Black Pillar

A group of soldiers looked into the distance. It was Squad 39; the one Arthur had abandoned. Now with one of its members deserting the battle, their morals were all times low. The eastern winds made their white robes flutter as they expected to see a change in the horizon any second now. 

"Damn it, he said 'don't defeat yourself before the battle even started' but still fled the scene before it even began." One of the soldiers, a wild-orange hair young man grumbled to himself. His name was Izhan, a newly-registered awakener who has risen to the rei-rank recently. 

"Some people are hypocrites." The handsome man next to him answered without lifting his gaze from the horizon. Izhan wanted to empathize with the deserter, since he also felt afraid, but couldn't bring himself to. After all, here he stood despite his fear, waiting for battle.