The Hero of Mezi Is Dead

The explosion swallowed the mine.

The ground vanished beneath Nino’s feet before the sound had even finished tearing through the tunnels. The first shockwave ripped support beams from the walls and hurled men against the rock. Lanterns went dark. Rails twisted. Carts overturned as a cloud of dust and debris surged through the passage.

Nino didn’t try to run. His Pulse erupted from his body. Violet light cut through the dust just as the ceiling began to give way. A beam came crashing down toward three workers. Nino thrust out his hand, and the timber stopped in midair.

Another section of the wall broke apart, sending even larger chunks of stone down around them.

“GET BACK!”

The men were still stunned. Nino felt something warm rise in his throat and swallowed it.

“EVERYONE, GET BACK!”

This time, they obeyed. Tenshi emerged through the dust, helping a man who had injured his leg. Nino pointed toward an opening between two pillars that were still standing.

“Get everyone over there!”

“What about you?”

The ceiling cracked. Nino raised both arms before the rest could fall. The impact forced his knees to buckle.

A mass of stone collapsed into the tunnel but stopped before reaching the ground. Smaller rocks continued to rain down around them as veins of violet Pulse spread through the structure, wrapping around shattered beams and holding up blocks too large for dozens of men to move.

Nino let out a grunt.

“GO!”

Tenshi didn’t ask again. He helped the injured man forward and began shouting for the others to follow. Some carried unconscious companions, while others could barely see through the dust, stumbling over rocks and splintered wood as they searched for the path Nino had shown them.

Nino remained where he was, holding the passage together while they escaped. Another explosion shook the mine, making the Pulse surrounding his body flicker for an instant. The pain came immediately. Something burned through his arms, crossed his chest, and climbed into his neck, as though the channels of energy that normally obeyed his will had been lined with blades.

The poison was reacting to the strain.

Nino clenched his teeth and forced out more Pulse as another section of the ceiling began to collapse. The pain grew with the pressure bearing down on his body until his right knee struck the ground. For an instant, the entire structure sank several inches, drawing screams from the workers still trying to reach the protected area behind him. Nino raised his head and forced his arms against the increasing weight.

“I SAID KEEP MOVING!”

Tenshi pushed two more men into the protected area.

“We’re almost there!”

Nino tried to take a deep breath, but the air wouldn’t come. He coughed, and several drops of blood splattered onto the stone in front of him. When the ceiling began to give way again, he forced himself upright as the veins in his arms glowed violet and his Pulse spread beyond the tunnel. The energy seeped into the cracks and reached parts of the structure he couldn’t even see, supporting each new section that threatened to collapse.

The farther his Pulse spread, the more weight he had to bear and the more violently the poison reacted inside his body. Every new point meant more pain, more poison tearing through his Pulse channels, but it also meant a few more seconds for those people to escape.

One of the men fell while fleeing, and another immediately turned back for him. Tenshi rushed over to help them as Nino watched the last workers cross the passage he was still managing to keep open. They were men he didn’t know, prisoners whose names he had never bothered to ask, and even guards who, only minutes earlier, had stood watching while he worked in chains.

None of them were Alicia. None of them were part of a mission. Still, when the weight of the mountain pressed down on him again, Nino planted his feet among the rubble, roared through the pain, and pushed even harder. The violet light intensified around them all.

“KEEP MOVING!”

(...)

Outside, the ground trembled beneath the Hero of Solvar’s feet. He turned in time to see a column of dust burst from the mine entrance, followed by a deep, violent roar that seemed to make the mountain itself shudder from the inside out. Soldiers began running in every direction as he moved toward the entrance.

“What happened?”

“Explosion in the lower sector!”

“How many men?”

“We don’t know!”

“Seal every secondary entrance and bring in rescue teams. No one goes in alone.”

The soldier nodded and ran to carry out the order, but another appeared almost immediately, calling out to him while trying to catch his breath.

“Sir! A message from the border.”

The Hero stopped.

“Mezi,” the man added.

The Hero turned toward him.

“What about Mezi?”

The soldier handed him the message. He unfolded it and began to read, but the first few lines were enough to change his expression.

“When was this sent?”

“It just arrived.”

“That’s not what I asked. When was it sent?”

The soldier hesitated.

“Minutes ago.”

The Hero looked back down at the message. Behind him, the mine was still collapsing, and the rescue teams hadn’t even managed to reach the sector where Nino had been working. No body had been found. There had been no investigation. No one outside even knew whether he was alive. And yet a declaration was already circulating among Mezi’s forces.

The Hero of Mezi was murdered under Solvar’s custody.

The Hero slowly lowered the paper.

“Son of a bitch.”

Before he could say anything else, a third soldier came running toward him.

“Sir! Movement at the border! Mezi’s forces are advancing.”

“How many?”

“We don’t know yet, but this isn’t a patrol. There’s enough infantry and cavalry to tear us apart. They were already positioned near the southern pass.”

