Bodies lay strewn across the town's main thoroughfare. Soldiers, women, children, merchants and even animals. Everyone had been killed. The Eastern blade had been merciless, yet Aris was sure that Ventis had not moved from his throne.
He stared in despair at his beloved capital. Flames ravaged the houses. Blood flowed between the flagstones. Koran's soldiers slaughtered those who resisted, and reached out for the thing most precious to them one last time.
Aris couldn't look away. Walking like a zombie with no end in sight. The opposing soldiers let him pass, sniggering. Their smiles and laughter were low, however. As if they didn't want to incur the wrath of the fallen king. For yes, with no nation to protect, no people to rule, Aris Ronegard was no longer a king. He was defeated.
He walked towards his loyal second-in-command. Ren was still fighting hard. But the life in his eyes was gone. It was already not very visible, yet it remained in the corner of his pupil. Occasionally, we could see the general smiling at the stupid fall of one of his soldiers. Yet on this day, that same soldier was probably lying somewhere not far from his feet. Ren's vision was dark.
Aris saw himself falling with his people, but death refused to take him. How could she dare try to seize King Aris Ronegard? However, in a final moment of dread. He felt someone. Someone who shouldn't be there. Someone whose superiority could not be refuted and whose mere movement signified an event. Aris saw it, but what more could he think?
"And I thought you hadn't moved?"
And yet there he was. His mere presence was synonymous with a great event. Something big was behind this war. Something too big for a king like Aris. But what else could he think? He was already defeated and only awaiting his death to reunite with his people. He stared at Ventis. There he was, standing on the roof of a house. Aris thought his pride knew no bounds, but he was wrong. It was even worse than that.
The flames were burning the house and it was deteriorating over time, but they couldn't reach Ventis. They swirled around him as if a superior force were protecting him.
On top of that, he was glowing, and not just a little. A bright, slightly yellowish light emanated from him. As if he were a transcendent being. A being, moreover, watching the battle with cold, calculating eyes.
His long white dress was elegantly and carefully patterned. Curling spirals of a strange blue adorned the garment. He wore this dress and seemed to have fled inside to avoid being contaminated by the filth of this world.
If this man didn't have parents, no one could have called him human. By the way, no one really knew if those parents were really his. But Aris didn't care, he'd already lost.
He looked at Ren one last time, then turned his gaze to Ventis. He had to choose between ephemeral, pointless revenge or equally pointless, ephemeral rescue. Both choices only made sense in terms of the will that persisted within Aris. Then he stared at Ventis one last time.
"F*ck you, bastard."
Aris gripped his spear tightly. His hands trembled, but not his heart. In a burst of fury, he charged at the soldier attacking his loyal second. Ren shifted at full speed and prepared to hide behind his king for a two-man attack.
The complicity between these two was unmistakable. On a battlefield, their shadows moved in the same way, giving the impression that they were one and the same. But on this day, the two would have to part ways.
Aris soon found himself in front of his second-in-command. Spear in hand, it didn't take him even half a second to finish him off. With a look lost in rage and blood, his arm shot off at unimaginable speed.
However, he felt a hand behind his back. A calm, warm hand, and he could feel it despite his armor. But it was a dying hand. He turned slowly, looking at his faithful second. Ren smiled. A smile he'd never seen before. Full of sadness and compassion. Tears welled up in his eyes and fell like fine rain.
Aris didn't understand. His emotions were confused and he could no longer hold his spear steady.
"Ren...."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. You must live."
In a flash, a horse transcended the battlefield. No one had been able to stop it. A rider stood on that horse. A female rider, to be precise. Anna held the horse's reins. Her face, slightly swollen from the lamres, showed all the determination in the world not to show it. She wanted to be strong. She was going to be.
Aris had seen the horse long before he arrived. He quickly understood that his general wanted to keep him out of the country. But he had no intention of leaving. If his people fell, he'd go down with them. He prepared to avoid Anna's horse, but Ren suddenly caught him on the arm.
"Ren, what are you..."
As soon as the horse passed right in front of them, Anna and Ren quickly tied it to the seal. His hand was taken captive and he was gradually dragged along by the horse.
"Go!"
Anna urged the horse to accelerate. She was ready to leave this town as she had planned with Ren. Putting all her determination and courage into this painful and deadly day, it took her some time to notice that the horse hadn't moved.
"Huh?"
For good reason, Aris was standing firmly on the ground. His strength prevented any movement of the horse, rendering it incapable of moving forward. Even if it had wanted to obey Anna, Aris was a much stronger monster than he was.
In fact, Aris, still with his head down, once again felt the rage welling up inside him. He didn't like the idea of abandoning his companions. But that it was his companions themselves who were forcing him to leave really hurt his heart. He raised his head slowly, his arm still attached to the horse, to look at his second-in-command.
"Ren, if you think..."
But at the same moment, Ren sent a powerful blow to his head and then to his arm. Losing his footing, the horse sped off in the direction of the exit.
Ren watched his king slowly ride away with a big, blood-drenched smile. No one could really know what the great general was thinking or feeling, but we could pretty much guess...
Farther on, Aris quickly regained consciousness and tried to get back on his feet. However, when he opened his eyes, he saw what a mess he was in.
Hundreds of soldiers armed to the teeth were in pursuit, slaloming their way through collapsed buildings and corpses.
Anna steered her horse like no other, but they soon found themselves surrounded. Aris had to intervene quickly.
With his spear still in hand, the King of Arkis leapt onto the horse. He then tore off the saddle and stood on it. Keeping his balance on this animal was no great effort for him.
He grabbed his spear a second time, and began to slice at any soldiers who came too close. Fortunately for him, his spear had a longer reach than their swords, and he managed to keep them at bay with his mastery and coolness.
From the soldiers' point of view, it was as if an extremely venomous snake were standing there, ready to pounce at any uncertain moment. And by the time Aris reached out, it was already too late: the snake had bitten.
However, the enemies were all around the horse, not just at its rear.
"Aris!!!"
"I know, Anna."
In a flash, a soldier learning to confront them head-on was shot through the middle of the face. His body continued to slide into the spear, as if his act had still managed to achieve its goal.
Aris got rid of them in a hurry. The last thing he wanted to do was skewer human bodies. And above all, he needed his spear to counter those who were arriving en masse.
Unfortunately, this seemed impossible. The enemy soldiers were too numerous, and some of them had even managed to reach their horses.
The gate was close, but Anna was being cut off in certain places and Aris was beginning to feel unable to manage the numbers to protect his best counsellor.
More and more blows were hitting him and the points of the swords were getting closer and closer. Aris felt overwhelmed by the numbers.
Suddenly, in a brief moment of inattention, a spear pierced his left arm. But it was strange: Aris had never seen this spear among the weapons attacking them, and yet he hadn't let his guard down.
It was as if the spear had appeared out of nowhere. Flying at such unimaginable speed that even Aris couldn't dodge it. It was impossible. Aris could dodge anything. Except a man...
Their eyes met. He was so far away, but Aris could sense him. Ventis had his hand raised. He'd moved.