Then slowly
it began to rain.
At first, it was light. Barely noticeable. Just a few drops falling from the sky, tapping softly against the broken ground and shattered stone. But within moments, the rain grew steadier, washing over the battlefield, mixing with ash, dirt, and blood.
Maelkris stood over Solarynth, his gaze lowered, those hollow, abyssal eyes fixed on the figure lying beneath him—helpless… defeated.
There was no excitement in his expression.
No satisfaction.
Only cold certainty.
"Next time…" he said quietly,
"…I won't stop."
His wings burst outward from his back, spreading wide as the rain slid off their dark, razor-edged feathers. He turned away without hesitation, as if the outcome no longer needed his attention.
"Come find me…" he continued, his voice carrying through the rain,
"…when you understand what you are."
With a single powerful motion, he flapped his wings.
The force pushed against the ground, scattering dust and rainwater as his body lifted into the air. Without another glance, he ascended into the dark sky, his servants following close behind, their forms disappearing into his shadow.
And just like that
he was gone.
The battlefield fell silent once more.
Only the sound of rain remained.
Solarynth lay on the ground, unmoving at first. The cold rain struck his face, sliding down slowly as his fingers dug into the mud beneath him, gripping it tightly.
His body trembled.
Not from pain
but from something deeper.
"…why am I so weak…?" he whispered.
His voice was low, unsteady.
"I couldn't…" he swallowed, his grip tightening in the dirt,
"…even avenge him…"
Footsteps approached.
Heavy, Steady.
Steel Beard stopped beside him, looking down at the boy lying in the mud.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he extended his hand.
"Need a hand?" he asked simply.
Solarynth looked up at him.
There was hesitation.
Then slowly, he reached out, grabbing Steel Beard's hand. With a firm pull, he was brought back to his feet, though his body still struggled to stay steady.
"I couldn't stop him…" Solarynth muttered.
Steel Beard nodded once.
Not dismissing it.
Not arguing.
Just acknowledging it.
"…Let's get you patched up," he said.
He pulled Solarynth's arm over his shoulder, supporting his weight as they began to walk through the rain-soaked ruins.
Not far from them, Grace knelt beside Louis.
Her hands moved quickly at first, checking, searching, hoping—anything.
But the truth didn't change.
He was gone.
Her movements slowed.
Then stopped.
A single tear slipped down her cheek, mixing with the rain as she lowered her head.
Solarynth saw it.
And something inside him—
shifted.
A feeling he didn't fully understand before.
Heavy.
Tight.
Unavoidable.
Sadness.
He clenched his teeth, his gaze lowering as the weight of it pressed deeper into him.
Nearby, Asura stirred.
He lifted his head slowly, shaking it as he forced himself back to awareness. His vision blurred for a moment before clearing, and instinctively, he pushed himself up, panic flashing across his face.
"The fight—" he muttered, quickly looking around.
But there was no fight.
Only ruins, Smoke.
Rain.
And loss.
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Something quieter.
Solarynth moved forward, step by step, with Steel Beard still supporting him. His eyes never left one place, Louis.
He stopped in front of him.
The rain fell harder now, soaking through everything.
Slowly, Solarynth reached out—
his hand trembling slightly as it closed around part of Louis' gear.
"…Captain…" he said softly.
No response came.
Only the sound of rain and the weight of what was lost.
The rain continued to fall without pause, turning the battlefield into a cold, unforgiving stretch of mud and ash. What remained of the smith village stood broken and scattered, smoke rising faintly from what had once been homes, workspaces, and lives. The sound of destruction had long faded, replaced only by the steady rhythm of rain striking armor, stone, and flesh alike.
Then, from beyond the ruined gates, the sound of hooves broke through the stillness.
Fast. Urgent. Controlled.
A formation of armored knights pushed through the wreckage, their horses splashing through waterlogged ground as they forced their way into what remained of the village. Torches flickered against the rain, their light barely holding against the darkness that lingered over the battlefield.
At the front of them rode Alexander.
He pulled sharply on the reins, his horse halting as his eyes scanned the devastation in front of him. The destruction was immediate, overwhelming, undeniable. This was not the aftermath of a small raid or a contained conflict this was something far worse.
