Max who was standing further back far enough from the battle to not be exposed to danger but close enough to observe it, accompanied by Marcus, approached the aftermath of the battle with a contemplative demeanor, as he walked amongst the fallen, his attention was drawn to the 'enemies' and 'allies' that lay scattered across the battlefield.

He paused beside the body of one of the soldiers that they tried to save, he was unlucky and was already dead when they came across the battle, he bent down and gently turned the body to get a better view of him, he could see that he was a young man, possibly in his early twenties at most, Max also noted the armor the man wore, it bore a resemblance to Layla's but was evidently of inferior quality, the armor was a mix of heavy leather with blue cloth lines woven into it, Max found the blue cloth interesting as it probably indicated a status or a particular role this man played.

Max ran his gloved hand over the material, assessing its quality, it was hard even if his sense of touch was restricted because of his own gloves he could tell it was strengthened with something, Marcus who was observing alongside him, commented "Ormus leather it seems sire, not bad for a standard issue, I’m surprised her organization is doing so well".

Max's contemplation deepened as he gently placed his hand on the face of the fallen soldier, the questions that came to his mind were heavy him, and yet he could not control such thoughts "Should he feel bad for this one?" he pondered and if so "Why?" These questions returned to him again after seeing another battle where the dead now lay.

Surrounded by the aftermath of the conflict, Max grappled with the reality that these individuals, both ‘enemies’ and apparent ‘allies’, were fighting and dying in a struggle that revolved around him a person he never knew before opening his eyes a few hours ago.

As he turned his gaze from the fallen soldier, Max observed the elves examining the body of one of the creatures, they seemed focused on their task, unbothered by the death and destruction that surrounded them, while Estelle and Layla were conversing about something that appeared important to the both of them, though inaudible to Max it seemed as if they had an inkling of idea what these creatures are.

Then Max's attention shifted from Layla and Estelle to the second group of survivors, a mixture of Marcus’s men, Zindah’s companions, and the newfound soldiers, he could see that they were providing first aid care to the wounded men amongst them, some with open bleeding wounds and one of required a split to his arm it seemed.

Max noticed the soldiers put the bodies of their dead ones together next to each other, there were four of them, and those that survived were mourning their fallen comrades, that grief was a natural human response to loss, Max, however, found himself detached from these emotions, but as he continued to look on something did start to itch him from the inside as if something was resurfacing again.

This lack of emotional response was not entirely surprising to Max, from the moment he regained consciousness, he had been acutely aware of a profound emptiness inside him, but this new feeling had only now begun to appear.

Max's introspection was interrupted by Marcus's concerned inquiry, shaking off his thoughts, Max stood up and responded "No, let's join the others" he was still unsure… of who to trust and turn to, but for now they would make do, he began walking towards Layla and Estelle with Marcus close behind.

As they approached, Layla turned to Max with a look of concern "Are you alright, master?" she asked Max nodded in affirmation "Yes, no problem. You?" Layla who was a little surprised by his own inquiry let out a small smile "I am, though it is unfortunate we arrived a little late to save the rest" Her gaze shifted for a brief moment to the fallen soldiers before returning.

Estelle, joining the conversation spoke up, her tone tinged with frustration "It's a shame we had to use reserves on this operation, they usually never see much combat" She gestured to the men "And it's clear they needed more training".

"Why did you use them then?" he asked Estelle curiously.

Estelle seemed slightly taken aback by Max's query "Well… we never really intended to come here… it simply happened" she replied, she looked at Max as his gaze settled on her, and feeling skittish she turned to look at Layla for support.

Max, sensing there was more to the story, crossed his arms and continued to stare at Layla and Estelle intently, this change in his behavior, showing curiosity and perhaps even a hint of assertiveness, came as a surprise to both women.

Until this point, Max had appeared largely passive and disinterested, a state they attributed to his loss of memories, add on that his expressions were hard to read, and his interactions had been minimal, yet now, his display of interest, and possibly even subtle annoyance, signaled a significant development in his demeanor.

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Layla and Estelle exchanged a glance, both registering the shift in Max's behavior, this change raised questions about the progress of his recovery, his growing engagement in their situation could indicate that he was beginning to somehow reconnect with aspects of his former self, this thought was supposed to please herself Layla thought but for some reason, at this very moment, she began to feel a little afraid.

Layla shifted a little looking uncomfortable and began to speak "Well, you recall how I said that we had been looking for you for a long time?" she asked Max, who remained silent, his gaze fixed on her as he waited for her to continue.

"We never really found any trace of you ourselves" Layla continued, her tone taking in a somber note "We received a letter from someone who claimed that you were here and needed help".

