The flames intensified.
Crimson fire danced wildly around Tresia, consuming the village in its frenzy.
Panic had broken loose—people scrambled for higher ground. Some climbed onto their rooftops, others hoarded and rationed food. A few, angry and desperate, took up arms and marched toward the Chief's headquarters, demanding answers.
In the chaos, Fred yelled, "Mary, hurry up! We've been granted access to the Chief's bunker. It's safe there!"
Mary, trembling with fear, clutched a small brown sack filled with necessities. She walked cautiously toward the door.
"I hope Sunflower is doing all right..." she whispered, voice cracking with worry.
"Don't worry about her. I know my girl—she'll come through. She always does, Plus she will achieve another achievement in this battle like always" Fred replied, trying to reassure her.
"Always?" Mary teased. "How many feats do you think she's pulled off?"
They both chuckled, a small bubble of laughter amid the burning village, as they rushed toward the bunker.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest...
Arnold's scream tore through the trees, echoing so loudly it reached even Sunflower—locked in a brutal one-sided battle.
Sunflower, bruised and cut along both shoulders, was down on one knee, her dagger lying beside her on the green grass. She was wounded, but not broken.
Reality stood tall, holding a crimson fireball in her right hand. She looked smug, confident, dominant.
"Is that all the Golden Assassin has?" she mocked.
Sunflower, fueled by the memory of Dawn's death, stood once more. Her dagger glinted in her hand.
But before she could fully rise, the fireball came hurtling toward her.
Boom!
Dirt and Sunflower flew in opposite directions from the blast.
"This is a real battle. You think I'll let you do whatever you want?" Reality snarled.
Sunflower remained still, choosing to listen. She needed to recover—needed time.
Reality clapped joyfully. "Let's make this interesting. How about a game?"
She paused, then added, "But wait, a game needs three people. Don't worry—I thought ahead."
With a snap of her fingers, a magical projection appeared. It showed Fred and Mary entering the Chief's bunker.
Sunflower blinked. Her eyes widened in horror.
"Oh, you've met this couple before?" Reality laughed cruelly. "Perfect. Makes introductions easier."
Sunflower leapt to her feet in an instant. "How did you—?"
Questions flooded her mind, but she pushed them aside. Her focus sharpened. She vanished in a blink—reappearing behind Reality, blade raised to strike.
But Reality turned around, smiling wickedly.
And then—vanished.
Before Sunflower could react, a hand gripped her shoulder—from behind.
Reality's hand.
Elsewhere, deeper in the forest...
Lance stood tall, Arnold's sword in hand. Arnold lay nearby, still screaming in pain. Julie and Andy were frozen in shock, fear gripping their hearts.
"Andy! Take position!" Julie called out, her instincts as an archer kicking in.
Andy, emboldened by her command, snapped out of his daze. He ran to form up, shouting as he did: "Arnold, get back here, you idiot!"
Lance inspected the sword with curiosity.
"Not bad," he muttered.
Then he turned—his eyes meeting Commander Rock's from behind the bushes.
Commander Rock's pupils dilated. He quickly signaled his ten men to retreat.
The threat was worse than he'd expected. He hadn't anticipated someone like Lance hiding in these woods.
As the soldiers pulled back, Lance smirked.
"Cowards."
He then looked at the writhing man at his feet. "How annoying."
Lance raised his blade to finish Arnold off.
Julie noticed and let loose a barrage of arrows. Andy, hammer in hand, charged at full speed.
Lance leapt high—more than eight feet—dodging both the hammer and the arrows.
Perfect for Andy, who grabbed Arnold during the chaos. But in doing so, he accidentally squeezed Arnold's severed shoulder.
The pain was unbearable.
Arnold screamed, thrashed, and convulsed—his cries like a child's wailing.
Julie fired upward again, hoping to intercept Lance mid-air—but this time, he twisted away and dodged.
Then he dove.
Straight for Arnold.
Andy and Julie tried to intervene, but Lance effortlessly weaved through their attacks.
One clean stroke.
Arnold's head snapped off. Blood and pus sprayed outward as the forest fell silent.
Lance turned his back on the pair.
Andy, seeing Julie paralyzed with horror, charged once more—trying to protect what remained.
But this time would be his last.
Lance spotted a weakness in Andy's helmet—a small slit in the visor.
He struck.
The blade slid into the gap, severing Andy from the inside. The giant fell, lifeless.
Julie stared, wide-eyed. Her bow dropped to the ground.
These were her lifelong friends. Her brothers.
Gone.
She clenched her fists, staring at Lance with a mix of hatred and sorrow.
"I give up. Please, don't—"
But her plea shattered halfway.
Lance didn't listen.
He drove Arnold's sword straight through her skull.
Julie collapsed.
The trio was dead.
And with them—their dream.
Lance turned away from the bodies and began to walk.
Toward Tresia.
The village in flames.
The red blaze grows, leaving nothing behind. The trees that once looked so massive had half been burned to a crisp, and some were barely standing. The home that people called Tresia is slowly dying. Panic was intensifying—people rushed toward higher ground. Some tried to climb down the trees but fell to their death. The cries of children echoed throughout the entire city.
Many houses had been burned and had collapsed, taking away the inhabitants within. While some died, others barely survived, buried under rubble, clinging to the last hope. They shouted with their entire body for anyone to help them. However, in this chaos, all people cared about was themselves.
