Milky Town

The town of Miky lay destroyed and broken similar to the sight of those buried buildings Lorian saw before. Everything looked crumbled with some parts swallowed by the sands and other's part split apart.

Lorian stood with Roy, Selene, Louise, and two Silvian Outlaws flanking him. Together, they gazed down at what remained of Milky. The town stretched before them, dust curling faintly from some corners, rooftops collapsed, and buildings shattered.

Louise's voice, a mere whisper, carried a quiet tremor, "Anyone?"

Lorian's glance over the pile of rubble and rotting scraps of food. He saw sand cover cloth on the ground; clothing pressed into the ground and pieces of copper rolling down buildings. 

"Doesn't look like it," Roy murmured in resignation. 

Each step led to crunching sound from broken wood and the soft, unsettling give of something buried beneath the sand. The town's bone gate was collapsed, broken and split, which they had to step over. 

The ground was stained dark with dried blood, forming thick trails. Some patches were faded gray, others still fresh and unsettling beneath the shadow of leaning buildings.

The town square opened up like a grotesque painting come to life. Stalls lay overturned, the items crushed and spoiled. A child's stick-figure doll, limp and forgotten, rested amid squashed fruit, imprinted in the sand.

Massive footprints could be seen on the ground. Some were clawed and deep, like reptilian talons, others were deep and hooved, filled with dried blood. Others still were marked by five sharp claws, moving in serpentine patterns, dragging wide tails behind them. The sand was ripped and torn in trenches, a horror that made Roy quickly look away.

Louise crouched near one gash, fingers trembling as he traced the jagged imprint. "This…" he breathed, his voice low.

Roy moved aside half-smashed lantern aside, but sparks from trapped fireflies flickered weakly in the gloom. "Terrible," he said, voice low. "I've heard reports, and Iran mentioned a Beast Tide hitting a nearby towns before… but this…" His words faltered.

Lorian nodded slowly, stepping into the ruins of a home. He carefully navigated broken beams and scattered bones where the front door had stood. He stepped inside to see the crushed table beneath the rubble.

His eyes glance around to see ripped leather bag, spilled white powder, and ruined apples, plums, and citrus. He couldn't stop his thought from seeing parents calling their kids inside to enjoy a snack. 

There were markings of beast steps, they were everywhere.

Lorian studied the patterns closely. Some were wide and clawed, tearing deep into the ground and partially covered by broken walls. Others were serpentine, dragging massive tails wider than tree trunks behind them. One set was enormous triple-toed, each tipped with curved talons as long as a forearm.

He moved out of the house, past the wreckage, towards the market area.

Brightly colored fabrics still hung on shattered lines, stained with dried blood. Carpets lay crushed beneath rubble. Some buildings had simply collapsed under the force of the beasts crashing through, stone walls torn apart like sandcastles.

He pressed on, through the rest of the town but only saw more ruin and destruction. The outskirts were even worse as homes were flattened, reduced to sand-filled outlines.

Here, the beast tracks faded, merging back into the desert.

Lorian was silent before asking as Selene approached quietly from behind. "Anything?"

"No, all crushed under… From what I can tell, this is a Type II Tide, so a Beastial Flood." Selene replied, casting a lingering glance over the wreckage, making Lorian sigh. 

Similar to Disasters, Beast Tides were categorized by type, ranked by danger and scale. They are divided in three categories, Type I, Type II and Type III.

The most common are Type I tides or sometimes called Beast Waves. This happened when a herd of a hundred or so beasts moved together, rushing past towns and villages. Surprisingly, these tended to avoid attacking or trampling living beings.

Many residents reported watching them pass unscathed, as if the beasts had no interest in them. From what Ark and Freedom Empire theorize, a Type I is like a stream that only goes in one direction and never stops. 

Type II or Beastial Floods were far more terrifying. When the number of beasts reached over a thousand, they swept through towns like a tidal wave crashing through the streets and everything in its path. In addition, it ten times the size of Beast Flood but that's just the beginning, as the flood reaches up to ten thousand. 

Then finally, Type III - Beastial Tsunami. When over ten thousand up to even a hundred thousand beasts move through the desert. Even cities are in danger but thankfully, these were incredibly rare in the Anisa Desert. Unlike other continents, like Ark and the Union Empire that had deal with a few of those in the recent decade.

"Was the Guardian Tome here also destroyed or-"

"It might have been a Beastial Tsunami, or the Beast Flood might have had higher-level beasts than the Tome." Selene says, leading Lorian to sigh. 

"The towns at best have Apprentice to Adept Level beasts' bone. So, either a large number of Adept Beasts or one Expert Level one, both which are bad." Lorian words made Selene nod her head.

"Then we should hurry up and leave this area."

"Alright. We'll have to circle wide around the destruction and angle toward another settlement." He stepped carefully over the splintered wood and scattered bones, his voice steady but low.

"The question is which one?"

"...I think it's better to choose one on the border of Rolay City."

"But that's pretty far. Even if it's to avoid the chance of another town around here being destroyed by the beastial flood."

"I know but this is the safest bet. The problem now is supplies-"

"What the hell are you doing!?" Roy shouted interrupted Lorian, leading him to glance at Selene before they rushed forward. 

Two seconds passed before they saw Roy glaring at one of the Silvian Outlaws fiercely. Louise caught Roy's arm, trying to restrain him. The outlaw held up a handful of supplies, a collection of food, clothing, and a rusted pot.

"What's your problem?" the outlaw snapped, glaring at Roy. "We need supplies!"

Roy's fist clenched tighter, his voice rising with anger. "After seeing all this destruction, you think it's okay to just take whatever you want?"

