The forest was quiet.
Too quiet.
General Kael Varion stepped carefully over shattered earth, his boots crunching against glass-like soil.
Behind him, an elite squad of soldiers followed—silent, disciplined, and utterly tense.
This was no battlefield.
This was a scar.
"…Stay alert," Kael said calmly.
Though his voice was steady, his eyes were sharp.
Everything around them screamed danger.
Trees uprooted.
Ground torn apart.
A river that had… split.
Then—
They heard it.
"Munch munch…"
The soldiers froze.
Kael raised a hand, signaling silence.
Again.
"Munch munch munch…"
…Someone was eating.
Kael stepped forward, pushing aside a broken branch.
And then—
He saw her.
A girl.
Sitting on a rock.
Covered in a bit of dirt.
Hair messy.
Expression completely relaxed.
She was holding a raw fish.
And eating it.
"…Hah?"
One soldier blinked.
Another whispered—
"…That's it?"
Kael did not speak.
He simply watched.
The girl—Lira—looked up.
Their eyes met.
"…Oh," she said.
Then she raised the fish slightly.
"…Hi."
Silence.
A soldier coughed.
"…General… is this a survivor?"
Kael slowly stepped forward.
"…You," he said, voice calm but heavy.
"Did you do this?"
Lira tilted her head.
"…This?"
She looked around.
At the broken forest.
The split earth.
The ruined river.
"…Oh."
She nodded.
"…Yeah."
The soldiers stiffened.
Some reached for their weapons.
"…How?" Kael asked.
Lira smiled proudly.
She held up the fish.
"…Slap."
Silence.
"…I see," Kael said.
He did not, in fact, see.
"…And the capital?" he continued.
"The palace. The Emperor."
Lira blinked.
Thinking.
Hard.
Very hard.
"…Oh!"
She snapped her fingers.
"…Rock throw."
A soldier dropped his sword.
Another whispered—
"…No way…"
Kael stared at her.
Long.
Unblinking.
This—
This was the calamity?
A girl.
Eating raw fish.
Explaining the fall of an empire with two words.
"…Why?" Kael asked.
Lira tilted her head again.
"…Why…?"
She looked confused.
"…Hungry."
"…No," Kael said slowly.
"Why attack the Empire?"
Lira blinked again.
Longer this time.
"…What's… empire?"
Silence.
One soldier whispered—
"…General…"
"…I think she's serious…"
Kael closed his eyes.
For just a moment.
All calculations.
All theories.
All assumptions.
Shattered.
"…You don't know," Kael said quietly.
Lira shook her head.
Then pointed at the fish.
"…Fish good."
Kael opened his eyes.
And for the first time in his life—
General Kael Varion did not know what to do.
Behind him, a soldier slowly raised his weapon.
"…Sir… orders?"
Kael didn't answer.
Lira noticed.
She squinted.
"…Fight?"
Before anyone could react—
She stood up.
The ground cracked.
The air tightened.
Every soldier froze.
Instinct.
Pure, overwhelming instinct.
This girl—
Was not something they could fight.
Kael raised a hand.
"…Stand down."
The soldier hesitated.
"…But sir—"
"…Stand. Down."
Slowly—
Reluctantly—
Weapons lowered.
Lira blinked.
Then smiled.
"…No fight?"
"…No fight," Kael confirmed.
She nodded happily.
Then sat back down.
"…Okay."
"Eat."
And just like that—
The calamity returned to eating her fish.
Kael stared at her.
Mind racing.
Not a weapon.
Not an enemy.
Not even aware.
A force.
A natural disaster in human form.
"…What is your name?" he asked.
"…Lira."
"…Lira…"
He turned slightly, speaking to his soldiers without looking away from her.
"…We are not hunting this… being."
The soldiers froze.
"…Sir?"
Kael's voice was quiet.
Firm.
Certain.
"…We are containing it."
Lira looked up again.
"…Contain?"
Kael met her eyes.
"…We're going to make sure you don't throw anything else."
Lira thought about that.
Long and hard.
"…Okay."
Pause.
"…What's throw?"
Silence.
A soldier whispered—
"…We're doomed…"
Kael, for the first time in years—
felt a headache coming.