The ceiling above him looked ready to collapse, but at least they had one right?

Aether stared at it in silence, eyes fixed on the dark wooden beams crossing one another overhead. Parts of the roof were missing entirely, letting thin lines of pale light slip through the cracks; it got into his eyes, the light. Why was the sun so mean?

Dust floated slowly within them, drifting through the cold air like dying snow. Every now and then, the wind pushed against the hut hard enough to make the entire structure creak. Ashe flew around the room, reminding them of what was lost, of what used to be, but it wasn’t like you could stay in such a room and forget.

It sounded tired.

The room smelled of ash, damp wood, old blood, and herbs crushed into rough cloth bandages, a pretty specific selection of smells that told a pretty obvious story to those who read it.

A weak fire burned somewhere near the corner, barely alive, its orange glow flickering against the walls. No one put it out because, at the moment, energy was the most important thing; they couldn’t waste it on useless things.

The hut itself looked abandoned at first glance, like something left behind after the world ended. And really, for this civilization, it had felt as if the world had ended not too long ago. After the war.

Half the walls had been repaired with uneven planks stolen from broken homes. One side of the floor had collapsed inward slightly, leaving splintered boards exposed beneath muddy footprints. It was almost like most were only there so that the hut wasn’t completely naked.

War had passed through this place and left its teeth buried in everything.

Aether sighed as memories came upon him. This wasn’t the only thing destroyed; the whole civilization had been reduced to flames. He wondered if it was even livable anymore? Were they really going to find a way to turn around their lives from this point?

Beside him, separated only by hanging cloth sheets tied to ropes, wounded Beast Humans rested in silence. Knights, mages, it didn’t matter anymore; they were wounded, their title carried nothing now.

Some slept, but only those who were lucky enough not to care about those who died, and what was lost. Those who could see light at the end of the tunnel.

Some couldn’t, almost like any thought of what had happened haunted them, making their eyes open over and over again, with no way for them to close, so they just sat in their own mind, waiting for something to save them.

A massive tiger Beast Human sat against the wall with his head lowered, one arm wrapped entirely in stained bandages. Even breathing seemed difficult for him. Yet he tried standing up as if he was better than any of the other injured if he was forcing his body to stand.

Across from him rested a wolf woman missing patches of silver fur along her shoulder and neck, rough claw marks disappearing beneath bloodied cloth. Her ears twitched constantly, reacting to every sound outside the hut. But what he could figure, the women had gotten some serious ptsd from this event, she probably was only a civilian without any way to fight for herself... it must be terrifying, especially for those deeper in the city, to have known there weren’t any soldiers there at the moment to save them.

The fear that will tower over her for most of her life now had nothing to do with her; it was nothing but the mistake of the King and team, yet she was having to be the one paying the price, she and many others.

Near the fire, an older bear Beast Human slowly sharpened a blade despite the condition of his body. The scraping sound repeated again and again through the silence. Slow. Heavy. Tireless. Did the guy not know the battle was over? There was no reason to sharpen your blade once a war is over, unless you just want to show off.

Nobody spoke much.

There was no energy left for conversation.

Outside, distant hammering echoed through the ruined settlement. People are rebuilding what little remains. Occasionally, footsteps crossed past the hut, followed by muted voices or the crying of children quickly hushed by exhausted parents.

The war was over.

’At least they didn’t give up, and they are trying to rebuild everything. If they had given up, then it really would have been sad to see such a beautiful civilization fall.

Yet the atmosphere made it feel as though the battlefield had simply changed shape.

Aether shifted slightly against the thin mattress before immediately stopping. Pain spread through his body like something waking up beneath his skin. It felt as though iron spikes had been hammered directly into his bones. Even breathing too deeply carried weight behind it.

’Damn it... Well, it’s not like it’s worse than the pain from Erosion, but it’s not like I enjoy it or something.’

So he remained still.

His gaze wandered toward the broken window nearby. The cloth covering it moved gently with the wind, revealing glimpses of the outside world between each sway.

Burned trees.

Collapsed rooftops.

Smoke rising endlessly toward a grey sky.

That was the result of the war, a collapsed civilization that had lost everything, and yet, they still had the guts to heal the injured and try to rebuild itself as if nothing had happened.

A civilization destroyed by war.

And despite all of it...

People were still alive.

...

There were these beast humans that kept moving between the many beds inside the hut; if he had to say, they were probably doctors and nurses. Trying their best to stabilize everyone.

...

"I can’t believe it! H-how are you awake? That shouldn’t be possible?" Aether turned his head around in confusion, as a worried nurse looked to come rushing to him, as if he were some grand discovery in the medical world.

She put her hand to his forehead, checking his temperature, before seeing how fast his heart beat.

And it was all normal.

"I don’t get it, your injuries were bad, I thought that you would be sleeping for a week at minimum... so why and how did you awaken just one day after everything happened. Your wounds were too great to do something like this..."

But then Aether heard a laugh, one that he recognized the voice of. The King.

Aether looked at the might Lion, who was wrapped in bandages himself. To think that this guy was able to fight that damn monster one-on-one for so long, it was absurd... he had his respect, since he doubted he could do anything like that.

"How funny you’re the first to awaken..." He paused a little before bowing down. "Thank you... secenserally, the Beast Humans are eternally grateful for your help in this world. "

Aether laughed a bit, but stopped because it hurt him to laugh. "Don’t bow, it’s weird. And it’s nothing special, we just helped those who needed it, helping is something normal."

...

"True, but at the same time, most at the moment where everything went wrong would have ran, after all, the orcs were here for us, not you, they wouldn’t have attacked or chased you if you wanted to get away... but you didn’t, you stayed, and posed a massive rolein the battle, and helped in taking down the two generals and the King... if you weren’t here. We wouldn’t be able to have this conversation now... That’s why I will say it again. We, Beast Humans, are eternally grateful for everything you have done for us."

As much as a mistake he had made in this war, and as much damage had been done before him was evident, but at the same time, he really was a true leader. Not someone to take pride when he did something right or wrong, and more importantly, he wasn’t egotistical to say sorry or thanks. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"I want you to have this in return." He said, while grabbing Aether’s hand, and putting a bracelet inside, alongside seven hundred Embers.

Aether’s eyes widened as he saw it.

"I can’t possibly take this, it’s too much money, you are going to need it for repairs, so please take it back."

The King shook his head. "It doesn’t matter; if it wasn’t for you three, there wouldn’t be anything to repair. Oh, and the bracelet, it’s a symbol of trust in the Human Beasts culture, if you showed it to any one of us, they would know that you are a trusted human. So you can enter Beast Human civilizations with it.

Aether raised his arm, taking a look at the bracelet.

The bracelet was made from dark leather braided together with small metallic rings between the strands.

At the center rests a single white fang carved with ancient symbols.

’Pretty.’

...

’But I don’t intend to make that many stops anymore...

We are going to head towards the shard.’