The day had been long, and exhaustion was written all over our faces. Now, we were here. Each of us was in the sleeping chamber, likely the last real bed we would have for a long time. Against every bed rested the weapons and armor we had chosen earlier. Overstuffed backpacks filled with provisions and other essentials lay on the mattresses.
The chamber was small but provided everything we needed ‒ and compared to our last shelter, it was pure luxury. A luxury that felt wrong.
After two months of torment, we were finally being treated like heroes. But we saw ourselves differently. Many were still struggling to process the information. So much new knowledge and so few explanations had led to confusion.
I broke the silence and turned to everyone in the room. “What do you think? Did we really volunteer to fight against the heavens?”
My voice was quiet. I wanted to speak the words with conviction ‒ but I couldn’t.
Sayuri, a woman with golden hair who had been part of another group, looked at me and said, “What else are we supposed to believe?” Her voice was calm. "It makes sense. If angels are truly threatening the world, then that would explain everything."
But her calmness felt out of place.
Yogore felt the same and jumped up from his bed. “You’ll believe anything, won’t you? That was a lie! I would never have volunteered for this circus. I actually value my life…”
Grief overcame him. “… and so did the others. No one would willingly choose this.”
His gaze dropped to the floor.
“What do you think, Nozomu?” Kyodai’s voice came from the side, pulling me out of my thoughts about Yogore.
"This all sounds too perfect. Too smooth. For two months, we were nothing but pawns in this game ‒ and now we’re suddenly supposed to be heroes? That’s not how the world works." I clenched my fist and looked at Kyodai. “Until I see it with my own eyes, it remains a lie to me.”
Akai met my gaze and nodded.
"So that means you actually want to march into their war?" A man with greenish hair spoke while examining his weapon ‒ a finely crafted war club.
A weapon with significant weight—and just as much destructive potential. I couldn’t remember his magic, so I couldn’t judge his choice of weapon.
"Exactly." My answer was brief ‒ nothing more was needed. No explanation was necessary. Everyone understood my choice.
The green-haired man looked at me, visibly surprised by my quick response. Then he nodded.
The others seemed either determined or uncertain.
Everyone had survived the past two months and had been forced to watch as comrades ‒ who had slowly become friends ‒ died, all just to awaken their magic and grow stronger.
Suddenly, a reddish light poured through the window of the sleeping chamber. It flooded the entire room, creating a spectacle we would remember for a long time. Everyone stood up and stepped to the window. The sun was setting, turning the sky into a display of colors unlike anything we had ever seen before. In the old sleeping chamber within the training grounds, there had been no windows ‒ no view of the outside world had been possible.
But here, a vast landscape stretched out before us. A whole city of countless houses extended toward a strip of green land. And at the end of that green expanse lay a massive form, bathed in a deep red hue by the setting sun.
The sight filled us with an unexpected sense of calm.
No one said a word. No one sat down.
We all just stood there, bathed in red light, watching the spectacle unfold.
Akai sighed softly and crossed her arms. The red light of the setting sun reflected in her eyes, as if a fire had been ignited within them.
"I don't want to die." Her voice was barely more than a whisper, almost as if she were speaking only to herself. "I want to hold on to moments like these ‒ not just watch them fade into memories. I want to live without constantly fearing who will be the next to die."
Beside her, a woman with dark hair lowered her gaze. "I do too." Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
"I will survive. Whether it's humans or angels ‒ I’ll take them all down." Yogore’s voice sounded odd, and a faint smile flickered across a few faces.
Suddenly, a faint whisper reached my ears.
I will survive.
I flinched. The voice was so close ‒ as if someone had spoken directly into my ear. Yet the room was completely silent.
I will breathe the free air again.
Another voice. Then another. More and more.
My heartbeat quickened. I turned around, searching for someone who was speaking ‒ but everyone was just staring at me.
I will get my old life back.
The voices came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
“Nozomu, what’s wrong?” Kyodai looked at me, concern in his eyes.
I swallowed. “D-did you hear that?”
His gaze narrowed. “Hear what?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Had I just imagined it? The voices had sounded so real ‒ closer than my own thoughts.But no one else seemed to have heard them. I looked around. The others were staring at me as if they were only now realizing that something was wrong with me.
Their gazes were no longer fixed on their own worries ‒ not on the upcoming battle or the looming threat of death.
Now, I was the one making them uneasy.
A nervous laugh bubbled up inside me, but I forced it down. “It’s fine.” My voice was rough. “I’m just… tired.”
No one said anything. The seconds passed, heavy as stone. So I did the only thing I could: I buried the fear, pushed the disturbance deep into my mind ‒ and smiled.
“It will all be fine.” This time, my voice was steadier. “We will grow stronger. We will survive. No ‒ we will live.”
For a moment, silence lingered. Then Kyodai slowly nodded. Akai took a deep breath. And one by one, the others straightened up.
Outside, the red light faded, as if it had never existed.
But what I had heard… that wouldn’t disappear so easily.
~~~~~✦✦✦✦✦✦✦~~~~~
The darkness of the night filled the sleeping chamber, and everyone lay in their beds, deep in slumber. Calmer than usual. More relaxed than usual. Without the fear of death.
But that was exactly what made us blind to the intruders who crept silently toward our beds.A quiet creaking tore me from sleep.
My breath caught. Something was there. A movement in the shadows.
I blinked into the darkness. The room was silent ‒ but right at the edge of my vision, a dark figure stood.
Then another.
And another.
Ice-cold fear crawled up my spine. I wanted to scream ‒ but suddenly, a sharp, metallic scent filled the air.
Something hot touched my back.
Then came the pain.
Everyone tried to jump up, to face the intruders ‒ but an invisible force pinned us to our beds.
The pain sank deeper.
Soon, screams filled the room.
Bloodcurdling cries for help.
But no one came. No one helped.
Everyone lay there, surrendering to the pain out of sheer desperation.
Heat spread through my entire body, and the acrid stench of burnt flesh filled my nose.
Seconds passed ‒ an eternity of agony.
Then, the throbbing pain vanished.
And with it, the intruders.
For a few moments, we remained motionless in our beds before the invisible force finally released us ‒ just as Akai shot upright.
“What the hell!?” Fury burned in her eyes, dark veins pulsing across her entire body. She yanked at the door ‒ but it wouldn’t budge.
Not only was it locked, but it was also sealed with magic.
Not even Akai could break through.
As she struggled to calm herself, my gaze fell on her body.
A circular mark ‒ one that hadn’t been there before ‒ glowed on her thigh. Delicate, intricate lines ran through it, pulsing in the rhythm of an unseen heartbeat.
The glow flickered, dimmed… and finally merged with her skin.
We had been branded.
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