The battlefield stretched endlessly, a scarred and broken plain under a sky that seemed to mourn the world itself. The faint light of dawn did little to dispel the gloom; instead, it cast long, jagged shadows over the churned earth and scattered remains of battles long past. Our ragged army stood in formation, a patchwork of survivors—knights in battered armor, mages with weary eyes, and villagers clutching makeshift weapons.
In the center of the line, Cleave, Claire, and I waited, the weight of our final stand heavy on our shoulders.
Claire turned to the troops, her voice cutting through the silence. "Listen to me!" she called out, her tone steady and commanding. "This is it. This is where we take back everything they've stolen from us. Remember why you fight—not for revenge, but for those who still draw breath. For those who cannot stand here with us. Today, we make the demons remember what it means to face humanity's wrath!"
A cheer rose from the ranks, desperate and raw, but determined nonetheless.
I stepped forward, my voice quieter but no less firm. "The titan and its army may seem unstoppable. They are not. Remember: they bleed as we do. Strike fast, strike hard, and hold nothing back. Whatever happens today, know this—you are not alone."
Beside me, Cleave grinned despite the tension, his twin blades glinting in the weak sunlight. "A bit dramatic, don't you think?" he muttered under his breath.
"You can thank me when we survive," I replied dryly, though my lips twitched in the faintest hint of a smile.
A deep rumble shook the ground, silencing all chatter. Across the field, the portal flared to life once more, its crimson glow casting an ominous hue over the land. From its depths, the enemy emerged, an unending tide of horrors. The demon general stepped through last, its malevolent gaze sweeping over the battlefield.
"Humans." Its voice was a rumble of mockery and disdain. "You dare stand against the inevitable? Surrender now, and I may grant you a swift death."
Claire stepped forward, her spear leveled at the general. "We're done running," she said, her voice sharp as steel. "If you want this world, you'll have to fight for it."
The demon laughed, a sound like grinding stone. "So be it."
The titan loomed on the horizon, its molten veins glowing brighter as it began its advance. The ground trembled beneath its massive steps.
"Form up!" Claire barked, rallying the troops.
Cleave tightened his grip on his blades, his usual humor replaced by grim determination. "Here we go."
I reached for the amulet around my neck, its runes glowing faintly as I whispered an incantation. The tomes I had salvaged had given me many secrets over the years, and today, I would unleash them all.
As the first wave of demons charged, a cry went up from our ranks, a defiant roar that drowned out the fear. Magic flared to life around us as the mages launched their spells—fireballs streaked through the air, lightning cracked, and walls of ice rose to block the enemy's advance. The ground shook as the knights charged, their battle cries echoing across the plain.
I focused on the titan, its massive form nearing with each thunderous step. This was the true enemy, the harbinger of our doom. If it fell, the portal would close, and the invasion would end.
"Cover me," I shouted to Claire and Cleave.
"You're going for the titan?!" Cleave called back, disbelief in his voice.
I nodded. "It's the only way."
Claire didn't hesitate. "We'll keep them off you. Go."
With a deep breath, I began to channel the spell I had prepared, the words of an ancient incantation rolling off my tongue. The amulet flared, its light growing brighter with each syllable.
The air around me shimmered, and I felt the pull of immense power. My vision blurred, but I pressed on, forcing the magic into form. The ground cracked beneath my feet as a massive glyph burned itself into the earth, its intricate lines glowing with an unearthly light.
The titan turned its blazing eyes toward me, sensing the threat. With a deafening roar, it raised one colossal arm, its molten veins flaring as it prepared to strike.
"Richard!" Claire's voice cut through the chaos, and I turned just in time to see her leap between me and the titan's massive fist. Her spear glowed with holy light as she drove it upward, deflecting the blow with a shockwave that sent her sprawling.
"Go!" she shouted, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. "Finish it!"
Cleave appeared at her side, slashing through a horde of demons that tried to overwhelm her. "Don't waste this, Richard!"
