The air was heavy with the stench of blood, thick and metallic, clinging to the back of Elijah's throat. The earth was dyed black with the aura of decay, as though life itself had been leached from the land.
There wasn't a single blade of grass for miles, just an endless expanse of lifeless soil stretching out under a sky the color of tarnished steel.
Clearly, the years had not favored this world at all. At least, that was the conclusion Elijah came to after his brief observation.
Elijah would have very much liked to know more about this place, but fear gripped his chest too tightly for him to ask. He was presently riding a horse alongside a woman with surprisingly human features, or at least, more human than the friends following behind them.
He glanced back slightly at the other riders trailing them. The most normal among them was a man with human features but the nose of a raccoon, his sharp eyes darting toward Elijah, a friendly smile spreading across he's face, but Elijah felt like prey being sized up by a predator.
Elijah gulped.
"I am so going to die again, aren't I?"
[NOTICE: Dying before the start of a mission will lead to permanent death]
Elijah's face slumped unnaturally.
"Why does it sound like it actually expects me to die at any time?"
The horse stumbled slightly on uneven ground, jolting him. Elijah froze as he felt a pair of soft, fleshy melons scrape against his back. His body tensed like a coiled spring, bracing for the sharp sting of decapitation.
When nothing happened, he exhaled shakily, his pulse still pounding in his ears.
The woman riding behind him was young and pretty, with striking blonde hair and unsettlingly calm blue eyes. She seemed far too composed for someone in a world like this, and Elijah wasn't buying it.
"She's definitely murdered a lot of people… if there are even people left in this world."
Before she had hoisted him onto the horse like a sack of grain, he'd noticed her ears, long and pointed, like the elves in human folklore. But this one wasn't some tree loving vegetarian. She was a soldier, flanked by grotesque monstrosities that seem a little too friendly towards her.
The woman, Verayth, noticed his discomfort and decided, out of some misplaced kindness, to flash him a smile. The sight of her sharp fangs turned Elijah's blood to ice.
"What the fuck does it take for God to hate a man so?"
The group eventually reached a sprawling encampment, but not before passing through a semi fortified trench. Reinforced with wires, wooden planks, and sniper posts, it felt like a fragile barricade against an inevitable onslaught.
The encampment itself was massive, with a sea of tents stretching into the distance. Smoke from countless campfires mingled with the acrid stench of death. Elijah estimated there were at least three hundred thousand soldiers here, their movements sluggish with exhaustion.
"First Lieutenant Verayth."
A man with pigeon like wings called out to the blonde woman as she helped Elijah dismount.
"The major wants to see you. It's about the final battle for the Black Ash front."
Verayth frowned lightly, her gaze unreadable to Elijah.
"Go ahead, First Lieutenant Darvik. I'll be right behind you."
She offered Elijah a smile as she turned, but it only deepened his unease.
"You must be exhausted. Ovarth here will take you to the medical team. You can get some rest after that."
Elijah nodded stiffly as Verayth departed, her steps heavy with unspoken burdens Elijah desperate wished he never gets to realise.
"At least she seems genuinely worried about me. Probably because she thinks I'm the only survivor from the other battlefront."
Elijah surveyed his surroundings, his bright green eyes reflecting the desolation around him. He was on a battlefront, and it was painfully clear this wasn't the winning side. For now, his best bet was to stick with the people who wanted to treat his wounds, not the ones who might not care whether he lived or died.
"This new front isn't completely fortified. I wonder if they'll finish the trenches before the enemy hits them again."
"Arh, excuse me, can we go now?"
Ovarth, a young man with black hair that resembled the spikes of a porcupine interrupted Elijah's thoughts, he's hands and the rest of he's body were more or less human, except for he's eyes and hair. Elijah wasn't sure of he's legs since he had shoes on.
"Yeah, sorry for wasting time, bro. My name's Elijah, by the way."
"Officer Ovarth," the man replied curtly.
"Ovarth. Their names here are really weird," Elijah thought as Ovarth began escorting him toward the medical tents.
Elijah seized the opportunity. The first lieutenant had handed him an opening, and he wasn't about to waste it.
"Say, Officer Ovarth, where exactly am I?"
"What do you mean? This is the Black Ash battlefront in the southern part of the continent," Ovarth replied, his tone disinterested. The piles of corpses and the oppressive stench of decay were impossible to ignore.
But Elijah wasn't from the southern part of the continent. Heck, he wasn't even from this world.
"Black Ash battlefront. Okay, good, good. But what I actually want to know is the name of the country itself."
Ovarth stopped abruptly. Elijah barely avoided bumping into him, halting just inches away.
"What do you mean?" Ovarth asked, his tone sharpening with suspicion. His dark eyes narrowed, a flicker of doubt glinting in their depths.
Elijah's heart sank.
"What I meant was, er…" Elijah stumbled over his words. "You see, I hit my head pretty bad, and things have been… pretty fuzzy, so…"
He forced a foolish grin, hoping to play the part of the harmless idiot.
Ovarth's gaze lingered on him for a moment too long before he sighed and gestured for Elijah to follow.
"Just don't waste my time," he muttered.
Elijah exhaled in relief but kept his guard up. This world didn't seem to have much room for second chances.