What happens in your mind when danger stops being abstract and becomes real?

What cuts through consciousness first — fear?

Regret?

The urge to run?

Or maybe… emptiness?

Is there even a right choice in such moments?

And if there is — how can you tell that it’s the one you made?

Chaos ruled my thoughts.

They crashed over one another like waves against rocks, leaving no silence at all. Fear was everywhere — sticky, heavy, all-consuming. It squeezed my chest, stole my breath, made my heart pound faster than it should.

“Get ready!” a shout pierced the noise.

I couldn’t tell who yelled. My ears were ringing, as if someone had struck a bell inside my skull. The world around me blurred, melting into patches, and the air felt thick, cramped, as if there wasn’t enough of it for everyone.

“Hey… you okay? You good?”

The voice was very close now. Sharper. Realer.

Fear is normal. I’m scared too. But as long as we’re together — it’ll be fine.

Levan.

I looked at him. His hands were shaking — and he didn’t even try to hide it. There was no panic in his eyes. Only tense, stubborn determination.

“Yeah…” I took a deep breath. “You’re right.”

For a moment, I felt like I’d come back to my senses.

And then the world flipped again.

Screams came from the walls. Panicked, ragged, filled with terror.

“The cannons aren’t working!” someone from the villagers shouted. “They’re broken!”

My heart dropped somewhere deep, as if someone had ripped it from my chest and thrown it into the void.

The bandits were already climbing the walls.

I didn’t even have time to process the moment — the fight had begun. Suddenly. Brutally. Without any warning.

My legs shook. My fingers barely gripped the hilt of my sword.

I wasn’t ready.

The village echoed with blows, shouts, and screams. Thanks to Kagrim’s experience and the village guard, the skirmish held — sometimes even tipping slightly in our favor. Kagrim was a warrior capable of taking on ten men. With his people, he could stand against a hundred.

Against them, the bandits seemed almost helpless.

Almost.

Because even that wasn’t a guarantee.

I wasn’t a hero.

And I never would be.

Thoughts of life — simple moments, happy memories — cut through the panic. They seemed distant, unreal, as if from another world I could never return to.

“Don’t just stand there!” Levan’s sharp shout ripped me out of my paralysis. “Step forward!”

He was already fighting. Moving fast, decisively, without hesitation.

“Fear is normal!” he shouted over the roar of battle. “Everyone feels it! But fear is only in your head. Accept it! It doesn’t stop us — it pushes us forward!”

His words seemed to shift something inside me.

A new surge of strength ran through my body, chasing away the cold from my veins.

The fight didn’t stop. Only now did I realize: if it weren’t for Kagrim’s lessons, his harsh training — I wouldn’t be among the living.

Swordsmanship. Shooting. Movements honed to reflex.

Kagrim’s face always seemed stern, almost stone-like, but his heart was far kinder than his expression suggested.

Experience allowed us to push the bandits back within the village itself.

But on the walls… there, things were far worse.

We were losing.

During one of my strikes, I lost my balance. Just for a moment — but it was enough. My opponent’s sword sliced my arm.

Pain.

Harsh.

Burning.

The next strike was aimed straight at my neck.

So this is how I die?

What did I accomplish?

What do I feel?

…Nothing.

I accepted it.

Calmly.

Almost indifferently.

Clang!

The enemy’s sword flew aside with a rattle.

Levan.

“Get up,” he said firmly. “There’s no time to rest. If you’re breathing, it means you still have the strength to fight.”

“Unbearable…” I crookedly smiled, catching my breath.

With his help, I rose again.

And this time — I didn’t retreat.

My heart pounded, my hands trembled, and my mind raced with the chaos of battle. But then I realized: fear hadn’t vanished. It simply stopped being my enemy.

It became a guide.

It pushed me forward.

And I charged into the fight, feeling the world crack at the seams.

“We’ll fight together. Forever. Always together, brother.”

Strong words.

Levan’s words. His spirit. His stubborn courage.

You really don’t belong in this backwater, the thought flashed. You’re meant for more.

“You’re right,” I said aloud. “Our story won’t end here.”

We took a deep breath and threw ourselves forward.

