[Bonus chapter]A Starry Night (4)

"O-one group will hide down at the river banks. The enemies probably won't think to search there first, while the other group will head in Lucius's direction," he started.

"O-once we catch up to him we'll make a loud sound to draw the enemies' attention towards us. When th-that happens, the guys hiding here will run to safety," he explained, looking to Alpha to see if he was in agreement with the suggestion.

"O-Of course, we'll regroup once we get to Lucius, and deal with the enemies after," he added, still fidgeting with his feet.

"Hmm, that sounds like an okay plan," Alpha whispered thoughtfully, before looking up at Hannibal. "So how will we split the groups up?" he continued.

"Uhm, we'll l-leave one of you guys here with the others," Hannibal replied, gesturing to one of Alpha's men, "j-just so there's someone with a bit of training," he added.

"The rest of us," he continued, referring to Alpha, Pagan, and himself, "will head with the main group."

"Hmm, only one person? I can stay behind as well, I've seen a few of your training exercises," Pagan proposed.

"No!" Hannibal shouted in response, before realizing that everyone was looking at him in surprise. "I-I mean, you wouldn't make a difference. I think it's better if you came with us, Lucius might need you for something," he rationalized, his mind fuzzy from embarrassment.

"Okay, then it's decided," said Alpha, before dividing the camp into two equal groups. The first group quickly retreated down to the river banks, while Alpha and the others headed further up towards Lucius.

Alpha had the leaflings move in the same formation that Lucius had taught them. Although movement was slow because a few of the leaflings had already forgotten how to move as a group. To make matters worse, the sounds they were making threatened to give out their position at any moment.

~Captain, where are you?~ wondered Alpha as they moved through the forest. After marching for a few minutes, they found Ghost on her way back to the camp.

"Ghost? Where's the Captain?" Alpha asked as soon as he reached her.

"He said to go further up the ri-"

"I know what he said. I'm asking where he is," Alpha interrupted.

"M-Maybe he's already waiting for us," Hannibal chimed in, his voice fraught with worry. "W-we really should get moving, Alpha, they might find us at any moment," he continued.

"He's right. Luci did say that he would catch up to us. I wasted a lot of time getting here, he's probably wondering where we are," Ghost added.

"Hmm, you have a point," Alpha agreed after thinking it over for a moment, before instructing the leaflings to continue marching forward.

***

"Goddamit Lucius, you're a soldier not a fucking God! I'm sorry about what happened to your family, but if you keep jeopardizing the mission like this, I'll have to report you," shouted an operative dressed in jet black tactical gear.

"It worked out, didn't it? I wasn't caught and those kids weren't killed," another man replied, his gear matching that of the first.

"You aren't fit to be Captain anymore," the first guy said, before turning to walk away. "The Boogeyman is dead... he died with his family," he continued, this time in a whisper.

"Shut the fuck up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Lucius shouted, pushing him to the ground.

"I'm still the Captain of this squad, and until the mission is complete, you'll do as I say."

~~~

~Was I dreaming?~ Lucius wondered to himself, the world around him still a dark void. ~I can't feel anything. Am I dead?~

He wasn't sure how much time had passed or how long he had been in this state, but it felt like an eternity. For the first time in a long time, he could just sit in silence... and he dreaded it. He didn't want to be alone with his thoughts, anything but that.

~Huh? What is that?~ he wondered, noticing a tiny glint in the distance.

Upon further inspection, he realized that it wasn't that far away at all, it was merely its size making it seem that way.

~I-I can feel it?~ he thought to himself, feeling a sort of connection with the tiny light source. He reached out for it with his mind, and it responded, glowing brighter ever so slightly.

~Wait... is this the crux?~ he wondered, realizing that it indeed seemed similar to the orb in his core. He tried reaching out towards it again, this time with more intensity. In response, it glowed brighter, before dimming once again.

The light felt comforting, he couldn't explain it, but he wanted to immerse himself within it, so he reached out a third time, putting even more strength into it.

The light emanating from the crux fought against the darkness that buried him, but there was not enough strength to it, and the darkness snuffed it out once again.

It was mentally taxing, and though he had no body he was beginning to feel exhausted.

~This is hard,~ he thought to himself as he took a rest. As he stared at the tiny crux, he realized that it was pulsing ever so slightly, and an idea came to mind.

He stretched out his mind and tried to give it power exactly as it pulsed. However his timing was a bit off, and the light that permeated from the crux was quickly snuffed out.

He took a quick break before trying again. This time his timing was a bit more on point, and the light shining from it pushed the darkness further than before but was ultimately snuffed out.

~One more time.~ This time he got it exactly, and the crux pulsed even brighter, pushing the darkness out even further. But the void pushed back, suppressing the light till it was snuffed again.

~Again. With more intensity.~ The void around him was brought alight, like a supernova exploding on a pitch black canvas. This time the void struggled to engulf the light, and slowly but surely, the light expanded illuminating his surroundings.

~More!~ he screamed, putting every ounce of mental strength he had into this push. The light permeating from the orb completely disintegrated the darkness, and Lucius found himself surrounded by a comforting yellow warmth.

At the center of it, a massive burning ball radiated white energy. A burning star watching him...