God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Driving the smoke swirling in front of his face away, General Arltzwalt looked down on the battlefield below, his eyes tinged with a cold and uncaring light.

There was blood everywhere. Even the air rising up from there reeked of death and chaos.

Boulder stood to his right, a tight frown on his face, and to his left was another one of his higher ranked men, Crane, a lax expression on his.

'So far, they've managed to do good. Still, I doubt this is as far as Valestorm is willing to go.'

They were currently in the outpost situation on the other edge of the slope leading into the artificial gorge he had created.

He had prepared for this day a long time ago.

He knew that when Valestorm decided to come for him, they would come through the Sea of Sands. He had made his preparations, but even then, he had not been confident.

Then, a variable arrived. A variable that changed everything...

"Boulder, how are the men looking?"

Boulder's reply was curt and simple,

"Most of them are still on edge, ready to go for the next battle. The injured have been treated, and we only lost a few men in the first clash."

Crane nodded in satisfaction,

"This is all thanks to the General's wisdom."

A sly grin appeared on his face,

"To thing we could have done things this way. I was quite surprised when you gave the order to pull out, General."

General Arltzwalt ignored him and turned to Boulder,

"What about the other old men?"

Although General Arltzwalt was the head of the Military camp, he had a Council of men from his military days who had managed to survive the initial fall out of the apocalypse. With their help, he was able to run the military camp more smoothly.

While they didn't have much combat power, they were important in running the gears that made up his army.

Even now, although he did see them as nuisances, he couldn't deny their importance.

Boulder frowned,

"They should still be in their tents. Now that we are not engaged in battle, there should be less busy."

Arltzwalt nodded,

"Send them all a message. Tell them all to come here. The tides of battle may change very soon."

Arltzwalt leaned back.

He was confident. While the odd weren't wholly in his favor, he was confident in winning this battle, even if it was a pyrrhic victory.

Boulder nodded and left.

The moment he left, the smile on Crane's face dissolved.

"General... About Boulder."

He pursed his lips,

"He might still hold sentiments towards Cain and his crew. My men have informed me of how close they had become over the days. How do we handle him? Make sure he doesn't do something stupid?"

General Arltzwalt waved his hand dismissively,

"I know Boulder well. He is plenty things, but the most of what he is, is loyal."

His eyes drifted back to the ongoing battle,

"He might be grateful to Cain, and might even see him as a comrade. But..."

Cold, uncaring, and calculated...

The eyes of a murderer. Of one who had seen death and thrives in it...

"His loyalty lies with me. He will never betray me."

Crane was silent for a moment before chuckling,

"I see. Then there is nothing to worry about."

A few minutes later, Boulder returned. However, this time, there was something different about him.

His face was pale, and he had a look of disbelief plastered on his face.

General Arltzwalt immediately realized something was wrong,

"What's wrong? Speak immediately!"

Boulder took a second to calm himself, sucking in a deep breath and closing his eyes.

When he opened them, the words came out like water from an unsealed dam,

"They are dead. All of them."

General Arltzwalt paused, initially unsure of what he meant. Then his eyes widened,

"Dead? Those old bastards are dead?! All of them?!"

Boulder nodded, "Yes. Every one of them. The men stationed to guard them didn't notice anyone. The entire camp is in a panic."

Boulder clenched his teeth so hard, he feared they might shatter.

General Arltzwalt stood up from his seat,

"Let's go."

With Boulder leading the way, they arrived at the first tent.

It was just as Boulder had said.

The inside of the tent was dark as the mana lamp within it had been extinguished. Pulling a light source out of his inventory, General Arltzwalt let the illumination spread to every corner of the room.

There was blood. Seated on a wooden stool was one of the members of his council. His glassy eyes were still open, the look of disbelief and horror still on his face. His throat had been slit, and an obscene about of blood had pooled beneath his feet onto the ground and chair.

Boulder's face was grim as he took a step forward. He gently touched the dead man,

"His body is still a bit warm. He hasn't been dead for long. Two hours, maybe four maximum."

General Arltzwalt was still silent,

'Could it be they've gotten inside already? No... That isn't the bastard's style. Then...'

"General, it is either one of two things." Crane who had followed them in said, his face and voice grim.

"It is either our enemies have infiltrated our camp and are hiding in the shadows, or..."

His voice trembled at the end,

"We have a traitor amongst us."

***

BANG!

Smashing her foot into a door, the entire door, and even the wooden frame were dislodged from the wall.

Lucia cursed out loud. Falling to the ground she held her head in her hands,

"These bastards! These idiots!"

She was powerful, but not powerful enough to influence the decisions of the General.

'Maybe if Boulder says something...'

Deep down, she knew it was impossible.

