Hope

A blazing inferno covered the entirety of my vision, leaving me screaming out in agony, but not from the fire. I was screaming out because I had watched my mother burn and die a horrible death within this inferno. It felt like my heart had been stabbed as I fought the people holding me back with tears streaming down my face.

My vision went dark and, when I had opened my eyes, I found myself sitting on a couch with a beautiful, brown haired woman sleeping with her head on my shoulder. She looked so peaceful and happy, that it filled my body with warmth as I stared at her familiar face.

This warmth made it feel like the pain I had previously felt was a lie. I reached my hand out and caressed her impeccably soft face, stirring her from her slumber. She opened her eyes and looked at me with her beautiful grey eyes that radiated a kind of love I had never felt before. She smiled radiantly and pushed me down on my back before laying down and using my shoulder as a headrest, her beautiful smile never fading.

My vision went black once again, and I was now in front of a house hugging the same woman as before as she sobbed pitifully. I felt my body move on its own as I gently caressed her hair before releasing her from my embrace and walking through the pouring rain toward a gathering of men armed in camouflaged outfits and rifles.

The next thing I remembered was looking at a picture of the woman before sticking it inside of my helmet. I put the helmet on and counted my ammunition before readying my rifle and marching alongside a platoon of soldiers.

They all had grim looks on their faces as they marched toward a large, black cloud of ash in the distance. I looked back and saw a massive city behind us with a horde of civilians fleeing from the other side.

I continued to march along with the rest of the platoon before fanning out and creating one long line inside of a trench that had been dug. We waited as the ash cloud came closer and, when these pale skinned monstrosities came charging out, we began to fire, killing many. However, for every one monster we killed, three more emerged from the ash cloud.

We stood our ground and eventually won the encounter with the lanky, pale skinned, clawed monsters, but that wasn't the end. We had lost over half of out men and we were almost out of ammo when these hulking brutes came lumbering out of the ash cloud with these grotesque green and black swords.

I was one of the last ones left by the time ten minutes had passed. I watched as comrades were ripped to shreds and eaten alive, but I couldn't falter. I felt that I had a duty to protect this city with my life, so I did just that. I took down as many monsters as I could before I took a kick straight to my stomach, breaking many of my ribs and sending me flying into the dirt.

I struggled to stand as those damned monsters slowly advanced toward me, mocking me for being weak. I screamed out in protest as I brought my rifle up once more and began to unleash a flurry of lead upon those bastards, but they summoned a shield that looked to be made of a black crystal, deflecting all of my bullets.

I thought back to the brown haired woman and turned to face the now abandoned city, wondering if she had escaped safely as a sword severed my head from my shoulders.

---

I woke with fresh tears streaming down my face as my heart twisted in agony. Sam's voice popped up in my head as he said 'I saw your dream...do you think, that those were some of you memories...?' I lay under the stars in silence before responding with 'I don't know, but it sure as hell felt real...'

I sat up and began to wonder when I had fallen asleep, but my mind was a mess after experiencing that vison, dream, flashback, or whatever it was. I took a second to calm myself before checking my radar, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw all of the refugees were sleeping calmly.

I got up, dusted my pants off, and began to practice my control over the Light. I had managed to make the energy somewhat resemble a sphere, but it was still too large and too chaotic to be called good. I stopped just in time as the refugees began to wake and eat a quick breakfast.

Mac had offered me a bite to eat, but I said that he should save the rations for someone else since I never really got hungry. We were back on the move after a few minutes and the mood was just as happy and festive as usual. The atmosphere began to rub off on me as I began to join in the travel songs that the refugees were singing.

My previous anxiety had faded enough to where it was bearable, making it much easier to calm down and focus on my job. I had saw a couple of red flashed on my radar, but they were either ants from an ant pile someone had stepped in, or it was a sleeping badger in its den.

There were enough rations to go around for several days, so we only had to stop every few hours for a break before we went right back to walking. Sam had complained that having a ship would be faster, but the problem would be space and fuel, things that don't come cheaply and, as we are now, we're quite poor.

I continued to chat with Sam as well as with Mac, Amelia, and Sayuri all while keeping a close eye on my radar like usual. It was quite taxing, but I didn't mind the bit of extra work so long as it kept everyone's smiles on their faces and the mood happy.

