Year 1020 - 6th Empire Military Recruitment Center
The recruitment center was packed.
Dozens of young men and women, all hoping to join the 6th Empire's military. Some for glory. Some for money. Some because they had nowhere else to go.
Nida and Syizen stood in line, their expressions carefully neutral.
"Nervous?" Syizen whispered.
"No." Nida's voice was flat. "You?"
"Terrified."
Despite everything, Nida almost smiled.
They'd spent the last two weeks preparing their cover story. Fake names? No—their real names were common enough. Fake backgrounds? Yes. Orphans from a village destroyed by bandits. No family. No connections. Perfect recruits.
The line moved forward.
THE INTERVIEW
An officer sat behind a desk, looking bored.
"Name?"
"Nida."
"Age?"
"Twenty."
"Any combat experience?"
"Enough to survive."
The officer looked up, finally interested. "Elaborate."
"Bandits killed my family when I was fourteen. I've been on my own since. Learned to fight because I had to."
It wasn't technically a lie.
Just... missing details.
The officer made a note. "Any formal training?"
"No, sir. Just what I taught myself."
"We'll see if that's enough." He gestured to the next line. "Physical evaluation is through that door. Don't waste my time if you can't handle it."
"I won't, sir."
Syizen's interview went similarly.
"Sixteen? You look scrawny."
"I'm fast, sir. And I know how to survive."
"We'll see."
THE PHYSICAL TEST
The evaluation was brutal.
Running. Climbing. Combat drills. Endurance tests.
Nida passed everything easily. Six years of training had made her strong.
Syizen struggled more—he was still smaller, less naturally athletic—but he refused to quit. Every time he fell, he got back up. Every time he failed, he tried again.
The instructors noticed.
"That one's got determination," one muttered.
"Determination doesn't stop a sword."
"No. But it keeps you alive long enough to learn how."
By the end of the day, both had been accepted.
They were given uniforms—black and silver. The colors of the 6th Empire.
Nida stared at the uniform in her hands.
The same colors they wore that night.
Her fingers trembled with rage.
But she forced herself to put it on.
This is just the beginning.
BASIC TRAINING - WEEK ONE
The training grounds were hell.
That's what the recruits called it. "Hell's Yard."
Instructor Valk—a mountain of a man with scars and a voice like thunder—made it his mission to break them.
"YOU'RE NOT SOLDIERS YET!" he roared. "YOU'RE MAGGOTS! AND I'M GOING TO TURN YOU INTO WEAPONS!"
During their first night in the barracks, Nida and Syizen found a quiet corner.
"Are you okay?" Syizen asked quietly.
"I'm fine."
"Nida—"
"I said I'm fine." She looked at him. "We're here. We made it. That's what matters."
"I keep thinking about Kaisen. If we're doing the right thing—"
"We are." Her voice was firm. "This is the only way. Learn their secrets. Get close to their power." She lowered her voice even more. "Especially the dragons."
Syizen's eyes widened slightly. "You still want to—"
"Control them? Yes." Nida's expression was cold. "The 6th Empire uses dragons as weapons. If we can learn how they do it, how they tame them, how they command them..." She clenched her fist. "Then we take that power for ourselves."
"That's insane."
"So is everything else we're doing." She met his gaze. "But it's the only way to destroy them completely. Cut off their greatest weapon."
Syizen was quiet for a moment.
Then he nodded. "Okay. We find out how they control dragons."
"And we steal that knowledge."
WEEK THREE - THE TRUTH
During a tactical lecture, they learned the truth about the 6th Empire's expansion.
Captain Renna stood at the front, pointing to a map.
"The empire's strength comes from three things," she said. "Superior weapons. Superior tactics. And superior resources."
A recruit raised his hand. "What kind of resources?"
Renna's expression darkened. "Villages."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
"The empire raids smaller settlements for two reasons," she continued. "First: slaves. We need workers for the machinery farms, the foundries, the construction projects. The empire is expanding constantly. We need labor."
Nida's jaw tightened.
They killed my family for slaves.
"Second," Renna continued, her voice dropping, "blood."
The room went silent.
"Our enchanted weapons—the rifles, the swords, the artillery—they're powered by dark energy. And dark energy requires..." She paused. "...human blood."
Gasps.
One recruit stood up, horrified. "That's—that's evil!"
"That's war," Renna snapped. "The weak serve the strong. That's how the world works. If you can't handle it, leave now."
The recruit sat back down, pale.
Nida felt sick.
They're farming people. Killing them for their blood to power weapons.
Beside her, Syizen's hands were clenched so tight his knuckles were white.
After the lecture, they walked in silence.