We fought like beasts.

The pain in my arm no longer mattered. I didn’t feel it. Everything but one thing had lost meaning: being there. Covering a friend’s back. No… a brother’s.

As long as I breathe, nothing can stop me. Not today.

Behind us, familiar voices rang out.

Kagrim and Niko.

“Keep it up!” Kagrim roared like a wounded beast. “Press these bastards hard!”

I could barely believe my eyes.

But we did it.

The fight was brutal. Bloody. Merciless. Many wounded. And… dead.

“Are you alive?” I whispered, looking at Levan.

“Yes,” he replied after a brief pause. “Exactly.”

We barely stayed on our feet. Exhausted, battered… but alive.

It’s here, amid blood and fear, that character is forged. Here, the will to win is born.

What was it, if not pure luck — surviving a fight and remaining whole?

Yes, there were wounded among us, there were losses… but among the bandits, there were far more.

Kagrim gathered those who survived and tightly bound the prisoners, leaving them no chance of escape.

I looked around.

The aftermath was horrifying: lifeless bodies lay on the ground, cold and still. This morning, they had laughed, joked, complained about life’s unfairness.

Why can’t people just live in harmony, leaving others alone?

Will revenge save anything?

Or will the pain only grow, eventually consuming everything, even the brightest memories?

Levan and I stood on the walls, watching Kagrim interrogate the prisoners.

“Why did they attack?” Levan asked quietly.

“A foolish question…” I shrugged. “Easy prey.”

He turned to me, studying me intently.

“Listen… seems like you’re missing an ear.”

“What?..” I instinctively raised a hand. “No, it’s there…”

“Well… not entirely. Part of it’s gone.”

“A-a-a…” I snorted. “It can’t get any worse than this.”

I sighed and waved my hand.

“Let’s go to the others.”

Kagrim poured questions onto the Xirex leader:

“What was the purpose of this attack?” His voice was solid as steel. “I won’t believe you didn’t know: not all the village guard left. Who helped you get in? Who damaged the cannons? Name them!”

The Xirex leader only smiled, looking Kagrim straight in the eyes. No fear, no remorse — only contempt.

“Sir Kagrim…” Niko stepped forward quietly. “The elder, Starod… he…”

He didn’t finish.

“…is dead,” Kagrim finished hoarsely.

The leader burst out laughing:

“Ha-ha! So the old man’s dead after all!”

Kagrim’s and Niko’s expressions changed instantly.

The first strike knocked the leader to the ground. The second blew the air out of his chest. Then came a storm.

Kagrim struck with such fury it was as if he were trying to erase the very existence of this man.

Blood covered the leader’s face. He wheezed, choking, taking what seemed like his final breaths.

To Kagrim, Starod was not just a village elder.

They were friends. They had stood together on battlefields, served the emperor since their youth. When Starod’s wife died, Kagrim was the first to step down from service, to be there and prevent his friend from breaking.

And now…

Kagrim’s rage was boundless.

“Sir Kagrim!” Niko tried to stop him.

Kagrim sharply shoved him aside.

Levan and I stepped forward into the midst of this madness. Everyone tried to intervene — in vain. He heard no one.

I stepped up:

“Sir Kagrim… what are you doing?”

He turned his gaze on me.

His eyes were filled with rage and pure, raw thirst for blood.

I wasn’t sure he really heard me. Because if I had known for certain that Starod was dead… and that this bastard was guilty…

Still, I said:

“We need to take them to the capital. There, they’ll face justice.”

Kagrim froze.

His gaze faltered, as if he suddenly remembered someone.

He released the leader, walked to me, and suddenly embraced me.

“It’s going to be alright, boy…”

I didn’t yet understand what he meant.

Everyone was looking at me.

Why did their eyes look so pitiful?

Why was there pain in them?

Kagrim cupped my head in his hands and forced me to look at him.

“Sometimes we lose those we love,” he said quietly. “No matter how painful it is, we must go on… for the sake of those who still love us.”

“What are you talking about?..” My voice trembled. “What loss?…”

Had something happened to Grandfather?