A girl named Amie was enjoying dinner with her family just an hour ago. They were enjoying the amazing food her mother cooked, hearing stories of her father's youth. A wholesome environment. However, Amie was now left with a broken house, buried in rubble, barely having room to breathe. She could no longer feel her lower body—it was crushed under the rubble just like her parents. No amount of screaming helped her.
Sunflower, aware of Tresia burning, wanted to fall back and help. However, Reality didn't allow it. Any mistake could cost her her life. Sunflower, aware of the near demise of her city, the demise of her parents, the demise of her colleagues, looked ahead at the battle at hand.
Reality's overwhelming smile faded upon seeing something in the sky.
It was as if she was shocked—her body started shaking.
Sunflower noticed the sudden change in expression and looked in the direction above the sky, above Tresia. Both ladies stood there in shock, as they stared into the sky.
Amie, lying in the rubble, having wasted her energy in pointless crying, started erupting in tears.
"WHY?!"
"What did I do?!"
"What did my parents do?!"
"Why must we suffer?!"
Through her watery eyes, she spotted something in the sky.
Chief Headquarters
A riot had started. People wanted answers. People wanted safety. People wanted shelter.
Due to the absence of Dawn, the current Chief, Henry, the vice-chief, had to step up to calm the population.
"Attention people of Tresia," said Henry into the loud mic, hearable by everyone in the city.
"I know this looks like a dire situation, but rest assured, we have built another platform and we will immediately start evacuating the people. I want all the women and children to line up first!" Henry gave a confident statement, reassuring the people.
"Not only will I try to save as many of you as possible," Henry said, "but we will also find the men behind this. Our Chief is currently fighting them along with Sunflower and the deadly trio. They have never disappointed us!"
The people in riot changed their expressions as they began cheering: "Long live Tresia!"
"Long live our village!"
Henry gave another statement. "Fear not. For those left behind, I have deployed my men. They will surely rescue anyone injured or lost."
The people started cheering louder:
"Long live Tresia!"
"Long live our village!"
Amie, lying in the rubble, heard the sounds of soldiers marching, with a voice ringing out: "Is anyone here?! Hurry to the Chief Headquarters—you will be safe there!"
Amie could have shouted to let the soldiers save her. However, her eyes had given up hope as she stared into the sky.
"What's even the point anymore?" she whispered to herself.
Commander Rock finally made it out of the green forest and was making his way to their tent when a soldier immediately shouted,
"What's that?!"
With fear in his eyes, he pointed above the sky, toward the green forest, toward Tresia.
Commander Rock, after looking in the direction, was left speechless. All the soldiers stopped to look at the sky, as if waiting for something.
Chief Headquarters
One of the people in the riot looked up by coincidence. His eyes fully opened. For a few seconds, his mind began processing what he was seeing. He started swearing uncontrollably, fear filling his eyes.
"LOOK UP!" he shouted.
Henry and his men, along with everyone there, turned to look up.
All their faces resembled one another—left with nothing to think, fear on their faces, sweating. All the people waited, kept looking up, not taking their eyes off the sky.
Silence erupted in the entire forest as each person stopped to think and act—except one.
"Burn the village..."
"Burn the village..."
Lance's mind buzzed as the voice became stronger every second. He couldn't take it. He wanted a way to kill everyone in the village. He thought—thought again and again.
Suddenly, his mind went to the bow. He looked on the ground and saw the bow still remained.
"It didn't disappear... it's real!" Lance picked up the bow and confirmed—it was a real bow.
He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate under the immense voice of the curse.
A way to kill them all... a way to imagine... a way to imagine to kill them all...
In the dark void, he stood alone as he imagined an object—almost double the size of Tresia. He remained calm. He started imagining the location of the object. He drilled the thought inside his mind: "Above Tresia!"
Lance slowly opened his eyes and looked up. To his surprise, the object had become real. And the location was ideal.
However, before Lance could smile, pain entered his blood like a snake. He started shaking uncontrollably. He fell down, coughing uncontrollably. Blood gushed out of his mouth. His legs and hands lost all energy. He went numb.
Inside the Forest
Sunflower broke the silence. Shocked by the object in the sky, she asked slowly, "WHAT EVEN IS THAT?!"
Reality, equally shocked, replied moments later, "A meteor hailing from the skies... to your dear village."
A meteor, caught on fire due to the sheer speed it was descending at, hovered above Tresia—almost double the size of the village.
Inside the Chief's Bunker
Many family members of different soldiers awaited good news. However, the screams from outside shook them further.
Mary, Sunflower's mother, decided to go outside and check the situation as no one else was volunteering. Fred, her husband, decided to walk alongside her. As the couple stepped outside, they saw everyone quiet, looking at the sky, their eyes full of hopelessness, as if waiting for the end.
The couple, curious, looked up as well—and were stunned. No words were uttered. Mary started shaking nervously. Fred held her hand to comfort her. Their eyes stared at the sky.
Mary spoke " Do you think Sunflower Failed?" Mary looks into Fred's eyes.
Fred looks back at her
Both of them putting on a grim face
Fred slowly spoke " NO, I Believe she is still trying her hardest"
The couple exchanged one last Long hug.
The meteor didn't stop—just like nothing in life.
Some stared at the meteor till the end, Some looked toward their loved ones one last time. Some hugged them. What was common among them all was that they shed tears till their last moments, as the meteor engulfed them and the entirety of the village.
BOOM.