Aria!!!

Few weeks before, after leaving her new master Videl and her new savior Victor’s side, as she said she wanted to see her village one last time before following both of them, Aria went back to her village.

The journey itself was long and exhausting.

The village Aria came from stood near the borders of the Skyfall Kingdom, while only a few miles farther rested a small settlement belonging to the neighboring Blackthorn Kingdom. The land between the two kingdoms was rough and mostly abandoned, filled with uneven roads, dying forests, and hills where monsters often roamed at night.

Since Aria possessed no horse, no carriage, and barely any money, she could only travel by foot.

The cold wind brushed against her black hair as she walked through narrow dirt paths beneath gray skies. Dust clung to her boots while exhaustion slowly built within her body with every passing mile. Yet despite the fatigue burning inside her legs, she never once slowed down.

Because deep down...

There was still a tiny foolish hope within her heart.

A hope that maybe Victor was wrong.

Maybe the village survived somehow.

Maybe everyone escaped.

Maybe when she arrived home, she would still hear laughter.

Maybe her mother would still scold her for disappearing too long.

Maybe her father would return carrying hunted beasts over his shoulder while smiling proudly.

Maybe...

Maybe none of it truly happened.

The closer she got to the village, the quieter the world became.

No birds.

No voices.

No smoke rising from chimneys.

Only silence.

A terrible silence.

When Aria finally reached her village, she couldn’t help but tear up when she saw the ruins of her once happy village.

Her body froze.

The breath caught inside her throat.

Before her stood nothing but destruction.

Burned homes collapsed into piles of blackened wood.

Broken carts lay overturned near the roads.

The fields that once swayed with crops beneath the sunlight had long been reduced to scorched earth.

The smell lingering in the air was unbearable.

Rot.

Smoke.

Filth.

Death.

Even after weeks had passed, the scent still remained.

Aria slowly walked forward with trembling legs while her green eyes scanned the village she once called home.

There were no bodies anymore.

It would seem that the dead bodies of the villagers had disappeared, most probably taken or eaten by the animals or monsters in the vicinity.

Aria already knew that this was inevitable.

She knew this was what she was going to see.

Yet deep down in her heart she wanted it to be different.

She wanted it all to be nothing more than a bad dream.

A misunderstanding.

She wanted to come back home and see her mother cooking her favorite meal again.

She wanted to hear the sound of her father’s footsteps returning from a hunt.

She wanted to hear children running through the streets while talking about the future.

She wanted...

Home.

But the home she remembered no longer existed.

The little hope she carried all this way shattered completely before her eyes.

The houses were nothing more than broken wood and ash.

The wells had dried up.

The roads were stained dark from old blood washed away by rain.

Even the great tree near the center of the village looked lifeless now, its leaves dull beneath the cloudy sky.

Aria lowered her head.

Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks before falling silently onto the dirt beneath her feet.

For several moments she simply stood there without moving.

Alone.

Completely alone.

Then slowly...

She wiped away her tears.

The dead deserved better than this.

Even if no bodies remained...

Even if nothing could truly be fixed anymore...

She still wanted to do something for them.

Aria had already decided.

She would dig graves for everyone.

She would give the dead a proper funeral.

The village had raised her.

Fed her.

Protected her.

Now she was the only one left alive.

At the very least...

She could make sure they were remembered.

Aria searched through the destroyed homes for a shovel or any usable tool, but everything had either burned away or been stolen by looters long ago.

In the end, she quietly stared down at her own hands.

Then without hesitation, she knelt down beside the earth.

If there were no tools left...

Then she would dig with her bare hands.

It felt appropriate somehow.

Because she was the only one left.

Aria climbed a small hill near the village and started digging one particular grave there.

The wind brushed against her face while loose dirt gathered beneath her nails.

She planned for the other graves to rest beneath the great tree near the center of the village.

But this grave...

This one was special.

It belonged to the brave warrior who tried his best to protect the village until the very end.

He was a human adventurer.

A young man with foolish dreams and a cheap wooden shield.

Yet despite his weakness, he stood before the slave traders without running away.

Aria still remembered his smile.

Still remembered how brightly he spoke about his future.

He wanted to become a great adventurer one day.

Someone worthy of songs.

Someone children would admire.

Unfortunately...

His adventure ended in this village.

Protecting people who could never repay him.

Aria believed someone like him deserved the honor of resting upon the highest point near the village.

There was no deeper reason.

Her village simply believed that those buried high above would reach the heavens first.

And to her...

That brave adventurer deserved that honor.

Aria started digging using only her hands.

At first it was manageable.

The soil was loose from recent rains.

But the deeper she dug, the harder the ground became.

Sharp stones tore against her skin.

Dirt buried itself beneath broken fingernails.

Soon blood began staining the earth.

Still...

She continued digging.

Her breathing slowly became heavier while sweat rolled down her forehead despite the cold air.

Hours passed.

The sky slowly turned orange.

Then violet.

Evening arrived before she realized it.