“Kha…” the leader rasped, choking on his own blood. “He’s dead, like a dog… writhing, heh-heh…”

“Shut your mouth!” Niko kicked him with all his might.

Yet he didn’t stop until a final blow knocked him out completely.

“What is he talking about?!” I lunged forward. “What happened to Grandfather?!”

I shoved Kagrim aside and ran.

“Kairen!” he shouted after me.

I didn’t look back.

“Grandfather?!” My voice broke. “Where are you?! Where is he?!”

The people were silent.

They only lowered their heads.

I searched with my eyes…

until I saw near the barn.

Clothes.

I recognized his clothes.

In that moment, the ground vanished beneath my feet.

The world stopped. I dropped to my knees. I wanted to scream — but I couldn’t. Only a dull howl tore from my throat, like a beast that had lost everything.

Levan tried to calm me down, but I heard nothing. Grandfather was the center of my life. I didn’t know if I had parents, and I never asked. He was always there: the stern look, the stories of the past, the advice. We talked about everything.

Now there would be no dinner.

No baked apples.

No grumbling.

No him.

Why like this?

Why me?

Hatred crushed my chest, so strong it hurt to breathe. I had to take revenge. He had to suffer.

I stood up.

Levan was shouting something — it didn’t matter.

I saw a sword. Grabbed it and rushed forward, straight toward the leader.

Niko blocked my way.

“You need to calm down,” he said firmly. “I understand your pain. Give me the sword.”

“Why won’t you let me kill him?!” I snapped. “Are you protecting him?!”

“Give me the sword. Don’t become a murderer.”

From behind, Kagrim grabbed me. Hard. Rough. The sword slipped from my hands.

“I understand your pain, boy…” he whispered. “But I can’t let you do this.”

“Let me go!” I thrashed like a madman. “Let me kill him!”

The world darkened.

Darkness.

And only a tiny ray of light.

A clearing.

I recognized it instantly. This was where we trained with Grandfather. Where he told his stories.

“My young boy…” a familiar voice sounded. “You’ve grown so much.”

I turned around.

Grandfather stood before me.

“I… I just saw you dead,” I whispered. “That was a dream, right?”

“Kairen,” he smiled. “I will always be with you. Whatever path you choose — I am on your side.”

“Where are you going?..” My voice trembled.

He only smiled.

“It’s time for you.”

“Wait! Don’t go!” I stepped forward.

But he vanished.

I opened my eyes.

I was in my room.

Dream and reality tangled into one chaos. My heart was pounding wildly, and my mind struggled to understand where the dream ended and reality began. I felt alive — and yet empty.

Levan was sitting nearby.

“He’s awake!”

Kagrim immediately stepped closer.

“How are you, boy?” he asked quietly. “Forgive me for being rough.”

“Where is Grandfather?” I rasped.

Silence fell.

And I understood.

Completely.

“I see…” I said hoarsely. “I’m going to the capital. I will escort that bastard.”

“No,” Kagrim cut in sharply. “You’re staying here.”

“I’ll follow you,” I said quietly. “If you want to stop me — cut my throat.”

“I’ll make it simpler,” he replied coldly. “I’ll lock you up.”

“Walls won’t stop me!” I shouted. “I want justice!”

“No means no.”

“But he has the right!” Levan вмешався.

“Help him — and I’ll lock you both up.”

The door slammed shut.

“Damn him…” I hissed, throwing a pillow.

“You can understand him…” Levan said cautiously.

“Oh really?!”

“Can you help me?” I cut him off.

He flinched, as if caught doing something forbidden.

“I wanted to…” he began, then immediately fell silent, looking away.

For several seconds, silence hung between us. Thick. Crushing. I felt something dark and hot slowly growing in my chest.

“I don’t need much,” I finally said quietly. “Just a small favor. Bring me a weapon.”

He looked at me. In his eyes was everything: fear, doubt — and a tiny spark of resolve.

“I…” he swallowed. “Ah… I’ll try.”

“Thank you,” I said.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. The pain was necessary — it reminded me that I was still alive.

The desire for revenge did not fade.

On the contrary — it grew, pulsed inside me like a heart that would never know peace again.