The Choice Not Yet Made

The street was silent, save for the distant hum of neon lights flickering against the steel buildings.

Tlandar stood frozen, his breath slow and measured as he faced the woman in the dark red robe.

She had followed him. Watched him. Waited.

Now, she had spoken.

"Stop."

Her voice was not a command, but a request. Calm. Steady. Deliberate.

Tlandar turned slowly, his pulse steady but alert. "You've been following me."

The woman lowered her hood slightly, revealing sharp, dark eyes and high cheekbones, her features calm but unwavering.

"I have," she admitted without hesitation.

Tlandar glanced around. The street was empty. No patrols, no wandering civilians. Just her. Just him.

His instincts tensed. "Why?"

She studied him for a long moment, then spoke, her voice measured.

"Because you matter."

Tlandar narrowed his eyes. "I don't. Not to you."

The woman took a step forward. "Then let me tell you why you do."

A Name, A Purpose

She clasped her hands behind her back, her posture unshaken. "My name is Akashma. I was sent by Chieftain Salgar of the Salgaran Territories, adjacent to Val'katl."

Tlandar crossed his arms. "Salgar? You expect me to believe you traveled all this way just to find me?"

"Yes."

A sharp breath. A measured pause.

He didn't like that answer.

Akashma's voice did not falter. "I was sent by the Council of Salgar, a circle of warrior women, the most skilled in battle across all of Astashica."

Tlandar let out a quiet scoff. "And why would they care about me?"

Akashma tilted her head slightly. "Because you are more important than you allow yourself to believe."

Tlandar shook his head. "You're wasting your time."

Akashma's expression remained unreadable. "I don't believe that."

He sighed. "What do you want?"

Her answer came immediately.

"To ask you to fight."

Tlandar exhaled sharply, already shaking his head before she even finished speaking. "No."

She remained silent. Watching.

Tlandar stepped back. "You think because I walked through a city, bought some food, and fought off a petty thief that I'm some kind of warrior? That I have a role to play in your war?"

Akashma did not look away. "I know you're not a warrior."

Tlandar scoffed. "Then why ask?"

She took another step forward. "Because you are not a warrior now. But one day, you may have no choice."

Tlandar clenched his jaw. "I already made my choice."

The Path Not Taken

Akashma studied him carefully. "Then tell me, Tlandar. What do you want?"

Tlandar hesitated.

No one had asked him that before.

They had told him what was happening. What needed to be done. What was expected. But they had never asked what he wanted.

His hands tightened into fists, then slowly relaxed.

"I want to stay here," he said finally. "To live in peace. To work. To help my sisters build a new life."

Akashma nodded, as if she had expected the answer. "And do you think New Asemeri will allow that?"

Tlandar frowned. "They don't care about me. If I stay out of their way, they'll leave me alone."

Her eyes locked onto his. "You believe that?"

"Yes."

A long pause.

Then she spoke, quieter this time.

"Cosmus will come for New Asemeri. Just as he came for Uxnall."

Tlandar felt a slight chill at the name.

"Uxnall?"

She nodded. "It was once a stronghold, one of the most fortified cities outside Val'katl. They thought they had time. They thought the war would not reach them."

Tlandar's expression darkened. "And?"

Akashma's voice was steady. "And now it is nothing but ruin."

Tlandar exhaled. "You think the same will happen here?"

"I do not think," Akashma said. "I know."

Silence stretched between them.

Akashma took a step back. "You don't have to answer now."

Tlandar exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. "I already did."

She nodded. "Then I will wait."

The Watchful Eyes

Tlandar's pulse quickened as a faint mechanical whirring reached his ears.

His eyes flicked up—a security drone hovered nearby, scanning the streets.

He cursed under his breath.

Akashma followed his gaze. "They're watching you."

Tlandar stepped back. "I need to go."

She did not stop him.

As he turned away, he heard her voice once more.

"You don't have time, Tlandar."

He didn't turn back.

He moved quickly but not too fast, weaving through the city streets, making his way back to the underground shelter.

The security drone hovered behind him, its mechanical sensors clicking softly.

Tlandar ducked into a narrow alleyway, then another, twisting through the winding paths of the lower districts, losing sight of the drone before slipping into the entrance of the underground levels.

Only when he was safely back in the dim halls of the shelter did he exhale.

But even as he sat on his bunk, the weight of Akashma's words lingered.

Cosmus will come for New Asemeri.

He told himself it didn't matter.

He told himself he had made his choice.

But he wasn't sure he believed it anymore.

Akashma Waits

Elsewhere in New Asemeri, Akashma did not leave.

She stood near the market district, watching the crowds, her presence unnoticed.

She had seen this before.

A boy who thought he could walk away from war.

He still had time to make his choice.

For now, she would wait.