I gritted my teeth, pouring everything I had into the spell. The glyph beneath me pulsed, and a beam of searing light shot upward, piercing the sky. The titan staggered, its molten veins dimming as the magic tore through it.
But it wasn't enough. The demon general appeared before me, its claws slashing toward my chest.
"Not today!" Cleave roared, intercepting the blow with his blades.
"Finish it!" he shouted.
I didn't hesitate. With a final surge of power, I unleashed the spell. The glyph erupted in a blinding explosion of light, engulfing the titan and the portal in its brilliance.
When the light faded, the battlefield was silent. The portal was gone, and the titan lay shattered, its molten veins extinguished.
But the cost...
I turned, searching for Claire and Cleave in the smoke and debris.
"Cleave? Claire?" My voice trembled as I stumbled forward.
Through the haze, a figure emerged—Claire, her armor scorched and battered, but her eyes burning with determination. She was supporting Cleave, whose grin, though weaker, still shone through his exhaustion.
"Told you we'd make it," Cleave rasped, his voice hoarse but triumphant.
Claire nodded, her gaze meeting mine. "It's over, Richard."
I looked out at the battlefield, at the scattered survivors who were beginning to cheer.
It wasn't over—not truly. The scars of this war would linger, and the world we had saved would never be the same.
But for the first time in five years, I allowed myself to hope.
As the light faded and my senses returned, I stumbled forward, coughing from the dust and debris. The battlefield was eerily silent, as if the world itself had taken a breath. For a fleeting moment, I thought it was over.
Then the ground shuddered, and my heart sank.
The portal, which had just been destroyed, reignited with a crackling roar. Its crimson glow pulsed with renewed life, brighter and more menacing than before. The air around it rippled as the energy surged outward.
Through the haze, I saw them—the titan and the demon general. Both figures, who had been obliterated in the blast, now stood upright as if untouched. The titan's molten veins burned with greater intensity, and the general's twisted grin was etched with mockery.
"You thought it would be so simple?" the demon general sneered, its voice a venomous echo. "This is no war you can win, mortal. The cycle will always repeat."
The titan's massive frame shifted, its molten veins bubbling ominously as it turned its gaze upon me. The raw malice in its glowing eyes froze me in place.
Claire and Cleave, battered and bloodied, pulled themselves to their feet. Cleave was the first to speak, his voice shaky but defiant. "You've got to be kidding me. Again?!"
"We barely made it through the first time!" Claire snapped, her grip tightening on her broken spear.
The troops, those few who remained standing, faltered at the sight. Their cheers turned to murmurs of fear, the faint spark of hope dimming in their eyes.
"No!" I shouted, stepping forward. "Don't give in! This isn't over!"
But even as I spoke, doubt gnawed at me. How could we fight them again, stronger than before, with so little left?
The portal began to expand, its glow consuming the horizon. More demons poured through, an endless wave of horrors. My amulet, once glowing with power, now felt cold and lifeless against my chest.
The demon general laughed, spreading its claws wide as it addressed the battlefield. "You've fought well, humans. But this... this is your reckoning!"
The titan raised its massive fist, molten energy pooling in its palm. The air grew hotter, and the earth beneath us cracked and split.
Desperation clawed at me as I looked to my allies. Claire stood ready, her body trembling from exhaustion but her eyes still blazing with defiance. Cleave, ever defiant, twirled his battered blades, forcing a grin despite the hopelessness of our situation.
"We can't win like this," I said, the words bitter on my tongue.
"Then what?" Cleave asked, stepping closer. "We're out of plans, out of magic, and out of time!"
Before I could respond, the titan's fist came crashing down. Claire shoved me aside just as the ground erupted beneath us. The shockwave sent me sprawling, my head spinning as darkness crept into my vision.
