Very soon, the chosen ones faced their greatest challenge, yet it was far greater than they could have imagined. Each of them still felt that restlessness that made them struggle to sleep, that controlled their minds and distorted them inside. For a short time, they found a way to rest their minds, but very quickly they noticed a feeling which they had not experienced so intensely since the first battle: despair.
"How exactly did you serve? What was your role?"
" Let's get to the village first, and then talk about these things. I can barely concentrate right now."
"Oh, of course, my bad. Curiosity has gotten the better of me. It distracts me from the pain. So how much farther is it?"
"We're almost at the cornfield, so it won't be far from there. If everything goes well, we should be there in two hours."
"Excellent, I have to thank the residents right away."
"I don't think that's even necessary. Assuming I'm correct, it's enough for you to have been a mentor to Leo. That's more than sufficient for them to welcome you. It's best if someone from the village explains to you what exactly happened back then. If you're so interested in Leo then you'll get enough answers there."
"I'm quite surprised that he gained such a high trust there. Hell, even if he saved them they wouldn't have had to accept him. The mission you went on was decided solely to test you, and thus Leo. Usually, not a single soldier would have shown up even near this village. These people have every reason to hate the kingdom. Long ago they abandoned the villages on the border without making a secret of it."
"Sir Grae, you of all people should know that when it comes to life and death, old feuds and disputes are put aside for the moment. Of course, not everyone accepted us completely; we could not ask that of anyone. Still, we were able to feel at ease in their presence."
" It seems your commander did a great job with you guys. I didn't think he could keep his cool in his situation."
" To be honest, he didn't quite either. After we overwhelmed the barbarians in the village he gave us the order to bring him their leader. Of course, some of us were curious and secretly watched what exactly he was up to. What we saw was not our commander as we knew him. His eyes were full of hatred, his way of talking was not that of a young soldier but of a man who has seen hell before. He killed that leader of theirs as slowly and cruelly as he could. Of course we were shocked but he was still our commander after all. Once he returned to the village he was back to his old self, since that time there was no trace of the brutal sadist in him."
Grae sank into thought at these words. He saw small similarities to his appearance nowadays. If Leo really knew hell then he now wants to return it. Naturally, Grae couldn't accept the way he did it, but he couldn't see him as a pure monster either.
"I have a request for you. If it's okay I would like to leave it at the death of Leo. These news are better than telling them about his returned self. I want them to have good memories of their savior. Most likely they know nothing of the events of the last few years so I want to tell it as honestly as possible up until his death.
Grae understood Freo's request. After a moment's thought, he agreed to the proposal. Around noon they arrived in the village. Immediately everyone was on the alert, countless weapons were pointed at them. But when the leader of the village realized who was sitting on the horse, he ordered everyone to put aside their hostility.
"I didn't think I'd see you again old friend."
"Believe me, I felt the same way, yet I have an important request."
" First of all arrive properly in the village, you surely are not in such a hurry, are you? So who is your companion, is he also a new soldier in Leo's squad?"
Freo ignored the question and only told about his identity.
"This is Commander Grae, the famous commander. We never got to see him but you can trust me, he is the real one."
He was astonished when he learned who was descending the horse. He immediately wanted to help him and introduce himself.
"I-It is an honor to meet the best commander of the kingdom. M-My name is Alias, I am a former soldier of Leo's squad and the king's leader."
"Your old ways are coming out again. I told you to let everyone see your true self-confidence."
A young lady came out of one of the houses and walked up to Alias. In her hand she held a small baby, when it looked at Alias it started to cry very loudly.
"I guess she still can't get used to me huh? Do you even know who is standing in front of us? He's the greatest of all the commanders in the kingdom, you know what that could mean."
The young woman made a shocked face. At some point it was bound to come this way, until then the two of them had enjoyed their lives. Respectfully, Alias bowed to him.
"I-I don't know exactly why you are here. But if it's about my retirement from the soldier's life then fulfill the punishment but leave the village alone."
Grae was wondering at first but he remembered the rules set by the generation before him.
"Don't worry, you don't have any punishment at least with me. I always hated the rule of death for runaways. You are lucky I am not Soran, he most likely would have killed you for real. Besides, I remember that in Leo's reports your death was registered. Quite a trick on his part, I guess he really was a righteous commander."
After he finished speaking, the people looked at him in shock, Alias also made a frightened face.
W-w-what do you mean WAS? He resigned from the army, right?"
Looking at Freo he saw the serious face and him staring at the ground.
"If you don't mind we would like to have some rest first."
