"Where..." Carol slowly blinked her eyes a few times, turning around, but seeing only a pitch-black field.

  Then, the figure of her mother appeared in front of her, smiling as she turned her head over her shoulder, before walking further into the darkness.

  Although Carol was slightly surprised by her mother's sudden appearance, she decided to follow her. However, the further Carol walked, the more changes occurred across the field. Deadly terrain appeared, while many Dark Ender entities, representing the villagers, appeared beside the terrain.

  Carol felt her heart grow heavier, guilty even, as voices wrapped in negativity, echoed loudly around the field.

  "It was all my fault," one voice echoed.

  "Why couldn't I save Mom back then?" another echoed.

  "Is this really a way... that made her happy...?" yet another voice asked.

  Hearing so much negativity, Carol tightly gripped her chest, unable to handle more of it. "Revenge... is what she would be happy with... I'm sure of it," she said with a hardened expression, forcing her determination to mask the accusatory voices.

  "But how about yourself? Does it make 'you' happy instead?" A faceless child in a plain, white dress suddenly emerged and spoke to Carol with a wide grin, preventing her from following her mother as it gripped her legs.

  "What the—" Before Carol could speak, several pure Dark Ender hands appeared around her, gripping her entire body. The hands and the child forced her to sink to the ground. "Let me go! Please, just let me go!" Carol exclaimed, trying her best to move her body, but to little avail. She desperately tried to extend her hand toward her mother, who was now slowly walking away from her.

  "Please, I'm begging you... don't leave me, Mom... please don't leave me here alone..!" Her sight blurred as the hands completely covered her face.

  "Mom!" Carol screamed the name as she jumped from her bed, her hand extended into the air. The nightmare she had witnessed made her pant heavily, clenched her chest tightly as a result as she looked down in frustration.

  "This type of nightmare... is really starting to irritate me," Carol mumbled to herself, turning her head toward the plain, old wood window.

  It was a bright morning, but the streets of Qtiryn were unusually quiet. As she slowly stood up from her bed, knowing today was the day the war began, a knock sounded at the door. Carol opened it, revealing Aria, with an annoyed expression, already prepared for battle.

  "Good... morning? You seem rather excited for today, seeing that you’re already prepared," Carol said, looking over Aria, who wore her usual uniform augmented with elbow armor on both arms and one for her left shoulder.

  Hearing Carol’s statement, Aria sighed in disappointment. "Of course I have to be. In fact, you're the only one who isn't ready yet."

  "I-is that so?" Carol chuckled nervously, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Guess I should get myself ready."

  "You should, mind you. Everyone is already waiting for you outside, and they don't like waiting any longer," Aria reminded Carol, pointing her fingers over her shoulder toward the window behind them.

  "Okay, I understand. You don't have to remind me like you're my mom or something, Aria," Carol stated back, feeling a little bothered despite her calm demeanor.

  "Well, it's necessary for me. You're the only person I acknowledge as an equal. I can't just let my rival fall behind, even if it was just a small thing."

  "Since when did you declare that I'm your rival?"

  "Since you showed me that power isn't the sole strength alone. Just like you showcased your ability back when we fought at Calle Forest." Aria's grin widened, happily reminiscing about their journey. "But all that journey has taught me that there are so many things I didn't know yet, especially about the people around me. It truly felt like a miracle when I decided to follow you, you know?"

  Hearing her statement, Carol snorted, yet felt a wave of relief within her heart. "I should get ready. Just wait with the others."

  Aria nodded. "Will do." She turned and walked away from Carol's room.

  Now alone, Carol closed the door and leaned against it, letting out an exhausted sigh while sinking to the ground. She then looked intently at her right hand, which was trembling as if she were deeply afraid.

  "No... I'm not going to back down after all that pain I endured... this revenge... is mine to end." she mumbled to herself, forcing herself to cover her fear by roughly clenching her trembling hand into a fist.

  (In the Bridge of Limbo: A historic battlefield of the Flame Eclipse War and the gateway between worlds)

  It was a complete dread land. Dead trees surrounded the expanse, with no sign of life anywhere. Only the loud caws of a group of crows echoed across the land, and an abandoned, towering structure acted as a 'watchtower' over something, perhaps the Leviathan itself.

  However, in the middle of this grim landscape, Chris widened his grin out of excitement. He showed his crystal ball toward two unknown figures in long, hooded cloaks. Through it, a reflection of Carol sinking to the ground inside her room appeared before them.

  "So that's what our priestess looks like," a figure of a girl said, curious as she analyzed Carol’s appearance. "Quite beautiful and elegant. Just like what a true Leviathan should be!"

  "Though, for me, her human form is too ugly. Too much 'shell' that restrains that beauty," a figure of a man replied, turning to Chris with a serious look. "Tell me, is it really true? That this 'priestess' has two futures, just like you predicted back then?"

