Flashes of red filled my vision.
Smoke. Screams. The sound of steel clashing and airships roaring above.
"Ryze! The Empire has taken over almost all points!"
The voice came from my comm-link — one of my squadmates, his voice breaking through static.
I turned, watching the battlefield unfold across the horizon.
Countless Resistance soldiers fought desperately, their weapons glowing with fading light. Above us, black airships bearing the Empire's emblem blotted out the sun. Their cannons rained fire upon the plains, and the ground itself trembled under the impact.
And then… I saw him.
A lone figure, standing at the far edge of the chaos.
A cloak whipped violently in the storm wind. Two swords hung at his sides, their blades radiating crimson and void energy. His presence alone warped the air around him — a power I could feel even from that distance.
He turned his head slightly. I couldn't see his face, but I could feel his gaze pierce through the smoke, straight toward me.
The sky shattered —
and everything went white.
I woke up with a gasp, my hand instinctively reaching for my rifle.
"Huh? What's going on…?" My voice cracked slightly. My heart was still pounding.
I blinked rapidly, looking around.
No airships.
No battlefield.
Only silence.
"Oh… it was just a dream," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "It's been so long since I've had one."
The campfire was out, the ashes cold. My rifle lay beside me on the ground, half-buried in dust.
Our supplies were still there — the food, the bags, the resource crystals. But something else was missing.
"...Where's Bl4ze?"
I stood up quickly, brushing off the dirt and grabbing my weapon. The sky above the Void was still gray, the clouds moving in strange, glitching patterns.
Then I saw him.
Not far away, a lone figure stood in an open field. His cloak fluttered in the wind. A faint glint of light shimmered around him — his sword.
He raised it slowly, exhaling. Then, in one smooth motion, he swung.
—SWOOSH!
The air ripped apart. A wave of distorted wind burst outward, throwing up sand and dust in all directions. My cloak whipped violently behind me as I struggled to stay upright.
"What the—?"
When the wind cleared, the ground before him was split — a long, deep scar burned into the dirt.
The figure turned.
It was Bl4ze.
He looked calm, almost casual, the sword still humming faintly in his hand. "Oh? You're awake," he said. "Sleep well?"
I stared at the destroyed field behind him, still wide-eyed. "What the hell was that?"
"Practice," he replied simply.
"Practice?" I repeated. "That looked like a shockwave from a tank cannon!"
He shrugged. "Can't be too careful. You never know what's waiting out here."
"You're already strong enough," I said, shaking my head.
He gave a small smirk beneath his mask. "Maybe. But strength fades if you stop moving."
He spun the sword in his hand once, then held it out toward me. "Wanna try?"
"What—me?"
"Yeah. Go ahead."
I hesitated, then took the weapon. It was heavier than I expected — an old-type blade, coated in dark red with a silver handle. It felt… alive, humming faintly in my grip.
"Alright," I said, planting my feet. "Here goes nothing."
I swung with all my strength.
—SWOOSH!
The blade sliced through the air, humming like static. No shockwave, but the wind around us rippled faintly.
Bl4ze clapped once. "Impressive. Not bad for someone who usually sticks to rifles."
I laughed awkwardly, panting a little. "I think my arms are about to fall off."
He chuckled, taking the sword back. "You'll get used to it. Maybe."
I tilted my head. "What skill did you use to generate that kind of power earlier? Was it Overdrive? Or some kind of enchantment boost?"
He shook his head. "No skill. Just a normal swing."
I blinked. "That's… not normal."
He smiled faintly. "Nothing in the Void is normal."
I sighed. "You're not wrong."
For a moment, I looked at the horizon — the endless gray expanse stretching far beyond the ruins. Somewhere beyond that distortion lay the Empire, the Resistance, and the war I'd left behind.
Bl4ze sheathed his sword and slung his pack over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get moving before the terrain shifts again."
I nodded, grabbing my rifle. "Yeah. Let's go home."
We walked for hours across the ever-changing wasteland. The terrain around us twisted slowly as we moved — valleys became cliffs, and distant towers flickered in and out of existence like broken memories.
Once, I thought I saw a structure moving on its own — sliding across the horizon as if the land beneath it was alive.
Bl4ze said nothing, just adjusted the Destination Gem every few minutes, checking its faint glow.
The wind was cold and dry. The silence was endless.
But even here, side by side, it didn't feel unbearable anymore.
"Hey, Bl4ze," I said after a while. "About that dream I had…"
He looked over. "Yeah?"
"I saw the Empire again. The battlefield. Airships. And someone — cloaked, with two swords. I could feel his power from miles away."
He went quiet for a moment. "A cloaked figure with two swords?"
"Yeah. Do you think it's someone from the Empire's Elite Units?"
"Maybe," he said softly. "Or maybe it's just a memory trying to tell you something."
His tone was calm, but something about the way he said it made me wonder if he knew more than he was saying.
The sky began to shift color — from gray to faint orange, the first sign of dawn breaking through the Void's barrier.
In the distance, I saw it.
A small house made of scavenged metal and concrete. Smoke faintly rising from the chimney.
"Hey," I said, nudging him with my elbow. "There it is."
He followed my gaze — and smiled. "Home."
We walked the last stretch in silence, the faint light of the rising sun (or whatever passed for one here) glowing softly behind us.
After days of danger, endless walking, and strange dreams… we finally made it back.