image [https://i.imgur.com/5u9Q1yC.jpeg]

image [https://i.imgur.com/7x2tZwK.png]

Zeb

Today was a good day. Even as the chill misted my breath, I skipped down the Greystone courtyard with great news in my hands. This damn drab mana and this terrible northern weather—I would not miss them at all. Guards stood out outside the manor and recognised me I could tell by their grimaces. I don’t know why I am so disliked. I am a mild-mannered gentleman.

“What do you want, Priest?” Said a man whose helmet must have been a custom order.

“It’s Cardinal. I need entry. I have news for your Duke and Duchess.”

“Missed them,” said a man with unfortunate teeth

“Missed…them…?”

“Left to lead the war.” A guard on the left spoke.

“No, no. Not the Duke and his guard,” I laughed. “Just tell me where the duchess is.” Is said with a smile.

The guards looked at each other. “Both of them left. Saw a mage take them too! It was amazing!”

“Fucking bastard!” I spit my words. “Can’t keep her safe one second!”

Mana from the two doorguards illuminated my face. “I hope you’re not talking his grace are you?” the big head took a step to me.

The snaggly-toothed man tapped his sword. “Yeah, that would be a very stupid thing to do in his courtyard.” I succumbed to the pressure of their circles of three.

I breathed in, regaining my calmness. “I will be back.” I held the letter tight in my hand, returning to my carriage in a walk of shame.

“So close…”

Tarion

Legs crossed and eyes closed, I maintained my balance on a bouncing horse as it carried me along a dirt road. It was the morning after the camp ambush, and the camp moved on as I ordered. I could fly and meet my uncle, but my army’s safe passage was most important. Meaning for the first time in a while, I took it slow. No zipping around like a 747 carry-around supply in my inventory. No pill shovelling. I need to use them sparingly as my good pill maker was taken.

“Qi. Did Zhi teach you?” Haru spoke on her horse. Not the white beauty she left, but she cared for it the same.

I nodded with eyes still closed, and collected qi to my basin. “I needed another weapon in my arsenal if we were to face these ghouls. Faster, smarter and crazier than normal cursed.”

“Ghouls?”

“Yep,” I answered. “The mage gave it away.”

“Umm…I wonder if they eat humans too.”

“Dunno. I always kill them before they have a chance. The fuckers are hard to kill, ‘though.”

“Makes me feel sorry for Kaneki.”

I opened an eye and saw Haru hold her reins with a small smirk. “You watched Tokyo Ghoul,” I asked Haru. Nodded her head.

"I saw it on Netflix one time. Thought it was okay. You?”

“Read. Didn’t time to any anime.”

“‘Didn’t have time’? Was your that work time-consuming?" Haru looked to her right, looking at me with avid curiosity. Could Vanessa hear this? If she could, could she have heard Haru and I’s first conversation? I am only Tarion here. That's all I need to be. For me and for her. Will she think of me differently?

“Tarion?”

I unfolded my legs and rode the horse with feet in stirs. “Uh yes. My ‘work’ was unpredictable. When needed, I would leave on a dime, not having any connection to the outside work. So I would download a tonne of suspiciously sourced novels, manga and manhwa so I could binge. Secluded and needing to be quiet, manga, manhwa, and comics were my only sources of entertainment. My only form of escape sometimes... “

Haru smiled with a touch of disbelief. “Is that how you know about me, about this world?”

I sighed. Shit.

Haru chuckled to herself. “I figured that the world felt too... stereotypical. The troupes were all there.” Haru looked me deep in the eye. I felt Vanessa looking through them too. “What was the name of the book…?

“It was a manhwa and its name was... Fucks sake, this is embarrassing.” I hid my shy smile by turning away.

“Come on. Don’t let it hang. Tell us!”

Us.

I faced her with confidence. “The Annoying Prince Loves Me.”

Haru’s jaw dropped for a solid two minutes. Stifling her laughter, she covered her mouth.

“Come on! Men can indulge in the tales of heroic women.”

“Do you-Hahaha” She nearly choked on her laughter. “Did you skip the girly parts? Hehehe.”

