‘Sir, everyone is in place and holding.’ The radio operator nodded at Alon.

‘Alright, everybody, the radio operator responsible for the truck will stay; everyone else is time.’ He walks out of the room.

Eliza saw Alon getting out, followed by most of the command staff, if not all, which would only mean one thing. She sighed and turned her attention to the soldier shaking on the bed, who looked at her with pure despair in his eyes.

‘I don’t want to return; please, I can’t.’ The Chatzi soldier held her arm.

‘It's okay. No one is going to force you to do anything. Just close your eyes and relax.’ She leans forward and touches his forehead with hers.

She could feel a fraction of his anxiety; he was afraid of the pain he felt for the first time. Eliza didn’t know what it was, more like a feeling; it took a little more time to heal the wounds of the soul as she named them; this soldier wasn't the first to talk like this to her, and from the ones still, on the field hospital, they are not going to be the last.

Everyone who wasn’t doing a pivot job was transferred to the frontlines. There was no word about the duchess yet. The radio operator following her would give the go-ahead for the sacrifice. Alon positioned himself as a simple team leader. He wouldn’t take a squad or platoon leader position. The company commander was useless now. The sacrifice was the final order.

Ariadne felt uncomfortable, and there was nothing she could do about it. Unlike in her first life, the entire time she was unconscious didn’t fly by; she felt everyone inside the dungeon, the state of their hearts, their resolve, their fear, everything.

A malevolent trap where she couldn’t escape, only by the grace of time, just like the first time. This made her think about some events that happen no matter what. The fact that she is unconscious is one of those, and Edmund fighting the guardian by himself is another.

While the white fades to black, she wonders if Edmund's death is one of those things that will happen. Her eyes open, and droplets fall on her cheeks. Sorth is the first one her eyes see, and to her surprise, she feels the sword still in her hand. She looks around; only a soldier carrying a radio and Luther is around her.

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‘Where is the peasant?’ She started to get up.

‘If you go straight there, he will be in the middle of the street, unconscious.’ Luther pointed in the general direction he came from.

‘Alright, begin Starfall.’ She looked at the radio operator.

‘Your Highness, you were sleeping through it; only the sacrifice is left.’ His eyes were full of sadness.

Ariadne put her sword on her back, still holding the grip. She got Edmund’s sword full of dents and did the same. Ariadne took a deep breath, thinking she would pass through everything again for a moment but realizing that would be a gift. Instead, another thought came to her mind: If Edmund dies, everything goes with him; he is the center of everything; maybe it was the reason she came back.

She ran out of the temple and jumped up a building with one leap, dumbfounding the radio operator who followed her. She then put the radio next to his mouth.

‘The duchess is awake and going to Edmund’s location; I’m on pursuit. Start preparing for the sacrifice.’ He started to run and entered an alley next to the building. Ariadne jumped on.

All radio operators received the transmission and passed forward the instruction; those holding the line didn’t have time to think about it, but those conserving their energy for the push, like Ethan, were rubbing his forehead, trying to accept the fact he was going to die and everyone from his team was dead.

‘Are you alright, sir?’ A Chatzi soldier from his team looked at Ethan.

‘No, I’m not alright, green eyes.’ He looked at the soldier.

Ethan used easy-to-distinguish names for every soldier as they rotated; he found it interesting that he was fighting with these men but didn’t know their real names.

‘My name is Oliv, but I understand; I did the same with the others when I was the last one left on my original team.’ He smiled at Ethan.

‘I think it's a good idea to know each other's names now; I don’t think there is a coming back this time, so my name is Ely.’ A Shafran soldier with brown eyes and bandages around his head spoke.

‘Mine is Giov.’ Another Shafran lifted his hand. ‘And he is Ukra; we are from the same squad.’ He pointed at the A-Dam next to him.

‘What are the odds?’ Ukra laughed.

‘Well, mine is Ethan. Let’s just try not to die, okay?' He smiled and nodded at the soldiers.

The demons were passive and did not push. Strangely, there were no creatures in some places on the frontlines, which made everyone feel at the edge. The soldiers' fears were of pain, and the unknown, but their trust in Ariadne filled the rest.

When some considered it, they didn’t find it strange that their families weren’t the first ones on their minds; they laughed and found it reassuring. They were at ease as they started to pray in whispers.

Sorth noticed a sound coming from the direction of the guardian's sword on the ground to the side of the hole in the wall. Suddenly, it moved at high speed toward the wall at an angle in the direction Luther had pointed before, making a small hole. As she looked at the cameraman, she could hear the sound of other walls being torn.

‘We need to go; show the way.’ She got up.

Luther got up, grabbed his camera, and returned to where Sorth had followed Edmund. She was thinking of just being there but realized quickly that if the duchess died, it was over for everyone inside the dungeon, as no one could flee or fight the guardian. So she could see the fight.