Deep in the mountains, beneath the cold breath of winter nights, a man in his forties sat beside a fire with a young girl of eighteen or twenty. The winter had arrived, and the air was biting and cruel.
The man was covered in dark armor, a large black cloak draped over his body. Despite his age, he still looked young and strikingly handsome.
His hair was jet black, and a short beard framed his strong jaw. From his appearance alone, it was clear he was a high-ranking officer.
Across the fire sat a girl in standard military armor of dull grey. Her dark red hair was neatly tied into a ponytail beneath her cap. She, too, had wrapped herself in a large black cloak to fend off the mountain chill. Together, they sat quietly, the crackling of the fire and the sizzle of cooking meat filling the silence of the night.
She was Elysia. This was when she had first joined the army.
"Ah… Captain, if you don't mind," Elysia began hesitantly, her voice small against the whispering wind. "Can I ask you a question?" She glanced at the man, nervous, almost fearful.
"I told you," the man replied in a cold, measured tone, his eyes fixed on the flames. "There will be no questions. You do only what I ask you to do. There is nothing else you need to know."
His words struck sharply, and Elysia instantly regretted speaking.
"No, sir… It's not about training," she said quickly. "It's something else. And I'm just… confused about it."
"Go ahead then," he said, flipping the meat over the coals, the aroma of roasted flesh rising with the smoke. "If it's not about finding some secret way to grow stronger, then I can answer a few of your questions, but only a few."
Elysia hesitated for a heartbeat, then finally asked what had been haunting her."Why do you hate the people of the Grind and Ironreach Districts so much? Hating the three great houses of the city is one thing; there are bad people there, yes, but I don't understand your hate for the weak, innocent ones who have done nothing wrong. Your hate for them seems even stronger than for those who actually do evil."
The man let out a dry chuckle, his expression unreadable. "Another fool, I see. Or should I say, another victim of environmental propaganda?" He turned the meat again; the fire hissed, releasing a smoky fragrance into the night.
"A victim of… environmental propaganda?" Elysia repeated, confused.
The man glanced at her, then back to the flames. "You see, Elysia, every man and woman knows only what their environment teaches them. No matter how clever one claims to be, in the end, the environment they grow in shapes their thoughts, their beliefs, their actions."
He sprinkled seasoning over the sizzling meat, then handed a piece to Elysia.
"What do you think, Elysia?" he asked. "Are all men and women created equal?"
Elysia took the meat hesitantly, unsure how to answer. "I… never really thought about that," she said, taking a bite. The meat was perfectly cooked, tender, and rich with flavor.
The man smiled faintly. "If you look closely, we humans are indeed born equal. But it is the environment that decides what we become." He turned another piece of meat, seasoning it as he spoke. "A man born in the Grind has less chance of survival or awakening than one born in Ironreach. And those born in Draycrest are the elites of the elites. Why do you think that is?"
He took a bite and continued, his tone calm but cold. "It's because the people of Draycrest live with fewer worries, fewer burdens, compared to those of Ironreach… and far fewer than those of the Grind."
Elysia frowned slightly. "But I still don't understand. Why do you hate the people of Grind and Ironreach more than those of Draycrest? It's not their fault they were born in such places."
"You think I hate the people of Draycrest less?" He paused, looking up from the fire, his eyes reflecting its glow. "Wrong."
His voice grew heavier, like the echo of old steel. "I hate all those people behind the walls, except for a few. And I only hate those who have been manipulated by their own environment.
Tell me, why is it that we are all created equal at birth, yet some are given better lives than others?
Do they have different bodies?
Are their bones made of steel?
Is there any biologically enhanced liquid flowing through their veins instead of blood?"
Are there bodies made up of gold?
He looked at her sharply.
"No, Elysia. Their bodies are the same as ours. Cut them, and they bleed just like us.
Their blood runs red, their flesh tears, their bones break. And yet, some are powerful, and others are weak. Some rule, and others crawl. Why is that?"
Elysia looked down, unsure what to say. "I… I don't know," she murmured, her regret deepening.
"It's because we are fools," the man said quietly. "Victims of our society. Victims of our environment's propaganda."
