CHAPTER 55: RETREATED TROOPS: END IF VOLUME ONE

Chapter Title: The Outskirts of Sorrow

Ash curled into the wind, the scent of blood thick in the air. A low moan of the wind carried with it the cries of the fallen. The sun had not yet risen fully, but the horizon glowed in angry orange, as if mourning the destruction left behind.

Dominic trudged forward, boots coated in the dirt of the dead, his cloak torn, eyes bloodshot with grief and disbelief. He could not believe that they had left Lillian to die. He felt so weak knowing that he let her die for them.

Lady Fares walked beside him, her hair disheveled, her expression hollow but commanding. Behind them trailed the remaining members of the Ghost Force u Alice, a few young initiates, and two wounded medics dragging a barely conscious soldier on a stretcher. Kreper was also with them. She was shivering visibly and could nearly fall apart. Dominic sighted her.

"Guess there see those who feel it more than I do." he said referring to Kreper. His eyes darted in fury.

They had lost. Both a battle and a home.

The Ghost Village, once a bastion of resistance, was now a crumbled stone and shattered hopes. The Colossus attack led by Gravemind had torn through their defenses like paper. Screams had filled the air . Lillian’s roars as her arm was severed, the gasps of warriors dying under monstrous fists, and the crackle of fire eating through stone and steel. Danielle’s death. All of this all ended with them running.

Now, they were in retreat.

Every step Dominic took felt heavier. As the newly hailed General, he was supposed to be strong , unshakable. But his heart was shaking. He could feel the deaths behind him. Not through a system alert or battle stat. But in the silence. The silence of absence.

"They’re gone," Alice said quietly, her voice barely audible over the wind. She hugged herself tightly, blood dried on her temple.

Dominic didn’t respond. He stared straight ahead, where the edges of the forest welcomed them with deceptive serenity.

Lady Fares exhaled deeply, then spoke, her voice strained. "This was more than a raid. It was a purge."

Kelly, walking behind them, flinched at the word. "I... I’ve never seen anything like that. Those monsters... they weren’t just here to kill. They wanted to erase us."

Dominic finally stopped walking. His hand balled into a fist. He turned, scanning the faces of those who had made it out alive.

"We’re not erased," he said, quietly at first, then louder. "Not yet. Not while we’re still breathing! Lillian died for us! Danielle died for us! No! We can’t pay them back with our weakness and blasphemy!!"

"Breathing?" Kelly spat, trembling. "What’s the point? Half your sisters are dead! Lillian stayed back and is probably dead by now! Danielle died on this. You think breathing matters when everyone we loved is dead?"

"Enough." Lady Fares said coldly.

Kelly stopped, smirk on her face. Dominic looked at her but didn’t argue. Her pain was valid.

He turned toward the trees again. They had reached the thicket bordering the outskirts . A sanctuary once used by scouts and runaways. It was safe, for now.

They made camp in silence.

Under the shadow of a massive hollow tree, Dominic sat with his back against the bark, legs outstretched, staring up at the canopy. His mind was not in the forest. It was in the past. In the Village. In the blood that soaked the halls he once walked.

He saw flashes of Lillian’s face when she had turned to hold off the Colossus horde. The way her blade gleamed. The fire in her voice when she said.

"Go I’ll hold them."

Then the sound of her scream.

"Dominic." came a soft voice.

Lady Fares approached and sat beside him. Her gown was torn, revealing breasts and scars from the battle. Yet her poise remained.

"We will rebuild," she said simply.

Dominic blinked slowly. "With what?"

"Us."

He turned toward her. Her expression was still calm. "Us?" he repeated.

"Yes," she said. "You. Me. Alice and Kreper. The others. We survived for a reason. We’re not finished." He blinked at her.

Dominic leaned his head back. "I led them. And I failed."

"You led them through their most brutal battle and lived. That’s more than many Generals can say," she whispered.

"I promised them victory. And now the Ghost Village is rubble. I watched my fellow sisters die."

Lady Fares looked ahead, eyes distant. "I once lost everyone I lost to betrayal. But I didn’t stop. You must not stop, Dominic."

A rustling came from the tree line. Dominic and Lady Fares both stood instantly, blades in their hands. Then Alice stepped out.

She emerged, supporting a young recruit on her shoulder. The girl’s face was pale, her armor stained with blood.

"She’s stable." Alice said. "But barely. We might lose more of the recruit we have if we don’t find a place to eat and stay."

Dominic rushed to them and helped lay the girl down beside the fire. He turned to Alice.

"Are there more coming?"

"No," she whispered. "She was the last I found."

Lady Fares knelt beside the girl and checked her pulse. "She’ll live. But she needs real care."

Dominic looked up at the canopy. It was almost night.

A sudden thought gripped him. "What if Gravemind sends a scouting party to finish the job?"

"We can’t run again tonight," Lady Fares said. "They’re exhausted. We must stay hidden."

Silence fell again. The air was cold.

That night, around a flickering fire, the survivors sat together. There was no conversation. Just the crackling of wood and the occasional soft sob.

Dominic watched them — Alice, Kelly, Lady Fares, Kreper, the recruits. Each of them scarred. Each of them carrying the weight of the fallen. He stood and spoke.

"This is not the end," he said.

No one looked at him. But he continued.

"We lost the Ghost Village. But we didn’t lose our cause. We are still the Ghosts. We still fight. And we will return. We will rebuild."

Finally, Kreper looked up. Her eyes were red from constant crying.

"Where will we even begin?"

Dominic pointed to the north. "There’s a valley beyond the ridge. Old battlegrounds. Abandoned temples. We can make that our base. Regroup. Train. Fight again."

Alice finally spoke. "And Gravemind?"

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. "He doesn’t know us yet. But he will."

The fire cracked louder.

Lady Fares placed a hand on Dominic’s shoulder. "I’m proud of you," she said. "The Ghosts chose right."

He nodded. "Then let’s not waste their sacrifice."

The moon climbed higher, casting pale silver light over the wounded band of warriors.

A new Chapter was beginning , not with fanfare, but with a good resolve. They had to conquer their enemies. But they must rest first.

***We have come to the end of Volume one. Support my book with power stones and golden tickets. Also I thank you for coming this far.