Heroes of the Holy War

"Damn... I feel like I have a hangover," Gamble muttered, his voice barely audible, as though his throat were filled with sand. His body felt heavy, and his head throbbed with pain, like he had been drinking non-stop for a week. With great effort, he turned his head to look to the side. On the seat next to him, he noticed a girl deep in sleep, her chest rising and falling slowly and rhythmically.

In the dim light of the bunker, Gamble's eyes, adjusting to the darkness, gradually recognized familiar features.

"Oh, you're awake," the girl said suddenly, as if sensing his gaze. Her voice was calm, though the tension betrayed her concern.

Gamble felt his face flush instantly. Aria?! What the hell is Aria doing here?! he screamed inwardly, trying to avoid her eyes. He quickly turned to face the other way, his gaze landing on Akira's figure. The boy sat motionless on the nearby bed, in a meditative position, like a statue carved from stone.

"What's with him?" Gamble asked hoarsely, his voice still fatigued, as if waking after an eternity.

"We don't know," Aria replied, a note of helplessness in her voice. "When he woke up an hour ago, he just sat like that. We haven't even seen him blink."

Her words echoed in his ears, but Gamble's thoughts began to drift elsewhere. Slowly, he pushed himself up, feeling the throbbing pain spreading through his entire body. His gaze landed on the bandages wrapped around his torso and arms.

"What are the bandages for...? I wasn't bleeding," he murmured, frowning in confusion.

Aria looked at him, and in her eyes, he saw a flash of fear that instantly filled him with unease.

"Did I... do something?" he asked, his voice trembling with panic.

The girl hesitated for a moment, her hands clenching into fists.

"When I came to the bunker, asked to help... you..." she began, but her voice faltered, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Tell me," Gamble whispered, though he feared the answer more than anything else.

Suddenly, something caught his attention. In the reflection of a nearby mirror, he saw himself... and something else. His own silhouette stood there, but another figure, almost identical, hovered just behind him, like a dark shadow he couldn't escape.

"You hurt her," the sinister figure in the mirror hissed. Its voice was a low, icy whisper that cut through Gamble to the core. "She's afraid of you."

His gaze fell on Aria, and that's when he noticed the bloodstained bandages around her abdomen. The red stains were a silent testimony to something he would rather forget.

"No... I couldn't have..." he whispered, but his voice broke. His breathing quickened, his heart pounded like a hammer. Images began flooding his mind—fragments of memories he didn't want to recall.

Aria, seeing his terror, slowly moved closer. As she wrapped her arms around him, her warmth broke through the chill that had suddenly gripped his heart.

"Calm down," she whispered softly, though her voice trembled. Gamble began to steady himself, his breathing slowly returning to normal, but deep down, he knew that the shadow in the mirror wouldn't disappear so easily.

Gamble calmed down after a while and fell asleep again.

"You've done a lot today... you deserve some rest," were the last words he heard from Aria before he drifted off. She covered him with a blanket and then sat down on a chair nearby.

"Hey… do you think this was meant to be? That we were cursed to gain wisdom from our pain and suffering?" Akira asked in a cold, lifeless tone.

A chill ran down Aria's spine as she looked at him. Akira's sunken, glowing red eyes filled her with terror.

"I-I don't know," she stammered softly.

Akira slowly stood up, and the weight of fear pressed down on Aria like an invisible force.

"That kid will never achieve anything." He began, barely containing his rage. "I've heard that since I was a child. Because of the curse, I didn't have a normal childhood. I was subjected to special treatments. They broke my bones and tore apart my muscles so that, through the archmage's magic, they would grow back stronger. Sara wanted to destroy me from the start because I dared to tell her I loved someone else. Breaking me was too difficult, so she chose Gamble instead."

His voice was filled with fury and sorrow as his fist clenched, and he locked eyes with Aria.

"When I once went on a date with Aki, her father sent an assassin after me. I showed her a hill just outside the kingdom… Aki gave me a scarf that day. And a moment later, the ground disappeared beneath my feet. I'm alive only because an old man passing by saved me."

Akira's gaze shifted to the mirror, and his eyes glistened with tears.

"One more tree… one harder strike, and I wouldn't be here. Now I remember everything. I remember his face. It was a dragon… in humanoid form."

He sank onto the bed, clutching his head, while Aria remained silent, torn between fear, curiosity, and confusion.

The silence was broken by Darion's entrance.

