The column moved slowly along the coast. Armor creaked to the rhythm of the march, spears clashed gently, and above all — the sound of the sea, relentless and old.
Vex walked along the front edge of the formation.
The fox mask was on his face, but his gaze was fixed straight ahead, unmoving.
To his left was Rin, as quiet as ever.
On the right — Captain Talin, a veteran of the southern front, a man whose hair was already streaked with salt and gray.
Talin spoke first, his voice carrying more history than emotion.
"I see you're looking at the sea like you're measuring it," Vex says.
"Smart. It's the worst enemy here."
Vex doesn't turn his head.
"Tell me about Prince Poseidon."
Rin raised an eyebrow slightly. Talin laughed—briefly, without joy.
"Ah… Dancer of Death."
The footsteps don't stop.
"That's what they called him," continues Talin.
"He had no equal. Water was his weapon, his shield, and his tomb. Wherever he passed, there remained only silence and wreckage."
Rin adds:
"They say he danced across the battlefield."
"Exactly," confirmed Talin.
"His legions came within fifty kilometers of Solinaris. That was the first time the Empire truly felt fear."
Vex's fingers tightened slightly around the hilt of the katana.
"And then?" asks.
Talin paused for a moment, as if choosing his words.
"And then… he turned."
Rin turned to him.
"Without a battle?"
"Without any orders to attack," says Talin.
"He turned his legions and returned back to the Kingdom of Thalassa."
The sea washes over the rocks below them.
"His father…the king of Thalassa…couldn't forgive that," Talin continued.
"He said he had disgraced the crown. That he had shown weakness in the face of fire."
Vex's voice is low.
"What did he do to him."
Talin doesn't look at Vex or Rin.
"He blinded him."
The footsteps of the convoy echo louder.
"And then… executed."
Silence falls between them.
Rin spoke first, coldly:
"If he was second to none… why did he retire?"
Talin shrugged.
"No one knows. Some say he saw something in Solinaris. Some say he understood the price of victory."
Vex finally spoke, quietly but sharply:
"Or he realized that war consumes everything. Even the gods."
Talin looked at him under the eye.
"You know…" he says slowly, "when people talk about Heartless Sharpshooter today, I see the same fear in their eyes that they once had of the Dancer of Death."
Vex doesn't respond.
The column continues its march.
Somewhere far away, in the depths of Thalassa, the water gently stirs—
as if he remembers a name that no one says out loud anymore.
Poseidon.
Day after day, night after night — a tireless march through salty wind, muddy roads and a coast that smelled of war. People fell from exhaustion, got up again, because the southern front did not forgive weakness.
And then… it arrived.
________________________________________
The southern front opened before them.
The sea was gray, restless, as if breathing together with the army. The vast encampments of the Pyra Solinaris Empire stretched along the coast—tents, ballistae, towers of black stone, smoke spiraling skyward.
On the opposite side, far beyond the shoals and rocks, the position of the Kingdom of Thalassa could be seen. Their flags fluttered like waves—blue, silver, cold.
The soldiers fell silent.
Even the toughest veterans knew where they came from.
Rin spoke softly.
"War is different here."
Captain Talin nodded.
"Here the enemy does not come with a shout. It comes with a tide."
Vex stood on the edge of the cliff.
The wind tugged at his cloak, the fox's mask squeaked slightly.
Under the mask, his eyes — cold, deep, sleepless.
In the chest, the fire... calm. For now.
He didn't say anything.
He didn't have to.
This was the front where legends fell,
where the gods chose whether to reawaken—
or shut up forever.
And so…
the war has arrived.
The southern front was waiting.
First Action on the Southern Front – Council of War
The night before the battle.
A large tent of dark canvas was illuminated by bluish crystals. The leather and wood map clearly showed the shores, shoals, underwater rocks, and currents.
Captain Talin stood over the map.
"Thalassa does not defend land," he said calmly.
"They defend water. If we enter recklessly, the sea will swallow us."
The general of the southern front adds:
"Scouts report that the water ninja are retreating deliberately. It is a decoy."
Eyes turn to Vex.
Rin speaks first:
"There are underwater channels under the shore. If they pull us in there, separate the formations… we are finished."
Lyra quietly but firmly:
"There are wounded from previous skirmishes. This will not be a quick fight."
Talin then points to a narrow stretch of shore—the Nereth Rock Shoal.
"First action.
Mission: destroy their advance guard and force them to reveal themselves."
He looked at Vex.
"Shadow goes first."
Silence.
Vex nodded once.
"How many men?"
"Thirty water warriors. Elite."
Vex, emotionless:
"Enough."
________________________________________
First Battle – Nereth Rock Shoal
The fog lay low over the water.
The sea was quiet—too quiet.
The Shadow moved soundlessly. Black silhouettes slithered across the wet stone, like ghosts. Vex was ahead—fox mask, katana on his back, precise steps.
Suddenly…
Shh—
The water rose.
From the shallows emerged warriors of Thalassa, their bodies encased in water armor, their eyes cold as the depths.
"VEX!" one shouted.
"It's the Heartless Blade!"
The attack begins.
Water whips cut the air. Waves crash against the rocks. A Shadow operative is pulled underwater—disappearing without a cry.
Vex doesn't stop.
The katana comes out of its sheath with a soft clang of steel.
The first strike—clean, precise.
The second—the opponent falls into the water, blood mingling with the sea.
"His blade…" one enemy shouts, retreating,
"…cuts as if it had no heart!"
Vex raises his hand.
Fire is born — but different.
The flame does not spread.
It does not rage.
It burns quietly.
In one sweep, the red-orange flame vaporizes the wall of water. The steam explodes into fog. The enemies panic — the water no longer obeys them.
One warrior of Thalassa manages to break through the defenses — a water blade cuts his shoulder.
Blood.
Vex didn't even look at the wound.
He entered among them.
Katana, fire, movement.
No anger. No words.
When the fog clears — the shallows are quiet.
Twenty-eight bodies.
The two survivors run into the sea.
Rin approaches, panting.
"They pulled back on purpose… but now they know."
Lyra kneels next to the wounded Shadow.
"This is just the beginning."
Vex resheaths the katana.
It looks towards the sea.
"Then let them come."