It had been seven days since the broadcast. The heroes gathered inside Light's mansion, speaking quietly about tactics of war, when a sudden knock echoed from the front door. Albert checked the cameras then froze."Master Light… you have company." Light frowned. "Who can it be?" His tone carried anger and confusion. Without waiting for an explanation, Light walked straight to the door and opened it. He stopped cold. Outside his compound stood thousands of people packed together. Men, women, children. Entire families. A sea of faces.The man at the front was a massive islander, broad‑shouldered and calm."Hello," the man said. "My name is Tupu. I am the leader of this village you see now." Light opened his mouth. "Well, I'm "Tupu raised a hand, stopping him. "I know who you are. And I believe my son has joined your movement." Light blinked. Toa's father? Tupu continued, "Your fellow soldier Ice told us where to find him if we ever needed him. And I am here to aid and assist you heroes in your battle."At that moment, Toa stepped out from the mansion."Father!" he shouted, running forward and hugging Tupu tightly. "I missed you."Tupu smiled, placing a hand on his son's back. "We missed you too. All of us."Toa looked up and his eyes widened. His entire village stood behind Tupu. Every face familiar. Every heart loyal.Men. Women. Children. All of them.Tupu said, "We decided to follow the footsteps of our future leader." Toa was too shocked to speak at first. Then he nodded, stepped forward, raised his arm high, and shouted "My people! Alone we are weak, but together we are unstoppable!" The crowd roared. Upstairs, Ice watched from a window with the other heroes. He smiled." Turns out Tupu's people changed their mind," Ice said softly. "Thank you." Down below, Tupu looked up and spotted Ice in the window. He lifted his arm and did the two finger salute. The New World Milita signal, proud gesture of greeting and goodbye. Ice nodded back and gave him a two‑finger salute. And in that moment, Ice thought We do have a chance.
Prelim Of War 2
Three days had passed since the arrival of Tupu and his people. Light's compound had transformed into a living war camp small tents everywhere, soldiers training, cooking, sharpening weapons, preparing for the coming storm. And they weren't alone. More villages had joined the fight. Malik, Luke's ally, arrived with five thousand men and women ready to stand with their ground. Tupu's group numbered seven thousand five hundred.
Thomas and Sophie's allies from New Eden received the message as well, arriving with three thousand strong. Lucifer's broadcast had spread across the world at the exact same moment.
Everyone heard it. Everyone understood the threat. Now they were all here. Luke, Thomas, and Ice stood together, watching the sea of troops building tents, preparing food, organizing supplies. Light's compound no longer looked like a mansion it looked like a fortress. A war camp filled with soldiers from every race on Earth. A raven landed on Luke's shoulder. Luke smirked. "This right here… I never expected this much support." Ice nodded. "Neither did I." Thomas added, "With a leader like you, Luke… I'll follow you too." Luke nodded back then the raven screamed "People coming! Lots of them! Caw! Caw!" Ice blinked. "Where has that thing been?" The raven flapped its wings. "Caw! Caw! I been recruiting! Caw!" Luke raised an eyebrow. "Recruiting who?" The raven pointed its beak. "Caw! She's over there! Caw!" Luke, Thomas, and Ice all turned at the same time. And what they saw made their eyes widen. A massive unit of armored soldiers approached knights in pristine medieval armor, riding horses draped in decorated cloth. Their formation was perfect, disciplined, powerful. Luke whispered, "Who is that?" The raven puffed its chest. "Caw! My recruits! Caw!" Sophie and Kwame rushed to meet the group at the front gate."Who are you?" Sophie asked.The lead knight rode forward decorated armor, badges, colors. She moved with elegance. Slowly, she removed her helmet. Sophie and Kwame froze. A blonde woman with striking blue eyes looked down at them beautiful, calm, commanding."Sorry," she said. "I was hoping the raven warned you of my arrival." Sophie blinked. The raven? Luke's raven?Before she could speak, Pooch came sprinting out of nowhere wearing a helmet too big for his head, holding a spear twice his size."You won't hurt my master!" he yelled. At the last second, Sophie grabbed the spear and stopped him. Pooch froze, confused."They're here to help," Sophie said. Pooch lowered his head. "Sorry, master… I didn't know.""It's okay," Sophie said. "Go alert Thomas and the others." Pooch snapped into a stiff salute and ran off. Sophie turned back to the knight. "Sorry about that. My name is Sophie. This is Kwame."The woman dismounted gracefully. "Nice to meet you. My name is Johanna… but my friends call me Johan."Sophie and Johan shook hands an alliance sealed."Let me show you around," Sophie said.Johan signaled her troops, and the entire knight formation followed her into the compound."How many soldiers do you have?" Sophie asked."About ten thousand," Johan replied. "Mostly women." Sophie blinked. "Mostly women?" Johan smiled. "Yes. Our village is majority women. But don't let their beauty fool you… they are well‑prepared and seasoned."