The fire did not stop.
It spread.
Devoured.
Consumed everything it touched.
Screams still echoed—
But fewer now.
Fading.
Alias ran—
Or tried to.
His legs trembled.
His vision blurred from smoke.
"…Father…?!"
No answer.
"…Mother—?!"
Only flames.
Crackling.
Collapsing wood.
A house fell nearby—
CRASH.
The impact sent heat and dust into the air.
Alias stumbled back—
Coughing.
"…Where…?"
His chest tightened.
Panic rising.
Then—
He saw them.
Through the fire.
Haruki.
Emi.
"…!"
Alias forced himself forward—
Ignoring the heat.
Ignoring the pain.
"…Father!"
Haruki was on one knee.
One arm bracing against the ground.
Blood.
His breathing uneven.
Emi beside him—
Collapsed.
Barely moving.
"…Alias…"
Her voice weak.
Relief.
Pain.
Both.
Alias dropped beside them.
"…You're hurt—"
Haruki's hand shot out—
Grabbing his shoulder.
Firm.
"…Listen."
Alias froze.
"…No—wait—we need to—"
"Listen."
Stronger this time.
Alias stopped.
Haruki's eyes locked onto his.
Clear.
Serious.
"…You run."
"…No."
Immediate.
"…We can still—"
"You run."
Emi reached out slightly—
Her hand trembling.
"…Go…"
Her voice barely a whisper.
"…Live…"
Alias shook his head.
"…I'm not leaving—"
A shadow fell over them.
The heat intensified.
The ground trembled.
Slowly—
Alias turned.
It was there.
The dragon.
Closer now.
Its molten eyes staring down.
Unmoving.
Watching.
Alias' breath caught.
"…Stop…"
His hand reached for the wooden sword.
Shaking.
Still—
He stood.
Stepped forward.
"…Stop…!"
His voice broke—
But he moved anyway.
He charged.
The distance closed—
He swung.
Everything he had.
The wooden blade struck.
Nothing.
The dragon didn't flinch.
Didn't move.
For a moment—
There was only silence.
Then—
A slight motion.
Barely noticeable.
A shift—
And—
Impact.
Alias' body was thrown.
Violently.
Like nothing.
He hit the ground—
Hard.
Air left his lungs.
"…Ghk—!"
Pain exploded through his body.
His vision spun.
"…Too… strong…"
He couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
Footsteps.
Light.
Measured.
Alias forced his eyes open.
Through the blur—
He saw him.
Standing above.
The man.
Cloaked.
Unshaken.
Unmoved.
Draeven.
His gaze fell on Alias.
Cold.
Empty.
"…Still alive."
No surprise.
No interest.
Just observation.
Alias tried to move.
His fingers twitched—
But his body refused.
Draeven looked away.
As if—
He had already decided.
"…Irrelevant."
He turned.
The dragon moved with him.
Fire gathered in its throat.
Alias' eyes widened.
"…No…"
He tried—
Tried to stand—
To crawl—
To reach them—
Too slow.
The flames came.
A torrent of burning crimson—
Engulfing everything.
Alias was thrown back again—
Heat tearing through the air—
Blinding.
Deafening.
Then—
Silence.
The fire still burned.
But something was gone.
Alias lay still.
Face pressed into the dirt.
Body unmoving.
"…No…"
His voice barely existed.
Slowly—
He lifted his head.
Where they were—
There was nothing.
No figures.
No movement.
Only fire.
"…No…"
His fingers dug into the ground.
Weak.
Shaking.
"…I…"
His voice broke.
"…I couldn't…"
Above—
Wings spread once more.
The dragon rose.
Draeven stood upon it—
Already turning away.
As if—
This place—
Never mattered.
"…I couldn't save them…"
The sky dimmed slightly—
The red glow fading as the dragon moved on.
Leaving behind—
Ash.
Smoke.
Silence.
Time passed.
Minutes.
Or hours.
Alias didn't know.
His body screamed in pain.
Burns.
Bruises.
Something broken.
But he was alive.
"…Why…?"
No answer.
Slowly—
His fingers moved.
He dragged himself forward.
An inch.
Then another.
Through ash.
Through heat.
Through what remained.
Bodies.
Shadows of what once were.
He didn't stop.
Couldn't.
Because stopping—
Meant thinking.
And thinking—
Meant breaking.
So he crawled.
Away.
From the fire.
From the ruins.
From everything he lost.
He stopped once.
Just once.
And looked back.
The village—
Gone.
Reduced to embers.
His home—
Gone.
"…I couldn't…"
No tears came.
Not yet.
Only emptiness.
Then—
He turned.
And continued.
Into the darkness.
Alone.