As Aria ran, Zero tried to stop her tried to warn her about the traps he had set around the zone.
This was Zone One of the Arian Kingdom.
The soldiers of Zone One watched from the shadows as Aria ran, tears falling from her eyes.
Zero shouted her name, his voice breaking the silence but she didn't turn back.
Up on the rooftop, hidden in the mist, a soldier held an old long rifle the Holy Day Sniper.
The commander gave a quiet order: "Fire."
For a moment, the world stopped.
The wind froze. The light dimmed.
Everything slowed Aria running forward, Zero reaching for her hand, and the commander's cold command echoing.
Then came the sound one shot.
The bullet cut through the fog, through the morning light.
Zero felt it before he heard it.
The bullet tore through Aria's waist blood spilled, red and bright against the gray ruin.
Time died in that second.
Zero's eyes widened like a man seeing a ghost.
He grabbed her before she fell, pulling her into the shadows, hiding her from sight.
Aria coughed, blood slipping from her lips. Her eyes softened, life fading.
She smiled weakly. "Sorry… Zero. I just wanted to do something good… for once.
I just wanted to be useful… not a useless burden waiting to be protected."
Her breath slowed, her voice breaking.
Zero froze. His heart cracked, his mind empty.
She reached for her necklace the one shining in the moonlight and pressed it into his hand.
A royal symbol glowed faintly on its surface.
"I wanted… to die as part of the kingdom I fought for," she whispered.
Then she was still.
Zero couldn't speak. His mind broke into fragments memories flashing, shattering like glass.
"Damn it… damn it!" he shouted.
"Who gave me this gun? Why… why am I crying? I don't care if she dies… so why?"
Aria's eyes fluttered one last time.
Through pain, she smiled.
"For once, I saw you show pain… I'm satisfied."
She coughed softly. "Can I tell you a secret?
The war between Arian and Naryan… it could have been avoided if only I had told the truth sooner."
Her words faded like the wind. "I'm… from Naryan."
Then came the explosion.
The ground shook, fire roared, the walls broke.
Zero's body flew backward, debris covering them both.
He crawled through the dust, his hands bloody, finding her holding her cold body close.
He stared at her necklace, trembling.
A strange calm filled him.
He tied Aria's lifeless body to his back, her blood soaking his shirt.
He picked up his twin rusted blades, his eyes empty.
He ran.
The Arian soldiers shouted. "Sir! The boy is still alive! He's carrying the girl!"
The commander frowned. "Kill him."
Ten soldiers went after him. One by one, they fell into the traps Zero had set.
Ropes tightened, spikes struck, the night screamed.
He ran through the fog no longer with hope, but with rage.
His blades flashed through the mist silent, sharp, merciless.
The commander finally came down from the walls, anger burning in his eyes.
"What kind of monster is this boy?" he muttered.
He followed the trail of blood and gunpowder, stepping over his fallen men.
Zero reached the tunnel they had entered from. He jumped in.
One soldier followed him into the narrow dark.
The man whispered, "Come out, kid. I know you're here…"
A crack of wood echoed.
A laugh.
Then steel.
Zero stabbed him again and again rage, grief, madness.
When he climbed back out, his face was covered in blood and tears.
The last two soldiers saw him and opened fire.
One bullet grazed his face, burning his cheek.
Zero didn't stop. He charged.
He killed one, but the other shot his arm his left hand went numb.
He grabbed a stone and drove it into the soldier's skull.
The commander arrived saw the bodies of his men scattered, torn.
He laughed bitterly. "All this… from one child."
He dropped his gun, walked to Zero, and started beating him.
Punch after punch, kick after kick.
Zero's blood splattered the ground.
The commander grabbed him by the hair, dragging him across the rubble.
"Where's your pride now, boy?!" he yelled, striking him again.
Zero didn't fight back he was too weak.
Then he saw it one last trap, the one he'd forgotten.
He shifted his weight.
The commander stepped forward and fell straight into the pit of sharpened wood.
The sound was final.
Zero crawled to Aria, lifted her one last time, and whispered,
"Sleep, princess of war."