Clang
A loud metal sound erupted as the sword in Gray's right arm clashed with the claws of the eagle, shattering it completely and sending it crashing into the ground and spiraling dust into the air, fogging his eyes.
After three hours of non-stop fighting, Gray finally stopped, slamming down the small eagle that tried to backstab him from behind, and piercing the sword in his left arm into its chest, and pulling out, sparing blood into the air.
He slammed both swords into the blood-filled ground, stretching himself as he inhaled deeply, hoping to release the tension that continued to build up during the fight, closing his eyes. When he cracked his eyes open, his expression changed, spotting the soldiers he'd once told to wait standing beside one of those totally collapsed buildings, watching him with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, one of the eagle's corpses shook slightly, its wings flopping slightly, throwing the stones that fell on its feathers away.
…
Seeing an inscription on the building he was walking by, he stopped, turning and focusing on it fully, and began stepping close when he saw it to be the same inscription the box he buried beside his mother's tomb had. But as he stretched his right arm, trying to trace his fingers across it, a crushing sound echoed from a distance, and when he turned, he saw two ghostly figures hovering and looking at him.
Kai moved, running from the door and chasing after them until they reached a curve, turned, and then vanished when he got there but saw a sheet of paper floating in the air. Immediately he grabbed it, it turned into ashes, scattered in his palm, and lined themselves with his palm lines.
'What is this?' he thought, astonished at how the sheet turned to ash without being placed in any fire, and how it had arranged itself perfectly, almost cloning the lines.
After a while of gazing deeply at the ashes, he noticed someone from afar hovering toward him, wearing a black cape and long black dress dragging dust all around where it passed.
"I have been here for decades waiting for your arrival," the figure said, closing in and pulling off the hood from its head.
Kai trembled, seeing a heavy glow and sensing a loud and vicious vibration at every turn the figure made. When the figure raised a hand, stretching it, Kai jolted awake from the dream, sweat beading his skin, and became on guard, spotting something flickering at the corners of his room.
…
Under the serene night's shade and the blessed blossom falling, two wide eyes peeked into the barracks' entrance gate, tilting sideways and scanning the surroundings before jolting back, vanishing from the hole on the door.
Torn newspapers floated in the air, dancing and flowing on top of the gate, when a screeching sound echoed, followed by footsteps approaching in the direction Max walked after entering the barracks like a ninja on a kill mission.
'Huh, I nearly got caught,' he thought, dashing to the back of a wall and allowing the person to walk by him unseen.
When the footsteps stopped, he walked to his room, placed the envelope in a drawer, locked it, changed his outfit, and joined the other colleagues at the entrance, the very people he hid himself from when entering at first.
…
"Sir, should we gather the remains of the eagles?" Oin asked, moving from the hiding spot and coming close to Gray, who was cutting the beak and feathers of the corpse of the big golden eagle.
Gray turned, looked at Oin, and shook his head, then continued to the small eagle, and began to walk past the rest of the soldiers who were still shocked and hadn't moved an inch.
He placed a hand on Mike's shoulder before moving past them completely.
'What skill grade do these two eagles have? They are far stronger and faster than the one I fought with at first,' he said, halting and sitting on a rock and staring in the direction he walked out from.
"Guys, did you see how fast he moved, slamming the creatures? Lieutenant Gray is really strong."
"Yeah, he's my mentor. But how can that kid be able to stand head to head with this person?"
"Who are you referring to?"
"Oh… what's his name? That six-year-old boy who doesn't play in his box and shocked us all after passing the recruitment training."
"Are you referring to Kai? For that kid, I dare not make him angry. Looking at his eyes alone makes him feel like a monster. The night after the anniversary, I nearly ran off when I saw his eyes," Mike said, laughing while scratching the back of his head.
"Let's go back before an eagle of the same strength as these ambushes us," Oin said, finally pulling one of the golden feathers, placing it in his pocket, and heading to where the bus was.
They all followed except Mike, who stood there with a changed expression, squinting his eyes as he watched the clouds change before running toward them with laughter.
…
Morning light began to slip into the room through the window, spreading across the floor and touching the edges of the bed and the scattered bedsheet, chasing away the dim shadows that clung to the walls.
"Who was that?" Kai said, gasping heavily, moved forward, sat at the tip of the bed, and gripped the bedsheet tightly.
He tilted his head toward the window, gazing at the pale sky and the thin mist hanging over the trees as the light grew stronger. He moved toward it, placed his hands on the stool, and focused thoroughly on the birds as their whistling sounds and humming broke the quiet air.
Flowers floated, spiraling before landing on the slightly wet ground.
'I need to become strong, strong enough to understand everything I'm experiencing and also join brother Gray to fight the monsters,' Kai thought, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. His breathing began to follow the flowing wind surging toward him as the branches of the trees shook.
…
'Hope I get to make him come out today.' A lady with white hair and brown eyes walked in the direction of Kai's door, cuddling her fingers.