Chapter 14: Wings of Truth

Lira trembled as she stared at Cale's lifeless body. B-Day tapped her shoulder—startled, she pointed her gun at his face.

"I-it's me," B-Day said, slowly raising his hands.

She lowered her weapon and stepped away from the two, heading deeper into the forest.

B-Day waited until she was gone, then took out his weapon and fired another bullet into each of the five fallen Timer Agents—just to be sure they were truly dead.

Meanwhile, Ashfall was still writhing in pain. "Damn it…," he thought, pressing his hand to the throbbing left side of his face.

Once B-Day had confirmed the agents were dead, he knelt down beside Ashfall and helped him up.

"I've got you, sir."

Ashfall thanked him, leaning on his support. Lira had just returned—she had calmed down a bit.

She wiped something from her face and stepped in front of the two.

"What do we do now? If we can't even trust our own comrades... should we even return to Aethra Prime?"

That thought echoed not only in Ashfall's mind but also in the others'. They all stood there—still, silent.

Ashfall found it odd that none of them seemed disturbed by having killed their former comrades. Maybe it was the circumstances, or maybe the fact that it was self-defense—against traitors.

"…Let's take their weapons," Ashfall finally broke the silence, pointing at the knives and magazines scattered around the dead Timer Agents.

Without saying a word, Lira picked up three knives, as many magazines as she could carry, and a pistol for Ashfall. She fastened the remaining mags to the others' belts and handed each of them a knife.

She then tore a strip from Cale's uniform and bandaged her wounded arm.

Both B-Day and Lira seemed to be waiting for further instructions.

"Let's head southwest along the ravine. It'll bring us back toward the exit point," Ashfall said after careful thought—despite knowing something was very wrong. No contact with Aethra Prime. Traitors among their own.

Even though Ashfall gave clear directions, both Lira and B-Day hesitated—for the first time, they didn't follow his orders right away.

They weren't sure if returning made sense at all. Did their home still exist the way they knew it?

"I know you're unsure... but we have to move. If we stay here, we'll die—whether by injury, monsters, or Demigods," Ashfall took a deep breath, his face hardening into a cold, determined look.

"We'll escape from this world—no matter what."

A cold breeze carried the weight of his words. His gaze was unlike anything they had seen before—intense enough to spark fear in both Lira and B-Day.

"Understood, sir," Lira responded shortly, regaining her composure.

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That left B-Day with no choice—they began moving through the forest again. The glowing dots on the trees felt like a thousand eyes, watching, ready to devour them.

Their watches were their only guides through the red-fogged woods.

The heaviness in the air hadn't lifted. They had grown closer as comrades—but now, it felt like they were strangers again.

The next hours were eerily quiet. No words were spoken. No enemies appeared.

Eventually, they exited the fog and reached a large clearing.

The sun didn't blind them this time—it was blocked by something massive: a towering mountain range obscuring the sunset in the distance.

"That mountain… looks like a nest from here. Big enough for that giant bird," B-Day said, breaking the silence.

"Now that you mention it—it does look strange. Almost artificial," Lira added.

Ashfall noticed it too. The mountains looked more like a pile of enormous stones and trees—land masses shoved together unnaturally.

He looked at his watch—both the hour and minute hands pointed toward the strange mountain range.

"That's the direction we need to go," Ashfall pointed toward the distant peaks that already loomed impressively large.

"We should treat your injuries and mine before—"

KABOOM

A shockwave of dirt and dust blasted toward them, almost knocking them off balance.

Something terrifying had struck down before them—like a meteor. Whatever it was, it sent chills down their spines.

"Creeping little insects… hmm, strange—you look just like the dozens before you," said a voice they knew all too well.

He wiped blood from his face with his left arm—his right hand held a severed head. Blood dripped from his body, and from the torn head.

Standing before them was none other than the Demigod of Greed, still clutching a Timer Agent's decapitated head.

~ ~ ~

"SH*T! WHY THE HELL ISN'T THE EXIT POINT SHOWING UP!?" Cale screamed as he ran alongside Dahn and Marc, following the second hand of their watches.

The minute hand had already gone past 60 multiple times—their cloaking was long gone.

They sprinted through the storm. Their feet sank into the soaked, muddy ground.

They could barely see where they were going. The towering trees and massive grass blocked out the starlight—their helmet flashlights were their only light.

From all around, ghostly voices whispered: "Come to us." Again and again, they echoed in their ears—planting fear and dread in their hearts.

"I never should've gone on this mission…!" Dahn's panic grew.

They ran, driven by desperation, until they broke into a small clearing.

Suddenly, all three watch hands started spinning uncontrollably—violently twitching back and forth.

Then, a red light appeared—the light of the exit point.

"We finally found it… after all these hours," Marc exhaled in relief.

Just as they moved toward the red glow, a crushing presence hit them—strong enough to nearly bring them to their knees.

"Finally found the rest of you," a male voice said.

A golden sword shimmered in the dark, pointed directly at them. The hilt resembled a dragon's head—its blade formed like a flame from its jaws.

"Who are you—and what are you doing in our world?" he asked, pointing his sword at Marc, the one on the far right.

They all knew they couldn't answer. They were sworn to silence—for the sake of Aethra Prime's safety.

And so, they stayed silent. Even if they'd wanted to speak, the man's pressure crushed their lungs—making it hard to breathe.

"Still silent? Then face judgment—through the golden dragon sword," he declared.

The blade lit up. He charged at Marc with inhuman speed—and ran the sword straight through his chest.

Dahn panicked and rushed to the exit point—Cale right behind him, hesitating just briefly to look back at Marc.

They were only a few steps away from escape.

Cale glanced back—Marc was engulfed in golden flames, burning alive.

The sword-wielder didn't seem to notice the red glow—he didn't think the others were escaping.

A small golden dragon flew from Marc's mouth and entered the sword.

"GO NOW!" Dahn screamed as he touched the exit point.

"Kameraderie doesn't seem to mean much to you terrorists," were the last words Cale heard before he too touched the red light—leaving Marc behind.

When Cale came to consciousness, he was staring up at a crimson sky—one sun in the west, another in the east. They hadn't landed on Aethra Prime.

"T-this isn't Aethra Prime…!" Dahn cowered on the ground, mumbling in shock. "Not Aethra Prime… not Aethra Prime…"

He had lost his mind.

Cale got up, scanned the area. They were surrounded by an endless red grassland.

His watch still worked—he adjusted the hour hand to check their location.

The hour pointed to World 1—they had landed in Main World 1, not Aethra Prime.

"Pull yourself together, dammit! Do you want to die here?!"

Cale grabbed Dahn and slapped him—again and again until the mumbling stopped.

He dropped him and looked at the minute hand—almost 50 minutes had passed. He had been unconscious for a while.

Then suddenly, all three hands on the watch began spinning wildly again.

A man in light robes approached them—clearly a Demigod, though weaker than the upper Demigod they'd encountered earlier.

"You don't belong here. Do you wish to survive… and serve the one true ruler?"