There he was, Isran, lying on the ground, badly injured. But he wasn’t alone. Three Astryan soldiers were there with him.

  When Kazuki saw this, the blood in his veins froze.

  But he didn’t show it.

  "Either I die here today or I survive. But… why am I thinking like that? I… I’m the biggest crybaby… I’m scared to die…"

  Suddenly, all his courage vanished, because only now did he truly realize what was happening.

  His hands trembled, and his knees grew weak.

  "I don’t want to die. These soldiers… they’re too strong. No, what am I doing? I’m weak, and Sebastian is barely 1.60 meters tall, we don’t stand a chance!"

  ,,Hey Kazuki! Hey, can you hear me? Hey, are you okay?” , asked Sebastian. But Kazuki gave no answer. He stood there, frozen.

  The soldiers had noticed them and were approaching.

  But Sebastian didn’t hesitate,he slapped Kazuki across the face.

  ,,Man, snap out of it! You’re the one who dragged us into this mess, so you’ve got to be the one to get us out of it!”, he yelled.

  “W-What? No, I can’t do this…” Kazuki whimpered.

  ,,Well, it’s too late now,”, Sebastian said with a slight grin and handed Kazuki one of his daggers.

  ,,I’m only giving this to you so you don’t die on me. So fight.”,

  With that, he turned toward the soldiers.

  “Me? Why me? I can’t do this… no… someone help…”

  A wave of fear surged through his body.

  But Kazuki quickly forced a fake smile onto his face, he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, run away now.

  ,,Thanks, Sebastian. But that goes for you too, don’t you dare die on me,”, he said, still with that false smile.

  ,,Come at me, you Astryan bastards! I’ll take you all down!”, Kazuki shouted and charged forward alongside Sebastian.

  Sebastian shot forward like an arrow that had just been drawn and released.

  Kazuki, on the other hand, moved clumsily and slowly, like a recruit. Or rather, like a total amateur.

  The soldiers charged toward them, and suddenly, everything fell silent.

  No birds, no wind, it was as if the world itself had stopped. The only sounds were the heavy footsteps of the soldiers pressing into the blood-soaked earth, and the faint, shadow-like steps of Sebastian.

  ”don’t want to die… but if I don’t act now, I’ll lose people I care about.”

  With that, Kazuki sprinted forward, shouting loudly.

  Sebastian was already struggling with one soldier,

  Then came another.

  Now, one soldier stood in front of him, and another behind.

  A scream rang out from Kazuki’s direction.

  ,,Shit, Kazuki, what the hell are you doing?”,

  But as Sebastian turned his head,

  A short sword swung past his ear.

  ,,You little shit! The fight’s right here. If you dare turn around again, I’ll make sure your head’s the first to roll.”,

  ,,Help… please, Sebastian… help me…”, Kazuki’s desperate cries rang out.

  ,,Damn it, Kazuki! I can’t help you!”, Sebastian shouted. ,,You have to survive this on your own”, Fight, no matter how or with what, fight and live, got it?! So stop screaming and don’t give me a reason to worry, you idiot!”, he yelled, still dodging the relentless attacks of the soldier in front of him.

  Kazuki charged forward, but quickly realized he didn’t stand a chance.

  “Why didn’t I ever train before? Why was I so lazy? I really regret it now... damn it.”

  The soldier swung his short sword. Kazuki tried to dodge, too slow. The blade pierced through his left shoulder.

  “AHHH!” Kazuki screamed in agony.

  But as he fell, he managed to stab the soldier's foot with his dagger, a hit, Still, he collapsed to the ground.

  “Wait... what is this warm liquid?”

  He opened his eyes and saw it.

  “Shit... is that blood? My blood? Damn it, what do I do now? It hurts, so damn much. Someone, help me!”

  Kazuki grabbed his shoulder with one hand, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

  ,,Help! Please, Sebastian! Help me! Somebody!” he cried out, almost in tears.

  Then he heard a voice:

  ,,Come on, Kazuki! I can’t help you! You have to survive on your own! So fight, whatever it takes, however you can. Fight and live, okay?! Stop screaming and don’t make me worry, you idiot!”,

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “If even Sebastian, who's younger and smaller than me, can fight... then I have to as well.”

  The soldier was getting back on his feet. Kazuki had no weapon left, but he was ready.

  His body was soaked in blood.

  “Do I really have to kill to survive? I don’t want to be a murderer… but for Isran... I’ll give up my humanity if I have to.”

  The soldier pulled the dagger from his foot and threw it at Kazuki.

  ,,AH, SHIT!” Kazuki yelled.

  The dagger hit him, right in the same wounded shoulder.

  “It hurts... it hurts so much… I don’t understand… someone… anyone…”

  His thoughts spiraled into madness.