Because to the General, the only way they would win this war, was by taking as much advantage as possible over every possible situation.

It was terrible, but it was reality nonetheless.

"Cain..."

He was annoying, more than a bit arrogant, and he had no charm whatsoever. However, she did like him quite a bit. He had helped them a lot, and had saved her on multiple occasions.

And yet, she was about to betray him...

The realization that she couldn't do anything about it cut deep, filling her with even more frustrated and anger for herself.

'Damn it.'

They often say despair comes in more than one form...

The sound of footsteps approaching filled her ears.

She didn't even need to look up to know who it was.

A slight feeling of happiness entered her heart. Despite feeling this way, there was always someone that appeared by her side. Someone she knew she could trust with everything.

She sighed, "Khan. I'm not in the mood for your–"

As she lifted her head up, a frown settled onto her face.

She saw Khan approaching her indeed, but something was different.

A crowd of men and women followed behind him, armed with blades, guns, and other weapons.

Khan himself had that same calm smile he always had. His slightly darker skin tone made him stand out from the rest in the dim lighting of Evernight.

Even his smile seemed a lot more sinister than it should have been.

Worse, the same curved blades in his hands were drenched in blood.

Lucia stood up from the ground, her body tense.

"Khan... What is this? What are you doing?"

Khan's smile turned a bit softer,

"Lucia. Let's go find Boulder together."

She raised a brow, "Sure, let's go do that. But you have to answer me first. Why are there so many people behind you? What's going on? Are we entering the battle again?"

Khan was silent for a few moments.

The smile on his face died just a little bit,

"No, nothing like that."

Then he sighed, "Lucia, wouldn't you agree with me when I say that the General has gone mad?"

Lucia's lips parted, but she couldn't say anything.

Khan's smile returned, "See? You do believe me."

"Not only did he make us leave Cain and his people behind, he's also forcing us to fight for no other reason than his stupid pride. Yes, his pride. Nothing more or less! Can you believe that?!"

A look of concern appeared on Lucia's face,

"Khan, what have you done?"

Khan paused for a moment, a look of confusion on his face,

"You still don't understand what is happening?"

Lucia shook her head. In reality, she had an idea. However, he desperately didn't want to believe it.

Khan sighed, then raised a finger,

"Mercy. They will offer mercy to those who surrender and even more to those who join me in taking that old idiot's head off his neck for him. I've already killed a lot of old fools today, I doubt one more will be any different."

Lucia sucked in a deep breath,

"I see..."

Then she smiled. Her smile was radiant and beautiful. Even with one of her eyes covered, she still looked breathtaking under the glow of the moon,

"But this isn't the way to do it. I admit. The General has lost his way. His mind has been corrupted with rage and thoughts of vengeance. He's lost sight of why he built this place to begin with."

Then she shook her head,

"But that's besides the point. Khan, I am many things, but a traitor isn't one of them. I doubt Boulder would disagree with me. Although I hate the General for making us abandon Cain, I'll take care of it in my own way."

Khan sighed softly and turned to look at the sky,

"How naive of you, Lucia."

When his eyes came back to her, Lucia felt as though she couldn't recognize them at all. This was not the same eyes she had known all this time.

Her eyes widened,

"You..."

Light shine in Khan's hands as he pulled an item out of his inventory.

He gave it a brief stare before placing it on his face.

It was a mask. The mask was a stark, pristine white.

However, it has three dark slits, two slits as the eyes and one that stretched from both corners of the mask as the mouth to make a rather eerie and off-putting smile.

Despite Khan putting it on, the darkness in both slits remained, so his eyes and mouth couldn't be seen.

"Lucia, it is quite unfortunate that you would reject my request despite me not even asking yet. So I will give you one chance."

Khan stretched his hand out,

"Please, would you join me in bringing this place down? I promise you, Balangol is merciful. I will make sure both you and Boulder have a place in Valestorm. Even Cain and his people will be spared. All you need to do is join me."

It sounded sincere enough, but Lucia shook her head,

"Whatever it is that has possessed you, I'll beat it right out of you, Khan!"

Khan was silent...

'Those eyes... are still as stubborn as ever, huh...'

"Very well."

He waved his hand, and the men behind him raced forward, passing Lucia from both sides, leaving them alone.

Lucia frowned, "Where are they going?"

"To finish spreading the flames."

As he spoke, he shook the blood off the curved blades in his hands,

"I didn't want it to come to this, but I guess fate has a way of playing you."

He looked down again his swords, then his gaze turned back to Lucia.

He let out a chuckle then bowed his head slightly,

"Still, I suppose I should still observe proper etiquette. Lucia, prepare yourself, as you are about to face the Fool of the Head Priests in battle."

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