I crossed my arms. “I’ll have know, this stereotyping is quite sexiest! If a scene is written well, nothing is unskippable. Even… dress-up montages.”

She turned away as she burst out laughing. To everyone around us, we were silently goofing around within my air bubble.

My ring hummed, and relief spread like a refreshing shower over my body.

I have not lost everything.

She could tap into her ring when she is distracted I figured. Two fighting for one body…When will this dragon bring me into another dream? I have questions that need answering.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The hums came with a code while Haru still laughed, Umbra. Smart lady.

Inside. Trapped. Wait.

Wait!? For what? I asked in code.

Learn. Her.

I squeezed the reins tight. What do you mean, wait? Something snatched her body, and I must wait while they walked around acting like her, like a skinwalker? Does she pity her? Haru did live a life without her mother, her best friend, and only had the arm of her lover Kyros to lean on. That blizzard branched their lives in completely different ways. It does make sense that Vanessa wants to learn about her future self.

One last code came through before the connection was cut. Me.

“Was I cool?” Haru looked at me with anticipation. I remembered the art of her holy fire burning the cursed that invaded Osberg, with her power levitating her golden curls as she healed entire armies.

“The coolest. Not one page was skipped.”

Her smile made my day. The same smile as her, but something weighed it down. There seemed to be something haunting her. In her every expression, there was desperation.

What do you see inside, Vanessa? What do you see in those yearning stares into nothingness that I have seen in many of my friends? What battles scarred her so? Who does she miss so much that her feelings cannot be subdued?

“I'm interested.” Haru successfully kept her laughter at bay. “Why rush this war? You know what comes ahead in the future. A disaster comes that eclipses the one you read in my stories."

I breathed in. “Pride.”

“Pride?”

“Indeed. I love Osberg. I may have memories of another place and time, but Osberg... is my home. I still had family here. It needs my protection, and in my short tenure, I have proved that I could make Osberg better, and stronger. Because of my love for Osberg, I rush because I know Osberg's fate.”

“Ohh…”

“The destruction of Osberg was a few words, but those words described the destruction of my childhood. The deaths of many.” I turned to Haru. “As Osberg burnt, my people fled down to Vioden, the duchy that starved them for years and was made rich off their suffering. They were still turned away, weren't they?” Haru's face dropped with sadness, and she nodded.

”When the duchies combined their forces to stop the approaching cursed forces? Who abstained?”

“Vioden…” Haru answered sombrely.

“And it was forgotten because who has time to punish when there is Osberg’s Land to piece apart. We have let Vioden take our money, resources and my family. I cannot let them take anymore.”

"Pride or Selfish Vengence?” Haru spoke.

I thought in silence for a moment. “Isn’t it the same?” I brought my horse closer. “Perhaps rage is the right word.” Haru looked me up and down at my calm visage, and I smiled. “Please understand. I can be more direct in my approach. I can murder them all right now. I want to. A few ravens with me and the Wolfburn manor would be forever stained with blood. My work required such methods. But that way is the method of a man with nothing to lose, no future to think of, and no one to care for." Haru bounced on her saddle, listening carefully.

“So…National pride for personal vengeance,” Haru said.

I smiled deeper, feeling understood, leaning on the saddle’s horn. “My actions have to be justifiable in the eyes of my peers and the common man so that this country doesn't crumble under war. So I went at it the slow but right way, gaining evidence, propaganda, and the king's permission. Rather Kyros’.”

Haru stood straighter, with scruched eyebrows. “You met Kyros?”

“Two times. First to get the king's approval. The second to get the real king’s blessing.”

Haru covered her mouth in thought.

“You think he is working with the Wolfburn?”

“I thought… The ghouls would make more sense.”

"Okay, now you got me curious!” I said excitedly. “How much did Kyros fuck up?”

Silence. Haru looked at the road ahead.

I glanced behind at the thousands marching in navy blue. My family banners waved high as they waved them with pride.

“Three months.”

That got her attention. “Three what?”

“I will make Vioden mine within three months and my selfish crusade will end. In exchange, tell me about your story.”

“Failure never crosses your mind? Have ever you thought you could lose this war?” Haru asked.

