Ruins of Our Own Making (我らが残した廃墟)

Ash drifted down like slow snow.

The morning sun fought to break through the smoke, casting feeble golden light across what was left of Eisenwald. Hajime moved in silence as he shoveled dirt over another grave. His palms were raw, his breath short, but stopping meant thinking, and thinking hurt worse. By noon, the field behind the village was lined with rough mounds.

Twenty-six graves. Twenty-six names he would never forget. He stood over the last one until the shovel slipped from his hands.

“Everyone’s gone…” The wind offered no answer, only the whisper of burning timber.

You're still standing, Adam’s voice echoed faintly in his mind. So keep pushing forward.

“I’m trying,” Hajime muttered. He sat beside the mound, staring at the charred oak where his house used to stand. His seiki flickered weakly around him, thin as paper.

Then, he heard footsteps. Hajime turned sharply, half-expecting another raider. Through the haze emerged a young woman in green and white robes, followed by a tall figure clad in black and crimson armor.

Izumi Rin bowed slightly, her voice gentle. “We sensed the flames all the way from Eryndral. Are you the only survivor?”

Hajime stared at them, his expression flat. “You’re late.”

Izumi hesitated. “We came the moment the signal reached us...”

“The moment?” he snapped. “The fire started yesterday!” His aura stirred, dust lifting from the ground. “You could have stopped this.”

The armored man stepped forward, calm and measured. His blue-white seiki radiated like desert heat. “Watch your tone,” he said. “You are now speaking to Commander Rei Kurayami of the Celestine Order.”

Hajime’s glare didn't waver. “Commander, huh? Where were you when they slaughtered these children?”

Izumi flinched while Rei remained composed. He looked around at the graves, then back at Hajime. “So you buried them yourself?”

“No one else was left to do it,” Hajime replied.

Rei folded his arms. “You can blame us, but the reality is you were not strong enough to defend anyone yourself.”

The calmness in his tone made Hajime’s chest burn. “You bastard, don’t talk as if you understand the situation.”

“Finally, there is some resolve in you after all,” Rei replied evenly.

Hajime stepped closer, a gold-silver light starting to ripple across his skin. “You think you get to judge me?”

Izumi moved between them, raising both her hands. “Please, this isn’t the time.”

Rei’s gaze didn't shift from Hajime. “You carry Adam's will. I can tell by analyzing your seiki. So, you are more than just another average villager. Have you learned to control it, or should we find out?”

Hajime’s seiki flared brighter. “You want to see control, as I beat the shit out of you?”

The wind whipped ash around them, and the ground cracked from the pressure of their auras. Rei drew his sword in one fluid motion, blue-white light running down the blade like liquid fire.

“You want to test your anger? Prove it means something.”

Hajime’s breath shook, his hands tightened. The gold-silver glow surged outward, splitting the dirt beneath his feet.

Izumi shouted over the rising hum of seiki. “Stop it, both of you!”

Rei’s eyes narrowed, and Hajime’s glowed bright gold. Two forces, one calm and radiant and the other furious, met in the heavy silence before a storm.