The Hero remained silent for several seconds. Nino had been placed under Solvar’s custody. The agreement had required exactly twenty-four hours of labor, and Mezi’s delegation had accepted those terms without resistance. Now, before Solvar even knew whether its prisoner was dead, Mezi was already announcing that its Hero had been murdered and had troops close enough to the border to advance immediately.

For a moment, he became lost in thought.

They were already in position. They couldn’t know he was dead. They needed him to be.

“Prepare the defenses,” he ordered.

The soldier nodded.

“And send messengers to every unit along the border. No one launches an attack without my order.”

“But if Mezi—”

“I said no one.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Hero looked back toward the ruined entrance of the mine.

“And find Zero.”

(...)

It was almost impossible to see. Dust had swallowed everything.

Nino didn’t know how much time had passed since the explosion. It could have been minutes or only seconds, but the difference no longer mattered. His left arm trembled, his right barely responded, and one knee remained pressed against the stone while his other foot sank into fragments scattered across the ground.

Above him was enough weight to crush him the instant he made a mistake. His Pulse ran through the cracks like violet roots, supporting blocks, beams, and entire sections of the ceiling in a balance that should not have been possible. Behind him, however, people were still breathing. And that was enough.

“Hey!”

Tenshi’s quiet voice came from somewhere behind him, but Nino didn’t turn.

“How many?”

“What?”

“How many are alive?”

Tenshi looked around. Some were injured. One man remained unconscious, while another pressed a piece of cloth against his own head. Even so, everyone who had managed to reach the shelter was still alive.

“Everyone who was here.”

Nino closed his eyes for a moment.

“Good.”

A drop of blood fell from his chin and struck the stone. Tenshi moved closer, studying the position Nino was trapped in beneath the structure.

“We have to get you out of there.”

“No.”

“You can’t keep holding this.”

“I know. That’s why you’re not touching anything.”

Another crack appeared above them, and Nino’s Pulse immediately spread to contain it. The reaction sent a violent pain through his chest, forcing him to cough up more blood. Tenshi noticed.

“You’re poisoned?”

“I’m starting to think everyone knows about that.”

“And you’re still using Pulse?”

“...”

Tenshi looked up at the enormous mass of stone suspended above them, then at the other prisoners gathered within the small area Nino was still managing to protect.

“You’re going to die.”

“Possibly.”

“And you say that like it’s nothing?”

Nino tried to breathe, but the effort barely brought enough air into his lungs.

“Screaming doesn’t seem to help.”

Tenshi almost laughed, but a different sound from the other side of the rubble interrupted the moment. Someone was moving stones. Soon, muffled voices followed, growing closer.

“Someone’s coming,” Tenshi said.

Nino heard it too. A short while later, an opening appeared between two rocks, and a beam of light cut through the dust.

“There are people in here!” someone shouted from the other side. “We found survivors!”

The prisoners immediately began shouting back, calling out that there were wounded among them as more stones were removed and the opening widened. A Solvar soldier was the first to get a clear view inside the chamber. The moment he did, he froze.

“By the gods...”

Another soldier appeared behind him, then another, but none of them entered. The Hero of Solvar finally emerged between them and, before anything else, saw the survivors. Dozens of them were packed into the small area that had not yet collapsed, some injured, others covered in blood and dust, but alive. Then he noticed the violet light.

It ran through the walls, wrapped around broken beams, and seeped into the cracks between the stones like a vast network, holding suspended sections of the mine that should have collapsed long ago. The Hero followed those lines of energy until he found their source.

Nino was kneeling beneath the rubble, blood running down his face and his arms trembling from the strain. His entire body was nearing its limit, but Pulse continued pouring out of him, holding the structure above every survivor in the chamber.

For several seconds, the Hero of Solvar said nothing. Nino raised his eyes.

“You just going to stand there and watch?” he asked sarcastically.

The Hero exhaled through his nose.

“Is this how you always greet rescue teams?”

“First time.”

A stone shifted above them, and Nino’s arm dropped several inches under the sudden increase in weight. The Hero immediately stepped into the chamber, golden Pulse surrounding his body.

“No!” Nino stopped him.

The Hero froze.

“Push in the wrong place and everything comes down.”

He looked up at the ruined structure.

“Then tell me where.”

Nino indicated a large formation of rock above them with his eyes.

“There. Hold the weight. Don’t try to lift it.”

The golden Pulse climbed through the structure until it reached the violet lines already supporting the rubble. For an instant, the two energies spread together through the cracks and illuminated the entire ruined chamber.

The moment he took on part of the pressure, the Hero felt the true weight Nino had been holding alone. His eyes widened briefly, but he said nothing.

“Now?”

Nino slowly moved his right arm.

“Further left.”

The Hero adjusted his Pulse. One of the beams groaned under the shift in pressure but remained in place.

“That’s it.”

Some of the weight finally lifted from Nino’s body, and for the first time since the explosion, he was able to lower one of his arms. The pain he had been holding back struck him all at once, sending his body pitching forward. Tenshi caught him before he fell.

