122 Short story : A lucky soldier

Removing his helmet that was akin to a second skin now, a young man struggled to escape the hole he fell into. Looking at the devasted space surrounding him, he was quick at removing all pieces of armor that could make him seemed to be a soldier. Still painstakingly crawling on the dry soil, he could only look at what previously was a lush plain with healthy green grass. The yellow dust that was tainting his fingers was a worst sight than the sand of the desert in the North.

"Is anyone here? Hello? Someone?" With no answers and only the wind making any sound, the only survivor of this battle began to truly look at what was near him. Not even a single trace of those that ate and drank with him the night before. All the bodies had mysteriously disappeared, or should he say, magically. It was sheer luck at this point that a hole in the ground was enlarged by the powerful attacks of that demon, just enough for his body to fit in.

Pushed down by the fallen soldier in front of him, the young man tried to not make any noises afterward. He was not really in the frontline, so if the fight already reached him, it meant that the battle was lost. With his conflicted memories, he tried to remember anything useful, but all he could think was the sudden darkness that fell. Not even the corpse that was on top of him was sparred, but the black liquid did not infiltrate the ground and the hole.

"Oh man, what am I supposed to do now? Think, think, think." He began to walk in circles, oblivious to everything in his surroundings. Without his armor on, and with only the clothes he wore under it and his disheveled appearance, he could easily pass for a beggar. After nearly a minute, he finally stopped and looked at the city far away.

"Archet. Uncle said that if I ever had a problem, I should stay near the ... near the ... near what? Old tree? Old Church? It was an old something. Forget it, just walk Martin, that's what he said." Filled with determination, he followed the trail that the black army took minutes ago. The dry soil under his shoes was remembering once more about what happened before. As for whatever was next, he could only guess. Only his uncle could help him at this point, even if he didn't understand how a tea merchant could do something about gods.

Arriving at the open gates, he was baffled to not see anyone. Not even a single soul in sight, even when the walls and sturdy doors had no impacts on them. Even he could see that it was the city that surrendered, not that he blamed them. He was already lucky to be alive, so he could understand why they were terrified and yielded. But right after entering the city, he could see a little farther the same black monsters that killed his friends, well aligned in two rows.

Profiting of the fact none of them were looking at him, he began to walk away, as discreetly as he could. It was almost comical to see him taking nearly an entire second just to move one leg after the other, but his efforts rewarded him since he finally left the area without being seen. Breathing, at last, he found that it wasn't just where he was that seemed odd. There was still a lacking human presence in the path he had taken. Unfamiliar with Archet, he could only keep heading North, feeling that at a certain point, he should meet a fellow human.

But as he walked, all he saw was partially destroyed houses, with breached doors and open basements. Even on the very street, sometimes, the wreckage was visible. In the end, he finally met a small garden, or what looked like that, with a very big tree. The green grass seemed really comfy, compared to the broken wood and stone laying around. With all the tension in his body and mind finally being released, the former soldier managed to fell asleep in a few minutes.

When a group of dark shadows left an underground passage nearby, they could only be surprised by that sight. Not knowing why someone dressed like a refugee was sleeping in this place, especially at that time, they had mixed feelings. Only when one realized that the clothes he was wearing were the same as the regular army of Avenio did they decided to bring him away. After all, if they could learn from the probably only witness still alive what really happened, it would be great. Putting a small vial under the nose of the sleeping youngster, they made sure he would not wake up before they had left this place for good.