Aeron stumbled across the cracked ground, choking on smoke as another explosion shook the air behind him. His heart hammered violently inside Raven's scarred chest, each beat louder than the screams echoing through the ruined streets.
The sky was wrong here.
No sunlight.
No clouds.
Only swirling ash lit by red lightning splitting the darkness.
Lyria… if this was Lyria, then everything he knew was gone.
A voice crackled sharply through his mind.
Raven: Aeron. Stop running blindly. Look for cover.
Aeron: I—I'm trying!
Aeron ducked behind the collapsed remains of a hollowed bus structure. A metal beast half machine, half corrupted monster stomped past, its glowing red eyes scanning the debris.
Aeron held his breath.
The creature let out a distorted screech and charged down another street, smashing through a glowing barrier where armored fighters were holding their ground.
Aeron's pulse thudded painfully.
This was Raven's world?
This wasteland filled with death?
How had anyone survived here?
Aeron squeezed his eyes shut.
"I have to stay alive… I promised Raven."
He looked down at his hand Raven's hand and saw the golden ring glowing faintly on his finger. The same ring he found at the shrine. The same ring Raven held in the past.
The ring pulsed again.
Raven: Good. You're in one piece. Listen, Raven's voice sharpened. You're near the Solaris District. You need to reach it. My people won't shoot you if they think you're… me.
Aeron: Pretend to be you? But I don't know how—
Aeron's sentence was drowned by a monstrous roar.
The ground trembled violently.
A massive creature taller than a house crawled over the ruins. Red veins pulsed beneath black armored skin. Its jaws crackled with corrupted energy.
Aeron froze.
Aeron: Raven… what… what is that?!
Raven: A Corruptor-class Behemoth. Level 3. Do not engage.
Aeron: Level what?! I can't fight that!
Raven: You won't. RUN!
The Behemoth turned its skull-like face toward him.
Aeron didn't wait.
He bolted.
The monster roared and charged, crushing buildings as it chased him. Aeron sprinted down a broken street, dodging debris.
Raven's voice cut through his panic.
Left— NOW!
Aeron swerved left, narrowly avoiding a blast of corrupted energy that blew apart the street behind him.
Jump over the wall!
Aeron vaulted over a half-destroyed barricade, stumbling onto another road filled with wreckage.
The Behemoth lunged again—
Aeron tripped.
He hit the ground hard. Pain shot up his arm.
The monster raised a claw the size of a tree trunk—
Aeron screamed—
A crack of blue light erupted behind him.
A bullet.
A single perfect shot pierced the creature's eye.
It staggered.
Armored figures appeared on the rooftops, firing coordinated rounds. Blue barrier shields slammed into place, trapping the monster.
Aeron stared in awe.
Soldier: "Commander Raven! You're alive!
They thought he was Raven.
Aeron swallowed hard and stood.
"Y-yes… I'm fine."
The soldier rushed toward him, bowing slightly.
"We feared the Behemoth had killed you. Solaris District is holding, but barely."
Aeron hesitated.
Solaris District…
That was the base built by the protector.
The soldier continued breathlessly:
"Commander Raven! Your presence will boost morale. Please follow us!"
Aeron felt guilt twist in his chest.
They thought he was Raven their last hero.
And he wasn't.
But he had no choice.
He nodded silently and followed.
As they escorted him through the ruined streets, Aeron whispered in his mind:
Aeron: Raven… how do you live like this?
Raven: The same way you survive in your world.
Aeron: How?
A long pause.
You keep moving… even when you're terrified.
Aeron exhaled shakily.
Maybe he couldn't be Raven.
But he could try not to fail him.
Because the future depended on both of them.