His gaze hardened.
"And I hate those who are influenced by it.
I hate those who accept inferiority as truth.
I hate those who have the power to change the world… yet choose to do nothing."
Elysia looked into the fire, her mind reeling. "Then what's the solution for all this?" she asked softly.
The man's answer came calmly, almost serenely. "Absolute justice."
"Absolute… what?"
"I'm talking about justice," he said, his tone low but firm. "The kind that punishes only the guilty. The kind that can strike even the powerful. The kind that spares no name, no title, no wall.
Without it, humankind deserves to be erased by the creatures of the unknown."
His words echoed faintly, carried away by the mountain wind.
And then, silence.
The fire crackled, the stars above flickered dimly, and the night seemed to listen.
Elysia's eyes slowly opened. The sound of the captain's voice still lingered in her mind as she stood on top of the wall, staring down.
"So that's what it's been doing all this time. And I thought we were the only victims," Elysia said, eyes burning as she absorbed the scene.
The sight before her was horrific. Bodies of many men and women lay piled near the base of the wall, their heads smashed against the stone. Those bodies, once human, now formed a gruesome barrier, blocking others from throwing themselves against it.
The echo of his words, Absolute Justice, rang through her ears as she gazed into the chaos below.
Elysia and her team stood atop the massive wall, staring down at the horror unfolding below.
Below them, people, children, adults, and the elderly were clawing over heaps of corpses, trying to reach the wall.They hurled themselves forward, smashing their heads against the black surface that pulsed faintly beneath the moonlight, its skin glinting with dark, scale-like patterns.
"Oh my God… what's happening down there?" Liora gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in shock. Her eyes were wide, trembling. "There are children down there, families! They're… they're killing themselves!"
Varick's eyes darkened, his voice low as memory stirred. "I remember now… five years ago, something like this happened before."
Elysia turned to him sharply. "What do you mean?"
"It was in a report I read once," he continued, gaze fixed on the chaos below. "There were people who suddenly tried to kill themselves in the same way, throwing themselves at a wall just like this. But that time, others managed to restrain them before it spread too far. The army intervened and saved most of them. And the creature behind it… it vanished before anyone could even confirm what it was. But now we can confirm who was behind all of that."
Rylan frowned, confusion in his tone. "What incident are you talking about? What kind of creature could even?"
Before he could finish, Elysia's voice thundered over the comms, filled with commanding fury."All Sergeants! Your new objective is to stop those people from killing themselves! Use whatever means necessary, non-lethal or lethal if you must. Just stop them!"
"Yes, Captain!" Varick and Jaxon answered in unison. They moved without hesitation, ropes and harnesses already in hand, preparing to descend the wall.
"Captain," Rylan called out, looking at her. "What about you? What are you going to do?"
He saw her face then, eyes blazing, her usual calm swallowed by something primal and fierce.Her brown eyes burned with fury, the reflection of the firelight dancing across her pupils like molten gold.
"I'm going to do," she said softly, her voice calm but heavy with restrained rage, "what I should have done in the first place."
She dropped her sniper rifle to the ground; the metallic clang echoed across the wall. Slowly, she raised her hands before her, fingers slicing through the cold air. The space around her shimmered, then tore open.
From the rift, she drew forth a chain. It was long and black as shadow, humming faintly with violet light. At one end, a crimson reaper's blade glowed with a sinister heat; at the other, a star-shaped weight of silver gleamed like captured moonlight.
Wind swirled around her, the sound of metal whispering in the dark. Her coat fluttered as if the air itself feared her resolve.
"I'm going to kill this monstrosity here," she said, her tone deathly calm, each word dripping with fury and purpose.
Varick, Jaxon, and Liora were already climbing down the wall, each using their own Aspect of Affinity. But Rylan still stood frozen at the top, confusion and disbelief written across his face after hearing his captain's declaration.
"Captain, you can't kill that thing all on your own, especially without looking into its eyes. I'll help you this ti—"
"Sergeant Varick!" Elysia's voice cut through the channel like a blade. The anger within her was unmistakable, heavy, and searing even through the earpiece. "I gave you all a very important task. Leave that thing to me. Worry about the people first, and then about me."