“Yes…Everyday. I may have lost a round but there are more rounds to go.”

Mana. My eyes darted around. At the end of the road, mana pulsed outward.

“I'll be right back.” I whipped my reins and rode my horse to the very front of the procession, passing Jimmy and Masse. I followed the waves of mana and found a lone figure standing in the middle of the road. Dressed in common brown clothes, the figure waited.

“Your Grace!” a worried soldier ran to me.

“Don’t worry, I have this.”

Stepping down from my horse, I walked down the dirt path to meet the seventh-circle stranger. Closer up, I could see his long greying hair. With a face like my father's, his brown eyes sparkled despite his tired face. The seventh circle vanished. Leaning back, my left boot kicked his right knee while a fist barreled for my face, completely missed. My right leg swooped high for a kick to the older man’s face but was guarded by a mana-cloaked palm. Impressed by my strength, the older man steps back.

“It’s only been a few months, my boy.”

I swatted an icicle from the air. One more was thrown from the older man, then another was dodged. With two hands, the older man formed and hundreds more. He pushed, making them shoot. With a calm form, I diverted them all, leaving an outline on the ice on the ground.

“HAHA, FANTASTIC!” The knight ran in for a hug. I Grabbed onto his wrists, and I flipped the old man to his back. “Oof, lands above, that hurt! Hahahaha!”

“That’s for attacking your nephew. Can’t say hi like normal people?” I offered a hand to the elder and a hand hooked my leg, dropping me. The point of an iced dagger chilled my adam’s apple with its point.

“Greystones aren’t normal. So nephew. Ready to kill some Wolfburns!?”

I peeked down with a grin. Mana condensed to a tiny ball on my index finger, aimed at my uncle's torso. “Always, Uncle Laron.”

****

Jimmy

Thousands of gleaming armour parted way like a forked river. His grace mana shone off them like a bonfire, his hue spread wide, captivating all who saw. The duke walked, slowly ascending on invisible steps. Arms behind his back his fantastic cloak waves behind as he looked down upon us all. Servants, soldiers, cooks, blacksmiths, medics, and even the ever-proud Osberg Knights stare up with awe. Rydel stood beside me, his ear perking up in excitement. However, his cohorts were less than pleased with the show.

"How was your holiday abroad? Have some fun?" the Osberg Knights cheered aloud. "Good. I can see from your marred faces you warmed up somewhat in Alar. Ah, never mind they were unsightly to begin with." The knights laughed, rattling their armour. "Hehe. Alright, alright. I am not about to drone about your purpose here and preach about shit you already know. You fuckers know what and why you are here. You heard it all. All I have to say is thank you. Thank you for being patient." A chest plate appeared in a flash of blue. His Grace struck his chest and the metal rang out like a bell in a salute to his men. His men responded with their own salute. He looked out to the large wall in the distance. "Damn, it's big." The army below chuckled.

The duke's eyes laid on the masses with a grin. "What do you think? Can I break it down?"

"YES, YOUR GRACE!"

"Mm... I love your confidence in me." The duke breathed in then exhaled a sigh. "I heard cowards. Little piss babies amongst us." I thought I could hear Shopen men squeak in the crowd. "Men, are you scared of them." He pointed to Maize's wall. Afraid of the nobles who hide behind those tall slabs?"

"NO!"

"Good fucking answer." Mana spread his voice wide. "From today, It begins in earnest. No escaping what comes next. No running away. Sharpen your blades!" His Grace hit his chest, his salute echoed across the camp. Osberg knights straightened and did the same. "Sharpen your minds." Metal was struck. Soldiers joined and a rhythm formed like a heartbeat, chests were pounded. I found myself captured by the trance too. "Strengthen your will and your heart. A slaughter will begin that no weak mind will be able to handle. My brave men of Osberg, can you hold your shields and brace the carnage?!"

"Yes!!"

The duke floated down among the knights, patting their shoulders as he walked. "Tomorrow. I join you. Will you follow my cloak into hell?"

"YES, YOUR GRACE!!!"

"Good good..." Sauntering among the soldiers to his tent, I saw a mischievous glint in his eye. "...I am excited."