The Shadow of War

"WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!"

I heard someone shout, and then everything went crazy.

"GET READY FOR BATTLE!!!"

Before I could think, arrows were falling from the sky like sharp rain. The white snow turned red as people got hit. I could smell blood, and I heard people screaming in pain.


I hate this world! I hate Isekai!!

The air seemed to freeze. The shout was so loud. We all stopped talking and saw the warriors walking forward, with the prince in front. The sound of weapons hitting each other was so loud. My heart was beating so hard. The ground felt like it was shaking. I felt like something heavy was pushing on my chest.

'This is real. This is really happening!'

Clang! Shing! Cling!

The battle was so loud and scary. Warriors were fighting hard. The sound of swords hitting each other was everywhere, echoing around me like the tolling of a death bell. Smoke and dust choked the sky, casting an eerie twilight over the chaos, turning everything into a distorted nightmare.

I had admired strong women in stories, but I am not Mulan or Merida. I never wished or dreamed to be like them! What good was being brave in this? I wasn't a warrior. I wasn't a hero. I would've given anything to be a delicate noblewoman with a fan, safe and far from this horror.


"ARROWS COMING!!!"

The warning cut through the noise, making me suddenly alert. I fell and crawled to the snow and closed my eyes tight as arrows flew over me. I heard them hit people with awful sounds. When I dared to look up, the warriors had made a wall with their shields to protect each other. I crawled to the middle of their group, feeling like a scared child hiding behind big people. I saw their bloody swords and broken shields and felt ashamed. What was I even doing here?

The fighting was all around me, so loud and violent. My legs were shaking as I tried to move after the warriors changed formation. People were falling all around me. Every breath I took felt like it might be my last. My chest hurt from trying so hard to stay alive. Honestly, I am lucky to be safe—

Clang!

"Or not," I mumbled, barely shielding myself when a knight ran at me, his face hidden by a dirty helmet, his sword ready to kill.

"N-no, I'm not an enemy!" my voice cracked trying to convince him, but he saw my red armor and knew I was his enemy.

'Of course. Red armor! It was like asking to be killed.'

He hit harder and faster, making my arm tremble. A man's strength is no joke. I could barely hold up my sword, my arms shaking like jelly from the force of his strikes. Just when I thought I was done for, someone else jumped in and ended my attacker with one clean move.

The warrior with the red cap gave me a quick glance, but I didn't stick around to say thanks. My legs had a mind of their own, carrying me far away to where the fighting wasn't as bad. I ducked behind a pile of snow, breathing hard and shaking all over. My heart was pounding so loud, I was sure it would give me away.

'What was all that training for if all I can do is hide? Call me a coward, but I am not your everyday war girl!' I hid deeper in the snow, watching the battle.

It was horrible. There was blood on the snow and parts of bodies everywhere. I could hear people screaming as they died or won. I felt like I was going to be sick. I wanted to run, but where? There was no way out. Death was everywhere, ready to get me if I made one mistake. My only hope was that the Homonhon Empire, the place from the old stories in the scrolls, had a way to save me. All this stupid war, the scroll, and the codes better be worth it, or I swear, I'll burn them all.

Clang!

I froze as something flew past me on my right. I was too scared to look, but I saw it roll from the corner of my eye. It was so fast and close. I remembered that first scary day when I came here—that terrifying thing that fell in front of me.

'Please don't be a head. Please, not a head,' I begged in my mind, holding my breath.

Slowly, very slowly, I made myself turn to look. I was so scared, but I had to see.

I breathed out in relief, still shaking. It wasn't a head. It was just a dented metal helmet that had fallen off someone. It was on the ground next to me—not dangerous now, but I was still scared. I stayed still in my hiding place, listening. It was quieter here, but I knew I was still in the middle of a war. The cold air smelled like blood, and it made me feel sick.

"Damn, he's a monster," I said quietly. I could see the prince fighting. He moved so smoothly and killed the last enemy soldier easily. His face never changed, even when he wiped off the blood. 

The only reason I felt a little safe in my hiding place was because of him. He had killed most of the enemies around; if it's a good thing or not, I don't know. I hid in the snow, putting my face on my knees.

I felt so depressed.

I had only wanted to buy some nice shoes after working at home for so long. Now I was here, trying not to die in this crazy world. The life I wanted to go back to seemed so far away now. 

Why am I even trying to live? I thought sadly. I should be safe at home by now... What did I do to deserve this? I started to cry a little. I slapped my cheeks to make myself stop.

'Crying won't help. Get yourself together!' I took a deep breath and tried to think clearly in all this chaos.

"Wait, this scene... could it be—" I stopped, realizing something scary but still hopeful.

The bloody ground, the dead bodies everywhere—it was just like when I first came to this world. It was like I was in a twisted version of a story I once read, where the main character had to keep living through the chaos she had started without knowing. Could this world be like that story I read? I hoped so. If it was, there had to be a way out.

In stories, characters always find something—a bracelet, a necklace, some magic thing to help them escape. But I had nothing. My shoes, my bag, everything I had when I came here was gone. I felt desperate as I looked around the battlefield, hoping for a sign.

'Please, please, let this be inside a story or something,' I pleaded in the back of my mind.

Maybe there was a hidden door, like the one that brought me here. I looked in the air, even jumped around, half-expecting to see a glowing hole, a way back to my world. But there was nothing. Just the cold, hard truth of where I was.

I have not transmigrated, and this is not inside the story. This is...reality.

"So, you managed to dodge death, but you're still crazy in the head, huh?" The prince's voice cut through my frantic thoughts, sharp and mocking.

He strode toward me, tapping the hilt of his sword against my skull. It stung, but more as a jarring wake-up call than a true hit. I winced, the sharp pain pulling me back into reality. His icy demeanor, his gaze as frigid as the blood-stained snow beneath us.

"Leave the bodies. We move forward," he commanded.

The prince called out to one of his personal warriors, "Pierce, leave your group to clean up this mess." He mounted his horse with ease, giving one last glance at something before leading his remaining men forward into the heart of the empire.