The Rebellion began as all others did—with two people. David Bauer and Lucas Meyer, childhood friends turned lifelong rebels, who saw the kingdom's tyranny and dared to stand against it.
Their cause took root during Orerha’s annual royal speech, where the king and queen proposed a decree to bind professions to noble bloodlines, ensuring commoners would remain powerless and insignificant. Fueled by outrage, David and Lucas gathered dozens, then hundreds, launching strikes on noble estates and council gatherings over the years.
Yet all it took was one night to tear it apart. The Universe, indifferent to their cause, swept away their progress, their people, and their dreams, leaving only the bitter taste of failure, and in the ashes of what was once a feared group, began a new era.
Lydus and Emmelia were forced to flee, yet he refused to abandon his brother’s body. With a desperate cry, he hoisted the lifeless form into his arms and staggered toward Arawn’s exit. The narrow passage squeezed him tightly, snagging at his clothes and filling the air with the sickening stench of his brother’s blood. The smell was nearly unbearable in the confined space, but he pressed on, oblivious to Emmelia’s unsteady steps behind him.
The walls seemed to close in with every stride, scraping his shoulders as he stumbled forward. Behind them, the soldiers’ shouts echoed through the cavern as they, its opening. Torchlight flickered wildly, spilling like a raging star into the dark tunnel, chasing them down as if it were alive.
“Lydus—” Emmelia called, her voice shaky as he surged ahead, the growing gap between them swallowed by shadow. The cavern’s end was obscured until he slammed into it with a dull thump.
“Ah—fuck...” he hissed, shifting the weight of the body in his arms. With one hand under his brother’s legs, he pressed his palm flat against a symbol etched into the stone wall, muttering the same incantation he’d used to open it before. Trerifo malisay mavu.
The rock before him rumbled and shook, the tremors intensifying with each passing second. Loose stones and dust rained down from above, forcing Lydus to step back. He bumped lightly into Emmelia, their labored breaths filling the narrow space as they waited desperately for the passage to open.
The harsh scrape of metal against rock and the hurried shuffle of boots echoed closer, faster. “Come on...” Lydus begged. The stone wall began to shift. “Open, you motherfucker,” he growled through gritted teeth.
At last, the rocks parted with a grinding groan, dirt spilling to the ground as a sliver of the dark, rain-soaked sky became visible. The passage widened, and without hesitation, Lydus braced his foot on the mound of loose earth. He knew Emmelia should go first, but urgency pushed him forward. He hoisted his brother’s lifeless body up with a strained effort, then leaped to grab the edge of the opening. Rain slickened his grip as he hauled himself onto solid ground, his chest heaving.
Without pausing, he twisted and extended his hand back into the cavern, his eyes meeting Emmelia’s wide, frightened gaze. “Come on!” he urged, the rain pelting his face as he braced himself to pull her up. She grasped his hand now slick with water and he began rolling to the side as he painfully pulled her upward.
Closer, and closer, until...she was yanked, her breath catching in a startled cry. “Ah--” Emmelia’s gaze snapped downward. A soldier’s gauntleted hand clamped around her ankle, the sharp press of metal biting into her skin. She kicked furiously, her boots colliding with armor, but the soldier's grip only tightened, dragging her closer to the abyss. “Lydus—”
Above her, Lydus scrambled forward, dirt crumbling beneath his knees as he rolled precariously close to the edge. His eyes, wide with panic, locked onto hers and seized her arm with both hands now, anchoring himself as best he could. "Emmelia, hold on!" he shouted.
“What do you think I’m doing?” Her legs flailed, striking the soldier again and again, but he held firm.
The ground shuddered violently. Dirt cascaded downward, raining onto the soldier’s helm. Lydus gritted his teeth as his hands slipped on her arm, his grip perilously close to failing.
Below, the soldier’s grunt turned into a guttural roar. The edge of the ground began to crack and crumble further. “It’s... it’s closing!” she managed, “Lydus, it’s going to crush them!”
He dug his heels into the ground, leaning back with all his strength to counterbalance her weight. “Then we have to—”
Before he could finish, a deafening crack split the air. The soldier below let out a final, guttural curse as the ground beneath him collapsed completely, swallowing him and his comrades into the tightening maw of the chasm. Emmelia screamed as she lurched downward, her arm slipping further through Lydus’s grasp.
With one final pull, Lydus yanked Emmelia upward, her body slamming against the muddy edge. She clawed at the dirt, her nails catching in the slick earth as she dragged herself onto solid ground. Just as her legs cleared the gap, the chasm behind them sealed shut with a deafening rumble, leaving only silence in its wake.
“F...” Emmelia groaned, rolling onto her side. “...Fuck,” she spat shakily. She pushed herself up and gingerly rubbed her reddened ankle.
Lydus stared at her through labored breaths with a heaving chest. For a moment, his strength gave out, and he let himself fall back onto the cold, rain-soaked ground. He closed his eyes, the pounding of his heart a relentless rhythm, like mallets striking a drum. The scent of blood and damp earth filled his lungs.
His gaze wandered to the skyline, the stormy clouds above swirling chaotically, but it wasn’t the sky that held his attention for long—it was Alex. His brother’s lifeless body lay just within reach, the deep, jagged wound across his stomach now a dark, glistening red, blood still pooling despite the stillness of death.
Lydus swallowed hard, his throat dry. He looked down at himself—his hands, his armor, his skin—all caked in dirt and blood.
“It’s over...” he muttered. “Emmelia, it’s... it’s all...”
“Lydus...” Emmelia croaked. “...Please, stop with your...” Her words faltered, a cry catching in her throat as she crawled forward, closer to Alex’s lifeless form. She placed a trembling hand on his chest, the stillness beneath her palm unbearable. “What... what do you want me to do? Comfort you?” Her voice cracked as her gaze met his, holding for only a fleeting moment before she broke away, pressing her bloodied hand to her eyes.
Lydus squeezed his eyes shut, his forehead now resting heavily against his brother's leg. But no tears came, but raw anger. Growing with each ragged breath. His hands clawed at the ground, gripping the cold, rain-soaked earth until it crumbled beneath his fingers, and his nails hurt.
Lydus lifted his head, his face now pale and drained of all color. His eyes flickered toward Emmelia, catching an expression that stopped him cold. Her hands trembled before her face, staring as the blood smeared across her skin began to dry in patches, while the rain washed it away in streaks.
“What?” Lydus mumbled hoarsely. The sound startled her, and she shook her head, as if trying to shake loose her thoughts.
“I... I’ve never had to kill...” Emmelia whispered.
“That’s what you’re worried about?” His voice rose suddenly. “Not the fact that my goddamn brother is dead... or that the rebellion is gone... or that everyone we know might be torn apart, but that you killed someone?” The words spilled out, faster than he could stop them. It was only when he saw her flinch and pull away that the weight of what he’d said crashed over him. He froze, his breaths heavy and uneven. “You...” His voice faltered, and his head fell forward, shoulders sagging under it all. “I’m sorry...”
Emmelia hesitated; her movements cautious as though afraid he might lash out again. Slowly, she shifted closer, wrapping her arms around him firmly. “It’s okay, Lydus...” she murmured.
The rain softened, its relentless downpour easing into a quiet patter, hiding tears that streamed down her face. “It’s okay,” she repeated, though the words felt hollow in her mouth, an offering she could barely believe herself.
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