Omen

The Emperor began to walk through the streets of Busan, and despite the strange situation they had been through, the citizens walked through them happily.

"Hero!" shouted some children running towards Safwane.

The children began to hug him with joy, to which the Emperor patted one of them on the head.

A woman quickly stepped forward, her expression hesitant. "Come here," she called, before glancing at Safwane. "I'm sorry if they bothered you."

Safwane smiled.

As the children left, they waved goodbye to him with a long smile on their face.

The young man waved back.

Finally they left, and Safwane began to slowly remove the smile. The children were a representation of what he was going to let die.

Just like those of his empire.

The citizens smiled, unaware of the fate that awaited them. Safwane clenched his fists. 'There's no other choice...' he told himself, but with every step he took, doubt grew heavier.

The night breeze ruffled his hair as he walked through the ruins of Busan. With each step, the city fell behind, its glow dying in the distance.

Safwane entered an abandoned building.

The more he climbed the stairs, the more he remembered that day when he lost everything.

'Not even my imperial knights could stop the creatures, how could civilians do it?' he asked himself after reaching the roof.

The emperor walked until he reached the edge and sat down. Watching people enjoy themselves despite the ruins surrounding them.

Safwane was lost in his thoughts.

"Safwane... Remember that your strength must be used for those who respect you. Promise me that you will protect the weak..."

That phrase resonated in his mind, the promise that made him try to protect weak people.

He was not a sentimental person, he was used to seeing people die both on his side and the other side. But that promise was the cause of the regrets of their deaths.

'It's hard to keep promises...' Safwane thought as he let out a sigh.

The young man stood up and walked towards the exit of the rooftop. But before he got there, Arthur entered through it.

"Let's go before I change my mind." Arthur said with his head down.

Safwane was silent.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Safwane walked towards the door.

"...Get everyone up." he said before leaving the place.

As dawn approached, murmurs spread among the crowd, uncertainty creeping into their expressions.

"...I'm sorry everyone for waking you up, but it's important. Right now we'll have to leave Busan and head towards Seoul." Arthur said.

The people were surprised, what was the need to leave? They began to murmur among themselves looking for a reason.

A young man raised his hand.

"Tell me." Arthur said pointing at him.

"The aid will arrive in a few days, what's the need to leave?" he asked.

"To be honest... " Arthur muttered. "They offered us all a place to stay, so we figured it was our best shot." he added with a nervous laugh.

"I understand, but then why leave now?" the young man asked again.

'Do you want to stop your shitty questions!?' Arthur thought angrily. "...It's because it's an offer to all the townspeople and if we're late they can steal our place." he said.

After hearing those words the people began to murmur among themselves again.

"I see, then we have to leave now." said a man.

Despite the doubts at first, Arthur managed to convince them.

"If many die, don't blame me..." said Safwane without taking his eyes off the citizens.

"Of course not." Arthur replied with a smile. "We must leave now so gather everyone..." Arthur ordered the citizens as he walked away from the emperor.

'I hope no tears are shed.' Safwane thought.

After a few minutes, in which Arthur took care of gathering all the citizens they were finally ready to leave in the darkness.

"From now on you must follow us, please do not take different paths or get separated from the group, you could die." Arthur explained.

"...We can leave now." said the young man.

"Do you know the way?" asked Safwane.

Arthur nodded.

The group began to walk, the citizens talked without showing any concern.

"How long will it take?" asked Safwane.

"Taking into account the breaks, about ten days..." Arthur answered looking at a map.

'So it's going to be a long journey... I just hope the creatures don't appear.' thought the emperor worriedly.

"We're not going to be silent the whole way, right?" Arthur said. "Where are you from?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"I see... And how is your family?" he asked again.

"I don't have any."

Arthur widened his eyes in empathy.

"So... Why are you protecting the others?" Arthur asked. "I mean, you could have left them as planned." he added.

Safwane fell silent.

"I don't have a reason..."

There was a continuous silence.

Safwane was able to walk long distances, it wasn't a problem. But for the others, walking from Busan to Seoul was going to be a challenge.

Between sleep and his low physical abilities, the journey was going to take longer than expected.

Several bonfires lit up what seemed to be a highway, people were sleeping and others were trying to do it.

"...It's been ten days and there's still a long way to go." said Arthur while warming his hands.

"The pace is very slow since there are children and older people." replied Safwane, who was cleaning his katana.

"We're lucky that the creatures haven't arrived yet, but I feel like there's less time left." said Arthur worried.

"Don't worry about that and sleep, you must guide us correctly." replied Safwane.

"Okay..." said the young man lying down on a piece of wood. "Good night." he finished saying.

Safwane gave him a slight smile.

'At this rate it's impossible to get there without the creatures appearing...' thought the emperor.

Safwane began to look around at the deceptive tranquility that surrounded them. People were sleeping peacefully without having the thought of anything bad.

The emperor looked up at the sky.

The air is thick and warm, the sky is clear without showing any stars and the crack is still shining.

The campfire in front of him hissed, slowly it began to go out. Rain was falling, but there was no trace of clouds.

The atmosphere fit perfectly with that day when Safwane suffered his attack.

The creatures were close.

'Damn it... There is still quite a way to go.' he thought as he stood up.

The rain lashed the ground furiously. An uneasy murmur ran through the group, bodies trembling under soaked clothing. Arthur clicked his tongue, brushing the water away from his face.

"Great... This only makes it worse."

"We have to keep walking towards our destination, I feel like they're almost there..." Safwane warned seriously.

Arthur was shocked after hearing the words.

"We must keep walking, fast!" he shouted desperately.

Luckily they were wearing clothes to be able to face the rain, which could slightly prevent them from getting sick.

People complained to themselves about not being able to sleep, but the rain made them have to quicken their pace without time for that.

The rain began to intensify, this time it came with thunderous lightning. The wind began to intensify, making some people unable to keep up.

And among all this commotion, the crack in the sky intensified its brightness.

Its brightness was so great that it seemed like day had arrived for a few seconds.

Not only that, the unruly time stopped as if it had never even started.

Darkness took place again, this time with more intensity and with a greater feeling of insecurity.

The group of people could do nothing but stand still, despite not being able to see anything the fear in their bodies did not stop increasing.

Safwane began to unsheathe his katana, the sound of the metal being released echoed through the silence of the place.

"SKREEEEECH!" a heart-rending scream resounded.