  "Hmm. The dream that told me about the priestess's two futures didn't specify which future she has to choose. But I bet it will either be her embracing the Leviathan side, or erasing it by choosing to be human through the power of friendship," Chris responded with a shrug.

  "I think you read too many novels to think that future of friendship power, Chris," the girl figure stated, her expression displeased by Chris's joke.

  "It might happen, you know? Even if we are overpowered creatures or cosmic entities, we'll never be able to control the future to our favor. That is already part of this world's nature."

  "I guess you're right about that," the man figure replied, accepting that it was a literal truth he couldn't deny.

  "Well, we just have to wait and see, especially how Dein's decades-long plan will reach its flourish." Chris said, looking back at the crystal ball alongside the two figures as they watched over Carol.

  As Carol finally went outside the inn, a shelter provided by Benjamin for the students to rest, she saw all of her colleagues still waiting for her. Forcing herself to put up her usual smile, she walked toward them, determined to hide the pain she was enduring.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Sorry for the late start. Seems like the bed here is quite fluffier than I thought," Carol said, explaining her situation calmly.

  "I doubt that. The bed here isn't that good, in my opinion," Noire replied, annoyed by Carol's random explanation. "In fact, the bed felt normal to me. It was more like the beds back at our campus."

  Hearing his statement, Carol sighed. "Do you know what a 'joke' is, Noire?" she said, disappointed by his lack of humor. "Never mind. I actually stayed up late doing something."

  "Doing what?"

  "It's none of your concern, Noire." Carol closed her eyes, then opened them back, walking away first toward Ordeus's mansion. "It's none of your concern."

  "W-wait..!" Saria exclaimed in her usual nervousness, quickly running to catch up with Carol.

  Aria, watching Saria's behavior, shook her head a few times with a smile and followed as well.

  "Her behavior is too weird. Might be even weirder than before. What do you think of this, Revir?" Noire asked, needing his colleague's opinion on Carol's situation.

  "Hmm. Maybe more secretive than before?" Revir replied casually, slightly worried about Carol despite his carefree smile. "But yeah. It feels too wrong for me to see her acting cryptically like that. She usually tells the truth of her reason after joking around."

  "How about you, Rein? What do you think?" Noire asked yet again, turning his head toward him.

  "Nothing from me, at least," Rein replied, yet he looked intensely at Carol, having noticed a glimpse of small, unnoticeable dark eye bags below her eyes. "More importantly, the girls have already walked quite far from us. Don't you guys want to follow them? We might be left behind if we still stay here."

  "Shoot, you're right!" Noire exclaimed, running to catch up with Saria, Carol, and Aria.

  "Just relax for a bit, Noire. Not that it matters," Revir said, casually following with his hands rested behind his head.

  "Heh." Rein followed them from behind, allowing himself a flicker of frustration as he thought about Carol's fatigue. "Nightmare, I presume. You've been crying all night because of that, haven't you, Carol?" he mumbled to himself.

  Now arrived at the entrance gate of Ordeus Mansion, many nobles and knights representing their houses were assembled, waiting for Ordeus's arrival.

  "Hey!" A student's voice shouted toward the group, waving his hand to grab their attention. "Over here!"

  The group walked toward them, meeting up again with Arvain, who was still admiring himself from behind as usual.

  The continuous murmur of gossiping was instantly replaced with a powerful silence as Ordeus, alongside Benjamin, finally showed themselves, both wearing sets of light armor.

  "Listen up, everyone!" Ordeus shouted, delivering his speech to escalate their fighting spirit one last time. "I know some of you are inexperienced in this 'war' business, especially since it involves the students of Margias," he said, slightly gazing toward Carol.

  Behind Carol, the Spectre of Irene grew larger and denser than before. Despite seeing this, he continued his speech. "But do not worry. Inexperienced or not, I shall be the one who guides you. And for that!"

  Ordeus pulled his sword from its scabbard, roaring as he lifted it high above. "We will carve our countries onto this war, and return as a victor!" he roared, where everyone did the same in unison.

  "Seems like they ready to go to the battlefield," Mira said, reporting to Mary through her transmitter device, which was located around her neck on the top of a building behind the assembly.

  "Is that so?"

  "Yeah. I can't believe he wanted me to watch from the rooftop instead of being beside him. Saying that it would ruin his charisma just because I'm wearing a maid outfit," Mira said, annoyed as she reminisced about Ordeus's absurd reason.

  "Heh, that just sounds like him. Always loves proving himself to be a professional leader," Mary replied, slightly relieved. "But anyway, how's the priestess doing? Has her Dark Ender become violent yet?"

