Sulfur pervaded the air like some fierce ghoul ready to devour an unsuspecting victim in a storybook. The sounds of distant whistles raining down from the skies, cut silent for not even a second before a thunderous boom could be heard, the shockwave eliminating all other sounds for a moment as dirt, stone and other materials were kicked up into the air. The sounds of AutoDrones- both Navis and Titans- screeching, chirping, trilling, humming, wailing and storming closer to the fortifications did not cease. Another, deeper, louder whistle resounded. Bombs dropped as gunfire shot upwards to intercept either the aircraft or the bombs. An explosion, the scent of smoke, sulfur, gunpowder, white phosphorus and charred stone pushed outwards from its center.

Flashes of light from guns placed along the decrepit turrets of walls and beyond in trenches as AutoDrones sent missiles and rockets flying towards defenses established decades ago. Screams from soldiers fighting for their lives and the lives of many beyond these walls- as their predecessors had, so too shall they fall here. The doll drums of distant Saint AutoDrones carrying dozens of bombs each grew closer, their lights illuminating what was sure to be another night of misery and meaningless conflict.

These are the views that Lieutenant Harper Aijoran, 2nd Artillery Battalion, 59th Frontline Defense Corps takes in as the natural high ground that summits old castle walls draws closer to being entirely overrun. For nearly six years the 59th has been on the defensive, a feat few other frontlines have managed. Most place remote charges within a year and engage in a tactical retreat, detonating the charges when there is a significant number of AutoDrones within fortifications. This tactic has since stopped working as the AutoDrones grew to be smarter.

Looking around towards the now-crippiled Ekrina-class AAA installations and the VDF-141s firing more rounds into the ground danger close, he sighed and removed the blood-stained, mud-coated, sweat-soaked hat and signaled for another round to be fired. His radio was destroyed. There was nothing more they could do aside from pump more shells into the ground to hopefully destroy just another AutoDrone that would be replaced in mere hours. Throwing the hat onto the mud and ash, he briskly walked towards the nearest AAA installation to see the two dying men that had been inside it. This gun had been hit directly by an AP round, capped off with more of the unholy metals created by the elemental chips used to create most of the abominations found on the battlefield of the modern era. 

One of them, a Stailosian man who had escaped the Republic to fight for the freedom of Emmeria, looked weakly towards the Lieutenant. “Looey…,” he muttered out with a chuckle. The man sported a now-missing leg and part of his torso had been torn out, the bowels and intestines slowly slipping out. His olive skin and brown hair were covered in blood, sweat and smoke. By some unfortunate twist of fate, he had remained conscious despite his imminent demise. His voice raspy, less a voice and more a hoarse gasp, he kept his eyes open as the Lieutenant locked eyes, pulling out a sidearm with the etched insignia ‘Remember’. “Thank you…”

A gunshot. 

A moment of silence. 

Another shot.

Silence. 

After a moment, the Lieutenant walked out and looked towards a young girl who had been waiting, herself looking out towards. Her own dark brown hair was covered in dust and debris as well, her dark skin barely distinguishable between dirt. The armor she wore was something of a downgrade to what the combatants down below had- her own demand. Aside her was a small AutoDrone that had been captured, wiped and reprogrammed, fashioned now into something of a flying car for her and her companion, who sat with a sniper rifle in hand across his chest while she herself had two mechanical arms carrying rifles of some kind connected to a heavy exoskeleton. 

Lieutenant Harper knew that these two had traveled here to do their part, just as he had. It was a shame, truly, that they would not remain here to see him die. His hands shook slightly as he holstered his pistol and saluted the pair.

“Captain, Commander. I’m afraid it’s time you depart back to the 65th. We’ll likely be gone by sunrise,” the Lieutenant said with as much authority and will as he could muster. The girl nodded and scanned the horizon as the sounds of another battery firing off nearby shook the ground and dampened the sounds. A strike of lightning in the distance alights the battlefield to reveal thousands of AutoDrones, abandoned bunkers, hills, trenches and other fortifications, downed aircraft and countless bodies. “Thank you for trying.”

