The night sky burned red. Smoke billowed upward in thick columns, blotting out the stars, while flames devoured the once peaceful village of Elderleaf. Houses that had stood for generations collapsed into charred ruins, their wooden beams cracking and shrieking as if in agony. The air reeked of ash and blood.
Alex staggered through the chaos, his small legs trembling, his breath uneven. He could hardly comprehend what had happened. Just hours ago, Elderleaf had been filled with laughter, with the warmth of his mother's stew cooking over the fire, with his father's voice teaching Keal how to hold a sword properly. Now those voices were gone, swallowed by screams and the clash of steel.
Everywhere he turned, he saw death. Familiar faces the baker who always gave him sweet bread, the old elf who told him stories about Alexander's sacrifice, the children he had played tag with in the fields all lay motionless on the blood-soaked ground. Some had fallen with weapons in their hands, others clutching their loved ones in vain attempts to shield them from blades and arrows.
"Keal… Lyanna…" Alex whispered hoarsely. His throat burned as much as his chest. His sister's tiny hand slipping from his own, her eyes going wide in terror before she collapsed he could still see it. And Keal, standing tall even as arrows pierced his body, fighting until his last breath to shield them he could still hear the echo of his brother's final cry.
His knees buckled. He fell to the ground, pressing his palms into the dirt, his face streaked with soot and tears. "Why… why is this happening?!" His small voice was lost in the roaring inferno.
A sharp crack drew his attention. The home he had grown up in, the house his father had built with his own hands, collapsed in on itself, flames bursting outward in a storm of sparks. It was gone. His home, his family, his childhood all consumed in one night.
The ground shook with the march of armored boots. Human raiders, their faces painted with war-marks, strode through the streets like predators. Their laughter carried above the crackle of fire as they looted what little remained, dragging away whatever valuables the elves hadn't managed to defend. Some corpses were kicked aside like trash. Others were mocked, their dignity stolen even in death.
Alex froze, instinctively ducking behind the charred remains of a broken cart. His breath came fast and shallow, his body trembling so violently he thought the raiders would hear his bones rattle. Through the gaps in the wood, he saw their swords dripping red. One of them paused, glancing his way, and Alex clapped both hands over his mouth to keep from crying out.
The soldier sneered, then turned away. Alex waited, his heart pounding, until the heavy footsteps faded into the distance. Only then did he dare to move, crawling on hands and knees through the wreckage. His small fingers blistered as he brushed against hot ashes, but he forced himself forward.
Somewhere deep inside, his mother's last words echoed: Live on, Alex. Promise me… live on.
He wanted to scream, to curl up and die beside her body. But her words would not let him. They wrapped around his heart like a chain, pulling him forward despite the weight of grief crushing him.
A soft chime rang in his ears.
[System Notification: Event Recorded.]
Quest Updated: Survive the Night of Flames.]
Objective: Endure until dawn.]
Progress: 14%]
The glowing blue text hovered faintly before his eyes. Alex blinked through his tears. "Why now…?" His voice cracked. The interface had appeared many times before, showing him small tasks, missions, or skills he could attempt. But now, when everything was lost, it mocked him with another command: survive.
He clenched his fists. "You think this is a game…?!" he hissed at the glowing words, though he knew they wouldn't answer. Still, some part of him understood. If the System was telling him to survive, then there was still a chance. Somewhere, somehow, there was still a path forward.
Another explosion tore through the village. A watchtower crumbled, its flaming debris scattering across the square. Alex flinched as sparks rained down, singeing his hair. He forced himself to his feet and staggered onward, weaving through alleys and fallen beams.
The deeper he went, the worse the devastation became. The shrine at the heart of Elderleaf, where they had once celebrated the Festival of Sunlight, now lay desecrated. Its stone pillars cracked, its golden statue of Alexander shattered. Ash drifted through the air like black snow.
Alex stopped before the ruin, his chest heaving. He remembered standing there with his family not long ago, holding Lyanna's hand as lights filled the night sky. The memory cut through him like a blade. He dropped to his knees again, sobbing into his palms.
Why did Alexander save the world a thousand years ago… if this is what we're left with?
The System's voice chimed again, softer this time.
[Emotional Record Registered.]
New Passive Unlocked: Survivor's Resolve (Lv.1)]
Effect: Increases resistance to fear and despair by 5%.]
The words floated before his blurred eyes. Survivor's Resolve. Alex let out a bitter laugh. "So… I have to suffer just to get stronger, huh?"
He wiped his tears on the back of his hand. His small body still trembled, but a faint spark had lit within him. If every pain, every loss, every step forward gave him something anything then maybe he could endure. Maybe he could honor his mother's wish.
A sudden scream snapped him from his thoughts. Alex turned to see another child one of the elf boys from his class running through the streets, chased by two raiders. The boy tripped, fell, and never rose again. The men laughed as their blades struck.
Alex clamped his hands over his ears, his stomach heaving. He wanted to help. He wanted to fight. But he couldn't. He was too small, too weak, too powerless. All he could do was watch, hidden in the shadows, until the laughter faded.
Slowly, he crawled into the ruins of a house, curling into a dark corner. The floor was slick with blood. He pulled his knees to his chest and rocked back and forth, whispering his mother's words again and again. Live on. Live on. Live on.
The night dragged on. Fires raged, soldiers shouted, and corpses piled higher. Elderleaf the village of his birth, the home of his family was no more.
At last, as the moon dipped lower in the sky, a faint light of dawn glimmered on the horizon. Alex peeked from the ruins, his eyes raw and swollen. The soldiers had begun to withdraw, their work of slaughter complete.
The System chimed once more.
[Quest Progress: 100%]
[Survive the Night of Flames — Completed.]
Reward: +100 EXP. New Skill Unlocked: Tenacity (Lv.1).]
The glowing text filled Alex's vision. He stared at it blankly, the reward meaningless in the face of what he had lost. EXP would not bring back Keal, Mara, or Lyanna. Skills would not rebuild Elderleaf.
But still… it meant he had lived.
With trembling legs, Alex stepped from the ruins. All around him lay ashes, blood, and silence. He was the last of his family, perhaps the last of his village. His heart screamed at him to collapse, to give up, to join them.
Instead, he took one step forward. Then another. His eyes burned with grief, but deep inside, a fragile flame refused to die.
He whispered into the morning air: "I'll live… no matter what."
And so, among the ruins of Elderleaf, a boy walked alone into the dawn, carrying the weight of everything he had lost.