OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 155: Parting II

***

In the middle of a scarred wasteland filled with signs of battle that spanned centuries.

A man hovered in the air, above a large group of people wearing military uniforms.

He had his own uniform, similar in design, yet slightly special.

With a raised hand, the man spoke, his voice loud and clear:

"Men, women, and cyborgs, you've all survived your first battle, you've gained the power all would love to have. You are privileged, but you gained that privilege with your own bloodied hands, and have landed here, in the land of the dead, the land of no return...."

"THE FRONT LINES!"

"You all survived, and now you must survive again!"

"Return to your friends and family-those who await your calls, those who welcome you home, those who will miss you-but to do so, you must stick to our cause."

"We gave you this opportunity, so now you all are one of our people... And what are we?"

"WE ARE CELESTIALS! WE HAVE CROSSED THE THRESHOLD! WE ARE THE AWAKENED! WE DO NOT FALTER! WE DO NOT WEAKEN!"

"OOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

"OOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

"OOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

Those he addressed chanted, almost hypnotized by the man's words.

Jake and Emma were the loudest of them, screaming at the top of their lungs.

The man raised his hand further, signaling them to quiet down.

"Those who we shall see today are our enemies, those who wish to take control of our home... As stated in the briefing, we are to fight, or rather bait out, a single construct, a construct many times our strength..."

"You might be asking why. Why assign us to such an important location with such weak celestials? Celestials that had just crossed the threshold?"

"Well, the answer is simple... We are the only ones available at this moment, no mechs, no weapons of war, nothing, only us... We cannot expect reinforcements until 18:00... An hour away after we mount our charge."

"Do not fear, I, Commander Xavier, shall lead you all to glory and death. I do not expect much of you, as you all can barely be considered celestials, but...."

"You would do well in delaying the enemy. And that is honorable."

"NOW COHORT CAPTAINS STEP FORWARD ON THE DOUBLE! OUR MISSION BEGINS IN 180 CLICKS!"

A heavy, hushed silence blanketed the wasteland, and a realization settled in among the group that they were embarking on a suicide mission.

The commander's vivid and chilling words had fully registered in their minds, leaving them with an unsettling awareness that this mission was tantamount to a death sentence.

Jake and Emma were well aware of the perilous nature of the mission from the outset, but as cohort captains, they had to serve as an example, to scream the loudest, and be the most confident.

So they stepped forward, just as the other captains did, save for one who struggled her way to the front, leaving a trail of vomit behind her.

"Blergh," she managed to utter, her voice shaky and barely able to contain the nausea that had overtaken her.

Emma was about to go help her, but Jake quickly held her hand, stopping her from doing so. "Don't... Let's see how this will play out... the commander can use this to inspire the troops." His words spoke true, as the girl soon stuttered out:

"Are we all... heading towards our deaths?"

All the other captains, with the exception of Jake and Emma, stared at her in shock, not expecting her to ask such a question.

"Yes."

The commander answered, his tone neither angry nor annoyed, just plain.

"...Are you saying that if we're going to die anyways, it's better off to die fighting?"

"Yes,"

"Th-then no matter how we die... Even if it's disobeying orders, it all means nothing, right?"

"You're exactly right..."

"It's all meaningless, no matter what you dreamt of achieving as a celestial..."

"No matter how tough a time you've had to get here..."

"It's all the same if you're bombarded to death by the construct we face today."

"Death comes to us all, be it gunned down by the enemy or by old age..."

"But does that mean that our deaths are MEANINGLESS?!"

"Was there a meaning in our being born? Would you say that to those who've come here before you? Our fallen soldiers? Their lives..."

"Were they meaningless?"

"No... It's us, we are the ones who give meaning to their lives!" He bellowed.

"Those that were brave! Those anguished! THE ONES WHO WILL REMEMBER THE FALLEN... ARE US THE LIVING!"

"WE DIE TRUSTING THE LIVING WHO FOLLOW TO FIND MEANING IN OUR LIVES!"