Finally, Syizen spoke. "They're monsters."
"I know."
"They killed our families just to—to harvest them like—" His voice broke.
Nida grabbed his arm. "I know. And that's why we're going to destroy them. All of them."
"How? They have dragons. They have blood-powered weapons. They have—"
"We learn how it all works." Her eyes burned with cold fury. "We learn how they control the dragons. How they create the weapons. Where they keep their blood reserves." She leaned closer. "And then we tear it all down."
Syizen stared at her.
"You're not just planning revenge anymore," he said quietly. "You're planning a war."
"Yes." Her voice was steel. "And we're going to win."
MONTH TWO - The training arena was massive, a circular pit surrounded by high stone walls. Hundreds of soldiers gathered in the viewing stands.
At the center of the pit, chained but still dangerous, was a dragon. Twenty feet long, dark green scales, yellow eyes burning with rage.
Nida studied it like she was calculating angles of attack.
Syizen stared at it like he was about to throw up.
"This is insane," he whispered.
"It's chained. We just need to draw blood." Nida's voice was flat, emotionless. "Don't panic and we'll be fine."
"Easy for you to say..."
An officer shouted from above. "THE RULES ARE SIMPLE! DRAW BLOOD FROM THE DRAGON AND YOU PASS! DIE, AND... WELL, YOU FAIL!"
Laughter from the crowd.
Nida's jaw tightened. Syizen's hands trembled.
"Ready?" the officer called.
"Ready!" Nida shouted.
The gate opened.
THE FIGHT
The dragon's eyes locked onto them immediately.
It growled, a sound that made Syizen's bones vibrate.
"Spread out," Nida commanded. "Move."
They circled the creature.
The dragon lunged at Nida.
She dove aside, rolling smoothly to her feet.
Syizen tried to do the same but tripped over his own feet and face-planted.
"SYIZEN!" Nida shouted.
The crowd laughed.
The dragon turned toward him, sensing easy prey.
Syizen scrambled up, grabbing his spear just as the dragon's claw swung at him.
He blocked, barely, but the force sent him flying into the wall.
CRASH.
Pain exploded through his back. His vision swam.
The dragon stalked toward him, jaws opening.
"NO!" Nida threw her sword. It bounced off the dragon's skull harmlessly, but got its attention. "OVER HERE!"
The dragon roared and charged her.
Nida ran, calculating, waiting for the right moment.
Behind her, Syizen staggered to his feet, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead.
He saw Nida. Saw the dragon chasing her.
Saw its jaws opening.
No. Not her.
Fear turned to something else.
Something hot. Desperate.
I can't let it hurt her.
Syizen didn't think.
Didn't plan.
He just moved.
Grabbed his spear. Charged.
The dragon was focused on Nida, unaware.
Syizen threw himself forward, stumbling twice but refusing to stop.
He drove the spear into the soft flesh under the dragon's jaw.
Blood sprayed.
The dragon roared in pain and stumbled.
For just a moment, it turned and looked directly at Syizen.
Its eyes widened.
Its body went still.
Then it collapsed.
The crowd erupted.
"THEY DID IT!"
"THE CLUMSY KID ACTUALLY STABBED IT!"
Syizen stood there, chest heaving, completely confused.
What just happened? Why did it look at me like that?
No. It was just dying. Confused.
Nida ran to him, her expression hard. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm... I'm okay."
She grabbed his face, checking the cut on his forehead. Her hands were surprisingly gentle.
For just a moment, their eyes met.
Her expression softened. Just for a heartbeat.
Then she let go and stepped back, walls up again.
"Good. Let's get out of here."
THE PROMOTION
One morning, they were summoned to the command building.
Nida and Syizen stood at attention in front of Captain Renna, she said, looking them over with an unreadable expression.
Nida remained rigid. Syizen shifted nervously, accidentally bumping into a chair.
Renna raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"You two have been selected for promotion," she announced, tossing two badges onto the desk. Black and gold, marked with the empire's dragon insignia. "The Crimson Elite. The highest combat class in the 6th Empire."
Nida's expression didn't change. "Thank you, ma'am."
Syizen nearly dropped the badge when he picked it up. "But we've only been here three months..."
"Three months is enough." Renna's gaze was sharp. "Nida, your tactical skills and accuracy are exceptional. Syizen, your resilience is... unusual. You get knocked down more than anyone I've seen, but you always get back up."
Syizen's face flushed. "I'm working on not falling so much..."
"Don't." Renna's voice was firm. "That determination is rare. More valuable than natural talent."
Nida glanced at Syizen. For a split second, something warm flickered in her eyes.
END OF CHAPTER 6