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Chapter 15 - Chapter 15 – Brother’s Desperate Battle

The night sky was still burning red from the human raid. Smoke curled over Elderleaf like black serpents, swallowing the familiar roofs, the quiet paths, the trees that once whispered peace. The air was thick with ash, sparks drifting down like dying stars, and beneath it all lay the screams the endless wails of a people being devoured. Homes that had once glowed with laughter now cracked and collapsed under the weight of flame. The scent of charred wood mixed with the copper tang of blood, until the whole village seemed drowned in a single stench of death.

Alex stumbled as Keal dragged him forward through the ruined streets. His small lungs stung with smoke, his body trembling so badly that each step felt like falling. His hand was sweaty in Keal's, but Keal's grip was iron, unyielding. In his other arm, Keal carried Lyanna, her little body shaking from sobs, her face streaked with tears and soot as she clung to her brother's chest.

"Stay close, Alex! Don't let go!" Keal's voice cut through the chaos, roughened by both smoke and fear. He was only fourteen, his arms raw from swinging a too-heavy sword, but in that moment he stood like a warrior. His emerald eyes, once bright with childhood curiosity, now burned with grief and fury.

Alex's legs gave way as he tripped over the shattered remains of a barrel. He crashed to his knees, choking, but Keal yanked him back to his feet.

"We can't stop!" Keal barked. "Do you hear me, Alex? Keep moving!"

Alex nodded through a haze of tears, though his body screamed for rest. He wanted to collapse, to curl up and wake in his bed where Mother's soft humming filled the night. But Mara's last words burned in his mind, like embers pressed against his heart:

"Live on… promise me, Alex… live."

That promise was a chain, dragging him through the nightmare.

Behind them, Elderleaf's flames raged higher, devouring what little remained of their home. The wind carried the shrieks of the dying, and in the smoke Alex swore he still heard Father's roar a cry that had once shaken the ground itself now fading into silence.

The three children turned a corner, only to freeze.

A cluster of armored men stood in their path human raiders, steel glinting with firelight, faces smeared with soot and cruelty.

"There! More brats!" one snarled, raising his sword. "Catch them!"

Keal's arm tightened around Lyanna as he shoved Alex behind him. His chest heaved, but he planted himself between the soldiers and his siblings, raising his chipped short sword. "Alex, listen to me," he said, voice trembling but firm. "Take Lyanna and run. No matter what happens, you don't stop."

Alex's eyes widened in horror. "B-but Keal"

"I said run!" Keal snapped, his teeth gritted so tightly blood seeped from his bitten lip.

The soldiers laughed at the sight of a boy standing against them, a too-small blade in his shaking hands.

"Look at this one," one sneered. "Playing soldier."

But Keal didn't wait. With a roar that cracked with pain and desperation, he lunged forward. His sword flashed, catching the first soldier by surprise and slicing into his shoulder. The man cried out and staggered back, but the others surged forward, their blades clashing against Keal's.

Sparks scattered in the firelit street as steel rang against steel. Keal grunted under the force of each blow, his arms trembling from the strain, yet he refused to fall. He struck, parried, slashed again, each movement driven by fury and the desperate will to protect.

"Brother!" Alex cried out, frozen in place, his heart clawing at his chest.

"Run!" Keal bellowed over his shoulder, his voice cracking. "Alex, get her out of here!"

Alex's legs refused to obey. His small hands gripped Lyanna's sleeve as she buried her face against him, sobbing uncontrollably.

Then it happened.

A sharp whistle cut through the roar of flames.

An arrow streaked from the smoke and struck Lyanna in the chest.

Her scream pierced the night, sharp and short, before cutting into a choking gasp. Her little body jolted in Alex's arms, and blood blossomed across the front of her dress like a cruel, red flower.

"L-Lyanna!" Alex's voice shattered as he caught her, nearly falling under her weight. His small hands pressed frantically against the wound, but blood gushed hot between his fingers. "No, no, no—please, stay with me!"

Her wide eyes filled with fear and confusion. Tiny hands trembled, clutching at his sleeve. "A-Alex… it… hurts…"

"I know! I know! Just hold on please, you'll be okay! You have to!" Alex's sobs wracked his chest as he tried to shield her with his arms, as if his embrace alone could force life back into her failing body.

Keal turned at the sound of Alex's cry and saw the arrow jutting from Lyanna's chest. His world broke in an instant. "LYANNA!" he roared, his voice shaking the night.

In his grief, his sword faltered for a fraction of a second and a raider's blade slashed across his side, tearing into his flesh. He stumbled, blood spraying from the wound.

