Part 1
At noon the day after the failed attack on Mist Valley, the guards stationed on the great wall of Varka, the capital of the Kingdom of Valheim, spotted two figures on the horizon.
"Isn't that... General Montero?" one of the lookouts asked, narrowing his eyes.
"It looks like it... and he's riding with one of the Heroes," his partner replied.
A chill ran down the young guard's spine.
"But... where's the rest of the army?"
An uneasy silence spread across the wall as more soldiers gathered at the watch post to see what was happening.
"Ring the bell. They probably came back for some reason."
The sound of the bell echoed throughout the walls of Varka.
The citizens stopped what they were doing and gathered in front of the main gate, behind the line of soldiers. Those bells did not announce an enemy attack, but the return of an expedition.
Ulises Montero rode forward with a hardened expression, accompanied only by Riku Daigo, who kept his eyes fixed on the ground, unable to meet the gaze of a single citizen.
"General Ulises Montero, welcome back!" the gate guard greeted him.
The general answered with a slight nod.
The massive gates of Varka slowly opened, and the two of them rode silently into the capital.
The citizens, gathered behind the line of soldiers, watched the two men in confusion as they moved forward without saying a single word.
"General Montero! How is the campaign going?" one citizen asked with obvious curiosity.
...
"General! Why are you so quiet?" another insisted.
...
"My son serves in the Dragon Riders Guard! Can you tell me how he's doing?"
...
The questions came one after another, but Montero never turned his head even once. It wasn't arrogance or contempt. Nor did it have anything to do with his rank.
How could he look a mother in the eyes and tell her that her son had died because of him?
How could he tell a wife that she would never embrace her husband again?
How could he tell a father that his daughter had been devoured by monsters?
The answer was simple.
He couldn't.
Montero knew he had to remain silent until he met with the king and the Royal Council. A single word would be enough to throw the people of Valheim into panic.
No one could find out that an army of ten thousand soldiers had been almost completely wiped out in just a few hours.
Not yet.
At last, Montero and Riku Daigo arrived at the royal castle, where the Royal Guard was already waiting for them.
The general got off his horse and fixed his eyes on the captain of the guard.
"I need to speak with His Majesty... immediately."
There wasn't the slightest hint of calm in his voice.
The guard nodded and hurried into the castle. Meanwhile, Montero cast one last glance at the citizens gathered behind him. They were all waiting for an answer that, for now, he simply could not give.
After standing in the castle's great hall for nearly two hours, the general never stopped pacing back and forth like an animal trapped inside a cage, trying to bring order to the chaos of thoughts filling his mind. A few yards away, Riku Daigo kept his head lowered, unable to process everything that had happened.
His friend had died right before his eyes with a coldness he had never imagined possible.
That was when he understood the truth.
This wasn't a game or a fantasy.
It was a real world.
And in that world, people died.
At last, the doors to the Royal Council chamber opened. Montero stepped inside without wasting a second, followed by a Hero who had completely lost his spirit.
As he crossed the doorway, he found a long table surrounded by nobles, advisors, high-ranking officials, and representatives of the Church of Yoru. Men and women who were used to deciding the kingdom's future from the comfort of their seats, as if the whole world belonged to them.
"General Montero! What are you doing here instead of on the battlefield?" the king asked in obvious disbelief. "Don't tell me you've come to ask for more resources."
A few chuckles spread through the room, followed by the laughter of several council members.
Montero remained expressionless.
"The campaign against Mist Valley has failed... The army has been devastated."
The laughter vanished at once, replaced by murmurs that spread throughout the chamber.
The king stood up and raised a hand to quiet everyone.
"Since when did you become a comedian, Montero? Don't tell me old age has..."
"Tch..."
The click of his tongue cut him off.
"You still refuse to listen to me... What's the point of being the kingdom's general if no one takes my reports seriously?"
"Insolence!" shouted the representative of the Church of Yoru. "Show respect before His Majesty!"
Montero slowly turned his eyes toward the elderly pontiff and gave him a bitter smile.
"Father Giovanni... why don't you go see it for yourself? Or is leaving the church not on your schedule either?"
The pontiff's face tightened as he gripped his staff with both hands.
"Damn you..."
The tension inside the chamber rose in an instant. Even so, the king still refused to accept reality. His mind simply could not believe that an army of ten thousand soldiers had been almost completely wiped out in a single day.
"Enough!"
Riku Daigo's voice echoed powerfully throughout the chamber.
Everyone turned to look at the young Hero.
"You weren't there..."
His voice was shaking.
"It was a massacre..."
He clenched his fists tightly before continuing.
"That attack... was our death sentence."
Silence once again filled the chamber.
The young man's face showed the trauma of someone who had survived hell itself.
What had really happened in Mist Valley?