The moon was quiet.
A huge chunk of it was missing, cracks glowing faintly under the light of distant stars. And there—right on the fractured surface—Draven sat cross-legged, facing the slowly rising sun.
He didn't speak.
He didn't move.
The only sign he was alive was the stream of tears sliding down his face in absolute silence. He didn't even notice them. The others did.
Damon landed lightly, Cythera limp in his arms. He lowered her gently, letting light flow from his palm into her torso until her breathing steadied.
He looked at Draven, then whispered to the others:
"When you're in the state… or the Zone… you keep reliving the trigger."
Cythera's eyes widened.
"You mean…?"
Varnex nodded once, painfully.
"Yes. He's seeing Velmira die. Over and over. He can't stop it."
Thorpax stepped forward, voice low.
"How do we get him out?"
Bravira shook her head immediately.
"You don't. You can't. You try to pull someone out of the Zone? They might kill you by instinct."
She folded her arms. "We stay with him. Until it fades."
No one argued.
So they sat.
Draven in the middle.
Damon on one side, Cythera beside him.
Thorpax on the other.
Bravira, Varnex, and finally—when the first sun rose—Queen Thessa herself descended and sat beside her sons.
No one spoke.
The sun rose.
And set.
Then rose.
And set.
On the third sunrise… Draven finally breathed. Not just breathed—spoke.
His voice was so soft they almost missed it.
"Oh Eternal One… please…"
His hands were trembling in his lap.
"Please let Velmira into Nirvana."
Everyone's heads lowered.
"She wasn't a monster," Draven whispered.
"She was good. She was—"
His voice cracked.
He didn't finish the sentence.
He looked sideways at Thorpax.
Eyes swollen, tear tracks carved into his face even though no tears remained.
"Brother… you know how much I loved her."
Thorpax's eyes dropped.
"I know," he said quietly. "I know."
A long silence.
Draven finally pushed himself up, shaky, as if standing for the first time in his life. He offered his hand to the Queen—who took it—and helped her rise.
"Thank you," he murmured. "For staying with me."
Bravira flicked her eyes away, pretending she wasn't emotional.
Cythera wiped her cheek quickly—too late. Damon caught it.
He smirked slightly.
"Well… now I've seen you cry."
She looked at him like she was about to punct him off the moon.
Queen Thessa stepped forward.
"Draven… how can I thank you for your service? You can leave it you please."
He shook his head immediately.
"I'm not leaving Woewyn. This is my home."
His voice softened.
"…And it was hers too."
He looked toward the distant horizon.
"Besides… who would protect Lagalith? The tree with our names carved into it."
The Queen couldn't speak. Her expression did it for her.
Varnex placed a hand on Draven's shoulder.
"If you ever need to talk… I'm here."
Everyone looked at Bravira.
She sighed.
"…Fine. You can cry on me too."
Draven actually almost smiled. Almost. It flickered, then faded—like something inside him still held him back.
Damon stepped forward awkwardly.
"So uh… I didn't know how you wanted to handle Velmira so… I asked my aunties if there's a way to… keep her. Here."
Draven breathed out slowly.
"…Thank you."
Thorpax approached and took Draven's hair gently, lowering their foreheads together. Their fists rose beneath their chins—the brother's oath grip.
Nothing needed to be said.
They understood each other without words.
Bravira placed a hand over Draven's neck.
"Let's go home."
Draven looked at her, exhausted but steady.
"…Yeah. Let's go home."
She walked one direction.
He pointed the other way.
"…Bravira. Home is that way."
She blinked.
"Oh."
A tiny smile touched her lips as she kept her hand on his neck, guiding him gently.
"You were always the compass."
They rose into the sky—Thorpax surfing on a floating boulder like it was normal. Damon blinked at him.
Bravira laughed.
"Don't ask. He thinks it's stylish."
Cythera tried to follow—
Wings of water formed—
then instantly burst into droplets.
She plummeted a good two meters and froze, red-faced.
"…I can't fly," she muttered quietly.
Everyone else was already several hundred feet up.
Damon turned back midair.
"…May I?"
Cythera blinked.
"W-what?"
He slid an arm under her knees and back before she could object. She grabbed his shoulder on instinct, cheeks warm.
"Hold on," he said.
"And tell me if I'm too fast."
Draven watched them fly off.
"Your Majesty," he murmured to the Queen beside him,
"your son… will be strong."
As soon as they landed, Daichi tackled Damon—starting as a giant wolf and shrinking mid-air into a medium-small one while still flying at him.
"I used ALL our training!" Daichi barked proudly. "I protected Nyra! Also… I'm starting to wonder how humans taste because she didn't let me eat any—"
Damon ruffled his fur aggressively.
"Thank you for protecting Nyra."
Nyra sprinted in and hugged Draven tightly.
He patted her head gently.
Then she ran to Damon.
"Did you SEE me?! Damon I burnt them to a crisp! And then I jumped on Daichi, kicked fire into the air and I was like—BLAZING FURNACE—"
She gestured wildly.
