The sun stained the sky with orange hues when we finally left the forest. We climbed a steep hill, and upon reaching the top, the wind hit us with force. Before us stretched a valley, and at its center, a walled town called Nordale. It looked battered, with half-repaired walls and scorched fields, but the smoke rising was from everyday hearths, not pure destruction.
"Will it be safe?" asked Sara, with both hope and wariness.
James observed with an alchemist's eye. "The defenses are damaged, but there are armed civilians. They're not soldiers."
Antoni, now calmer but profoundly fatigued, nodded. "I don't feel the forest's pressure here. Only human noise."
With no other options, we walked toward the main gate. Guards in improvised armor stopped us.
"Refugees from the academy?" asked one with a scar on his cheek.
"Yes," I affirmed. "We seek shelter and news."
The guard scrutinized us, especially Antoni, but finally nodded wearily. "Go in, but know this: there's no room for trouble here. The war reaches even our fields."
The interior was a chaos of resistance. Streets filled with refugees, makeshift campfires, and air thick with smoke and desperation. We found a corner near a well and shared our last crust of dry bread.
That's when I saw her: a tall woman distributing bandages among the wounded. On her shoulder, a nearly faded symbol: a sword crossed by a quill. The emblem of the Circle's Historians.
"Wait here," I said, and approached.
"Academy student," she said before I could speak, her gray eyes assessing me. "It shows. Are you looking for information?"
"Yes. About the war. About a god named Dam."
She led me to a tent full of scrolls. "I'm Elara. Dam is not a god like the current ones. He was a mortal who ascended by mistake centuries ago. A Chosen One. He tried to mediate when the gods' ambition began to poison everything. That's why they imprisoned him in an intermediate plane, a void."
"He gave me a second life. He said I was to save humans."
"The war has two main factions," she continued, unrolling an ancient map. "The Light Faction, of Solarius, which seeks order through absolute dominion. And the Shadow, of Nyx, which embraces a chaos corrupted by vengeance. Both use humans as pawns. Your Dam was right about that."
She pointed at the map. "But you're not alone. Other Chosen Ones also summoned champions. Some, as he warned you, were deceived by the Shadow. If you want to change anything, being strong isn't enough. You must find the others. Unite them, or stop them from destroying more towns like this one."
She handed me the scroll. "Rest first. Despair is also a weapon."
I returned to the others, the map weighing in my hand not physically, but in its meaning.
"What did you find out?" asked Sara.
"That this is bigger than we thought," I said, showing the map. "There are others like me, summoned, lost, or being used. Dam told me the truth, but only a part of it."
James observed the parchment with interest. Antoni asked, his voice firm, "What do we do, Azrael?"
I looked around: at James, loyal and ingenious; at Sara, powerful and protective; at Antoni, redeemed and determined. I was no longer alone. We were a group.
"We rest," I replied. "We grow stronger. And then, we follow this map. We find the others. This war began among gods, but if those of us who have something to protect unite... maybe we can change the ending."
Night fell over Nordale, cold and full of whispers. But within me, for the first time since my rebirth, there was no despair. There was a clear path, dangerous, but my own. And this time, I wouldn't walk it alone.