Arknights : the broken fate

Chapter 22: A Way, An Answer

Fire blazed in the middle of the night, its burned smoke rising into the sky. A pair of horns laid under a broken halo as if in disgrace. Its owner looked at the laughable yet fascinating, imitation of the sun before her.

'Where am I'  

She couldn't help but wonder...

It was calm, very calm. It's been some time since she felt calmness like this...it was a beautiful feeling for her. Not wanting to disrupt it, she stayed in her place and observed the fire without moving. 

The shining stars, the cold air, the beautiful yet empty landscape of the barren lands of Ursus. All of them combined together resulted in a short-lived paradise.

However, in the end, nothing good lasts forever, not while we live at least...

"At last, we've met again, dear Mostima" It was him, her so-called old friend. "Ah, it's nice seeing you again."

Unlike the first time she met him, now he looked more... bloodied, more changed.

He faced her from behind the fire, a hot red halo flew above his head.

"It's you. I thought you were just a passing dream...What do you seek from me?" She didn't bother to move away or even react to his presence in any way other than her question. The fallen angel preferred enjoying every second of this calm dream.

"What I seek? That is your mission to know. I can't help you much with the answer..." He moved his hulking figure close to a chunk of wood that lay in front of the fire. "However, I can help you with something else...Something more important to you."

He took a sit on the chunk of wood and stared at the campfire that lit the place. Not he nor Mostima spoke for a moment. Both of them seemed to admire the calmness they couldn't have in their own worlds...

"You did great, you followed my advice." He changed his gaze to her. "But the outcome is still yet to be clear. This world is facing a disturbance that I never expected. It will make things harder to predict, I won't be able to guide you a lot."

"But you still have something to say, or you won't show yourself to me just like that, right?" Mostima had already guessed what he aimed for, but she was still unsure. 

"...He gave you something. He probably told you to think about what you will do it carefully. I can feel your hesitation, but I can also feel your curiosity." 

Behind his wooden mask a weak red light emitted from it. It painted the picture of an exhausted old star hiding behind the tree of old, burning slowly to its inevitable death...

This scene reminded her of someone else, who looked similar. But something was different, something was off...

"Mostima. You have two ways, you can only walk on one of them. Which one will you choose I wonder. What I know is that won't wait for long to know. Your heart is ready, you just need a little push."

He stood up and pointed his staff at her. Suddenly all of the stars turned red. The fire turned red. And the moon started bleeding...

"What is happening?" It was a dream, or at least she hoped it was. But even if it was, it just turned into a nightmare.

Screams of agony and pain filled the air, ripping the calmness and quietness away.

Desfigured bodies with blood gushing out from them came out of the earth.

 The small campfire grew in size and burned everything within its reach, with the only exception being the two of them.

The place turned into hell in a matter of a second.