Damon grinned.
"You did well... Where's Rika?"
Nyra pointed.
Rika was helping remove a soldier's armor.
She sensed Damon staring and jogged over.
"So?" Damon asked. "How'd it feel being superhuman?"
Rika smirked tiredly.
"I felt unstoppable, like in the books."
Then her voice dropped.
"…But it was bloodier than I thought."
Damon's voice softened.
"You hurt?"
"Was. Healed a couple days ago."
She shrugged. "I'm fine."
"How many died?" Damon asked quietly.
Rika looked down.
"Four hundred… over two thousand injured."
Damon froze.
His jaw clenched.
His Ki tensed—everyone sensed it.
The Queen approached.
"That is the price of war, Damon."
Damon looked away.
"I'm not strong enough. I trained for months. And still—"
Bravira grabbed his shoulder strongly.
"You cannot live with regrets. On Woewyn, we honor strength. We do not cry over weakness."
He nodded slowly.
"…I'll keep training. I'll get strong enough so no one has to die again. No one."
They all stared at him. Then—
Draven turned away quietly.
"I'll be back. I have to see Tolrex for… for Velmira."
He didn't finish her name.
Thorpax stood beside Damon.
"You see? We mourn them. But we also take pride in their sacrifice. And ask the Eternal One to guide them to Nirvana."
Damon swallowed.
Then nodded.
"Good," Thorpax said with a pat on his shoulder.
They entered the throne room— and froze.
Nine bodies.
Or what was left of them.
Ash. Burn marks. Missing limbs.
One skull with clean laser holes.
Queen Thessa pinched her nose.
"Oh… right."
Varnex took a step and slipped—
went straight into a pile of ash.
"PLEASE tell me this is paper ash."
"No," Thorpax muttered.
"We all know what happened."
Everyone turned to the Queen.
She lifted her hands.
"What? They broke in."
Bravira rolled her eyes.
"You could've moved the bodies?"
"I was busy helping soldiers," the Queen replied. "I forgot."
Varnex gasped.
"You ripped their limbs off AND lasered this one's eyes out?"
Damon stared at her, horrified.
"This… this is what she can do?"
Cythera crossed her arms calmly.
"She whipped him."
"SHE WHIPPED HIM?!" Damon and Daichi yelled together—Daichi barking in the same rhythm.
Bravira nodded.
"Her Whip of Judgment. She swung it so fast his body burned from friction. Hence the ash so I guess it's more than nine of them.
Thorpax shrugged.
"Ooo, someone's learning."
Damon looked around, wide-eyed.
"How do you all act so normal around her?!"
Cythera nodded at him.
"If I were you, I'd apologize for everything I've ever done."
Bravira added "You need to reach her power. And surpass it."
Queen Thessa sat on her throne elegantly.
"Now… Damon. How did you unlock the sword?"
He hesitated.
"I couldn't move… I thought someone would die… I just needed to get up. Then Natsuki told me to stand first and win later so… I did."
Thorpax nodded.
"Eterna sometimes runs on emotion. She heightened your will I suppose."
Bravira leaned in with hunger in her eyes.
"When do I get to train this girl? Who do you think wins, Damon?"
He backed up.
"A-ah she's good at basketball—not Eterna stuff."
Bravira grabbed him.
"A man who's honest about his lover's weaknesses… nice."
She threw him straight out the open window.
Thorpax sighed. Turning to Bravira.
"Let's hurry. I need to fix the moons."
"I only broke one!" Bravira yelled.
Everyone stared.
"…Two," she corrected. "Maybe two."
That night, Woewyn was alive with mourning and relief.
Some families shared rum, some talked to their loved ones' graves, some helped Thorpax find the right moon pieces.
Damon visited Hazel.
She threw herself onto him immediately—sniffing him like she was checking for missing limbs.
"You're okay," she mumbled into his cheek.
He smiled.
"I'm okay."
Hazel looked down sadly.
"I felt their dreams… the men and women who died. They were sad… but proud. Their last prayer was that you'd be strong enough to protect them and their families.
Damon's expression dropped.
"I promise you, Hazel… I won't stop until no one needs to go to war. Ever again."
Her eyes glowed.
Queen Thessa touched his hair gently.
"He's like his father in that area… the ultimate bull."
Hazel giggled softly.
They talked about Christmas and Hazel mentioned the volunteers. How Woewyn citizens wished for insane things. How they had to give replacement gifts.
"One guy wanted to get stronger every time he breathed," Hazel said.
"So we gave him a box that lectures him about hard work whenever he's lazy."
Damon laughed, placing Natsuki's gift on the huge pile.
He lay down with Daichi curled beside him.
Hazel nestled herself in his hair like a tiny guardian.
He looked at the ceiling.
Velmira's face appeared in his mind.
He smiled sadly.
"She could've been… the perfect elder sister."
His eyes closed.
One last thought drifted through him before sleep:
"Tomorrow…
I'll see the girl I love."