"Oh, you're up! Nothing hurts, right?" he asked with a wide, sunny smile.

Akira, looking as if he hadn't slept in a week, glanced at Darion and asked:

"What about the others?"

Darion replied immediately:

"We've moved from the bunker to the underground quarters of Drascels Castle. Don't worry, no one else besides me and you two was hurt. But…"

He hesitated, and the smile vanished from his face. Akira's gaze demanded an answer, and when Darion spoke the rest, everything around Akira fell silent.

In his mind, only Darion's words echoed:

"Aki is in critical condition."

With a pained grip, Akira clutched the scarf around his neck.

"Where is she?" he hissed through clenched teeth, full of fury.

"Room XB, one floor up. The surgery just finished," Darion replied.

Akira didn't wait a moment longer. Despite the pain in his legs and his broken bones, he ran through the endless corridor. When he arrived, he saw Aki, barely breathing. The artifact known as Heartmove was keeping her alive, preventing her from crossing to the other side.

The sight brought back memories. He recalled everything he had done—and everything he hadn't. He realized that when Darion suppressed the aura's consciousness into his subconscious, his own awareness had returned. However, the fever had allowed the aura to take control again, breaking through the barriers of his mind.

Akira, with terror in his eyes, slowly approached Aki's bed. Halfway there, he tripped over a chair, and the fall cut his temple. Pain shot through his body, but he ignored it completely. With every step, he felt his heart beating faster, as anxiety and hope mixed in his mind.

When he finally reached the bed, Aki opened her eyes. Her gaze, full of happiness, love, but also fear, momentarily made Akira's world stop trembling. She smiled softly, giving him something he desperately needed—the sense that he wasn't alone. Yet before he could react, her eyelids fell shut again, and Aki lost consciousness.

Something in Akira's heart broke. With his heart pounding, he began to step back, then bolted out of the room, screaming. He ran through the corridors, crashing into everything in his path, as if oblivious to the world around him. He was fleeing from himself, from the terrifying thought that he could lose her.

When he reached the ruined street, he fell to his knees, gasping for air. His mind was spinning, and his body was failing him. In the puddle before him, he saw his reflection—blue eyes and golden hair, which had once symbolized innocence but were now a distant memory of his former weakness.

Enraged, he focused magical energy in his hands and shot a pillar of fire into the sky. The flames pierced the clouds, dispersing them, and the rain ceased. However, the tears streaming down his face didn't stop. With every step, he felt the weight of his emotions growing heavier.

"Why is this all happening to me?" he asked himself, running through the city's ruins until he reached a forest.

Wandering among the trees, he recalled the hill he and Aki once visited—a place that had made them happy, if only for a moment. When he reached the summit, he felt a void, as if something inside him had burned out forever.

He stood on the edge of the hill where he had nearly died once before.

"I wonder if you'll save me again, old man," he muttered under his breath, losing control of his emotions. His mind was a storm, and the pain in his heart seemed unbearable. In a moment of impulse, he leaned forward and fell into the abyss.

Instead of hitting the ground, he landed on his feet with acrobatic precision, feeling the solid earth beneath him. For a moment, he stood in disbelief that he was still alive, then screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Why me… why the hell is it always me?!"

He grabbed his hair and pounded his fist into the ground, trying to drown out the pain he felt not only in his body but in his soul. "Why am I always the one who has to suffer?!" he shouted into the void.

Then he heard a voice:

"Because I decided you have the willpower I'm looking for."

Akira, hoping it was the old man who had once saved him, looked toward the voice. Instead, he saw a stranger, whose presence was as peculiar as his words.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to hide his anger.

The stranger sat down beside him, seemingly unbothered by Akira's state.

"I don't have time for your questions because I don't have much time myself. I'm the sage who created the curse," he said with gravity.

Akira felt his anger rising, but he was too exhausted to act. In a fit of frustration, he raised his fist and shot energy into the air, destroying everything around him.

"You have incredible power. And this is only the beginning of my curse," the sage said, stroking his beard.

"What the hell would you know?!" Akira screamed at the top of his lungs. "I hurt the person most dear to me because this damned curse awakened the masochist in me! If I didn't have it…"

"If you didn't have it, you wouldn't have unlimited potential. What you see as a curse can become a blessing," the sage replied calmly.

Before Akira could respond, the man disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Akira collapsed onto the grass, staring at the amber sky where the sun was slowly setting. His thoughts swirled in his mind, but he was too drained to cry anymore.

