There was no Nicole in the military records. It is to be expected. After all, despite all the years of fighting, women were never sent to the front. Even when they did, most of them were snipers, stationed at safe distances.

As long as women were safe, the country could keep on fighting. Perhaps the reason the war lasted so long was because there were still women who could lose their sons and husbands.

But even so, when all hell broke lose and people couldn't find food anymore, many young girls ran off or were forced by their parents to fight in the war. It was easy to send them to certain places where screenings weren't exactly strict, simply, because no one had time for it. New recruits served as a meat shield. Runaways usually bribed screening officers with their bodies and ultimately, it was the pits for everyone.

By the time it came to light that those recruits weren't men, they'd already be dead. Those who got discovered were swiftly carted off back home. By then, they'd mostly lost either their body or mind, if not both. Many young girls turned to prostitution when the war didn't work out for them.

With the deteriorating economy, it looked as if no one had the resources or time to care about the worsening situation of the lower echelon of the society. Kids as young as 10 years were snuck into the army, so that if not their families, at least they could feed themselves. That is, if they survived.

At the height of this anarchy, a General Bardock took the reins in his hand. His predecessor had died of colon cancer, thanks to his habit of overdrinking. Bardock was just another man, another leader following the ways of those before him.

Something suddenly changed three years into his era. He put a restriction on children enlisting to fight. Screenings were suddenly stricter than ever before. There was a sudden increase in labor work.

Fronts that had been lost shamefully were won back one by one even with small forces. Mercae's war tactics began getting praised in many neighboring countries.

And then the man named Iris Bergmeier made news. He was a close associate of Bardock, though no one knew where he'd come from. It was soon common knowledge that Bardock highly regarded him, even calling him the reason the course of war was changing.

And so it finally happened. Iris Bergmeier was to be hailed as a hero for years to come. Five years since Bardock's era started, Mercae broke the endless cycle of fighting. The war was finally over. Bardock flew out to many many lands and signed several peace treaties.

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This peace spread out from within Mercae to the rest of the world. One by one many nations adopted similar peace tactics. Eventually, only small conflicts remained, over land or perhaps out of desperation.

The fact was that the era of war had seen a close. The man hailed as the hero disappeared from Bardock's side. Bardock, having solidified his position in the country, continued to rule for 7 more years until being killed by an assassin with crimson eyes.

The assassin burned himself to death before he could be executed, being a vile sorcerer who made a pact with the devil itself.

That is what the history books will read, at least.

Back to Nicole. Nicole wasn't real. There was no such thing as Nicole.

If so, how was it that Chopper seemed to know this name? A name that shouldn't have existed in the first place. And yet, from the way Lady reacted, it was proof that in fact, this name did indeed exist, somewhere, somehow.

I dragged Lady all the way back to the shade. Grim looked at her uninterestedly. Soon as we were all back in one place, Grim summoned his scythe and tapped it on the ground. In the blink of an eye, we were back to the real world where the mountain had been laid to waste after their fighting.

My head was throbbing, but I barely gave it any thought. Looking about, I was finally able to take in the scale of destruction.

The sky looked, in some odd ways, heavy. As if it was ready to drop on our heads. It was a rather deep crimson by now. Still, it wasn't entirely dark out. Occasionally the sky would produce a thundering noise even though there were no clouds in sight. It was an overwhelming noise and sounded like a signal to those of us who knew.

Chopper glared at Grim, with a question of what will follow from here on out.

Grim sighed, "Now you see, that I have lost quite terribly. But the calamity hangs above you. I won't be the one deciding the course of action from here on. It is in your hands. Save yourself as you will."

That was quite a careless answer, not to mention, he called it his loss when it looked quite the opposite to me.

Now we all awaited the inevitable, to do what we must. I knew we weren't alone. Many more, all around the world, people like Mer Claire, would stand by our side. To do what we all must.

Looking at Grim who looked ever so careless and calm, as if this current predicament wasn't something he brought down on us himself.

I remembered a story I'd read in my father's library when I was a kid. I never thought I'd get to hear that story again until I heard Lady reciting it to herself. Since she was standing so close to me, it was almost like she was whispering to me. I could tell she didn't know where that story came from but she recited it word for word, staring emptily at the sky, as if in a daze.

"I saw the sky breaking. A fissure reaching out to the horizon, darkness breaking in through the rift. And in the midst of it, the fiery angel. It unfurled its wings and opened its arms towards the sky. And then a swirling blizzard ruptured at its feet, engulfing the whole world. When the populace looked up, there was nothing but the red sky breaking into their homes, so they got down on their knees and begged with cries and tears. But there was no god above. The god had descended in their midst; where he walked, followed the souls."