A screech tore across the horizon.

The high-pitched sound beyond normal hearing range, a sound that made some of them flinch from the pain, while others covered their ears.

It was a distorted sound like two metals rubbing against each other, and the sound pierced through all other noise, demanding attention.

Reinhard looked up.

Shapes swarmed overhead against the crimson-black sky. As they got closer, Reinhard blinked at the odd bird-like things that looked like the bird Night Terrors, but far bigger. There were dozens of them, perhaps hundreds, as more seem to continue appearing.

Their wings shed flakes of crimson light as they flew, and Reinhard shivered from the sight of those particles.

He instantly knew each particle carried a curse that would infect, and then he slightly frowned when he saw small cracks form after the particle hit the ground.

Their eyes glowed sickly white. Before then, they dove and rushed towards them. Each creature splits apart before moving in a line towards a selected target. They descended in screaming spirals, talons extended, jaws opening to reveal tendrils made from the same shadow as their forms.

"Shields!" Someone barked a command instinctively after seeing a threat.

But there was none.

No armor, no shields, no weapons, no Beast Spirit they can call upon, and no protection beyond spiritual essence already weakened by curse exposure. But the warriors raised their arms anyway, bracing for talons that would tear through flesh.

The first creature swooped toward a cluster of three warriors, its shadow covered them as its talons extended fully. But one of the newly-rallied survivors lunged, grabbing one of the slob of stone before swinging it towards the creature. The improvised club caught the creature across the skull with an impact that produced a wet crack.

The creature's trajectory veered sideways. It spiraled into a dust cloud, wings flailing uselessly, before crashing somewhere out of sight. The wet crack suggested critical damage despite it being just a stone.

Another warrior caught a falling comrade who'd been targeted by a second creature. His arms wrapped around his torso before bracing himself before the impact, and then he hit the ground. Before they started rolling away from the third creature's talons that struck the ground where they'd stood.

A fourth beast descended on Reinhard directly. It folded its wings at the last second, dropping like a stone to maximize impact force. Jaws opened wide enough to engulf the human head, but Reinhard ducked beneath its wings.

The motion put him near creature talons that couldn't reach before his hands shot up. He grasped the talon in both grips despite the burning sensation from contact, and then he smashed it into the ground.

The creature shrieked, but Reinhard didn't care as he lifted it up before smashing it straight down again into the ground. He did this over and over as the creature thrashed violently, wings beating, flaying, but it didn't matter.

Then Reinhard twisted before flinging the creature straight into a wall, and it burst as it crashed. The creature exploded into fragments of darkness that dissipated like smoke.

The survivors circled up instinctively.

Backs pressed together, creating a defensive formation that minimized vulnerable angles. Even the most wounded contributed, as those who couldn't fight directly provided support, stabilizing those who could.

They used whatever was available.

Stones plucked from ash plain, thrown with desperate strength. Broken metal from collapsed structures swung like clubs. And if it came down to it, their own bodies when nothing else remained.

They would tackle creatures mid-flight, accepting injury to prevent worse damage to others, and allow others to smash into them.

The battle devolved into desperate clashes with screeching filling the air until it became white noise. The ash plain transformed into a chaotic battlefield where survival was measured in seconds.

But even with this, not a single warrior fell.

Every attack was intercepted, and every dive countered. The community that had formed through Reinhard's efforts now fought as a unified force.

They covered each other's weaknesses and exploited each other's strengths. They moved with coordination that shouldn't exist among each other after experiencing the curses and sins of the world.

But Angra Mainyu felt it and was slightly confused by it.

The sky dimmed further.

The crimson-black deepens to a shade approaching absolute darkness. Stars that didn't exist moments before appeared, but they were shining pure crimson.

The air grew colder.

Temperature dropped precipitously, going from oppressive heat to frigid chill within seconds. Breath became visible, misting in front of faces, while exposed skin showed frost forming despite no moisture existing.

But if this wasn't enough, all of them felt heavier.

The pressure increased until standing required considerable active effort. Most of them felt their knees bending, their back slumping, and even their bodies shaking. Some warriors collapsed completely, unable to support themselves against the crushing force.

Then, without sound, the realm changed.

The swarm instantly vanished.

One moment, dozens of creatures filled the sky and attacked them, then only empty space remained. No bodies fell, no evidence of their existence remained except injuries they'd inflicted and damage to the area.