“Zero!”

Nino regained his balance as best he could.

“Get the others out first.”

The Hero looked toward the soldiers waiting beyond the opening.

“You heard him.”

The rescue teams began moving in, taking the wounded first and carrying out those who couldn’t walk before returning for the others. Guards and prisoners left through the same passage, with no one arguing about chains or bothering to separate who belonged to which side. At that moment, they were simply survivors trying to get out from beneath the mountain.

When the last worker crossed through the opening, only Nino, Tenshi, and the Hero remained.

“Your turn,” the Hero said.

Nino looked at Tenshi.

“Go.”

“I can help.”

“Go.”

Tenshi finally gave in and followed the soldiers through the opening. The Hero waited until he was safe before turning his attention back to Nino.

“You can let go now.”

“You sure?”

“No.”

The Hero stared at him.

“Great.”

Nino released his Pulse, and the violet lines vanished from the walls all at once. Every bit of weight he had been supporting transferred to the golden energy, forcing the Hero to plant his feet among the rubble as a grunt escaped his throat.

“Damn it! You could’ve warned me.”

Nino tried to stand.

“I did.”

“I can’t hold this for long. Move...” The strain was already turning the Hero’s face red.

Despite the situation, the hint of a smile appeared on the Hero’s face before he focused on the structure again. Holding the weight in place, he opened enough space for Nino to pass through, then followed close behind.

The moment they reached the other side, the structure finally gave way. The Hero leapt clear at the last second, and tons of stone collapsed into the tunnel they had just abandoned.

This time, no one was underneath.

The cold mountain air struck Nino’s face as soon as he emerged from the mine. For several seconds, he simply stood there breathing while healers treated the survivors around the entrance and soldiers hurried from one place to another. Some of the prisoners sat on the ground, still covered in dust, trying to understand how they had made it out alive.

Tenshi found Nino amid the commotion. He said nothing, merely nodded toward him, and Nino returned the gesture. That was when he realized something had changed while they were trapped beneath the mountain.

Soldiers now occupied the walls. Messengers arrived on horseback. Weapons were being distributed among men preparing to leave the mining grounds.

“What happened?”

The Hero of Solvar appeared behind him.

“You died.”

Nino turned toward him.

“What?”

The Hero handed him a message. Nino unfolded the paper and found a single declaration that explained everything happening around them.

The Hero of Mezi was murdered under Solvar’s custody.

He stared at the words for several seconds.

“They were quick.”

“The explosion happened less than an hour ago.”

Nino looked up.

“And this has already reached the border?”

“Before we even knew whether you were alive.”

Nino looked back at the paper.

“Troops?”

“Advancing.”

“They were already nearby.”

It wasn’t a question. The Hero confirmed it with a nod.

Nino closed his hand around the message. Suddenly, the mine no longer seemed like an isolated incident. The Heart of Noctrium, Two being forced to awaken it, the Colossus marching directly toward Arvendel and Solvar, the Shadows sent after him, One appearing with the delegation, the hearing, the twenty-four hours of labor demanded by the council, and Mezi explosives hidden inside the mine walls.

Now there was also an announcement of his death prepared before anyone could even find his body, with an army waiting close enough to the border to begin advancing immediately.

The pieces still didn’t form a complete picture, but they formed enough of one.

“This started long before,” Nino said.

The Hero watched him.

“How long before?”

Nino didn’t answer immediately. His thoughts returned to Two, to the Heart, to the order that had sent the Shadows after him, and to One’s presence in Solvar. Then, inevitably, they returned to the King.

I gave you memories.

Reasons to hate. Reasons to obey.

Then he thought of Alicia, of the carriage, of the first time he had chosen to disobey an order and take her with him, and of his decision to abandon Mezi and keep moving without knowing exactly where he was going. Something worse than the poison tightened around his chest:

What if that had been part of the plan too?

Nino rejected the thought almost immediately. That decision had been his. He remembered the moment, the circumstances, the choice he had made. But after everything the King had revealed, that was no longer enough to give him certainty. A choice could feel entirely like his own even when someone had spent years shaping the memories, fears, and beliefs that made it possible.

The King didn’t need to control his arms or command every step he took. He only needed to interfere with what Nino believed, what he feared, and what he wanted. If all of those things could be altered, Nino no longer knew where influence ended and a choice that was truly his began.

“Zero?”

He looked back at the Hero.

“...”

A distant blast rolled through the mountains, making both men turn at the same time.

Seconds later, a flash appeared near the southern fortifications. A messenger came running up the road, calling out to the Hero before he had even reached them.

“Sir!”

The Hero stepped forward.

“Report.”

The man barely managed to catch his breath before speaking.

“Mezi has crossed the border.”

Another impact echoed in the distance. The Hero of Solvar turned toward the walls while Nino remained beside him, still holding the message announcing his own death.

The war had begun.