April 13, 2056

The world gradually comes back into view as Alice flutters her eyelids open. Her surroundings appear in a haze as she struggles to piece together what happened. After blinking away the disorientation, she comes to realize that she's lying on the ground. It takes another minute of her concentrating on her breathing to finally be able to make out her environment.

Slowly, her memory starts to return as the acrid smell of smoke and burning metal finds its way to her nostrils. Around her are the twisted remains of charred tanks along with recently deceased soldiers. Looking around further, she looks up at the wall, now disgraced with unsightly holes and fractures, and spots the battered Tyranian flag still waving in the wind.

"Oh... that's right..." She mutters to herself.

The Federation had just launched an attack on Tyran and after retreating behind the wall she came across the Flag Bearer. She remembers him talking for a while before casting an Enhancement that launched her back. Then she finally recalls the moment when he began to cast another Enhancement aimed straight for...

"Luna!"

She attempts to push herself up but winces at an intense pain originating from her chest and that's when she notices the blood covering her clothes and her face.

That's right, she pushed Luna out of the way from the attack when the one of the six spears collided with her Protection Barrier. After that, all she remembers is falling to the ground with Divinity glittering around her.

Alice was fully intending on giving her life for Luna yet here she still was... Was it a miracle? She doesn't know. What's important now is that she's alive.

Examining herself, she comes across a teared puncture wound and considerable burn mark on her chest that continues to produce pain just from the shifting of her body. Further up, she feels around and locates a gash on the side of her head along with numerous smaller cuts on her face.

"Divine Heal." With a quick cast, the bleeding stops for now as some of the pain begins to subside, allowing her to finally get up in search for Luna.

What she finds however are the massacred remains of Feds surrounding her. Some have their heads completely severed from their bodies while others have been left with limbs cut off with gaping incisions around their bodies. She then soon stumbles upon a pool of blood that appears to consist of bones and organs. Next to it, lies a Banner with its stand snaped in two.

Alice covers her mouth, struggling to take in the scene of horror as a distant yell makes her look up at its direction. A path of death leads deeper into the base as Alice begins to grasp the situation at hand. Images of the Krosvic Incident flashes before her as her legs begin to move on their own. There is only person she knows that is capable of causing such carnage.

"No... No! Luna!"

Tripping over the dead bodies, she runs faster and turns the corner around a building where she bumps into a Fed. She reaches for her holster, but the soldier ignores her and keeps running as more Feds appear behind him following suit. Each with fear etched on their faces.

Pushing past the fleeing soldiers, Alice starts to hear the sounds of more yelling and screams before eventually reaching the source of it all. She, however, freezes in her tracks and looks on in terror at the scene before her.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The one she calls her best friend was no more the person she recognized. Luna's eyes glow fiercely gold with her body and blade soaked and stained with dark, glistening blood. Divinity also constantly pours out of her, making Alice nauseas and on the verge of collapsing.

She fights through the dense air and looks on as Luna cuts through a Fed's torso before turning to face another Fed lying on her back with a petrified expression. Her hands tremble trying to plead with the Shard over her as tears begin to stream down her face.

Without wasting another second, Alice forces her body to move in as Luna motions her blade over the girl. It surges downward and at the very last second, Alice embraces her from behind which makes the blade stop just a hair away from the Fed's throat.

----------------------------------------

"Luna! Luna, please stop!"

Where am I?

"It's me!"

That voice... who's is that?

"It's Alice! Please come back!"

With a sudden inhale, I'm confronted with the image of a girl in tears beneath me. She quivers at my sight and that's when I pull my blade back and examine myself. I'm drenched in blood that's not mine. But what astounds me the most is the person hugging me tightly from behind.

"...Alice...?" I whisper her name.

"Yes! Yes, it's Alice!"

I drop my blade and take a few steps back as the Fed scurries away before disappearing around a building.

"I... I thought... I thought you were..." I stutter my words as a lump forms in my throat.

She turns me around where I finally come face to face with her. She has cuts all over her face, yet she puts on a relieved smile while holding back tears of her own. She embraces me once again as the two of us fall to our knees. She continues to whisper softly into my ear as I remain in a state of shock.

"It's okay now, Luna. You don't have to keep fighting... it's over."

----------------------------------------

"Läkare!"

Chaos envelops the base; the wounded call out for help as medics rush to their aid, meanwhile surviving Fed's are rounded up and forced to their knees.

There's a mix of Tyranians that are running around, doing what they can, while others are too traumatized or in shock to even move. For them, this would've been the first time they've ever experienced combat... because who would ever think about an attack happening on your own home soil?

I'm currently helping to hold up Alice as we limp our way to a medical station. The Heal she casted earlier on herself has begun dissipating and the broken arm I've was using unwillingly is causing me tremendous pain. I don't know how much Divinity I dispensed while I was in that rage induced state, but I had to have been a lot. I can still feel it coursing through my every fiber of my being.

I feel hot inside and the world around me has yet to stop spinning. My body is having trouble adjusting to the sudden flux of Divinity after having to supress it for such a long time.

Yet... a part of me still yearns for more of it.

I stop in my tracks and push the thought out of my head immediately.

"What's wrong?"

I turn to Alice who wears a tired and worried expression and manage a smile to calm her.

"Nothing. Just got distracted."

I owe so much to her for bringing me back. I wish I could alleviate the pain she's enduring. The least I could do is not to worry her anymore then I have and get her some help.

After a few more minutes pass, we finally arrive at our destination only to find that's it's full beyond capacity. Just outside soldiers lay on makeshift beds as they fidget and groan from various injuries. A glimpse inside shows medical staff busy attending to those in need.

I curse under my breath when I realize there's no way I'll be able get someone to help Alice. They'll surely prioritize their own then a Shard. But my worries are subsided when I spot Frost and Macy helping to tend with injured Shards.

I approach them as the sight of me startles them for a moment before they and a few others rush to our sides.

"What the hell happened!?"

"We ran into the Flag Bearer..." I say as medics lay Alice down and cast Heals onto her wounds.

"Flag Bearer? Where is he? Is he-"

"...He's dead. I killed him."

Silence falls upon the group. A wave of emotions ripples through the group as they exchange glances; their faces expressing disbelief.

"You killed him... alone?" Frost asks, his voice a mix of doubt and curiosity.

I choke on my words and instead just nod. There's so much I want to say but I can't find the words to use. Frost, luckily, is quick to understand and takes my still trembling hand in his and holds it tightly.

"Don't say anything else. Let's get you cleaned up," Is all he says before taking me to a secluded spot where I won't be seen anymore by the prying eyes.

There I explain everything to him and at some point, I must've broken down mentally because the rest of the day goes by with me being held between his arms.