"THAT IS THE SOLE METHOD IN WHICH WE CAN REBEL AGAINST THIS CRUEL WORLD! WE DO NOT BUCKLE OR YIELD!"

"MY SOLDIERS RAGE!"

"MY SOLDIERS SCREAM!"

"MY SOLDIERS FIGHT!"

"OOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

"OOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

"OOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

"OOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

The soldiers bellowed in unison, their voices shaking the very ground they were standing on, almost drowning out Jake's thoughts in the process.

Just as they began to quieten down, Jake pulled on Emma's shoulder, and spoke directly in her

ear:

"See... I told you he'd bring it bac-"

KA-BOOM!

The earth trembled as a sudden, deafening explosion erupted, sending shockwaves through

the ground.

Mushroom clouds materialized at a distance ahead, painting an ominous backdrop for the

approaching army.

Moments later, a barrage of missiles streaked across the sky, converging on them from all

directions.

Jake steadied himself, the weight of the impending battle settling on his shoulders.

He glanced around, witnessing the determination in the eyes of those beside him, mirroring

his own resolve.

"On your bikes now... MY SOLDIERS... CHARGE!!"

The commander's booming voice echoed through the chaos, a rallying cry to spur them into

action.

Without hesitation, Jake responded, his voice cutting through the air:

"CHARGEEEEE!"

The call was taken up by his fellow captains, each one shouting the same command in unison,

creating a chorus of determination.

"CHARGEE!"

A moment later, he heard Emma's voice join the chorus, a powerful declaration that added to the surge of energy coursing through the troops.

As one, they leaped onto their bikes, ready to follow their captains into the heart of the storm, fully aware of the potential sacrifice that lay ahead.

"MAINTAIN FORMATION! KNIGHTS, BRAWLERS REMAIN AT THE FRONT! SPELL WEAVERS REMAIN AT THE BACK! FOR THOSE THAT HAVE SPECIALIZED ROLES, KEEP IN THE MIDDLE, YOU ARE THE TICKET TO OUR SURVIVAL!" The commander bellowed.

"SHIELDS!" All the captains screamed out in unison.

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

The ground split, cracked, and ruptured as if the entire landscape surrounding them seemed

to crumble on itself.

The battlefield was veiled in a thick curtain of smoke in the aftermath of the explosion,

making it difficult to discern the situation.

Amid this chaos, a command was issued, cutting through the uncertainty:

"WIND!"

Spell Weavers in the rear ranks conjured a powerful gust, sweeping away the lingering

mushroom clouds and clearing the path ahead.

The charge never stopped with the soldiers pressing forward, but they were met with yet

another onslaught of missiles raining down upon them.

"SHIELDS!!"

But this time, most of the Knights were too late, showing desperate attempts to protect

themselves as the devastating force of the explosions took a toll on their Aether cores, unable to handle the strain of Aether needed to defend against the bombs.

Cracks appeared in the once formidable walls of defense, a grim sign of the impending

disaster.

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

And then, there was no then...

Lives were extinguished in an instant, and the soldiers caught without a shield met a grim

fate.

The ranks thinned, leaving a battered but resilient force behind. Positioned at the forefront of the chaos, Jake and Emma clung to a thread of providence, a

combination of luck and the thin veil of protection that allowed them to remain among the

living.

Neither of them had learned any shielding ability, leaving Jake's Arcanist specialization largely untapped as he struggled to harness the potential of its runes.

Emma, on the other hand, relied on her Spell Weaver's prowess, a skill set that provided her

with a limited degree of attack.

Riding through the dusty haze, Jake glanced back at the grim remnants of his cohort, his heart

heavy with loss.

But he couldn't afford to falter, and he let out a powerful cry:

"CHARGE! CHARGE, FOR THAT IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN SURVIVE! WE WILL NOT LEAVE

OUR COMMANDER ALONE! CHARGE!"