Ash drifted like slow snow.
The morning sun fought to break through the smoke, spilling weak gold across what was left of Eisenwald.
Hajime moved in silence, shoveling dirt over another grave. His palms were raw, his breath short, but stopping meant thinking, and thinking hurt worse.
By noon, the field behind the village was lined with rough mounds.
Twenty-six graves.
Twenty-six names he'd never forget.
He stood over the last one until the shovel slipped from his hands.
"Everyone's gone…"
The wind offered no answer, only the whisper of burning timber.
"You're still standing." Adam's voice echoed faintly inside him. "So keep pushing forward."
"I'm trying," Hajime muttered.
He sat beside the mound, staring at the charred oak where his house used to be. His Seiki (聖気) flickered weakly around him, thin as breath.
Then—footsteps.
Hajime turned sharply, half expecting another raider.
Through the haze came a young woman in green and white robes, followed by a tall figure clad in black-crimson armor.
Izumi Rin (泉 凛) bowed slightly, voice gentle.
"We sensed the flames all the way from Eryndral. Are you the only survivor?"
Hajime stared at them, expression flat. "You're late."
Izumi hesitated. "We came the moment the signal reached us."
"The moment?" He snapped. "The fire started yesterday!"
His aura stirred, dust lifting from the ground. "You could've stopped this."
The armored man stepped forward. Calm, measured, his blue-white Seiki (聖気) radiating like quiet heat.
"Watch your tone," he said. "You're now speaking to Commander Rei Kurayami (レイ クラヤミ) of the Celestine Order (天光軍 / Tenkō-gun)."
Hajime's glare didn't waver. "Commander, huh? Then where were you when they slaughtered these children?"
Izumi flinched. Rei didn't.
He looked around the graves, then back at Hajime. "So you buried them yourself?"
"No one else left to do it," Hajime replied.
Rei folded his arms. "You can blame us, but the reality is you weren't strong enough to defend anyone."
The calmness in his tone made Hajime's chest burn.
"You bastard, don't talk like you understand the situation."
"Finally, there's some resolve," Rei replied evenly.
Hajime stepped closer, gold-silver light starting to ripple across his skin. "You think you get to judge me?"
Izumi moved between them, raising both hands. "Please. This isn't the time."
Rei's gaze didn't move from Hajime.
"You carry Adam's Will (アダムの意志 / Adamu no Ishi). I can tell by analyzing your seiki. So, you are more than another villager with grief. Have you learned to control it, or should we find out?"
Hajime's Seiki (聖気) flared brighter. "You want to see control as I beat the shit out of you?"
The wind whipped ash around them; the ground cracked from the pressure of their auras.
Rei drew his sword in one fluid motion, blue-white light running down the blade like liquid fire.
"You want to test your anger, then? Prove it means something."
Hajime's breath shook. His hands tightened. The gold-silver glow surged outward, splitting the dirt beneath his feet.
Izumi shouted over the rising hum of Seiki (聖気). "Stop—both of you!"
Neither listened.
Rei's eyes narrowed; Hajime's glowed bright gold.
Two forces. One calm and radiant, the other furious. Met in the heavy silence before a storm.