The girl stretched for a moment before somewhat roughly shaking awake the man atop the drone. “Hey,” she said simply, and somewhat softly too. The man stirred and dropped his head down in defeat, tossing his massive rifle down into the carriage of the modified drone below him as he looked around to see the eternally-familiar sights of despair.

“...You did good, Harper,” he said, jumping down as the girl stepped aside, disrobing the exoskeleton and stowing it in the vehicle. His messy bright blonde hair was long and was reminiscent of sunlight on sand- not that anyone alive could remember what sunlight felt like, outside of those in Palatar or Colony B7R, along the fringes of the three Everstorms. “I… know that we were told to stay out of the way and I know that the outcome was inevitable, but your years of service here with all of the others has truly given time for the Emmerians to construct better defenses at the 65th. I may not be Emmerian myself, but I hope that all this will have been worth it.”

“So long as you survive to see their weaknesses, Ciel, everything will be worth it. You’ve spent time learning here. Use that knowledge well,” Harper paused for a moment. “And please, don’t worry about disabling me. I’ll handle it. We’ve got it all rigged to blow once I pass the line.”

Lieutenant Harper was shaking strongly now. He knew his death was here, but him dying as a human would only be his first death. If he allowed his brain to remain intact, the Stailos Republic would somehow bring him back to life as one of their weapons. He had to ensure that he would not be of use to the enemies he had dedicated his life to fighting. A wrapping sensation as he felt the breath he didn’t know he was holding escape. He hadn’t realized he had closed his eyes, either, but when he opened them, there was Ciel, embracing him. A long, wordless moment passed as Harper choked back and succumbed to tears. He knew it had to be this way… but he didn’t want it to end like this despite that.

Hanging from the parapets and turrets of the old castle, the now-scorched banners of the Emmerian lands finally fell with a clatter: The Lance Maiden had retreated, defeated here. But her presence would guide Harper to the next life, if it really existed at all. Being slowly released from the embrace, a pat on the shoulders came from Ciel.

“I can’t say what the future will hold, Harper… but you did damn well for all your doubts.”

“Thank you, Commander. Now go. And don’t look back til you get to safety,” the Lieutenant commanded, despite being a subordinate of Ciel. A brief exchange of salutes between the two as Harper handed Ciel a tablet that was stashed in a side pouch. “And get this back to the FOB. Admiral Wetchelka will be expecting it.”

“That he will, Harper, that he will. Happy hunting tonight, Harper. May you leave a crater large enough to rival Esolai,” Ciel turned and walked to the girl, who had finally stowed away the exoskeleton and powered on the drone. “Ready, Riyes? It’s a long way back home.”

The girl merely nodded as after a minute of hushed words from Ciel, the AutoDrone lifted off the ground and slowly rocketed into the distance, rapidly gaining speed as its thrusters adjusted accordingly. Harper, now left mostly to his lonesome, watched as the final bouts of AAA fired off and ground fire intensified, mines being set off and tracked tanks detonated from kamikaze drones assailing endlessly. Breathing in the ash, smoke and sulfur once more, he walked along the lines he had seen for nearly eight years.

He reminisced about times of hope and times of fear. Times when the Republic was pushed beyond the 59th Frontline and even towards the 44th. Time when the Republic forced its way towards the 65th and nearly broached those lines. And all those times, the city that comprised the 59th Frontline remained in Emmerian hands. For the very first time, that would change. Soon, there would only be craters and rubble where once stood miles of ancient and mighty castle hundreds of years old, dating back to the ages of early knighthood. Within the miles of walls a city had been reduced to a wasteland. Water flowed no more, electricity was but a myth and malnutrition was the standard.

As the night passed, all the others he had fought alongside these eight years were finally put to rest. He personally oversaw that a bullet would render them useless to the Republic, even if it meant their corpses would remain here to decompose with no honorable burial. 

And when it was time… He looked over the wall towards the endless horizon of hopelessness as his position was overrun. He pulled out his sidearm and a detonator.

He waited.

And he made sure he would only die once as he fell, pulling the trigger as detonations ripped through the land.