CHAPTER 447

ORIGIN WAR (IV)

The fortress clad in ebony stone and high spires and towers sped rapidly through the phasing reality, surrounded on two opposite ends by massive chunks of rocks sporting individual biomes and millions of souls. It was an eternally breathtaking sight, one of a kind, that left many, be the fortress' or Sects' natives, wordless. As the massive structure whizzed through the spacetime at the speeds few could accept for such large objects, it left behind a folded trail of smoky clouds, as though leaving behind breadcrumbs for the seekers. Yet, they were not sought – they knew.

The whole of the world now had its eyes turned toward the far East, beyond the Edge, to the home of the Dragons.

Standing tall on the walls were Eggor, Hannah, Val, and several dozen others, including Litha and Vyrove, all of whom had rather dark and desolate expressions. Primul joined them all of a sudden, his hair disheveled, appearing short of breath.

“And?” Eggor quickly asked, turning toward him.

“Impossible,” Primul shook his head, sighing deeply. “Any faster than this and the entire formation might come undone. Even this is risky, but we can still maintain for the time being.”

“—it is fine,” Hannah said. “They’ll hold on until we arrive.”

“Yeah, they will.” Val nodded. “They must.”

Though very few words were spoken, a much larger discourse remained understood between all of them; this, after all, was not meant to happen. Lino and others were merely supposed to be a temporary distraction as it played well in the actual reason for going to the Dragon Isles. Yet, the simplest of messages that they received just recently had sent them all on a spiraling cesspool of dark thoughts – Origin War was declared. Hurry up.

They hurried as much as they could. Even still, they were hours away from their destination. Could they hold on for hours? Perhaps. They all chose to believe so. Lino was there. So was Ella. And Amadeel. And Titus. And Vy. And they perhaps even had the freed Dragons. That wasn’t a weak army. That was an army that could fight, withstand, perhaps even push back. They’d endure – they all chose to believe.

Litha and Vyrove stood hand in hand, their expressions creased; though they hardly interacted with the Empyrean ever since they were brought here, it was, to them at the very least, irrelevant. They’d found a home, a place they could be anything they wanted. Nobody forced them to cultivate. To fight. To uphold a specific standard. They lived freely, enjoying all the liberties. Now it was time to repay – though no one still asked.

They glanced at one another stealthily and nodded, the reflection of their inner resolve visible in the other’s eyes; they shimmered with hardened shine, unbent yet.

“You should go back,” Eggor put his hand gently on Hannah’s shoulder, his expression mellowing. “You look exhausted.”

“… I can’t go back,” she replied, her gaze still focused at the indiscernible distance. “Not until I see him.”

“He’ll be just fine. He always has—”

“This is different,” she interrupted. “You know it’s different, Eggor. Origin War… they really declared the Origin War. Everyone’s there. And knowing him, he’ll send the rest off while he tries to hold back the onslaught. Tell me,” she finally glanced at him, her eyes teary, nearly capsizing at their ends. “In your heart of hearts… do you think he’ll be just fine?”

“—I do,” Eggor nodded firmly. “I really do.”

“I should be there with him. I should be by his side—”

“You are right where you’re supposed to be,” Val joined in, stroking her hair lightly. “Don’t be stupid. Have faith in him. He’s just become a father. Do you really think he’d endanger losing that?”

“… you don’t know him, at least not as well as I do,” Hannah mumbled, lowering her head, her voice cracking slightly. “If it meant saving all of us, ensuring all of us have peaceful and happy lives till our deaths, he wouldn’t hesitate – not even for a second – to sacrifice himself for it. Becoming a father… won’t change that about him. If anything, it will only strengthen his resolve.”

“…”

Silence took over once more, bearing down on their shoulders heavily. Primul heard Hannah's voice resonate inside his mind repeatedly and quickly realized she was right. It wasn't as though the young lad was a holistic savior – but life had turned him unhinged. If there was one flaw, Primul thought, that he could point to, it was that Lino thought of every life as precious. He put every loss on his shoulders. That weight… never gets any easier to bear. And no matter how resilient he may seem, he was not invincible. Nobody is. And if there is one way to pile on bodies on top of one’s shoulder, it is a war. A war of boundless scale, one that even he himself hadn’t experienced.

