A different clearing materialized.

Dune sat on a wooden stool inside a leather tent, maps spread across a rough table. A Beast Master entered. It was a woman with burn scars covering half her face, wearing armor that showed recent combat damage. Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears tracking through dirt on her cheeks.

She saluted, fist to chest, but the gesture trembled.

"Captain." She began, voice cracking. "I bring Bargest's final words."

Dune's body froze, his hands, which had been tracing supply routes on the map, seemed to have lost their energy. The color slightly drained from his face as his eyes widened in surprise and shock.

The woman continued, words coming between suppressed sobs: "He stood back to protect our squad… All of us were new recruits who were on just an exploration trip, but the Phantasm Beasts had surrounded us, cutting off our retreat. Bargest… He stepped between them. He said-"

Her voice broke completely, as she trembled before she gathered herself with visible effort. "He said the future belongs to the young. It's the job of old timers like him to shield us so we can grow up."

Dune trembled as he gritted his teeth and then leaned back in his wooden chair that creaked under his shifted weight. When he spoke, his voice emerged rough and barely controlled. "How did the old bastard look?"

The woman's tears flowed freely now, but she smiled through them. "He looked like the most dazzling hero I've ever seen, Captain!"

Dune laughed, although the sound was rougher and deeper than his usual one. "Thank you, go take a rest, and don't feel guilty for his actions… He believes you guys were worth this sacrifice, so don't let him down."

The woman trembled before nodding and quickly leaving. Once she was gone, Dune closed his eyes and recalled the woman's words as past memories began to resurface.

Reinhard felt the recalled moment take over the area around. It was now nighttime with stars scattered across the sky like diamonds on black velvet. Dune and Bargest sat side by side on a fallen log, eating meat torn from a recently killed beast.

The fire between them crackled, sending sparks upward to join the stars.

"Eventually, we'll sacrifice ourselves for the young ones." Bargest had said softly

Dune had scoffed, ripping another piece of meat. "Why should we? The current ones aren't that good."

Bargest laughed as he bit more into the meat before saying softly. "But they can be better if we show them."

"It isn't our job to protect or show them-"

Bargest shook his head, cutting off the protest. "If we don't, then who will?" He gestured with the meat still in his hand, punctuating his point. "Just because the current situation is a bit terrible doesn't mean we should allow it to sit. We can do something and change them, Dune. We can be better than those bastards who tried to screw us over."

The memory faded, returning Reinhard to the command tent. Dune's eyes opened, still glistening but no longer threatening to overflow as he laughed softly this time.

"Be better, huh?" Dune muttered to the empty air where Bargest had once existed. "Alright then, old friend. Let's be better until the end comes."

The scene shifted abruptly, time jumping forward.

A long hillside stretched before them, covered in graves. Simple wooden markers at first, then more elaborate stone monuments as the rows progressed. Names carved into surfaces, there were hundreds of them, and maybe even a thousand.

The markers extended beyond sight, disappearing over the hill's crest like soldiers standing eternal watch.

Dune walked among them, carrying an armful of flowers, before stopping at each grave to place a bloom carefully against the marker. At some graves, he lingered, fingers tracing carved names with reverence.

"The city we're living in right now…" Dune said to a particular stone, voice carrying to no living ears. "It's built on your sacrifice against the Phantasm Beasts." He moved to the next grave. "Your contributions won't be forgotten. I've made sure of that."

He continued down the row, speaking as he walked: "I still recall the talks we had. The companionship you all showed, the support even when I was being difficult after my parents died…" His voice wavered slightly but held. "I'm really grateful you all existed, were my friends, stood with me."

Dune paused at a cluster of seven graves positioned in a semicircle. The names inscribed were those Reinhard recognized from the campfire, Erza, Voyer, Garius, Thane, Corvin, Mira, and Senna.

He knelt, placing flowers on each marker with deliberate care.

"Even if that led you all to your deaths," Dune whispered, "I want you to know you'll never be forgotten, my dearest friends." He smiled, the expression bittersweet. "I've already written your names in the Melo History records and written books about you. They'll live on for centuries, I… I hope."

The scene froze, holding that image of Dune kneeling among his dead friends. Surrounded by flowers and memories that couldn't fill the emptiness their absence created.

Then everything shifted violently.

People ran through city streets, carrying children and possessions, faces twisted with panic. The wooden settlement Reinhard had seen earlier was being evacuated.

