Chapter 1 - Beginning before the End

"I want to be free"

He slashed another enemy down.

Above the battlefield the sky above was clear, peaceful- untouched by the chaos below

"Mia used to love days like this" - Ah, he thought, listening to the distant sound of river flowing

For a moment the War faded. He went back to the moment where he used to play with sticks instead of swords.

"Akira, Ren, will they remember me if they see me in after life"

CLANG

The sharp noise of swords dragged him back to reality.

An enemy rushed him from his side.

He turns and pauses for a fraction of a second-

before he swings his sword. The enemy's hand falls on the ground, the sword dropping beside it. And a scream tore through the air.

Unable to see the man in pain, he cuts the man's throat to give him a quicker and less painful death.

Then stares at his surrounding, full of chaos- swords clashing, bodies collapsing.

Several days has passed since the Battle of Senzu started, mountains of dead bodies are lying on the ground. He walks over them to reach the senzu river, trying to be free from the chaos, from the bloodshed. Each steps felt heavier than the last, as if the weight of every life he had taken clung to him.

The Sanzu river flowed peacefully, even when now blood had replaced water

"The river- it's so peaceful" He took a slow breath.

If I fall into it... will I finally be free?

Free from the screamss

Free from the chaos

Free from the man, he had become

With those kind of thoughts, he slid his sword back into its sheath.

Ignoring the shouts behind him, he walked toward the river's edge, and let himself fall into it

Few seconds has passed since he fell

"Mia, Ah...her name was Miyako. Her smile... I barely remember it, she used to make me Miso soup...one of my favourite food, *smiles

Miyako, she loved sunflower....ah...that sunflower field that we used to play when we were kids- roaming freely without any worries

pauses

Miyako, I abandoned the battlefield, do you think I can finally be free?"

with that he closes his eyes and the world goes silent

For a moment, he thought he was dead

No Pain, no Worries, no chaos, no smell of dead bodies, now not even the sound of water

Just Emptiness....

Cold takes over his body, darkness pressed him from every direction, thick and endless

He says "So, this is Freedom" for one last time

A Complete silence ...before voices begans to rise around him- not screams, not cries of battle, but whispers ..not one but hundreds of them

He feels regret ..sorrow and several emotions at once, after looking at flickering faces in the darkness from where the whispers are coming from. They were fallen enemies, his fellow worries who fought beside him and lost their lives

His body sank deeper

Then suddenly a light appears- it was a faint glow before it starts glowing brighter than sun.

The river changed, blood is gone, and now water is flowing towards the light.along with him, his body feels lighter- he could only feel this things as he is unable to open his eyes or move any part of his body.

The water is now gone, he could feel he's floating in air.

And then a voice echoed from everywhere at once,

"You seek freedom?"

"but freedom is not escape"

Now, a pressure gripped his chest, it was not painful but heavy

The voice says again, "Will you carry your sins in another world or will you lay them down?"

His whole life starts to flash before his eyes

He tries to open his mouth and say

"I ..i don't want to kill anymore" - his voice trembled

Silence ....

The voice echoes again " Then walk again"

The light flared and his pain returned all at once.

He coughs out water , and rolled onto his side...gasping

The ground beneath him was solid..not stone..not mud. Also, the air felt different and cleaner

Slowly, he opened his eyes

He could see clear sky above him, but it was different from what he had seen before- the sky had two moons, one is pale silver and other one is faintly blue. Also, strange stars shimmered even though it was day time

He pushed himself up, trembling

But with the help of his sword he stands

staring at the vast land before his eyes.

At that moment, only one single thought was in his mind,

"I didn't die"

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