Promises

Jarathia | Volcano | Plateau On Top Of The Volcano | At The Same Time

The air here is strangely clear. No choking steam like in the mine, no stench of sulfur—just small patches of green grass. An abandoned hut, at the breezy peak of the volcano. Something green in the otherwise rather misty Jarathia.

Nine sits on a weathered wooden bench, his cobalt eyes fixed on Jarathia below. His face is empty, shoulders hunched with exhaustion.

Out of the corner of his eye—movement.
A figure with long black hair slowly walks up. Black war-dress, twin swords at her back, white thigh-highs bright against her boots. Her sharp eyes gleam like embers in the dusk.

Raven smiles at him. Wide. Radiant.

Nine exhales, lips twitching into the faintest smile. But then his gaze drops. He shakes his head. He knows.

It’s only a memory.

Still, it hurts. His teeth dig into his lip, holding back something buried deep.

Her voice comes next, warm and teasing, like she never left at all.

“Oh, Nine—you were always swallowing your frustrations.”

The illusion kneels in front of him.

“I want to say sorry,” Raven softly tells him, “for leaving you to deal with this on your own.”

Then she rises to sit down beside him, as if she’s real, as if she’s alive.

Nine’s throat tightens. “No… don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. It’s just… I got so angry. I knew him. I knew he’d never… And yet—I blamed him. My friend… no, my family. I didn’t see his side at all. I only saw my anger. Not… his sadness. And now it’s too late. He killed himself. If only I had—”

“Shh.” She presses a finger to his lips. “You always blame yourself, Nine. Always. But this wasn’t your fault. Neither is it the right time to drown in regrets. There’s other things to do.”

His eyes sting. “I wanted to handle things like you did, Raven. Like you always used to. You carried everything without ever faltering.”

“You forget,” she answers, gaze sharp as a blade, though her tone stays soft, “carrying responsibility always comes with sacrifices. I sacrificed myself for this world and its people .”

Nine lowers his eyes. She leans closer, her smile small but honest.

“You’ll find a solution, Nine. You’re stronger than you think.”

But when he reaches for her—she vanishes in the breeze.

And then another presence. Arms curl around him from behind. Soft. Familiar.

Long, curly blue hair rests on his shoulders. When he turns—a blue blouse, trousers, lips the color of the sea. Ocean eyes that once bathed him in comfort. Blue petals drift through the air around them.

Nine stiffens. “...I need more sleep. This is too much.”

The woman hugs him tighter, resting her head against his neck.

“That’s the boyfriend I know,” she says with a teasing lilt, “always thinking too much. Why’d you come back to this hellhole anyway?”

Nine doesn’t look at her again. His voice is quiet. “I came back for the only people I had left. Sunthia. Chisa. Jerome.”

“But that’s not the entire reason, is it?”

Nine shakes his head, weary. “You’re right. I had a promise to keep. They expected me to be their hero. And I tried. I really did. But… there’s no solution now. Not one that I can see.”

The woman smiles sadly against his shoulder, pressing her head more firmly against it, as blue petals scatter in the wind.

The woman’s voice lingers in his ear like an echo he can’t escape.

“You are always trying. That’s what made me fall in love with you. That’s why I would have given everything for you.”

Nine clenches his jaw. His voice cracks. “And you died too… it’s just—too much.”

“Even then, Nine,” she whispers, “look forward. You will find a solution. You always do.”

He shakes his head violently. “It’s the same things over and over. Nothing changes. Nothing!”

“It’s only because you’ve always wanted to make a change, so it’s never enough for you.” She murmurs, lips brushing his ear. “That’s why I love you though. That’s why we all love you.”

Her warmth fades. Blue petals fall away into nothingness. The eerie silence left by her absence gnaws at Nine.

He rises from the bench, staring down at Jarathia sprawling out below. The blackened valleys. The crumbling outskirts. Entire districts torn apart, wealth and poverty living side by side.

“If I destroy the bandits,” he mutters, “the nobles and politicians win. They’ll sell the island to foreign powers.”

His fists clench. “If I instead fight against the mayor, the bandits will take over. And the people? They’ll suffer even more. They’ll riot, but they don’t know what they want. They’re broken, comfortable in their chains. The anger will focus on the poor, they’ll get treated even worse, but they’ll just shut their eyes to reality and won’t even admit how bad they’re doing.”

His breathing turns ragged. “And if I kill both sides, others will invade us. Another country will always come. And invasion costs more lives than war. Always. To hold those countries back, I’d need to become a mass murderer. And even then, they’d just send mythic adventurers to hunt me down for all the deaths I’ve committed.”

Nine presses his hands against his head. His stare is empty.

“Every path leads to blood. Every option is terrible. Is choosing the lesser evil really the only option…?”

He forces out the words, a whisper meant only for the winds to hear. “I don’t want to do this anymore. This is hell. But I won’t betray you, Raven. And I won’t betray you either, Jerome. I’ll find a way forward. I swear it. I have to.”

His voice cracks. His promise hangs in the air, trembling with uncertainty.

On the stairway below, Chisa stands frozen, hidden from Nine’s sight. Tears stream down her face at what she has heard. She stays silent. Helpless. Then she turns and flees.