The organized flow of citizens suggested planning, but the terror in their expressions revealed the desperation driving them forward.

A massive explosion erupted in the distance. Fire bloomed against the sky, orange and red, consuming buildings in seconds.

The heat was so intense Reinhard felt it through the memory, waves of scorching air that made breathing difficult.

Dune stood at the city's edge, wearing iron armor mixed with golden plates. His squad of twelve Beast Warriors in similar armor surrounded him. Their faces showed determination mixed with something else as they carried lanterns and torches.

Dune's expression shifted from confusion to gradual realization. "What are you doing with those?"

A man with grey streaks in his beard spoke calmly. "The men in the city have decided to burn it down to kill the beasts."

"This city is our home!" Dune shouted, gesturing at the burning buildings behind them. "You'll also be harmed! The fire won't distinguish between-"

The squad shook their heads in unison, the gesture coordinated as if rehearsed, and the grey-bearded warrior continued. "Our home is with our people. This-" He gestured at the burning city. "Can be rebuilt and remade many times. It can be recreated and improved countless times. But if even a single life of our people is lost? Then the beauty, value, and majesty of the city are lost!"

The words stunned Dune into silence; his mouth opened, but no sound emerged.

Another warrior, younger with a scar across his nose, stepped forward. "We've already gotten agreement from the other captains. They're willing to make this sacrifice to keep everyone safe."

"There must be another way!" Dune's voice cracked with desperation. "You all don't need to sacrifice-"

The squad burst into full-throated laughter that seemed inappropriate given the circumstances.

"Who says we're sacrificing ourselves?" The grey-bearded warrior asked, grinning.

A woman with short-cropped hair chimed in. "We aren't that selfless, Captain!"

Another man, stocky and broad-shouldered. "We're just taking a rest and leaving the rest up to you, hahaha!"

A fourth warrior, tall and lean. "Unlike us, you'll have to work a bit longer as a dog, hahaha!"

The woman spoke again, her expression growing serious despite the smile on her lips: "We're all proud people of Forerunners. We share the same values and goals, Captain. For humanity to push back the Phantasm Beasts and explore the wider reaches of the continent…"

She paused, making sure Dune met her eyes. "But more than that, it's to give our people a time where they can be at peace. Where they don't have to worry about attacks, and can live the life they want to, not the life they must."

Dune's eyes widened as he quickly realized what they planned to do, and he couldn't deny it anymore.

Hands grabbed him from behind—other warriors who'd positioned themselves specifically for this purpose. They dragged him backward as he struggled, boots scraping against stone.

"No! Let me go! I won't leave you-" Dune was too exhausted and injured from dealing with the Phantasm Beasts to break free.

The squad laughed again, watching him being pulled away.

The grey-bearded warrior called out, "Remember to tell our families we love them and that they should keep moving forward!"

"There are about a hundred of us doing this." Another shouted with a grin. "So, you have a lot of work to do, hahaha!"

The woman added. "It better be in person, or it doesn't count, Captain!"

They turned back toward the burning city.

Roars and cries of Phantasm Beasts echoed from within. The Phantasm Beasts were trapped by the spreading flames, unable to escape the inferno consuming their flesh.

"Don't follow over too soon, Captain Dune!" One warrior shouted over his shoulder.

"We don't need to see your ugly face anytime soon!" Another added.

The final voice carried above the crackling flames. "Before you can even think about it, you'd better pass on the future of us Forerunners to someone else! Or we'll kick you back over here!"

A section of the city fully erupted in flames that devoured everything. The fire consumed the Phantasm Beasts trapped within, their screams mixing with something else. It was laughter, cheers, and shouts of triumph that were echoing out.

The Beast Masters inside weren't crying in pain or in terror, but instead they were celebrating. Even trapped and locked in the inferno, knowing death was seconds away, they were happy and content.

Their voices rose above the roaring flames, their singing, shouting, proclaiming their victory even as fire consumed them.

Reinhard realized in a daze that the words to Dune about their families weren't just final messages. It was used to give Dune purpose, to prevent him from ending his own life out of guilt.

To delay his need to die until he could find meaning again, and could continue the work they'd started.

A hundred warriors had sacrificed themselves to save their people and eliminate the Phantasm Beast threat.

And they'd made sure their Captain would live to remember them, to carry their legacy forward.

To ensure their sacrifice meant something beyond the immediate victory.

The golden light returned, pulling Reinhard away from the memory as flames consumed everything behind him.

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