The kingdom of Naryan faded behind them, swallowed by distance and shadow. Its walls, its people, its memories gone. Ahead lay only the path of war.
The naryan Army had split into two detachments:
The Long Route: most of the soldiers and supplies, moving with horses and wagons toward the outer wall, slow but secure.
The Short Route: a smaller strike team cutting through the dark woods, fast and dangerous, meant to scout ahead and catch enemies off guard.
The Separation
The seven children who had passed the test were placed under the command of Lady Gaga, the sharp-eyed officer who had overseen their trials, and Block Wing, a grim and silent captain with scars running down his cheek.
Lady Gaga stood at the fork in the path, her voice carrying sharp authority:
"Zero team will follow me. Edwin, you're with us. Thomas, Daria, Aria, Rowan, Ema stay close. The rest of the company will take the long road with the supply horses. We'll cut through the woods."
The group exchanged uneasy glances. The woods of Dimash were not safe they were known for their twisted terrain, for bandits, and for the ruins of old wars scattered like bones beneath the trees.
The Woods
The air grew colder as they entered, the tall trees blotting out sunlight. Shadows crawled across the ground, and the smell of damp earth clung to their boots.
Edwin tried to ease the tension, laughing nervously.
"Well, at least it's faster, right? Less time marching, more time killing! Or… you know… not dying."
No one laughed.
Zero walked silently, his eyes darting from tree to tree. His hand gripped his weapon tight, though the gun was still light empty of bullets until orders were given. A soldier without bullets was just a target.
Aria walked near him, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Do you think… they sent us this way because we're expendable?"
Zero didn't answer. His silence was heavier than words.
Lady Gaga's Order
Lady Gaga raised her fist, signaling the group to stop.
"Quiet," she hissed. "Scouts move ahead. Stay sharp. This shortcut saves us two days—but if we're ambushed, there will be no reinforcements. This is our proving ground."
Block Wing said nothing, but his hand rested on his blade as if expecting violence at any moment.
The March Deepens
The seven children tightened their formation, nerves stretched thin. The forest was too quiet, the kind of silence that made even the sound of breathing feel loud. Every step forward was a gamble, every shadow a potential threat.
For the first time since their training, they were not within walls, not surrounded by instructors or tests. This was no longer a drill.
This was war.
So the air grew colder with every step. The trees rose like iron pillars, their branches clawing at the sky, cutting away what little sunlight remained. Silence pressed down on the group, heavy and suffocating. The woods had no mercy only shadows and the smell of old death.
The seven children followed closely behind Lady Gaga, their boots crunching on wet leaves. She moved fast, her voice cutting through the air like a blade:
"Eyes forward. Ears open. You make one mistake in here, and the woods will swallow you."
No one dared to answer.
The Commander Speaks
Suddenly, Commander Arthur Blackwell, the man who had first found Zero, stopped in his tracks. His voice thundered through the trees, sharp enough to make even the birds scatter.
"All of you listen! Gaga, the rest of you this is no game!"
The children froze.
Blackwell's scarred face twisted with fury as he barked at them:
"This is not my first march, and it will not be my last curse! You are closer to death now than you have ever been in your lives! Do you hear me? You are no longer boys and girls. Stop laughing. Stop talking. Stop acting like caterpillars crawling in the dirt!"
His voice shook the silence of the woods.
"You will walk like soldiers, or you will die like animals. Out here, the ground doesn't care for your dreams. The trees won't pity your youth. Only strength keeps you alive. And if you do not learn that now"
He raised his hand, his voice dropping to a deadly calm:
"—then you will not live long enough to learn it later."
So remember
You are not children. You are soldiers.
You do not cry. You do not beg. You endure.
The ground does not care for your name. The trees will not remember your face.
Only steel and fire will decide if you live.
You walk forward. You do not turn back.
If you fall, you fall as a soldier. Nothing less. Nothing more.
Remember this. Say it, breathe it, live it.
Because out here, only soldiers survive
The children stood in silence. For the first time, the weight of his words truly sank in.
Edwin swallowed hard, his usual grin gone. Even Aria, quiet and withdrawn, lowered her eyes to the forest floor. Thomas's fists clenched tighter.
Only Zero kept his face unchanged, his expression blank as stone.
The group marched on, their chatter gone. The woods felt heavier now, each shadow sharper, each sound more dangerous. Death was not an idea anymore.
It was here, waiting for them.