“War is but a fool's game that no one wins."
Japan: 2068
Bombshells erupted all around the soldiers. The ground beneath their feet juddered continuously, throwing them off balance. The loud, ear-splitting sound of sirens blared all around them. Screams of the fallen were engraved in the surviving soldiers’ minds. Even if they got out of the battlefield alive, the memories of their allies’ dying wails would be buried in their minds forever. They were in the midst of a cold and bloody war…
I’m scared… Why? Why am I fighting? For what? a soldier thought to himself. His eyes were lifeless and dull. Not simply due to his wounds but because he had witnessed everyone around him die as if they were merely ants. Until this point, the soldier had had a good and peaceful childhood. He had many aspirations and dreams of the future. He wanted to be successful, start a business, start a family, have children, and be a kind, gentle father.
Yet…
All that had been taken from him in an instant. For what? He gazed dejectedly at the war-infested scene in front of him. What’s the point of this? For power? Control? Will there really be peace beyond this bloodbath?
“All reporting Knights, prepare for an ambush incoming from the southeast...” The Knight heard a brash and cold order from his female commander via a Bluetooth hearing device. Yet he didn’t react to her urgent order right away.
He hid inside an abandoned office building, helplessly watching his allies drop below him behind a large glass window. The enemy was drawing near, armed with state-of-the-art tanks and other military artillery. They were heavily outmatched. He accepted his fate; he was going to die sooner or later. But yet—
“SHIT! A monster hit our base in section 23. Just when things couldn’t get worse, a monster decides to attack us,” the commander cursed violently. The pressure was getting to her. “We have no more time. All units spread out and defend section 6—”
“What if I don’t want to, Commander Geta.”
“What?” she blurted out, clearly caught off guard by his soft and miserable refusal.
“What the hell are you talking about, Officer Arthur? This is not the time for second-guessing—THIS IS WAR!” she roared through the device. Arthur let out a dead and defeated smile upon hearing her voice.
“What’s the point… What’s the point of all this death?”
“We're fighting for our freedom, Arthur! Have you no shame in giving up on that?”
“Freedom from who?” Arthur asked, despondently looking down from the building.
“From... from...” Commander Geta took a long pause. The simple and reasonable question that Arthur asked planted a seed of doubt in Geta.
“Will this cause freedom? Will all these deaths change a thing in our cold world? What do you think will happen after we all die? What then?” he muttered. Arthur’s cold, black eyes didn’t move from observing the war below him. “Soon enough, there will be another war. It’s never gonna end… So why even try to help? My useless life won’t make any difference in this battle,” Arthur let out a small laugh, but his expression didn’t move from its depressive state.
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“Selfish...” Geta let out a small whimper. “YOU SELFISH SHITHEAD!”
Arthur felt the quiver in her voice. It truly broke his heart hearing her cry, even more than seeing his allies die in front of him. “What about all the lives that were lost? Were they all meaningless to you? Did they all die in vain?! Are you going to let that happen, Arthur?!”
“They did die in vain…” Arthur replied softly, feeling a tear start welling up in his broken eyes. “They all died in vain. None of their lives will make a difference in this battle. They didn’t deserve this. No one’s going to remember them. Even if we win, will they get the credit? No, not a single one of us will. Life has to be more than this never-ending cycle of death.”
Arthur's words shook the commander into silence. Her usual brash and hot-blooded tone was now covered in small whimpers of her cry.
The person he’d gotten to know since getting drafted into war was crumbling right in front of him. He knew her better than anyone else. She was scary at times and very demanding. One time, sheep punched him in the nuts for not sweeping the floors in their dorm. She would also get mad at him when he asked her for coffee in front of other people. She was a Commander, after all. Asking a person of higher rank for something wasn’t the best look. But regardless of all that, he’d loved her. He broke down the walls she placed before him and got to witness her soft, gentle, and caring heart. Reminiscing on those memories warmed his soul.
“It’s okay to cry sometimes, Geta,” he murmured, still hearing her attempt to cover her tears. “You’re so strong. Even when the odds were stacked against you, somehow you managed to push forward and succeed. You made me into a better and stronger person, Geta. Thank you for everything.”
“What’s next?” she blubbered. “What are you planning on doing now? If not fighting, then what’s the best option?”
He expected that question. And for the first time in a while, he felt optimistic.
“I know a place,” he smiled. “A place where there’s no war. No monsters. No hunger. A warm place where we can talk for as long as we want. A place where we can start our own family.”
“Does such a place actually exist?” Geta’s voice had a hint of hopefulness.
“Do you trust me, Geta?” he asked. It didn’t take long for her to answer.
“I trust you with all my heart…”
“Well then…” He let out a hopeful sigh. All of his worries suddenly vanished. Arthur smiled brightly as he smashed the window in front of him. A gust of wind blew in his face pungently and he took a step forward to the broken window. He was high up—perfect for the job.
“I’ll see you soon. I love you…”
He stepped off.
Time seemed to slow down as he took his leap of faith. He could see his memories flashing before his very own eyes. Huh, they weren’t joking. I guess your life really does flash before your eyes. But he wasn’t scared; he was comforted. Soon, he would leave this sinful world. At the final moment of Arthur’s life, he was finally content.
He had no regrets.
Arthur was lucky he’d experienced life, even though it was more short than he had imagined. In truth, he could have lived in a much different world where he wouldn't have met the love of his life.
He didn’t resent the world; he just didn’t want to see the cruel future that would inevitably come. But still, he wished for a peaceful and happy future—a world much different from this one.
As he tumbled to the earth at a rapid pace, bombs collided with the ground. He witnessed a beautiful bright red and orange explosion, and the next moment, everything around him turned to ash.
I see now... so there is a Go–
“......”
All Geta heard was static coming from his earpiece. Her heart dropped, and she lost all strength in her body. She dully looked at the screen as more and more of her comrade's signals were being wiped out. It felt safe inside the military tank—the dark and suffocating space made her feel like she didn't exist at all, but the static from Arthur's earpiece was a brutal reminder that everything was real.
At that moment, she had never felt so alone. It was as if everything had suddenly grown meaningless.
I truly hope that place exists, she thought to herself.
Geta grasped the handle of the gun that lay beside her in the darkness. “I love you too…”
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