Blood had long since become an ordinary sight.
It stained the earth beneath my boots, seeped into the frozen soil, and flowed like crimson streams between shattered weapons and broken shields.
The once-green plains had become a graveyard, where crows circled patiently overhead, waiting for the victors to leave.
I lowered my sword.
The knight before me stared blankly, a thin line of blood tracing down his neck before he collapsed without another sound.
Around me, the battle was drawing to its inevitable conclusion.
"The left flank has broken!"
"They're retreating!"
"Advance!"
Thousands of Imperial soldiers surged forward, their battle cries drowning out the screams of the fleeing enemy.
I simply watched.
Two years.
It had been two years since I left the Forbidden Forest.
Two years since I buried my emotions beneath this suit of Imperial armor.
And two years since I learned that hatred alone wasn't enough to destroy an empire.
You needed patience.
"You there!"
