Yna yelled while raising a large cup filled with Foph made wine.

The captains all cheered and I could tell that quite a few of them were already drunk.

Anda, Calëb and I were seated on five chairs that were on a platform that overlooked the entire camp.

It was a few hundred meters east of Coh on a hill that was littered with tents that were filled with loud chatter and laughter.

I looked at it all as it was bathed in the light from the many dim orbs above.

Yna sat on the seat next to me before finishing whatever was in her cup.

“You can’t get drunk and yet still you drink.” I sighed while resting my tired head on my hand.

“Hey, one can always get drunk on the atmosphere. We are all social beings and so when people are feeling jovial, they fill the air with something that spreads and affects everyone’s state of mind.” Yna said with a smile.

I nodded before looking out at the camp.

“Is there something you’d like?” Yna asked.

“Some rest.” I said.

“You know for a guy who doesn’t do much fighting, you sure do sleep a lot.” Yna said as she picked me up.

She then took me toward Coh and although many soldiers greeted us on our way, I failed to find the energy to greet them back.

We eventually arrived at our cabin where Yna helped me remove all my armor. She too removed certain pieces of her armor.

I crawled onto the bed and Yna covered me with a blanket.

“Going back to the party?” I asked sleepily.

“Yep. Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.” Yna said before closing the door as she left.

I slowly closed my eyes and as expected, the burning sensation in my chest returned, but I leaned into it.

Into that familiar pain.

.

..

My vision returned to me and I found myself in the dark realm.

Fortunately being here didn’t tire my real body and so I decided to wonder and check up on everyone.

I floated out of the cabin and made my way to Farin’s house.

I entered it to find the old man being covered in a blanket by his students as he slept.

They then tidied up the place before leaving.

If I could smile in my ethereal form, I would have done so after seeing them perform such mundane tasks.

I then floated towards Shiru’s house and saw that she was standing outside talking to a certain man- she was speaking with Ndlo.

My curiosity got the better of me and so I floated towards the two.

“Wow, really?” Shiru asked.

“But of course! It is thanks to the efforts of the Sixths that the battle was won in the end. We move from zone to zone, battle to battle without rest and I am sure that we’ll be rewarded handsomely for our valiant efforts.”

I rolled my non existent eyes before floating towards Serylea, but her candles weren’t lit meaning that she was probably asleep, so I floated towards Han, who was in his office near the heart of Coh and he was hard at work with his assistants. I would have told him to take a break or something, but he never listened any time I made the suggestion.

Ah…

I floated toward the group of tents were the elite soldiers were and eventually found Sah and his men.

Like all other soldiers, they were loudly celebrating our victory and the Foph warriors sang beautiful songs as they beat away at drums of varying size.

Sah himself was sitting against a large crate. He had his arms crossed and his head lowered.

Same for Wolva, although his eyes were wide open and it looked line he was keenly watching everyone.

I knew that Wolva wasn’t up to anything suspicious, but the guy’s demeanor didn’t really help.

He was always watching and it seemed as though was plotting something.

I floated toward where the leaders of the Expanse were and I saw that Anda was sitting alone on one of the five chairs.

He looked a little lonely and sad with a cup of wine in his hands and I kinda knew why.

His friends were the leaders and protectors of the Eimvals, so they couldn’t come to Coh with him.

I wish I could’ve kept him company but my body was beyond exhausted so-

My non existent eyes widened as a captain approached him.

The two began talking and it wasn’t long before Anda was smiling.

This filled with me with a sufficient amount of joy and so I moved towards my last target.

I floated around for a while, but found saw no clue of Calëb-

Oh…

I cautiously floated towards the war room and even long before I approached it, I heard muffled moans.

Part of me wanted to float away and go back to my body but…

I seeped into the tent and my non existent heart almost seized upon seeing a naked Calëb sitting on the table while kissing a naked Yna, who’s hair was glowing ever so slightly.

These maniacs were getting busy on the same desk where we worked!

Yna's lips parted from Calëb and the two stared at each other for a moment.

“Do you still hate me?” Yna whispered.

“Not as much as before. I realize now that there is no changing with past. Although knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.” Calëb said prompting Yna to nod.

“I can offer you a way to deal with the thoughts that trouble you.” Yna said as she firmly grabbed Calëb’s ass.

“Have you been paying any attention? You are the cause of my-“

Yna kissed Calëb before slowly falling to her knees and lowering her head towards Calëb’s crotch.

I quickly seeped out of the tent before floating my flustered self back to the cabin-

How did the table withstand-?

I shook aside all unnecessary thoughts before returning to my body where I allowed myself to sleep.