But instead of falling, Keal exploded.

Rage boiled out of him, his scream like a beast cornered to its last breath. With feral strength, he slashed back at the raiders, his blade cutting one across the throat, then plunging into another's gut. His movements lost all form, all training, becoming raw instinct and fury.

But no matter how many he struck down, there were too many.

Meanwhile, Alex felt Lyanna's grip weakening. Her tiny fingers slipped from his sleeve. Her lips moved faintly, whispering words broken by shallow gasps. "…don't… cry… big brother's here… you'll… be okay…"

Her body shuddered once more then went still.

Her eyes, once so full of light, clouded over as the last breath left her lips.

"No… no, no, NO!" Alex wailed, his voice cracking into raw agony. He shook her limp body, rocking her as if he could shake life back into her. "Wake up! Please, Lyanna, please! Don't leave me!"

Keal heard his brother's scream, saw the limp body in his arms, and his heart shattered beyond repair. "Damn you! Damn you all!" he howled, hurling himself back into the fight with reckless abandon. He slashed, stabbed, tore, each strike fueled by grief until his sword dripped with blood.

But his body couldn't keep up. Wounds opened across his chest and arms. His breathing turned ragged, blood spilling freely as his legs wavered. Still, he fought because stopping meant abandoning his siblings, and that was something he could never allow.

Alex clutched Lyanna tighter, his vision swimming with tears, his body shaking so hard he could barely breathe. The world blurred into fire and blood and screaming. His mind screamed for it to end, for him to wake up, for this nightmare to be anything but real.

Then

[System Notification: Trauma Event Detected.]

The glowing blue text burned before his tear-blurred eyes.

[Title Acquired: Survivor of Fire.]

[Emotional State: Overwhelming Grief → Willpower Test Initiated.]

[Do you wish to endure? Y/N]

Alex's sobs choked in his throat. He couldn't understand all of it, not fully, but something in him knew this was a choice. The promise his mother had begged of him echoed again: "Promise me, Alex… live."

Through tears, he croaked, "Y-Yes…"

[System Response: Willpower +2]

[Hidden Quest: Live On.]

[Failure Condition: Death.]

The glow faded, leaving only the unbearable reality of loss.

Keal staggered back toward him, his chest heaving, blood soaking his side. His sword was chipped, his body covered in cuts, but his emerald eyes still burned with determination.

"Alex…" he rasped, coughing blood. He dropped to one knee beside his brother. His trembling hand brushed over Lyanna's lifeless hair. His lip quivered, but he forced his gaze back to Alex. "Take her… and run. You… have to live…"

"No! I won't leave you too!" Alex cried, clutching both Lyanna's body and Keal's sleeve. His tears wouldn't stop, his chest felt like it would burst. "Please… please, we'll all go together"

Keal smiled faintly, though his face was pale, his body trembling with weakness. "Idiot… that's what family is for. We protect each other… until the end."

With a final cry, Keal forced himself up, staggering to his feet. Blood dripped from his wounds, but he raised his sword one last time.

He turned back toward the soldiers closing in, his scream raw and filled with every ounce of his soul.

"For Father! For Mother! For Lyanna! For Alex!"

He charged.

His blade tore through one man's chest, then another's throat. A spear pierced his stomach, driving deep, but Keal didn't stop. He swung again, cutting down another soldier even as blood gushed from his wound.

His scream of defiance echoed through the night, a sound so fierce that even the raiders hesitated. But his body, battered and broken, could no longer keep pace.

A final blade slashed across his back. Another plunged into his chest.

Keal fell to his knees, blood pooling beneath him. Yet even then, he swung his sword weakly, refusing to let it fall. His last breath ripped from his throat in one final roar then silence claimed him.

Alex's world collapsed entirely. His father was gone. His mother was gone. His sister was gone. And now his brother too.

The promise Mara had pressed into his heart became heavier than iron chains, crushing him. He was the only one left.

He fell to the ground, hugging Lyanna's small, lifeless body, his sobs tearing through the night. The flames roared around him, the screams of the village fading into background noise as grief swallowed everything.

[Quest Updated: "Live On."]

[All immediate family: Deceased.]

[Survival Probability: 8%.]

[Warning: Trauma at maximum threshold.]

The text hovered before his swollen eyes, cold and merciless.

The world spun. Fire and smoke blurred into darkness.

But deep inside the broken remains of his heart, a seed of something stirred not hope, not yet, but something harsher.

A will to live.

A promise to endure.

No matter what it cost.

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