Revision Point The False Blood
When Commander 9th dragged the intruders from the shadows, no one saw clearly what happened next.
There was only the sound a crack, a thud, and silence.
When he stepped back into the firelight, his armor gleamed dark red.
To the watching soldiers, it could only mean one thing.
He had killed them.
But the truth was different.
Behind the Scene (hidden from the soldiers)
Moments before the killing blow, 9th had felt something a whisper in the air, the faint click of a different fuse.
He turned his head and saw another figure in the dark one of his own scouts, creeping in with stolen Naryan gear, meant to test the bombs for their next strike.
In a blur of instinct, he struck and the scout fell, blood spraying across the commander's armor.
Thomas and John lay unconscious, stunned from the force of his grip but still breathing.
9th looked down at them two exhausted, broken men, too young to die like this.
His voice, buried behind the steel mask, came out low and rough.
"…You've seen enough death for one night."
He kicked sand over the bombs, masking them, then dragged the scout's corpse toward the fires. The blood smeared across his armor as he walked.
To everyone else, it looked like proof two spies executed.
But the forest kept its secret.
Scene The Forest
Dawn crept slowly through the black trees.
Mist hung low, wrapping around the roots and broken rifles.
Edwin was the first to see them.
He stopped so suddenly that Rowen almost crashed into him. "Wait," Edwin hissed. "There by the logs."
Two figures lay half-buried in leaves and dirt.
"Thomas?" Rowen whispered, dropping to his knees. "John Snow?"
Both bodies stirred weakly, bruised, breathing.
Thomas blinked against the light. "Where… are we?"
"You're alive," Edwin said, his voice shaking. "We thought everyone thought "
John coughed, pushing himself up. His head throbbed from the blow, but he was alive. "The bombs…" he muttered. "They didn't go off?"
Rowen shook his head. "No explosions. No alarm. Just silence. Then the Aria's camp went quiet for the rest of the night."
Thomas looked toward the horizon, the faint smoke of the Aria tents rising in the distance.
"He let us live," he said quietly.
John frowned. "Who?"
"The giant," Thomas whispered. "Commander 9th."
They sat in silence as the wind moved through the forest, carrying the echoes of drums and distant cheers.
No one spoke again because none of them could understand why a man like that, drenched in blood, would spare them.
Transition
Back in the Aria's camp, Commander Knight watched his brother clean his armor in silence.
The red still streaked the steel like dried rust.
Knight finally said, "You didn't have to kill them."
9th didn't look up. "You think I did?"
Knight's eyes narrowed. "Then whose blood is that?"
The giant paused, water dripping from his gauntlets.
"…A reminder," he said.
And he said nothing more."
[Ground three before Rowan and Edwin saw Thomas and John Snow.]
The wind smelled of smoke and damp earth.
Night clung to the forest like an old wound refusing to heal.
Edwin's boots sank into the wet ground as he muttered, half to himself, half to the silence,
"We've been running like fools, Rowan. Soldiers of Naryan warriors of the old kingdom and here we are, running. For what? We're not weak. We're not cowards."
Rowan, older and quieter, shot him a hard glance.
"You fool. You were the first to run when the sky broke with gunfire."
Edwin gave a tired laugh, shaking his head.
"It's already night again. Feels like we've been running for days. The sun won't even rise for us anymore."
Rowan spat into the dirt.
"You're thinking about the sun while men die? You haven't even noticed we're near the border already. Another mile and we'll be standing between Naryan and Aria's gate."
Edwin squinted ahead, where a faint orange glow flickered through the trees.
"You see that light ahead? Don't rush, Rowan. That could be their campfire."
"So what if it is?" Rowan's voice was dry as ash. "Two of us won't change the war. But if we fall right, maybe our men will have a chance to rise again."
Edwin gritted his teeth.
"You always talk like a hero. But there's no glory in dying before sunrise. Two against a hundred we'll be shot down like animals before we even get close to their commander. And our bodies will hang from their gates as proof that Naryans die loud but die foolish."
For a moment, neither spoke. The only sound was the hum of insects and the whisper of the distant river.
Then Edwin muttered,
> "Merlin… I thought she came only for John Snow and Twilight. What sort of weapon was she carrying? She fired like thunder, like the gods themselves lent her the sky."
Rowan shook his head.
> "She's no god. Just a soldier of the Wolves thieves with no banner, no king, no law. They fight to eat. To survive. We did right helping John Snow and Twilight escape."
"Right?" Edwin barked a bitter laugh. "If I ever see one of those Wolves again, I'll punch their skull in. They carry beasts that spit bullets from their mouths what kind of madness is that?"
The words faded as they reached the clearing.
There lying in the mud, pale under the moonlight were the bodies of Thomas and John Snow.
Two men who had fought, bled, and vanished into the silence of war.
Edwin froze. Rowan bowed his head.
The night felt heavier. The war felt older.
[Meanwhile Ground Two]
Far south, the night trembled under the rhythm of distant drums.
The soldiers of the Naryans tired, hungry, and grim prepared for their last assault.
Commander Blackwell, Lady Gaga, Daria, Ema, and Twilight stood among them.
They knew dawn would bring slaughter, yet none spoke of fear.
They knew the truth:
If they did not strike before sunrise, the Arias would wipe them out again, like wolves culling sheep.
Through the underground tunnels carved beneath the ancient hills, Commander Cruella moved in silence.
She had been sent ahead, before the first shot, before the madness began.
The tunnels were damp, carved by hands long dead, built in an age when kings still believed in peace.
When the first gunfire cracked the air, dawn had barely touched the horizon.
Iron met flesh. Smoke thickened. The ground burned.
The Naryans struck hard torches in their hands, fire in their blood.
They set flame to the Aria camp, burning tents and supply wagons before the Arias could lift their guns.
It was chaos.
Men screamed. Horses fled.
But by the time the Aria's regrouped, it was too late. The camp was already ash.
Some of the aria's soldiers stayed behind, their faces calm as they turned to hold the line.
They bought time for Cruella's escape through the same tunnels that had brought her there.
She never looked back.
War had no glory left. Only fire, and names soon to be forgotten.
From a distance, Daria watched the burning camp and whispered under her breath,
"They think they outsmarted us again. But they never see the cost."
End Scene
The morning finally came pale and cold.
Smoke hung over the valley like a shroud.
The old kingdoms of Naryan and Aria would keep fighting,
But the ground itself had already chosen who would be remembered.