I had a dream.
It was a slightly different dream than before.
What ca into my sight was a desperate battlefield where life and death intersected.
The ground had all been scorched, stained by black and red blood.
Severed limbs and corpses ted the land.
Scattered weapons were oozing blood and the whole place was a hellscape.
In the distant horizon, shadowy figures could be made out.
I knew it instinctively.
Evil things, things that shouldnt exist in this world.
They were witches.
Who is that person?
As I turned my eyes away, there were nurous soldiers fronting beasts.
In front of the soldiers, a man who seed to be the commander firmly planted his feet on the ground.
It was a man resembling Damian.
He was arrayed in blood-stained armor, ard with a longsword in one hand.
It seed as if he already cut down countless beasts, for the edge of his blade was besared in the blackened beasts blood.
The blood stuck to the blade and clumped.
Besides the man, was a pale woman who seed out of place on a battlefield.
Sorry.
The man said suddenly.
The woman glanced back at the man.
Although the mans scarlet eyes were fixated on the witches
His pupils were trembling, thinly harboring indescribable emotions.
If it wasnt for , you
At his softly spoken words, the woman smiled lightly and shook her head.
No, I chose you.
Leah.
So dont say youre sorry.
The woman strongly concluded her words with a wide smile.
Ive never regretted loving you.
At the sa ti, three pairs of wings erged from behind the womans back.
Sacred silver wings that embodied the power of the divine beast.
Beating strongly, the wings dispersed a nimbus of bright white light.
Kkkkkraaaahhh
Grrrrrahhhh
The beasts upon eting the light groaned and flinched backward in fear.
The woman whispered to the man.
Go.
thanks.
The man gritted his teeth before letting out a thunderous roar.
Charge!
Raahh!
The man was the first to charge ahead.
Soldiers follow behind him.
A fierce battle ensued.
The blood welled up like spring water soaking the ground.
Severed limbs were torn and thrown across the battle.
Horrendous screams, soldiers shouting, and the grotesque roars of beasts were thrown into the mix, creating a convoluted cacophony.
The man was in the midst of it all.
He desperately wielded his sword, attempting to boost the morale of his soldiers.
It conveyed desperation but also dogged determination.
It was as if he was telling them, Back away now and you might lose what you hold most dear forever.
For humanity!!
The man lifted his sword, increasing the morale of the soldiers.
Fight to return to your loved ones, endure sohow!
Raaaahhhh!
A loud cry broke out.
It was a rallying cry that seed maddening.
The soldiers wildly raised their weapons.
The edges of both spear and sword shined on the battlefield despite being coated in blood.
The man who watched the scene unfold raised his head.
Leah.
The woman who had been hovering above the man looked at him with a sunken gaze.
He held out his hand to the woman.
I beg you, share your strength.
but.
If you die here, everything youve done so far will be in vain.
However, the man had already made up his mind.
You know why I ca here.
For what you dread of and what itll usher in.
.yes.
After a mont of silence, the woman nodded slowly.
Her purple eyes were deeply sunken with countless emotions.
Youre here for humanity.
Leah.
but you know.
The woman bit her lips until they bled.
A smile spread across her pale face.
It was a sad smile.
Sotis, I wished humanity wasnt first.I wanted you to put first.
At the end of that sentence, the woman silently closed her eyes.
Then, pure white wings erged from the mans back.
Sharp screams, the sll of blood, and the sound of clashing weapons continued.
Even in the chaotic mixture of life and death, his pure white wings shined magnificently.
And the woman remained by the mans side till the end.
****
At the sa ti, I opened my eyes.
Flash.
Blink. Blink.
After blinking my eyes a few tis, my blurry vision slowly began to beco clearer.
I guess I lost my conscience?
It was sunny.
The world was quiet.
The sound of torrential rainfall like a hole had been punched in the sky, disappeared without a trace.
After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, I got up in shock.
Damian!
What happened to Damian?
Apparently, the last ti I saw him
it looked dire!
I hurriedly tried to get out of bed and stumbled on the spot.
At the sa ti, soone quickly caught before I fell to the floor.
Charlize!
A voice called with urgency.
It was him.
Damians wide, scarlet eyes shook with all sorts of emotions.
Da
I licked my lips, swallowing in vain as I realized it was difficult to speak.
A sharp pain ca rushing as if soone was squeezing my throat.
Wheezing sounds ca from my throat.
But I had to ask him sothing.
Damianfine
I reached out and grabbed Damians arm.
My fingers, which barely had any strength left, kept slipping but I managed to catch hold of him sohow.
The image of Damian alone, blocking the dam that was on the verge of overflowing, resurged.
That precarious situation with his back turned on was still imprinted in my mind.
I could vividly picture it, like a painter with their canvas.
That pale face and his trembling figure was about to collapse at any mont.
As soon as I recalled that mory, I felt my heart sink once again.
But then.
Damian shouted at but his expression looked like he was about to burst into tears.
Are you dumb?!
Da.mian.
Even in this state, youre still worried about !
But I am worried.
As I stared at Damian vacantly, he bit his lip and helped .
Contrary to his furious voice, the hand he used to lay down on the bed was gentle.
Then, he quickly rose from his seat and went toward the table with an angry gait.
When he returned to my bedside, in his hand was a glass of lukewarm water.
Drink.
It was only after I drank a glass of water that my voice started to return.
One big gulp.
After clearing my throat a couple of tis, I cautiously asked a question.
What happened?
You cant rember anything?
Mmm. Now that you say that
I recollected my mories.
The first thing that ca to mind was the distant feeling I had when the power coursed through my body before exiting and then spreading far and wide.
Then the astonished faces of people looking at .
And
.wings.
I pursed my lips as I felt like I had been hit hard on the head.
Thosewings.
Do you rember now?
Damians eyes were full of worry as he watched .
But unfortunately, I couldnt afford to pay attention to Damian.
mories that were shattered like fragnts started to co back piece by piece.
Three pairs of silvery wings spread from my back.
The rainfall ceased and the water held in the dam rose up into the sky.
In this empire or perhaps even the whole world
Only one power is capable of such transcendental miracles.
The power of the divine beast Aurelia.
A blessing she bestowed on the imperial family, starting with the founding emperor Carpel.
Divine power
I asked Damian with a naive expression.
Did I demonstrate the power of the divine beast?
Thats how I see it.
Damian gave a big nod.
I was puzzled.
If Damian confird that, its true that I awakened the power of the divine beast.
And hes the only person in this empire who can handle its power.
But why do I?
Why ?
Im soone who has nothing to do with the imperial family.
At the very least, wouldnt it be more appropriate for priests to awaken this power instead?
Seeing how bewildered I was, Damian shook his head.
If I knew that, would I leave you in the dark? Id imdiately explain why.
Well, Damian isnt one to hide this from .
I clenched my fist and opened it again.
In truth, I have no idea how I used my power.
Theres just one thing I should point out
The dream.
The dream Ive had so many tis and the dream I had recently.
A dream in which a man resembling Damian and a pale, beautiful woman appear.
I glanced sideways at Damian.
He tilted his head in response.
What?
No, nothing.
I quickly shook my head.
What was I even going to say?
That I periodically have this dream, that so happens to have this man who looks a lot like you, Damian.
And because of that dream, I can exert the power of the divine beast
Is that what Im going to tell him?
Its more than a far-fetched explanation even for myself.
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