The night sky over Alexandria burned red.
Fires raged where monsters had broken through the homes and markets, their smoke twisting into the heavens and blotting out the moon. The once-busy northern district—lined with cobbled streets, bakeries, and quiet courtyards—had become a battlefield. Shadows leapt across walls, accompanied by the clash of steel and the roars of beasts.
And over it all, the wings of Bahamut beat, throwing monstrous shadows across the city like a cruel omen.
---
A female soldier stumbled against the cobblestones, her sword trembling in her grip. Her shield was cracked, its surface gouged by claws she could not stop. Around her, sisters-in-arms struggled to hold their formation. They were Alexandrian warriors—raised since youth to defend their kingdom with sword and shield—but even they were faltering under the endless tide.
The monsters swarmed from alley to alley. Their glowing eyes pierced the dark, their claws shredding steel, their teeth tearing through the screams of her comrades.
The soldier's arms ached. Her vision blurred with sweat and smoke. She raised her shield once more, but she knew her body wouldn't hold.
Behind her, she could hear the cries of civilians—women and children trapped against a wall, with no path of escape. Her chest tightened. If I fall here, they'll die.
A roar shook the air. A beast lunged, its claw flashing in the moonlight. She lifted her shield, but too slow, too weak—
This is the end…
---
Steel sang.
The impact struck like thunder, sparks bursting before her eyes. But the killing blow never landed.
She blinked. A figure stood in front of her, back straight, broad shoulders blocking her view of the beast. He held a massive blade—one far too heavy for any soldier she knew—and had stopped the monster's strike in a single swing.
He half-turned, just enough for her to glimpse his face: sharp, youthful, with eyes alight not with fear but with fire. And then he smiled—bright, easy, like someone greeting an old friend.
"You okay?" he asked.
Her throat locked. She managed a nod. "Y-Yes…"
"Good." His voice was steady, confident, the kind that left no room for doubt. "Then stand up, soldier. There are still people who need your help."
She blinked, stunned—but before she could answer, he surged forward. His blade flashed in an arc of light, cutting clean through the beast's chest. It collapsed at his feet.
---
"Who… who is he?" another soldier gasped from behind her.
"I don't know," whispered another, her voice trembling with awe. "But look at him move…"
---
The stranger—Zack—charged headlong into the chaos, his blade cleaving through the tide of beasts. His movements were precise, fluid, yet filled with raw strength. Each strike was decisive, ending a monster in one blow. Where the women faltered, he filled the gaps; where their line wavered, he stood firm.
And all the while, he grinned.
"C'mon! You'll have to do better than that!" he taunted the monsters, laughter rolling over the battlefield like a spark to dry tinder.
---
The soldier he had saved struggled to her feet, her chest tight with something unfamiliar—hope. She gripped her sword tighter, raising her cracked shield once more. Around her, other Alexandrian warriors did the same, their despair fading.
"If he can stand…" one muttered, her voice catching.
"…then so can we!" another cried.
They locked shields, their voices rising together. "For Alexandria!"
---
Zack barked commands between swings, his tone light yet carrying authority.
"Keep those shields up!" Slash. "Good! Now drive them back!" Thrust.
When one soldier struck true, barely grazing a monster, Zack finished it with a heavy blow, then shot her a wink. "See? Told you you had it in you."
The women flushed with renewed vigor. Their line steadied, their formation strong once more.
---
Then came a greater beast, taller than the walls of the northern street. Its maw glowed, fire gathering in its throat. The soldiers froze, shields raised but useless against such power.
The soldier Zack had saved earlier squeezed her eyes shut. This is it. Nothing can stop—
But Zack only smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Guess I'll have to go all out for you."
He sprinted forward, leaping high into the air. For a moment, against the backdrop of Bahamut's wings and the fire in the sky, he seemed like a star streaking through the night. His blade descended with all his weight behind it, cleaving through the beast's skull in a single, devastating strike.
It fell with an earth-shaking crash.
---
The soldiers erupted into cheers, their voices piercing the night.
"He killed it!"
"By the Queen—he killed it!"
The civilians, once sobbing in terror, now clutched each other in stunned relief. A little girl whispered to her mother, "He saved us…"
Her mother's throat tightened. "Yes," she breathed. "Our savior in the north."
---
Zack stood atop the beast's corpse, grinning as he rested his sword on his shoulder. His chest rose and fell with the rhythm of battle, but his eyes never lost their light.
He glanced back at the soldiers, flashing that same smile.
"You're not fighting alone. None of us are."
---
The soldier who had nearly died felt tears sting her eyes. She raised her sword high, her voice breaking with emotion. "You heard him! Stand with him!"
The women roared together, their shields locking once more, their blades gleaming in the firelight. With Zack leading, the monsters faltered. What had been a desperate defense became a counterattack, driving the beasts back into the shadows of the night.
---
Above, Sirius stood on the Aetherveil's deck, watching through the veil. His eyes traced Zack's thread, burning brighter with every act of defiance, every soul saved.
"This is his gift," Sirius murmured. "Not just strength… but the power to ignite hope where none remains."
---
And in the hearts of Alexandria's women, one memory burned brightest that night:
The man who smiled in the face of death.
The sword that cut a path through the dark.
The hero who turned despair into courage.
Zack Fair—the sword in the north.