---

The days passed by as a blur, the little marker on my map getting closer and closer each day. We were a little more than a day and a half away rom reaching the City, which was already in the distance. I got up and signaled the end for our break as I donned my helmet and took the lead once more.

The trip had been more peaceful than I expected, as even Sam was thoroughly surprised that we hadn't encountered a few stray Cabal or Fallen along the way. I mean, I'm not complaining. The refugees are safe and healthy, and that's all that really matters.

I was extra cautious this time, however, for things seem like they always go wrong on the final stretch. We made our way through a large, snow covered ravine before finding ourselves at the very last trial. It was a massive, snowy wasteland with nothing around for the last thirteen kilometers; The Last City's walls towering over even the mountains themselves in the distance.

Mac walked in front of me and turned before saying "Everyone! Do not back down now! We're so close to salvation, and we're not going to let a little snow stop us! Have faith in the Light and we shall survive!" The refugees, who were previously beginning to lose their luster, relaxed and became cheerful once more.

I always thought about how Mac can keep these people going with only a few words, but that's only because he himself believes that they will all survive so, when he speaks out the truth that he thinks is absolute, the others can't help but feel the same.

I smiled under my helmet and said "Don't worry, I can create fires with the Light. I refuse to let anyone freeze out here. Now let's go! We're burning daylight people!" before walking out onto the frozen tundra.

I created a constant stream of Solar energy above the refugees in order to keep them warm, but it put more of a burden on my body than I had thought possible. I berated myself for being weak as I pushed on past the rather low limits of my body.

Thankfully, the only thing I had to do to keep the cold at bay was circle a little bit of Darkness throughout my body every once in a while. I had been extra careful in my use of Darkness energy during the entirety of the trip. I didn't want these people to think I was some kind of monster again...

We stopped for a short break and took the time to count our rations. We had enough for exactly three days if the refugees used them wisely. We ended our break and continued on in high spirits. The wind was getting harsher as the sun dropped, making the temperature almost unbearable outside of my protective barrier.

We stopped for the night and sat around a large bonfire I had created. The refugees were recounting tales from the Golden Age, or some things that had witnessed when out hunting in the forest. Sayuri and Amelia were at my sides like usual, occasionally staring daggers at each other when I wasn't paying attention.

Sam had been dragged off by the children almost immediately after he had appeared, so it was a rather peaceful night. Just as Mac was beginning to get to an interesting point in his story, Sam and shown up, floating sadly toward me with snow and makeup marring his black shell.

It was all I could do to keep from laughing out but, when the others started to first, I couldn't help myself. Sam dove into the snow and began to shake around in an effort to get the makeup off, succeeding but making an even bigger mess with the snow.

He then shook violently to rid himself of the snow before disappearing inside of me, muttering 'It's not funny...jackass...' in a defeated voice. Mac chuckled once more and said "Well, it's gettin pretty early. I'll be heading to bed now. Goodnight everyone!" I wished him a goodnight, as well as the others who had head off to bed, before turning to the two women at my sides and asking "Are you two going to get some sleep?"

They both shook their heads and used my shoulders as headrests and said "We feel warmer right here..." in content voices. When I saw them resting on my shoulders, I thought back to that brown haired woman I saw in my dream.

I smiled softly and put my hands on their heads before saying "Sorry, but you know I keep watch during the night. I'd feel better if you two were inside of your tents instead of out here in the cold." earning two pouts from the women, but otherwise no further complaints as they reluctantly moved to their tents.

I sighed and sat there for an extra minute before going around my daily routine of checking the perimeter of the camp before retracing our steps and making sure no one was following us. I then began to scout out ahead on the trail while Sam stayed back at the camp to make sure nothing attacked while I was gone.

So far, it looked like we're in the clear, but I still had this small, tiny, irritating itch in the back of my mind saying something was going to happen sooner or later. I shrugged it off as best as I could as I monitored my radar as Sam flew out into the night to fill in my map.

I had asked Sam if he could just fly to the City and ask a few people to come with some ships, but he said that would take longer than it would to just finish walking there. Sam returned as the sun crested over the mountains and as the refugees packed their things for, hopefully, the last time.