Countless men and women throughout history have been crushed under the weight of their sins. There is no such thing as a perfectly endurable soul, a heart that can uphold the weight of the world without cracking. He knew, however, Lino’s time was yet to come; he would be fine for now. He knew he was irreplaceable, that without him the past four decades would all be undone and all his work would have been in vain.

But, the struggle was long and all-encompassing. If he’s to weather the storm of decades and centuries to come, this was not the way for it. Sighing silently, Primul sat down, heaving his legs off the edge, closing his eyes. There was no point in worrying. Only having faith.

**

Though it was only a few hours, trekking the distance felt like an eternity; the number of souls on top of the wall had risen considerably, especially so after the news spread throughout the fortress.

Just recently, Myveen forcibly dragged Hannah from the wall and forced her back into her room for rest while Alex and Cain hopped onto the wall, their expressions solemn. Though neither participated in the Origin War personally, the stories were more than enough to freeze the blood in their veins.

One of the main reasons why the general population, be it of Humans or other races, remained consistently low despite the long passage of time is essentially entirely due to the Origin War – often referenced as ‘the Culling’ by most of the ordinary people. Tens, if not hundreds, of billions die each round. The following millions of years are reserved for essentially bringing the populations back up to a somewhat decent level.

“Stop!!” Primul cried out suddenly as the fortress, and the orbiting islands at this point, came to a slow halt. Just as they phased back into the reality, they saw the black swarm cover their horizon – winged creatures spanning as far as they could see approached them, led by a very familiar figure.

Vy stopped right in front of the fortress as the passengers began disembarking one by one – Lucky, Alison, Titus, Ayar, Seya and terrible-looking Amadeel.

While most looked to those disembarking, Alex’s, Cain’s and Primul’s eyes veered off onto the army of the Dragons. Though their numbers were relatively high, a high number of them were a breath away from dying, while the majority were covered in still-bleeding wounds. It was a beyond-ghastly of a sight, causing their hearts to still as two figures failed to appear – Lino and Ella.

Titus and Lucky gently lay Amadeel down among the crowd that quickly split apart, some due to the fear of the swarm of Dragons and some due to respect. Amadeel coughed a few times, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood, trying to catch a clean breath.

“—h-help… help him…” he muttered weekly, staring deeply into Alex’s and Cain’s eyes. Him?!

Both immediately realized what the old man meant causing them to alarmingly look into each other’s eyes.

“TO ARMS!!!!!” both screamed out at the same time, causing the entire fortress and the islands to shake and quake in the sky.

As the Dragons slowly began settling into the orbit and onto the islands to rest, while the few brave shamans and doctors dared walk over and dress their wounds slowly, Primul took the helm of the formation with Alex’s help, while Cain began organizing the army.

Lucky quickly called out all the Shadows and began preparing the instructions for them; though she knew they wouldn’t have much of an impact, especially having seen first-hand the sheer scale of the battle, she felt extremely angry with herself, having to do something.

Seya carried passed out Ayar into the fortress; the poor lad had woken up thrice only to witness scenes that his mind could not process, passing out right after.

Alison listened to Hannah’s master, Myveen, and went into the latter’s chambers to ensure Hannah stays there.

Titus, released from the burden of protecting those atop Vy, almost charged out of the fortress on his own, barely held back by Cain in the end.

Eggor still stood restless on the wall, unsure what to do. He was not a fighter. Not a soldier. Though he could fight using a variety of tools, he had never participated in a war. In a battle of this scale – scale within which even the majestic Dragons fell like flies from the sky. He pondered, harrowingly consumed, how that little boy that he picked up in the back alley, that skinny lad who was terrified of others, forever entombed within the joking façade, how that little boy was now capable of upholding the world all on his own.

All around him, as he watched, he saw innumerable souls speeding through, their expressions fearless, full of resolve. Everyone here was ready to fight. Was ready to die. Was willing to lay their lives down for that obnoxious boy. No, Eggor mused, shaking his head, he was no longer a boy. He stopped being a boy a long time ago. All the same, it was his son. Perhaps not bloodbound, but certainly soulbound.

He wasn’t a fighter? Or a soldier? He never fought in a war? None of those things mattered. Today he would be all that and more. He would rise above himself. Do whatever he can and more. Just as he would die for Cae, he would do so for Lino. Without an ounce of hesitation. Without an ounce of fear… he would welcome Death with open arms if it meant She would miss him.