  Then he heard it again, that soft, yet eerie voice:

  ,,Your heart still beats, So rise,Those who fall lose more than themselves, They lose what they wanted to protect.”,

  He wanted to cry, but couldn’t.

  He wanted to give up, but something wouldn’t let him.

  He just wanted… a break.

  Instead, he ripped the dagger out of his shoulder and got ready to fight.

  “This kid’s a monster... he’s more twisted than any beast,”, the soldier muttered, crawling on the ground in panic.

  He didn’t see it:

  Kazuki, blood-smeared dagger in hand,

  blood dripping onto the muddy ground,

  a cursed grin stretched from ear to ear,

  stepping closer with each breath.

  If he wanted to survive… if he wanted to save Isran… if he wanted to reach Sebastian…

  then he had to accept it: There’s only one rule,kill or be killed.

  And so he moved forward.

  ,,You bastard... I’ll kill you! I’ll rip you apart for what you did to Isran! I’ll end you!”,

  His face twisted in a demonic smile.

  His mind flooded with rage, fear, madness.

  He stabbed, again, And again, Into the lifeless body.

  His mouth let out a crazed laugh

  not of rage, not of fear, but of something that felt alive.

  Like he’d broken a taboo that had trapped him for far too long.

  “What’s happening to me? This isn’t me… no… this can’t be real. Please… wake me up from this nightmare… please stop! This isn’t who I am! Stop! Please! My hands—they won’t stop—damn it! I’m a murderer… Why am I laughing? Why does it feel like this? Why?!”

  By now, the soldier was nothing more than a torn corpse.

  Kazuki, drenched in blood, but the feeling wouldn’t stop.

  And neither would the laughter.

  Meanwhile:

  Sebastian fought with all he had.

  He dodged another sword, barely.

  Each step splashed mud across the battlefield.

  No more screaming, only the stench of burnt flesh filled the air.

  He was near his limit.

  Then he saw someone in the distance. Kazuki, But changed.

  He was drenched in blood.

  And he smiled, a smile pulled straight from Sebastian’s worst nightmare.

  Kazuki threw his dagger, it struck a soldier straight in the neck.

  The man screamed and fell unconscious.

  That scream distracted another soldier.

  Sebastian didn’t waste a second, He lunged

  stabbed the man in the leg, arm, back, stomach, again and again,

  until the soldier collapsed.

  Shit… who is this guy?” Sebastian muttered, trembling as he looked at Kazuki. “That’s definitely not the Kazuki who was just screaming for help…”

  “Stop… please, stop…”

  But the smile on Kazuki’s face just wouldn’t fade. It was like it was burned in. He couldn’t control it.

  ,,Hey, man… are you okay?” Sebastian asked, both disturbed and worried at the same time.

  Kazuki was breathing heavily. Finally, he pulled himself together.

  ,,Yeah… don’t worry about me. But we need to get Isran out of here, now!” he said urgently, his eyes flickering between panic and focus.

  ,,Hey Kazuki, your shoulder… it doesn’t look good. Try to wrap it up or something, okay?” Sebastian pointed out the deep wound.

  ,,Oh shit… I completely forgot… damn it! The pain’s coming back now…” Kazuki groaned, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

  ,,Yeah, I’m doing it,” he growled through gritted teeth, his face contorted with pain.

  ,,Here, take this. It was still in my pocket,”

  Sebastian pulled out a bandage, slightly crumpled, but clean enough.

  ,,Thanks, man… seriously,” Kazuki said, starting to wrap up his injured shoulder.

  ,, won’t use all of it… look at Isran,” he added and dragged himself over to his friend’s motionless body.

  Slowly, he knelt down, his fingers shaking as he began to wrap the wounds as best he could.

  ,,It’s a miracle you’re still alive… but everything’s gonna be okay now,” Kazuki murmured, more to himself than to Isran.

  He carefully lifted him up, as gently as his battered shoulder allowed.

  ,,Come on… we can’t waste any more time,” he panted, utterly exhausted.

  Blood, dirt, sweat, it all clung to them as they staggered out of the ruined camp, Isran on Kazuki’s back.

  And then, like a beam of light in the middle of hell, they saw it:

  A carriage. With medics. And soldiers.

  ,,Finally… finally this nightmare is over…” Kazuki whispered.

  He couldn’t take it anymore.

  ,,Thank you, Sebastian… I… I’m so grateful…”

  And then it all broke loose.

  He cried, helplessly, like a little child who had seen too much.

  They climbed into the carriage.

  Kazuki collapsed. His body gave out.

  And in that moment, just before everything went dark, his last thought was:

  “Please… Isran… survive…”

  The Wounded Camp.

  It’s been a wild and emotional ride, full of pain, despair, and the first of many decisions.

  “Siege of Orvalis,” brings a new setting, new characters… and a looming siege.

  next chapter comes in 2 to 5 days