Then the cracking ground quickly sealed up; all the fissures that had spread across the entire plain suddenly reversed. All cracks drew together like zippers being closed, ash flowing into gaps until the surface appeared unbroken.

Reinhard exhaled slowly while he felt his heart beating fast, while sweat and blood coated his skin beneath his tattered uniform.

"Is it over?" Someone whispered the question everyone thought but feared voicing.

A quiet voice answered, it came from everywhere.

It came from all directions simultaneously, bypassing ears to resonate directly in consciousness.

"...No."

The landscape twisted.

Reality folded like paper being crumpled, as the ash plain, melted architecture, crimson-black sky, all compressed and inverted.

The others around Reinhard flickered.

One moment, a warrior stood beside him, close enough to touch, and the next moment that same warrior appeared yards away, then closer again, then gone entirely.

The distance between people became unreliable, and then the world folded in on itself once more with multiple images overlapping.

Reinhard blinked as he saw the same space existing in different states simultaneously.

Reality solidified into a new form.

Reinhard stood in a vast plane of fractured mirrors with the ground feeling like glass, which was smooth, cold, and perfectly flat.

In every direction, shards floated suspended like broken planets. They ranged from hand-sized fragments to pieces as large as buildings, all hanging motionless in a colorless void. Each shard reflected and refracted light that came from no source, creating impossible illumination.

And in each shard, he displayed himself.

Reinhard stared at a nearby fragment floating at eye level. The surface showed him, but not the current him, it displayed him when he was only sixteen years old.

The younger Reinhard's face twisted in frustration, and his hands shoved someone aside roughly who was trying to help.

Behind them, the structure collapsed, rubble falling where they'd stood. The younger Reinhard ran, leaving his companion struggling under debris.

Another shard drifted closer.

This one showed a different scene, Reinhard standing over someone who begged for help. The person's face was hidden, but their body language communicated desperate needs. Reinhard, in the reflection, turned away and began walking off while the person continued pleading.

The third shard rotated into view.

This reflection showed Reinhard walking alone through a burning town. Someone called his name from behind, a person he got to know was asking him to wait. Reinhard clenched his fist before he kept walking, abandoning the person as the fire consumed everything from behind.

The shards began whispering words.

"You leave people behind."

"You save yourself."

"You don't care."

"You are selfish."

"You haven't changed."

More shards lit up and began appearing around Reinhard. Three shards became dozens, and then these dozens became hundreds, all showing various moments throughout Reinhard's life.

He is abandoning people, hurting others, being selfish, not caring, doing whatever it takes to achieve his goal, and closing his eyes.

"You abandoned people before, and now won't be different."

"You always will."

"You helped them today only to use them and then throw them away once they become inconvenient."

"You are pretending to be something you aren't."

"You are a liar and a trickster; those poor warriors don't know their sacrifices for your survival."

The accusations built upon each other, creating a symphony of condemnation. Each voice kept on repeating various words and in different variations, leading Reinhard to close his eyes.

"...You're correct, that was me."

The admission emerged soft but clear. No denial, no justification, and simple acknowledgment of truth displayed in countless reflections.

The shards hissed triumph.

"Then nothing has changed."

The statement carried the weight of a conclusion, a final judgment rendered based on evidence presented.

Reinhard shook his head slowly and said softly.

"No. It has changed."

The air trembled once more.

"Lies."

All of the mirror version Reinhard paused before glaring at him, and speaking all at once.

"You are the same, and you cannot rewrite your nature."

Reinhard walked forward, each step echoed against the glass plane, the sound bounced and reflected between floating shards,

Then a shard drifted into his path directly, positioned to block progress completely. This one showed a particular scene, Reinhard standing in front of a burning house with screams and other members of the gang walking away.

Reinhard closed his eyes before turning around, even as his name was shouted from the inside.

Reinhard placed his hand on the shard's surface.

The material felt warm as the scene within shifted slightly at contact, becoming more animated, more visceral.

"That was me at one point, but it isn't me now."

"You cannot change." The Will repeated.

Reinhard stepped around the shard without any hesitation. He wasn't fleeing but acknowledging his actions and then moving past them.

He kept walking forward through a void filled with reflections of past failures.

"I already did."

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