Sacrifice

Nir and Rain stand next to Ranmei and the empress inside the main hall. The empire has been invaded and they are tasked with leading an invasion of their own. Together with Grandpa and the rest of the elite soldiers, they wait to hear the details of the operation.

“Empress…” - Rain says quietly. “What will I do? Can I really be helpful like this?”

-”You will have to shoot. And kill. I count on you Rain. When the time is right… You will be able to make the decision”.

-”How do you know I have it in me?” - Rain asks

-”Because I couldn’t kill at first either. Until I did”.

-”Should we discuss formations and strategies?” - Nir asks.

-”Me and my elite soldiers will tell you what to do. We will start the invasion in a few hours. If we can capture that spy, maybe we can get information from him, even torture it out if we need. If we know in better detail the position of their leaders, maybe we can avoid casualties… I never forgot… They were supposed to be our people too”.

-”I see”. - Nir replies. “Are there hostages being held in any of the villages?”

-”We believe there aren’t any who remain alive today… But I’d like to believe… They are all hostages. At least in their ideologies”. - The empress says. “None the less… I have to prioritize the safety of those who did not betray our kind. Of those who did not betray themselves. The problem with those who live in the villages… The vast majority of them have been raised to contradict the two gods without even realizing it. That is what self loathing looks like”.

-”What should the two of us do in the meantime to prepare?” - Rain asks.

-”I think…” - The empress sounds unsure. “...That my elites will stay here to discuss strategy with Richard. If there’s anything I should know before our invasion - Ranmei will know how we should adapt to it using our existing strategies. He will let us know later about any changes worthy of mentioning. Meanwhile… I need the two of you to come with me”. - The empress says.

The empress takes Nir and Rain to the market area.

-”Are we going to the market?” - Nir asks.

-”I want to speak to my people. In those hard times when we have suffered casualties, I don’t want them to give up. Not to mention, if they see the two of you - they might abandon any disagreements regarding my announcement about Richard and focus on unity instead”.

-”I hope it goes smoothly”. - Says Rain.

They reach the market where a lot of people are being taken care of by the soldiers, and all the fighting is over.

-”Listen! My precious people! I want you to be strong! I know we have suffered heavily, but…”

-”You betrayed us!” - “You opened the gates to the villagers!” - Some voices are heard loudly within the crowds of people.

-”Please, I beg you. We are all on the same side. We will NOT let this slide. I brought Nir and Rain with me, to let you know: In our invasion… I will be accompanying them myself. While most of our soldiers will stay on defensive duties, our elites will strike the villages in order to take back our safety and our freedom!”

Some in the crowd start to clap slowly as more and more people join in. However, a large portion of the crowd remains silent. The empress realizes it may be inevitable that they react like this, and is visibly disappointed.

“Let’s head back”. - She says, with serious eyes full of sadness.

They head back to the castle. The empress seems extremely down. After they get some distance from the market, Nir and Rain look at each other, and nod. Then, they both hug the empress from behind. They stay like that for a few seconds.

“That’s enough”. - The empress says.

Nir and Rain stop, fearing they may have angered her.

“Don’t get me wrong… I just can’t show weakness right now”. - She says without looking back at them. “Let’s go”.

They quickly reach the entrance to the castle and go inside.

-”Empress!” - Ranmei calls loudly. “I think we are good to go. I’m thankful to Richard for the relevant info he has provided and his military addition to our forces, but our strategy will probably remain the same. How are the people?”

-”The people are… Divided. They are angry… They are hurt”. - The empress admits.

-”Don’t worry empress, they will change their mind after a successful invasion”. - Says Ika.

The empress still seems down.

-”Yes, That’s true”. - “They will support you!” - Some soldiers voice their support.

-”I hope you are right”. - Says Ranmei. “We will be victorious, but we’ll also have to deal with this eventually”.

-”Empress, about Rain…” - Nir tries to remind her of Rain having only one heart.

The empress is being somewhat buried under the pressure.

-”I…” - She tries answering.

-”Samantha. Everything will go according to plan. Every problem will go away. All I need is for you to listen to me”. - Grandpa says.

The empress seems surprised to hear him saying that. She looks like she regained a little bit of her focus.

“With Nir and Rain both having a large amount of hearts and me out of the picture - the future of the empire is guaranteed”.

The empress realizes immediately what he is trying to propose, but is too shocked to say anything.

“Rain. Come over here”. - He says. “Pick me up”.

-”Wait…” - Rain says in confusion. “What are you…” - “Just do it”. - He interrupts her.

She picks him up.

“Ranmei…” - He calls him. Ranmei walks towards Rain and Grandpa. He gives Grandpa a small knife, fully understanding what he means.

“Rain. Hold this knife”.

Rain hugs him with one hand to be able to grab the knife with the other. She starts crying.

-”Grandpa…” - Nir says in awe of his devotion.

Grandpa then puts his hands on top of her hand that is holding the knife. -”Let it happen”. - He tells her. He then starts pulling it towards himself.

“I’m thankful to have met you Samantha. That is my gift to you”.

Rain can’t help but resist his movement.

“Rain. It’s alright. I’m proud of you both”.

Her crying intensifies. Nir starts tearing as well.

-”Are you sure, Richard?” - The empress asks, as she regains her composure.

-”I am”. - He answers confidently. “You can do it Rain”.

Rain is still struggling and cannot bring herself to agree.

“Are you going to disobey your own grandpa?” - he asks her.

He then focuses. His eyes shine in red and his aura is showing as he removes the coating skills he usually uses to hide everything about himself. They observe the might of his presence for the first time. The empress and the elite soldiers can now see his hearts.

He sacrifices 10 hearts, forcing the knife to be pulled into his stomach. He remembers his mother’s words, repeating them to Rain: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid”.

He drowns himself in the memory: “Run, my boy. Run to the empire… Find your father”.

He then remembers one more thing his mother told him in her final moments:

“I love you, Richard”.

As he remembers those words, seeing Rain crying - he can’t help but shed a tear.

-”Rain, Nir… I love you. I’m so glad we met. Thank you for helping me find my sister. Thank you too, Samantha… You have great allies. You will surely be successful”.

-”You spent 10 hearts just for this to happen smoothly…” - Says Ika. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but wasting hearts is frowned upon in the empire. Why not let her accept it? Isn’t it foolish?”

-”IS THAT HOW YOU SPEAK TO YOUR EMPEROR?” - Grandpa says loudly, as his eyes shine in multiple colors and his aura increases, making the entire room tremble.

Ika bows down, saying: “I apologize, emperor”.

-”Haha… See? Great allies… Every single one of them”. - Grandpa says.

Grandpa’s aura slowly disappears. His hearts shatter.

The empress walks to Rain and takes him from her. His eyes are closed as if he was sleeping. She asks Ranmei to take care of him. -”Make sure he is buried next to my father. We will have time to mourn him after the war”.

Ranmei takes him away.

The empress hugs Rain, who in turn starts crying more openly. “Come here Nir”. - The empress tells him. His tears evolve to crying as he hugs them both.

After a few moments, when everyone has already calmed down, the empress says: “Rain, you now have 595 hearts. Use them well”.

-”Yes, mam!” - She answers with her eyes still red from the crying, but with new confidence.

“IS EVERYONE READY?” - The empress asks.

-”YEAAAAAA!” - They all answer loudly.

“TODAY… Will forever be remembered in history…”