Completely confused, he agreed to his request and provided them with an empty building to stay in. The two soldiers were given food and drinks. When evening came, they invited Alias alone. Moreover, for the time being, they didn't want strangers' ears to be part of the conversation. Together they sat down and Freo began to tell Alias everything about their journeys.
"After we got back to the city we got a short rest, but then things got a lot worse. The king put us in the special squad that had been gone for a long time. You know how that squad operated and lived. For months we traveled around the kingdom stopping these creatures, everyone working together. Even though we were far from family, Leo's leadership made it feel like we were going to see them again soon. Suddenly there was a battle between barbarians and mutants. We were surrounded and completely outnumbered. So a messenger was sent to inform the army of our location, and that messenger was me. After I shared the news, I was released from duty. Obviously, I did not want to abandon them and save them together with the reinforcements, but my wife stopped me. We have not seen each other for a long time and she had serious problems raising our two childrens alone. That's why I ended up staying in the city. Every single minute I prayed for their survival, I had absolute faith and hoped that this time he would also manage the impossible. But time passed and there was still no news of the battle. Then one morning I saw the army returning, but there was no sign of my comrades until I saw the cart at the end of the squad."
Freo struggled with these words. The memories rushed through his head again and devoured him inside. Tears rolled down his cheek as he told Alias the rest.
"The whole wagon was filled with bodies, with the bodies of my dead comrades and friends. Not a single one of them had survived, their corpses looked completely destroyed. I was unable to move at this sight, the shock took control of me. For the rest of the day I could not even shed tears, inside I had surrendered. If it were not for my family I would be lost and empty inside, but they were my salvation. On the following day, the farewell ceremony for the brave soldiers took place. Each one was buried one by one, all the family members burst into tears, I felt so sorry for all of them. To this day I am filled with guilt, with the guilt of not being there for them. At last Leo was buried, but his burial was strange, his body had not been found. At first I had hope that he was still out there somewhere and survived but there was one thing they found of his remains. The arm with the black mark was thrown into the grave completely shredded. This is not what he deserved, such a send off for him is outrageous with all the things he has done for the kingdom..."
Alias remained frozen for a moment, unable to speak a word. Inside he remembered their time together, about his life Leo spared. He was the reason Alias is able to call himself a father today
"H-How long has it been?"
"Three years, three whole long years have passed since the incident. Although I want to get over it, sometimes memories still come to my mind. Although it gives me nightmares they are still precious memories that I don't want to be forgotten. I began to write everything down, all the experiences we went through together. Months passed until I was completely satisfied with my work, but the little script is finished. I wanted to visit you for a long time, but I was afraid to tell you about it, so the request to bring the commander here suited this idea. I made a copy of the writing, it is a gift for you. It contains everything that I experienced as a soldier of Leos squad three years ago."
When Grae saw the sadness Leos death caused his former soldiers he remembered his own military life. Would his soldiers be as sad to see him die? Was he truly doing all he possibly could? Had he somehow been able to change Leo's life and avoid this whole situation? The self-doubts were like poison that kept him up all night. All night he couldn't get the conversation between the two out of his head.
The following morning, the news was spread throughout the village. Many were grieved, some downhearted. The savior of their lives now gave his life to protect the entire kingdom from danger. At the reactions Grae became even more aware that there was no way he was going to tell about Leo's change. Once everyone found out who exactly Grae was, he was treated as one of them. Since there was nothing they could do for their savior anymore, they at least wanted to provide support to Leos followers and friends as much as they could. Over the next few days, Grae recovered from his wounds while Freo got to know the family of Alias. While he knew most of the residents, he was newly acquainted with little 1-year-old Hilda. Over the years, Alias had changed a lot; living with her was the best thing that could have happened to him.
" Is there something like a training ground available?"
"There is one but it hasn't been used for a long time, Leo himself build it back then. For sword training, though, it should be more than enough."
He took one of the swords from the blacksmith and went to the place. There he tried to concentrate on his strength. Marah was right and he too knew that his body was not fully adapted to his new power. The energy would only age his body and make him frail so he began to do small steps. After three days he managed to heal his wounds, after 5 days he was able to fuse the light with the sword. However, during this action, his hair suddenly turned white and he was about to pass out. After a couple of minutes everything was back to normal, the sword was just a simple weapon again. In the evening he went back to the village, who told him stories about their lives. For the first time he felt true fellowship. He used to talk to his soldiers after battle, but in this village he learned what true community meant. Although these things were trivial, they made him mentally stronger. At the same time, he never lost focus on what was to come soon. It was time to prepare for an event that would show him how human he was. During the last night he was overcome by nostalgia for the first time. All the memories made him reminisce about his own life up to his military career. About relationships, about family, about heritage and about all the friends and enemies he made in his life.