The outlaw's jaw tightened before shaking his head and then he jabbed a finger toward the horizon. "Then what's your answer?! The town's destroyed, yes, but we've got over sixty people with us who need to eat and drink!"

Roy's glare faltered, still fixed on the outlaw, but acknowledging the harsh truth. "But to pillage this place? That's-"

"Something we have to do." Lorian interjects, making Roy turn to him in surprise, the Silvian outlaw blinked in confusion and Louise raised an eyebrow. "The only thing that matters is the well being of Nuya town people."

"David… I understand but to do this-"

"Then are you prepared to watch as some of them die of thirst and hunger? To see them begging for food, and know you have nothing left to give? Could you leave them behind or do worse, just to spare them suffering? And how will you explain it to the teenagers? To the children, when they ask what happened?" Lorian's says. 

Roy stood frozen, hands shaking but no words came out of his mouth. Lorian inwardly sighed as he saw Roy expression shifting through various emotions. 

"The only things we're taking are food and water that aren't crushed. The Chu Warriors will handle the rest," Lorian said. The outlaw's face crumpled, then smoothed back. "We'll repay Milky Town by sending a magical star. Their belongings will be remembered in the Halls of Time and bodies in the Halls of the Dead."

With the constant disasters and Sand Genesis that swept through the desert, people devised ways to cope with the relentless upheaval. Burying the dead beneath the sand proved futile as they would be unearthed or smashed to pieces. 

This realization led to cities being used as cemeteries, housing the bodies of those who had perished. In addition, the creation of the Hall Of Remembrance complemented this practice. It served as a depository for important artifacts and cherished objects found in destroyed places. 

When a disaster or beast tide destroyed a town, and people fled for their lives, possessions were often abandoned. City guards investigating these ruins meticulously collected the belongings and took them to the Hall of Remembrance. 

This system allowed people to leave their homes quickly, without risking their lives by retrieving precious mementos. Such organized collection of items made returning or regain possessions possible, offering a semblance of stability amidst the chaos. 

It made it easier for families to pick up pieces their past in the aftermath. Both halls were strategically located in the middle region of all Utopia cities, which ensured easy access for those seeking their lost possessions and for the bodies to be buried. In the middle region, you can find it placed on the northern right side, offering a place of remembrance among the bustling activities of the Utopia Cities. 

"That's good… That would be great," Roy murmured, his gaze unfocused as he glanced around.

"But wait, these stuff can be useful-"

"Quiet Riley." Louise said with a sharp glare, making the outlaw Riley fall silent. "I'm sorry about his actions. He forgot the time and place, as well as his head it seems."

Roy furrowed his brows before releasing a sigh. "Me as well… I shouldn't have tried to strike him."

Louise chuckles. "You did a good thing for Riley, it should be a wakeup call for him. Anyway, so we're gathering food and water?"

"Yeah, start gathering anything that isn't damaged. It's been over ten minutes since the crowd settled. We need to guide them through the ruined village and toward the next town," Lorian said.

Louise frowned. "You've picked a destination?"

"No, but it needs to be somewhere on the Rolay border."

"Why Rolay… Wait, you don't think—" Roy's eyes widened, as Lorian nodded. 

"The beast tide may have swept through the other towns. If we want to avoid sinking the crowd deeper into despair, we need a place that's still standing." Louise rubbed his chin. "Then our best bet is Silica Town, southwest of here."

"How far?" Roy asked, glancing at Louise.

"It's about twenty miles… With Unicols, maybe an hour. Even less if we were Ascendants, but most of these people are normal people walking on foot. It may take five hours to reach Silica if we everything goes smoothly." Louise said with a frown as sweat slide down his face. 

"That's…" Roy trailed off before looking up at the sky with his eyes slightly widening. "It's close to evening, isn't it?"

Selene shook her head as she checks the Sun-Moon Jil, seeing the symbol of XI. "It's only 11:34 a.m."

"Oh." Riley's said in surprise before lightly chuckling. "So, we've got time, then."

Selene tucked the Sun-Moon Jil away. "Louise's estimate only works if everyone keeps moving without pause. But we're helping a crowd normal adults, teenagers, children, and elders. They'll need breaks or else they will collapse. Then there's beasts who are already straining under the journey, a break will be needed soon."

Louise pointed upward, squinting against the intense glare. "And there's the sun. It just keeps beating down on us. Constant exposure will wear everyone out mentally and physically. My estimate didn't account for that."

"The thing now is planning a route that factors in occasional shades or caves to rest in." Lorian says, while glancing around. "Or we can utilize the beasts' bones and ruins we passed by as shelter."

"Well, let me check." Louise pulls out his map, glancing and tracing a path over it. "There's a route we can take through pass some boulders and stone pillars. It'll slow us down, but there's cavern we can rest for a while."

"Alright, we have a plan. Now we should start getting the food and water." Everyone nodded at Lorian words before moving out, Roy went east while Louise and Riley went west. 

As they left, Selene's arms slipped around Lorian from behind. "This isn't like you, do you think problems will show up?" She murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm not sure... But it's dangerous now, we're responsible for more than fifty lives. Morality doesn't matter much when someone could collapse in the next hour."

Selene nodded, her cheek brushing his shoulder. "Human life is what matters the most."

"One can be rebuilt but the other is lost forever... Becoming a memory that will haunts you or make you wish you did something else." 

"Yet it's still hard, isn't it?" Selene's hug grew tighter while Lorian didn't answer. "Don't worry. We'll make it through, like always."

"...Thank you, Selene." Lorian gently held the arms holding him before letting go with Selene releasing him.