She now held the Red Reaper in her right hand, the black chain coiled in her left.
"But Captain, " Rylan began, but she cut him off sharply.
"No buts and ifs, Sergeant. Go down there and save as many people as you can. Don't worry about me." Her voice dropped lower, calm but unyielding. "I am not that weak to begin with."
Elysia began spinning the Red Reaper in her right hand, the chain tightening around her wrist. The blade's rotations carved through the air, producing a low, reaping hum that grew sharper with every turn.
"Rylan opened his mouth to protest, but the look on her face, a cold fire he had never seen before, stole the words from his lips. 'Roger that, Captain,' he said at last..." hesitating only for a second. "But please, if you need our help, don't hesitate to ask." With that, he leapt from the wall, forming a curved slide of water beneath him to descend swiftly into the chaos below.
Now standing alone atop the wall, Elysia's gaze locked on the massive wolf shrouded in a swirling mist of grey. The creature's eyes gleamed faintly through the fog, its breath echoing like thunder. Finally, after a long silence, the defense systems beneath the wall rumbled back to life.
Down below, the four sergeants were already fighting to save the people from themselves.
"Seems like you all need a nap," Varick muttered, lightning crackling from his fingertips. Bolts of controlled electricity coursed through the air, shocking people into unconsciousness, knocking them away from the wall before they could harm themselves.
"These poor souls…" Liora said, her voice trembling as her wind aspect surged. "I can feel your fear. But fear not, I'm here to free you from it." She unleashed a powerful gust, pushing dozens of civilians safely away from the wall.
"These aren't just poor souls, they're fierce," Jaxon grunted, raising his hands. The earth beneath them trembled, rising into a dome of stone that trapped several frenzied people inside before they could hurt themselves. "Look at their eyes… they're not in control."
Rylan stepped forward, streams of water swirling around him. "We need to stop them from getting near the wall! It's like the wall itself is driving them mad." With a powerful sweep, he sent a wave crashing between the humans and the wall, freezing it instantly, trapping their feet in place without harming them.
The team worked in perfect sync, each of them holding back the chaos with precision and restraint. Among the crowd were children, young adults, and the elderly—all consumed by a madness not their own. Every movement had to be careful, every strike deliberate.
And then, suddenly, all four of them heard a voice inside their heads.
"All of us humans are sinful…"
It was Elysia's voice, low, trembling with wrath. She didn't realize her thoughts were transmitting through the comms.
"I know some of us had a lot of sins on our backs, and most of us deserve to be punished…" she whispered, her eyes fixed on the Alpha Wolf below. The Red Reaper spun in her grasp, the chain rattling like the toll of a bell.
"But what about those who've done nothing wrong? The children, the helpless, the ones who've never known cruelty, yet suffer for the sins of others?"
Her tone shifted, cold, seething with divine fury.
"You think yourself a judge, a force of justice descended upon this world to cleanse it of sinners," she said, her voice echoing across the wall, carried by the wind.
"But you know nothing of justice. You kill without reason. You slaughter without distinction between guilt and innocence."
The Red Reaper glowed brighter, burning like a crimson moon.
"That is not justice," she continued, her voice trembling with restrained rage. "That is madness draped in the mask of righteousness in the eyes of some humans."
The air grew heavy. Mist thickened around her, and even the team below stopped what they were doing, listening.
"You are no justice," she said, her words now thunderous. "You are a monster, born of chaos, feeding on human despair. But your judgment ends here."
Her eyes burned with molten light. "You have slain the innocent. You have taken too many lives. And for that, " she raised the Red Reaper high, the chain spiraling like a serpent of flame."You will face your punishment."
Her next words were like an oath written in fire.
"I, Elysia Noxveil, hereby sentence you to death for the killing of innocent civilians, and in the name of the true justice of this world."
Each word dripped with fury, glowing in her mind like molten magma.
And with the final word, she leapt from the wall, a streak of scarlet and black descending through the mist.
All four of her teammates froze for a moment. Even through the comms, they could feel the raw emotion behind her words. For the first time since they'd known her… they saw Elysia truly angry.