  "For now, it still remains calm. Though, somehow, I noticed a figure behind her, but it was too blurry for me to see," Mira responded, looking intensely at Carol, still unable to clearly perceive Irene.

  Mary paused for a moment upon hearing Mira's statement. Her expression hardened with sympathy, but she forced the emotion deep down, knowing full well that Lydia's promise bound her to never act on Carol's behalf. "Is this... really what you want, Lydia?" she mumbled away from the transmitter device.

  "Miss Mary?"

  "Just follow his instructions for now. I need you to take care of Carol and her friends if the situation becomes too bad... can you do that, Mira?"

  Surprised at how soft Mary's voice became, Mira sighed but slightly widened her smile. "Sure, Miss Mary. At least you didn't order me to kill someone. I've never killed anyone despite being a Zarikh, you know?" she said, trying to make a joke to ease the pain in Mary's heart.

  However, the joke didn't land as well as she thought, as Mary immediately closed the transmitter device.

  "I think I need to work on my jokes," Mira mumbled to herself, regretting sharing such a lame line.

  (Nariens Field: A vast, empty field surrounded by mountain terrain and one abandoned watchtower)

  The Nariens Field, once a shared territory, was now an inevitable battleground. Tension hung heavy as both armies faced off. Ordeus’s expression was hardened with nervousness, while Crake managed a menacing smile despite his own slight worry. At that moment, the sky became cloudy, and the atmosphere grew colder.

  "This is your last chance to surrender, Crake! I promise that your pride isn't going to be tarnished if you just surrender yourselves!" Ordeus exclaimed loudly, using an artifact of wind speaker to project his voice across the distance.

  "Well, what is your call on the Dark Holder's offer, Sir?" Crake's personal maid asked in a flat tone, appearing beside him with light armor added to her elbows. "We might be able to solve this without any violence."

  "That's ridiculous. You think I would back down from here, knowing that I'm the one who declared this war?" Crake replied, walking forward to deliver his war speech. "Listen, my soldiers! There's no need to be scared of the people of Qtiryn! We have something that they will never have, and we shall use it to its fullest!" He pulled his sword, covered in Dark Ender, from its scabbard, pointing it toward Ordeus and his companions afar. "Now, march and let out your bloodlust. Show them the might of Neurn!" Crake ordered with a loud roar. All of his soldiers responded in kind as they charged toward the battlefield.

  "Seems like they will never back out at this point, Sir Ordeus," Benjamin said, pulling out his wand and transforming it into a rapier sword using his Vergus spell.

  Ordeus snorted in disappointment. "As I expected from Crake," he said. He lifted his sword, covering it with a small Ender density of his Dark Magic, and swung it down. Through the swing, a huge mist appeared in front of Crake's charging soldiers, blocking their sight and forcing them to stop as an illusion of deadly monsters surprised them.

  At first, some soldiers didn't believe it and quickly cast their spells against the illusions. But somehow, the monstrous apparitions were able to deflect the attacks, causing the soldiers' eyes to widen in horror.

  Most of the soldiers slowly backed away from the perceived monster—only to be revealed that it was Carol, charging alone. She slashed the body of a soldier in one decisive swing. The soldier's blood splattered onto her cheeks, and his body lay unconscious in a gruesome lake of his own blood.

  "Come," Carol bent her curved fingers in a direct challenge, looking menacingly down at the group of soldiers with her hollow, red eyes. "Show me what a soldier from Neurn is capable of."

  With Carol initiating the first move, Ordeus's soldiers and companions responded by rushing onto the battlefield, utilizing the mist created by Ordeus to their advantage. Crake's initial forces were quickly neutralized.

  Desperation caught Crake's heart as he saw his initial force collapsing. He decided to enter the battlefield himself. However, as soon as he took a step onto the field, Ordeus ran toward him within the mist, leaping above Crake to swing his sword heavily downward. Crake, shocked by his enemy's sudden appearance, immediately used his sword to defend himself, resulting in their weapons clashing with a loud clang.

  "Even after all these years, you still haven't changed, huh?" Ordeus said, his gaze locked against Crake's.

  "Heh. So what? My life is my own to choose, including my own territory's future," Crake stated, unwilling to give in to Ordeus's strength. "Although your deal is quite promising, you think I would give up and let you control my territory just as you please?"

  "You really don't want to listen, do you?" Ordeus broke the clash before landing on the ground, forcing both him and Crake to back away from each other. "But fine. If violence is the only way you want to listen, then so be it." He instantly disappeared using his Dark Magic, reappearing in the skies above.

  Hearing Ordeus’s declaration that he was willing to fight him, Crake widened his grin in satisfaction. He heavily covered his sword with the powerful energy of Tempest, leaped toward Ordeus, who was doing the same with his own Dark Magic-covered sword. Their weapons once again clashed, beginning the battle to see which Holder was superior.