1 Burning Hope

Steak. That's an unknown word for 99% of the population along with sea and cloud.

Dawn at Silver Bastion was one of great sorrow, where people never ate well and always ran with hope to reach in time the giveaway of her majesty Winternell. Being a child was an even bigger ordeal, leading them to be pushed around.

Soldiers of the queen pushed people at bay from nearing them with their gun muzzle. Everyone scrambled back and followed orders of being in the queue to not be kicked in their butt.

Little Kyle looked up to the discharge, eyes filled with envy. If he could eat one portion of fried potatoes he'd ascend to heaven. Rumbling stomachs was a common noise at this type of hour.

"Take that and go away!"

"They started!" The war began and Kyle only escaped out of the mob an hour later covered in sweat. The exhaustion of going back and forth between the front and the back of the mob faded a little when he ran with his food. Food stolen from a guy knocked out in front of him. That was how it worked at Silver Bastion. A place where not even children were pitied.

The shamble continued behind him as he ran back to an alley in front of him to meet with someone.

"Nice one Kyle. You're one hour faster than when I met you. I think I can let you help your little brother and sister from now on." A hooded girl jumped from an emergency stairway and patted his head with a sad chuckle. The boy purred happily like a cat under her care, without noticing the remorse in her eyes. He was aware that he got something rare for an orphan like him and his siblings and he didn't want to let it go. His downcast eyes turned to the girl with still some hope.

"Grandma Mo will still be there, but Cianna... D-do you really have to go?" Being alone terrified him but he held it strong thanks to her help all along. Although he got someone called grandma Mo, that person came to take care of them only thanks to Cianna. Without her, his small family would probably don't exist anymore. That loneliness was the spot his parent left after dying.

"Kyle you know that I can't do that, this place needs to change. This situation," there she trailed off and looked to the castle in the distance and with a visible rage followed then, "Can continue no longer."

"Cianna! My head... You're squashing it! Again!"

"Aah ah! S-sorry I didn't realise it." They laugh it off just after. So much strength in such a small frame would have amazed people before. Enough to be called an apostle of God along with a myriad of other names but not anymore. These names were now taboos and associated with the most heinous person in this city.

"But still you're so strong Cianna! You could like smash a building with that strength."

In this bleak atmosphere, this conversation felt like an oasis for both of them. For Cianna, it might even be her last but this fact, she didn't need to bring it up and ruin the mood. She decided to end their talk with a surprise peck on his cheek.

Everything she hoped for and strived for during years would soon conclude today. Her happiness could only come last.

***

In an area below the earth was taking place an assembly. When people starved and cried in lament, when soldiers raised their laughter at those latter ones, it was then that a certain council began to meet.

Around a campfire, several people were sitting here and there, some smoking, some sleeping. At least one hundred of them could be seen here.

Amidst everything, it was the eerie silence that told everyone that the ending closed in. This rowdy place which met every kind of men and women knew it all too well.

A flash made everyone turn back and gaze at the new friends coming in.

A high pitched voiced shoot off. "Hey, Gerald it took you that long to brought her in, what happened?" Behind the hulking frame of a man, a voice sounded before revealing a hooded girl. "Don't worry Sully, we met some soldiers and-"

"You crushed them? Nice!"

Everyone smiled at her statement, was there even a need to worry about 'that' person.

Cianna might seem like the weakest compared to anybody else here, all the more around that many fighters, sword wielders and demolition experts but she could use powers greater than this plane of existence.

Outsider people knew her to be the leader of this Micmac of a combat force and respected her for this although her strength was pure it has once been tainted.

With red hair and blue eyes, she was the "Fire Wing". Her charism brought them together and made them fight the Betrayer's forces to free their city.

"I see that everyone is already here. Sorry to have made you wait."

"No worry, we all had business to end too."

"Yeah, don't mind it." Some added.

"OK fine. As everyone knows of my fluffiness," chuckles escaped of few at this moment, "This speech of mine will be short."

"I wish to make you know that all we did, all we accomplished... saved the lives of hundreds, thousands of people.

Remember the Grey Plaza! Remember the Commander! Each time we were there and the citizens know of our might. Today," the fire in her eyes burnt any remaining useless thoughts of defeat, "we will fight! And for the lives of everyone, we will triumph! Victory or death?! What do we want?"

"Victory!!"

The chorus of these heroes echoed in this pit of silence ready to not hear them anymore whatever the outcome.

"Now, let's go smash few heads."

"Yeaaah!!"

"My blade will taste noble blood today." A man in kimono added then.

"We're gonna mince them all! Ahah!" Another one joked about it while patting his belt of grenades.

Cianna looked at her happy bunch with confidence shining through her eyes, there was no way they'd lose. They have planned everything they could for 7 long years.

These preparations went from moles to poisoning. Days of training to unleash a nightmare on their foes and the accomplishment of their dream was all for today.

Cianna smiled one last time led the way, departing from the shadow to go back to the light.