When I came to, I was lying on my back, staring up at the crimson-lit sky. Around me, the battlefield was silent once more, but not from victory. Bodies of comrades and demons alike lay scattered, motionless. The air was thick with ash and the scent of scorched earth.
I struggled to sit up, my body protesting with every movement. In the distance, I saw the titan and the demon general standing amidst the carnage.
The sun never rose that day.
The battlefield was an unrecognizable wasteland, a twisted canvas of scorched earth, shattered weapons, and bodies strewn like forgotten remnants of a failed dream. The air was heavy with ash and the metallic tang of blood, and the cries of the dying blended into the distant roars of the encroaching horde.
Claire fell first.
I watched as she stood against the tide, her spear glowing with the last remnants of her magic, her armor blackened and broken. "Keep fighting!" she screamed, her voice a defiant echo against the abyss. She took down three demons with one swing, her eyes blazing with fury, before the fourth drove a blackened spear through her chest. She stumbled, coughed up blood, but even then, she swung again.
Until she couldn't.
"CLAIRE!" Cleave's roar tore through the battlefield as he charged forward, his twin blades blazing with a desperate, fiery glow. He was the strongest of us, the one who never faltered, never hesitated. But even the strongest have their limits.
A massive shadow loomed over him—the demon general. It was almost poetic, watching Cleave throw his full strength at the creature, his blades crashing against its blackened armor. For a moment, it seemed he might succeed. The general staggered.
And then it retaliated.
Its blade moved faster than my eyes could follow, and Cleave froze mid-swing. His head fell first, rolling across the ground, the rest of his body collapsing a second later.
"NO!" My scream was raw, torn from a place I didn't know existed. My legs carried me forward, though I didn't know why.
They were all dead.
Our army—if it could even be called that—had been reduced to nothing more than broken bodies and scattered ash. The titan loomed in the distance, its fiery veins glowing brighter as it absorbed the energy of the dying. The portal behind it pulsed with ominous light, spewing forth endless waves of monstrosities.
I was alone now.
My knees hit the ground before I even realized I'd fallen. My hand clutched the satchel at my side, the weight of the tomes inside heavier than ever. My breath came in ragged gasps, my vision blurred with tears and blood.
"What was the point?" I whispered, my voice lost in the chaos.
A faint glow caught my eye. At first, I thought it was another fire, another sign of destruction. But no—this was different. It came from the satchel.
One of the books.
The one I had never been able to open, no matter how hard I tried.
The battlefield seemed to fade as my trembling hands pulled the tome from the satchel. Its cover was glowing faintly, ancient runes illuminating one by one. The moment I touched it, the book flipped open on its own, the pages turning rapidly until they stopped on one.
The runes burned brighter, too bright to look at, and then—
The pain.
It hit me all at once, like a thousand knives piercing my skin, like my very soul was being torn apart. My scream echoed through the emptiness as the light consumed everything.
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't on the battlefield.
I wasn't anywhere I recognized.
The world was... soft. Warm. I could feel a strange weight on my body, but I couldn't move. The sounds around me were muffled, distorted, like they were coming from underwater.
And then I heard it.
A voice. Familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
"He's beautiful," the voice said. It was soft, gentle. Full of love.
I blinked, or at least I thought I did, and the world came into focus.
A face. A woman's face. Her hair was dark, her eyes wide with wonder, her lips curved in a soft smile. Tears glistened on her cheeks.
"Richard," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "My little boy."
No.
It wasn't possible.
I tried to speak, but the sound that came out wasn't words. It was the cry of a newborn.
I looked down—or tried to—and saw tiny hands, tiny feet. My heart pounded as the realization hit me like a tidal wave.
The book. The light.
It had sent me back. Back to the very beginning.
As my mother cradled me in her arms, humming a soft lullaby, my mind raced.
To change it all.
To stop the titan.
To rewrite history.
But first, I would have to grow.
And this time, I wouldn't waste a single moment.
This time, I would be ready.