Something they had failed to reach in time.
Alexander stepped down from his horse, boots landing heavily against the soaked ground. His posture remained firm, disciplined, but his gaze shifted slowly across the battlefield, taking in every detail. The broken structures. The wounded. The silence that lingered where battle once stood.
And then
his eyes found Louis.
For a brief moment, Alexander did not move.
The realization settled in quietly, but deeply. He didn't need words to understand what had happened. The stillness of the body, the absence of breath, the way the others stood around him
it was already clear.
Behind him, the knights slowed, their formation loosening as they absorbed the scene. Some lowered their weapons slightly, others looked around as if expecting the enemy to still be present, but none of them spoke. The weight of arriving too late pressed down on all of them.
Not far from where Louis lay, Solarynth stood.
He had already felt them coming.
Even before they entered the village, even before their presence broke the silence—
he knew.
Slowly, he turned.
Rain slid down his face, mixing with dirt and something deeper, something heavier that refused to surface fully. His body was still worn from the battle, supported moments ago, but now he stood on his own, unmoving, his gaze locking onto the approaching figures.
Alexander met his eyes.
And in that instant
he felt it.
Something raw. Unstable. Unfamiliar.
Not just anger.
Something deeper.
"Now you show up."
The words left Solarynth's mouth low and controlled, but they carried through the rain with a weight that made several of the knights behind Alexander stiffen instinctively.
Everything paused.
Even the rain seemed quieter in that moment.
Alexander's expression didn't harden, but it shifted. Confusion flickered for only a brief second before settling into something more serious, more focused. He took a step forward, his voice steady, measured.
"We came as soon as we—"
"As soon as what?"
Solarynth cut him off without hesitation.
His voice sharpened, the control in it beginning to fracture. It wasn't loud, but it didn't need to be. There was something in the way he spoke that made the air itself feel heavier.
He took a step forward.
Then another.
Each step slow, deliberate, closing the distance between them.
"You came…" he said, his eyes locked onto Alexander without wavering,
"…after it was over."
The words didn't explode.
They settled.
And that made them worse.
The knights behind Alexander shifted slightly, tension building among them as they felt the pressure in the air. None of them intervened. None of them moved. They could feel that this was not a moment to interrupt.
Alexander held his ground.
He didn't reach for his weapon.
He didn't raise his voice.
He simply stood there, facing Solarynth directly.
"You weren't here," Solarynth continued, his breathing beginning to grow uneven, though he tried to control it. "You didn't see what happened."
He took another step forward, closer now, close enough for the space between them to feel suffocating.
"He was still fighting," he said, his voice tightening.
"He was still standing."
For just a moment, his eyes flicked toward Louis' body.
Then back to Alexander.
"And you weren't here."
The rain struck harder, running down both of them, dripping from armor, from hair, from the edges of broken steel scattered across the ground.
Alexander remained silent.
He let the words land.
He let them exist.
Solarynth's fists clenched at his sides, his fingers tightening slowly, almost unconsciously. His body trembled—not from exhaustion this time, but from something else. Something he didn't fully understand.
"I was there," he said, quieter now, but far more unstable.
"I saw everything."
His jaw tightened as he spoke, his voice beginning to crack, not loudly, not dramatically—but enough to break the control he had been holding onto.
"I saw him fall."
The words lingered in the air.
Heavy.
Final.
"…and I couldn't do anything."
There it was.
Not anger.
Not accusation.
Truth.
His head lowered slightly, his breath uneven now, his shoulders rising and falling as if the weight of everything had finally caught up to him.
Alexander stepped forward again, slower this time, more careful. The tension between them hadn't lessened but it had changed.
"I understand your anger," he said, his voice calm, grounded, steady against the storm.
Solarynth didn't respond immediately.
He didn't look up.
Because part of him knew.
They hadn't chosen to be late.
They hadn't abandoned them.
But that didn't matter.
Not now.
Not when the image of Louis falling still burned in his mind.
Not when the weight of failure sat in his chest, refusing to move.
"…you're late," Solarynth said again, quieter this time.
And somehow
that carried more pain than anything else he had said.