Marcus's reaction to this information was immediate and intense "What?" he interjected sharply "A letter? Not a messenger?" His sudden forcefulness caused both Layla and Estelle to be taken aback a little.

All eyes turned to Marcus, his reaction piquing their interest, Estelle stepped in to provide further details "There was no one" she explained "The letter was left in one of our liaison locations and was sent back to us, we don’t know who sent the letter…".

Marcus froze for a moment not saying anything, and just as Layla was about to ask him what is the problem he continued "That’s impossible…" Marcus exclaimed in disbelief "I was told that a messenger was sent yesterday when we crashed… I was never told about a letter”.

Layla and Estelle were visibly shaken by this revelation "But we received this letter three days ago, and have been on route here ever since" Estelle responded, her voice tinged with disbelief "You’re not making any sense".

The conflicting information from Marcus and Layla stopped all four of them, up until this very moment, if by negligence or simply chance they never asked how they exchanged information, as both parties believed their own story of events was the obvious right one’s.

Max, who had been listening intently, spoke up first, drawing the attention of everyone "It appears you both were lured here" he said, his voice was surprisingly calm compared to the revelation "Now the only question is why?" His question hung in the air, underscoring the complexity of their predicament, for his tone sounded almost bored.

As he said that he pushed past Layla and Estelle and walked strait towards the creature that had used its strange power to shoot some kind of energy that was able to cut trees quite far away, as he approached it the two elves still standing next to it looked at Max and both parted to allow him to approach and bowed to him as they did so, he could see clearly that both gave in to his authority without him even saying a word to them.

Max kneeled down next to the creature As Layla, Estelle, and Marcus came out of their shocked state and caught up with him, still processing the revelations about the contradictory information they had received, Layla posed an important question "Wait master, shouldn’t we think why or how this happened?" she asked, her concern evident in her voice.

Max, now deeply engrossed in examining the creature, responded without turning to face her, he hummed thoughtfully for a moment before replying with a simple, blunt "No"

his response, was dismissive and a little amused even.

"It is clear from what you told me, that you both lack any critical information, and both of you were used" Max stated, standing up and surveying the area for a moment, his gaze shifted to the last group with Zindah before returning to Layla and the others "But which side did fool you? It could also be one of yours" he posited, directing his last statement specifically at Layla.

The implication of Max's words weighed heavily on the group, especially Layla, her momentary silence spoke volumes before she finally responded "Do you believe someone under my command had a hand in this?" she asked, her voice reflecting a mix of concern and disbelief.

Max nodded, affirming the possibility "It is a much larger one since it wasn’t Marcus who sent the messenger, correct?" he added, turning to Marcus for confirmation.

Marcus nodded in agreement, his gesture acknowledging the plausibility of Max's theory.

"Who knew of your coming here to my rescue?" he asked Layla directly.

"Only the ones personally under my command" Layla replied.

Max's attention then shifted to the group of injured soldiers they had rescued, who were now congregating around their fallen comrades and engaged in a discussion with Zindah, He posed another critical question to Layla, gesturing towards the soldiers "They don’t know. Do they?".

Layla took a moment before answering "No," she admitted, confirming Max's suspicion "so, I assume most of the ones on your vessel don’t know either… about me, right?" Max continued.

Layla nodded again confirming his suspicions, Max had observed a telling detail in the behavior of the various groups they had encountered, while members of the previous groups had reacted with noticeable stares upon meeting him, a sign of recognition or surprise, the soldiers they had just rescued did not exhibit the same reaction, they had not even glanced in his direction, this suggested to him that they were unaware of who he was or the significance of his presence.

Marcus who looked at Max all this time was about to speak up but was interrupted by Max "No, no memory has come back" he said as he knew what Marcus was about to ask, he could tell the vast difference in his own behavior in the last couple of minutes and before, then added "But…" He glanced at his arm, clenched his fist, and revealed "I’ve recovered some strength back… and I want to get off this place. And if you truly were under my command before, I'll ask to take it once more".

This statement was delivered with resolve and clarity in his tone, as if a new light was shown upon him in this place, in his mind Max could tell that this little chase was coming to a close soon, there was no way, the enemy did not notice the commotion in this area, and that all of their forces were gonna converge here, he assumed Layla and Marcus knew that as well and were planing to sneak away soon, and use that moment to leave the enemy looking for them here while they all run to escape.

But he had other plans, he wanted to see what he could do with all these new thoughts in his head, unbeknownst to anyone there, for a small moment, a voice whispered with the wind.

…

Layla, Estelle, and Marcus, upon hearing Max's words, felt a chill down their spine.