Hours later, when his emotions had somewhat subsided, an idea came to him.

In the medical hall of Drascels Castle, Kaede, Akira's mother, regained consciousness, breaking free from the spell. However, her condition left much to be desired.

"What do you mean, an impairment?!" Gamble asked irritably, his arms crossed.

The medic removed his mask, his face solemn though his eyes betrayed a calculating gaze.

"Due to the abrupt release from hypnosis, her brain suffered damage. She has lost the ability to speak and walk, but she remains conscious."

Leaning against Arie, Gamble requested they move closer to Kaede.

"I'll find a way for you to survive. I promise," he said, his voice surprisingly soft, nearly breaking with emotion as he looked at the weakened woman.

At that moment, the door burst open, and a mysterious girl entered the room. Her eyes sparkled with anger, and her voice was filled with aggression.

"Who did this to her?!" she demanded firmly, scanning the gathered people.

Gamble paled as if he had seen a ghost.

"M-Mom?!" he exclaimed, terrified.

The woman, revealed to be Gamble's mother, suddenly changed her tone. From aggressive, it shifted to calm, almost overly warm for the situation.

"Oh, you're here too, Gamit," she said with a smile, but her gaze, directed at Arie, seemed to pierce through the girl.

"And are you his girlfriend?" she asked coldly.

"Mom, stop! Lady Kaede has a problem, and you..." Gamble interjected, but before he could finish, his mother began drawing a magical circle in the air, its symbols pulsating with unfamiliar energy.

When she finished, Kaede closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"What are you doing?!" the guards shouted as they stormed into the room.

Gamble's mother looked at them with cold composure.

"I've healed my little sister. Now speak—are you his girlfriend?" she added, once again turning her piercing gaze to Arie.

Arie was stunned. Her thoughts swirled, and the words caught in her throat. Suddenly, a noise echoed from the corridor.

Everyone rushed out to see what was happening. They saw Akira—barely walking, covered in blood, but with eyes full of determination. He walked forward, repeating almost in a trance:

"I know now... I know now..."

When he saw Gamble, he suddenly collapsed and fell down the stairs.

When he regained consciousness, he was in Aki's room. Her serene face filled his field of vision.

"Are you okay? What were you doing?" Gamble asked, visibly concerned.

Akira immediately sat up, ignoring the pain of his fractured bones. Entering his Sage Mode, he placed his hand on Aki's stomach.

"Wait, this doesn't look like his usual Sage State!" Gamble said, alarmed.

Arie, confused by Gamble's comment, quickly focused on Akira. Instead of the usual four tomoe under his eyes, his tattoos resembled demonic patterns, pulsing with dark energy.

"He's using 101% of the Sage State. That's when he loses control," Gamble remarked, trying to stop him, but his mother stood in his way.

"Move, old woman! You don't know what he's capable of in this state!" he shouted.

Gamble's mother only smiled and gestured toward Aki, who stood up as if nothing had ever happened.

Gamble collapsed into a chair in shock.

"How did you do that? This curse doesn't have healing properties!" he nearly screamed.

Akira sat down beside Aki, his face devoid of emotion.

"The aura is linked to this curse. I gave her some pure Sage mana, which accelerated her regeneration," he replied calmly.

After a moment, he looked up at Aki and asked:

"What about my mother, Lady Rin?"

Rin, Gamble's mother, answered with a slight smile:

"Your adopted little sister will recover, but she'll need rehabilitation."

Hearing this, Akira leaned against Aki's shoulder and fell asleep.

Gamble rested his head in his hands, recalling brutal scenes from the past. He had killed Princess Sara and wounded Arie. The dark part of his personality seemed to mock him. "Akira breaks curses and turns them into his strength. And I destroy the happiness of others," he thought bitterly.

"You know... her heart tasted good," whispered his dark side, embracing Arie in his memories.

Terrified, he looked into the empty space.

"Could we talk in private?" he asked Arie, who nodded and led him to his room. Rin returned to Kaede, leaving them alone.

In Aki's room, Akira awoke. Aki, her voice trembling, asked:

"Hey, Akira... was what you said at home true?"

Akira, pretending to be asleep, replied quietly but with absolute conviction:

"Yes. Every word about you was true."

He got up from his chair, knelt before her, took out a ring, and asked:

"Will you marry me?"

Aki's eyes filled with tears. For a long moment, she stared at him before finally answering, her voice barely steady:

"No."