"Stop!"
At the head of the massive army, Valeria suddenly halted and raised her fist. The order passed backward through the formation until the marching soldiers gradually stopped behind her.
She drew a slow breath through her nose, and her expression tightened.
"Something isn't right. Can't you smell blood?"
Valeria turned toward the horizon and saw crimson clouds approaching at an unnatural speed. Moments later, the first blood-colored drops struck their armor, followed by a wave of rain that swept over the entire army and continued far beyond them while the crimson clouds spread in every direction.
It was no ordinary rain. The drops smelled strongly of blood, and they carried a sorrow so deep that even the most hardened soldiers fell silent beneath it. Some glanced toward the sky while others stared at the crimson trails running down their armor, all of them grieving for something they did not even know they had lost.
