A death wish, that was what it felt like, wanting to protect his kingdom. The Blue Rose has been at war for a long, long time now against the Caelurea Kingdom. And while they had been making great progress, while trying to lose the least of their numbers. It has been getting a lot harder now with the Withered rebelling.

The Withered covered the Blue Rose; to go to another kingdom, you have to go through it. Many who have chosen to go to war against the Caelurea Kingdom have died inside the Withered... before they could even reach the border. There are those who survive, but they were greatly weakened.

That was why joining the war and protecting their kingdom was a death wish, because to get there, you have to get through the Graveyard of the Serathia Kingdom, more commonly known as the Withered.

And yet, he somehow had the guts to do so. He didn't know how, since now that he was heading inside, he couldn't keep his feet in check. He was inside a carriage with many other soldiers just like him, all nervous. They had the advantage, yet, knowing the stories about this place, he couldn't say he wasn't scared.

...

Plus the reaction of his parents when he told them what he wanted to do... it rang in his mind, the shock, terrified faces, his mother's cries. It all rang inside his head, those exact moments repeating themselves constantly.

He didn't know what was going on with the Withered's Rebellion, but he was going to survive; he wasn't going to die.

Looking outside, he saw many people screaming, cursing them, and some even had torches in their hands. People from the Blue Rose weren't welcomed here. Not anymore.

'These rats... did they forget when they begged the King not to destroy their District? This is just going to end soon, and everything will be back to normal.'

The Withered has rebelled many times, yet none of those rebellions came to the First Rebellion, started by the person who is called King by this graveyard. He had been the one to give the spark, the one who unwillingly caused all the little rebellions that came after his. Yet, just like the First Rebellion, they all ended in the same way.

However, it was strange how long this particular rebellion has lasted. It was interesting, and not only had it lasted a long time, but it had also actually caused damage. If not for the still massive difference between this rebellion and the First, it could have maybe been called the Second Rebellion of the Withered. But they still had a lot to do to deserve that title.

...

"Yeah, there's nothing to fear; this rebellion is just like the others, no need to fear. I will come back, mother-"

As he took in a deep breath, feeling something wrong with the air, he didn't know what it was, but it was a little harder to breathe... smoke?

His eyes widened as the carriage started to fill with smoke. He panicked, all of them panicked, trying to open the door, but it just wouldn't budge, and with the smoke becoming more and more dense, it was becoming impossible to breathe.

His eyes shook as he tried to breathe heavily. But to no avail.

'Damn it, damn it! I can't die here, not now!'

...

...

He climped up, opening the doors of the carriage, which revealed a terrifying scene; everyone inside had died due to the smoke cloud that had come out when he opened the door. And they were soldiers from the Blue Rose, how unfortunate.

He had to check their pulse! Maybe someone was still alive.

Running to check the bodies of the dead, he inspected their pockets; maybe one of them had something to help him get them back to life or something. In the end, he wasn't able to revive them, the poor soldiers...

He reglected the new golden chain he had... borrowed, and stared at the bodies with a tearful eye.

'Who could have ever done this?'

...

"I would of course." Aether laughed to himself, counting the number of coins he had gotten. Another great success today, not only had they stopped reinforcements from the Blue Rose, but they have also stolen not only coins, but also jewelry.

"And it's all thanks to you." Aether turned around to face his companion, Milo, the boy with Crimson hair, who quickly got embarrassed from being praised.

His affinity allowed him to give spark to smoke in a closed area, a great ability for assassination, but not terrible in fights, especially in open areas. Not only does it take a lot to create that spark, but in an open area, it can just fly away without doing anything.

Plus, his bane made it so he also had to breathe it when he used his ability. It was one of those banes that were terrible. If he thought about it, his wasn't even that bad, especially in times like this, where he just had to make the strategy and everything, and have the others do the fighting and other things that revolved around using their powers. If he were the one to use them, with so many people he considered to be his friends, his abilities and affinity would be weakened as hell! Maybe that was why the Abyss has been so quiet lately. He had even been able to raise his mental fortitude to over fifty.

In just one week since they came back!

"Now, let's go back. I've heard Lyra has some news for us."

The girl was in his left hand, so he trusted her a lot, even more when her abilities allowed her to follow others easily without being detected, even if her banes make her stand out when she isn't following someone.

Milo needed to walk beside Aether.

Not in front of him, not behind him, but by his side, just like all the other members of his party did. He wasn't a strict leader.

He was probably more carefree than he should be.

...

The Library had never been more alive. They had renovated it a bit with the money they had gotten; they had created a meeting room, a sleeping bag for everyone, and they fixed the stairs to the second floor, which was smaller than the first, more like a balcony than anything. It was also where his room was, since it was easier to do his speeches and stuff from up there.

As he arrived, he climbed up the stairs to the second floor, jumping on the railing with his feet.

"Everyone, I have to announce that the elimination of the carriage carrying the Blue Rose has been eliminated!" He raised his blade in the air, the others following him. They all trusted him. While at first, he was a mystery to his own personal squad, since Riven was the one who recruited them, he was more of a leader than him to them.

But after what happened inside the book, they have conquered, after he told his story, they recognized his strength, and now, they trust him, just like he trusts them. Of course, not like he trusted Riven.

After all, the boy had been there since the beginning; he had joined on his own, without any tricks. He knew what he was doing, who he was, but still joined.

...

Because they had the same goal.

Everyone else in this room wished for the independence of the Withered, for it to be freed from the hands of the Blue Rose, which was why they joined the rebellion. And while, sure, they also wanted that, to free the Withered.

Their true goal was to get revenge on the Blue Rose. He trapped him inside Withered in the first place, for making his own Knight betray him, for killing his teacher. For everything they had done for him. And Riven, for what they did to his father.

...

Aether looked around, stopping Lyra, and signalling her to come up. Getting off the railing so no one could see them. The girl nodded, climbing up the stairs, and locking eyes with him.

He smiled, knowing that she had learned something important.

"So, what did you learn? You know I don't like waiting!" Aether chuckled to himself, excited to hear the words of the girl.

"Well, I think it's better if we start with the story."

Aether rolled his eyes impatiently, which made Lyra chuckle.

"It will be fast, I promise."

...

"I had found a lost soldier inside the Withered, or that was what I thought; he wasn't lost, rather, this was the Blue Rose testing whether it was better to just send people alone to get to the border. Seeing him, I decided to follow him, since I knew he was going to lead me somewhere important, and he did just that.

...

Lyra paused.

...

"Right now, at the border, there is a big fight between the two Kingdoms, and I know exaclty where it is. The question is rather."

...

"Should we go?"

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