Her breaths were heavy but she felt as if not much air was taken with each inhale. Trying to lift her eyelids felt as if they were frozen together by ice. She didn’t feel any pain but her hand instinctively went toward her chest, looking for a hole in her body. There was one in the armor but no wound on her skin.

Once she opened her eyes it felt as if it was just a second between her getting stabbed in the chest and laying on the ground. There was nothing in between. Looking around she came to the conclusion that a lot happened between those two moments.

The last time she saw this street and wall they were intact but now the gates of the wall were cut down into pieces. The street was empty with soldiers standing by the wall but now she saw corpses and limbs rotting around her. The fog didn’t let her see what was behind the fallen gates.

Her mind was hazy and she slowly recollected her memory. “My name is Navia Silckthron…” She whispered, using her hands to lift herself from the ground, barely feeling her legs. Unable to fully raise her leg she dragged it along the ground. She heard the sound of metal scratching the stone and felt something touch her leg. Looking down she saw a sword in a bad state that could break at any moment.

Picking up the sword she remembered another thing “I am a warrior…” As she looked at the dagger a brighter color flickered behind it. The corpse of a warrior lay with his back toward her, a teal cape with a sun on it was somehow visible between the dirt stains. “I am a warrior… of The Order Of Tomorrow. And I'm the vice-captain of a squad…”

With another step forward she turned her gaze toward the sea. “We came here to help the people… To fight the Tide… We…” Looking toward the fallen gate and the mountains that were hidden behind the fog there was something, a feeling she needed to remember. Walking toward it she suddenly stopped and looked at the ground beneath her. A dried bloodstain “My blood… I was walking behind someone… Taizen! My husband! I tried to save him! Where is he?” With a realization came desperation, she looked in each direction stopping to look at the people with armor and teal capes. With each look, she remembered their names “Albert, Leopold, Rosa, Connor…” Not seeing Taizen’s face brought a bit of calm to her mind but she knew there were more of them, more fallen brothers and sisters from the order.

A rubble fell off the roof making Navia flinch and take out her weapons and point them toward the direction of the sound. She forgot that she was on the place of the battlefield, even if the fight was over there might be monsters left or looters that came here for the spoils of the fallen people. “Need to stay vigilant… And… I need to look for the survivors… If there are any…” She whispered with resolution but it faded as she looked around, seeing the corpses and dark bones left by the monsters.

She moved forward, her sword in front and knife near her chest, ready for any surprise attack that may fall at her. Once she got through the wall the fog was much clearer and only stuck near the ground making the whole area between the second and third walls visible. What used to be a living city was now rubble, not a single home or building left standing.

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Near the walls, there were many skeletons but nothing in between except for rubble. From all the walls she had seen the third had the biggest gap but it looked more like it was cut than smashed.

“There are no survivors in the city… Certainly, no one survived. Maybe the shelters were untouched.” She whispered with a bit of hope, looking at the mountain peaks that were visible behind the walls.

Even though the space was much clearer her eyes rapidly moved around looking for any sign of danger. Navia’s eyes never looked down under her feet which made her almost fall. Looking down for the object that made her stumble her eyes began to water, and disbelief appeared on her face. Losing all her strength she dropped to her knees along with her weapons she hit the hard surface of the pavement.

Right in front of her was a corpse that she recognized, even by a few remaining bits of skin left on his face. The tears ran down her face like a waterfall, her jaw was shaking as she tried to say something, barely coming out of her mouth. “Taizen… Taizen…” He grabbed him behind the neck with her trembling hands and lifted his head and upper body, or at least what was left of it.

His face was missing much of his skin and hair, his whole body was covered in dirt and burns. He had sharp stones and splinters sticking out all over him. There was nothing left below his ribcage and a few ribs were sticking out from his rotten flesh. His right arm was blown off leaving only a cracked bone sticking out of his shoulder and the left arm was in shambles.

“Taizen!” She screamed with pain and sorrow, she hugged the remains of her beloved disregarding a terrible stench of rot. That wasn’t on her mind right now, there was no room for disgust. It was the last time she would ever hug her husband. She mourned over Taizen even when her eyes went dry.

“I have a mission to fulfill… You’d want that too… There might be survivors who need my help right now… Right, Taizen?” Said Navia as she slowly placed her husband’s remains on the ground but she wasn’t done yet, she couldn’t leave him like that.

She gathered all the bits of stones she could find and covered Tazien with them. She took two planks that were somehow intact and using her hilt of the sword like a hammer she stuck them together with a rusted nail.

Crossing her hands and lifting her head to the sky she whispered “May we watch the same sunrise each morning… At least that way I’ll feel like you’re still next to me…”

She finished her prayers and laid down her hands but she wasn’t able to leave, she had to look for the survivors, even if the chances were low. That is her duty as a member of the Order Of Tomorrow but right now she is a wife left alone in this world.

“What if…” An idea of suicide crossed her mind but she stopped that thought. “I’m… not just a wife… I am a mother and my child is waiting for me…” She picked up her weapons and moved forward, trying her best not to look back, not to bring that pain again. She took a deep breath and hid that feeling deep inside for the time being. Right now she needs to be calm and vigilant.