Milky Town

The wind blew dry and low over the dunes, sweeping fine veils of sand across the horizon. The once outline of Milky Town now lay broken, crumpled, and some parts buried beneath the unforgiving sun.

Lorian stared at it with Roy, Selene, Louise and the two outlaws flanking him. Below them, Milky stretched like a corpse, dust still curled faintly from some corners, crumbled rooftops and shattered buildings. A harsh wind carried a stench of char, acrid and pungent, that made Lorian frown slightly.

Louise's voice, a mere whisper in the vast emptiness, carried a quiet tremor, "Anyone?"

Lorian's gaze remained fixed on the ruins, his breath steady. The vibrancy of what once was a marketplace thriving with laughter, the chatter of barter, and food bursting from vibrant stalls had become ruined. Only a mess of rubble and squashed food marked where lives had flourished, fragments of cloth caught in the swirling sand.

"Doesn't look like it," Roy murmured, his words drenched in a grim resignation. 

Each step they took into the ruins was met with the crunch of shattered wood beneath their boots, or the spongy give of something unspoken buried beneath the sand. The town's main gate, a skeletal remnant, hung pitifully, creaking softly with the wind.

As they passed under the archway, the silence wrapped around them tighter.

Cobblestones, stained dark with blood, formed thick congealed trails. Some dried and gray, others still disturbingly fresh under the shade of leaning buildings. The town square opened up like a grotesque painting stalls lay overturned, remnants of food peeking out. A child's stick figure doll, limp and forgotten, was imprinted deep into the squashed fruits surrounding it.

Massive footprints littered the dust. Some clawed and elongated, like reptilian talons. Others were hooved and deep enough to fill with blood. Other were five claw prints, others were thick moving side to side in a serpentine way. Here and there, the sand was brutally torn, ragged trenches that display a horrifying sight that made Roy glance away.

Louise crouched near one such gash, fingers trembling as they traced the indent. "This…" he breathed, a hollow sound in the stillness.

Roy, with a heavy heart, moved aside a half-smashed lantern, but sparks of fireflies still lingered, flickering. "Terrible... I've seen reports, and Iran mentioned a beast tide hitting a nearby town before... but this is…"

Lorian nodded slowly, stepping deeper into the remnants of a home. He carefully navigated over what had once been a front door, now a splintered ruin mingled with bones. Each echo of his footsteps seemed to mock the silence. Inside, the white dust of a ceiling lay collapsed, with a table crushed beneath it, surrounded by the remnants of a leather bag of white powder, array of apples, plum and citrus, all trample.

He imagined parents setting out fruits and laughter, calling for their children playing outside to come in.

All gone now.

There were markings of beast prints, they were everywhere.

Lorian walked among them, studying their patterns further. Some were wide paws and claws that had torn into the ground, halfway covered by broken walls. Others were serpentine, dragging tails the width of tree trunks behind them.

One set was even larger: triple-toed, each toe tipped in a curved talon as long as a forearm. Moving out of the house, past the remnants of the house and into the market area.

Lorian saw colorful clothes hung, the dried blood on carpets. Some buildings had simply collapsed from the force of the beasts crashing through them, stone walls torn apart like sandcastles. He continues moving through the rest of the town, finding only more ruin. The outskirts were worse, as homes were thoroughly destroyed and only sand-filled outlines remained. 

Here, the beast tracks faded as they returned to the dunes.

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 Tide were classified or danger level groups known as Types. 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.

Generally speaking, they happen when a collection of beasts reaches over a hundred and then they begin rushing towards a town. These aren't as dangerous because this type surprisingly avoids attack or trampling over living beings. 

There have been over a dozen accounts and sightings of beastial stream passing by towns and villages. With most of the residents coming out unharmed, some even saying the tides don't even stop or change their direction. From what Ark and Freedom Empire theorize, a Type I is like a stream that only goes in one direction and never stops. Yet such a stream had the potential to grow bigger depending on the areas it passed by. 

Type II or Beastial Floods, are when the numbers reach over a thousand. The Beast Flood destroys and tramples over civilization and structures in a massive spread out wave of beasts rushing. One can imagine a massive wave rising up and smashing down or a flood of water rushing through the streets and smashing through everything. Numerically it's just ten times a Beast Flood but one should realize it's just the beginning of the flood, that reaches up to ten thousand. 

Then there is a Type III or Beastial Tsunami, when numbers reach above ten thousand. All the way up to a hundred thousand, enough to be trample on and destroy an entire if given a chance. But these are extremely rare on Anisa Desert, in the other continents though. Ark Empire and Union Empire had been dealing with a few of these for the past decades. 

"Let's head back. 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 with a fierce intensity. Louise caught Roy's arm, trying to restrain him. The outlaw held up a handful of supplies, a collection of tattered cloth and a rusted pot, scavenged from the wreckage.

The outlaw's face twisted, defensive and raw. "W-What's your problem? I'm just grabbing what we need to survive–"

"After seeing all of this, you think it's fine!" Roy roared, clenching his fist, glaring even harder.

The outlaw's expression hardened, a flicker of defiance igniting in his eyes as he thrust a finger toward the horizon, where the skeletal remains of buildings jutted against the sky. "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 words filled the room, heavy as iron, silence swallowed Roy's protests. 

He stood frozen, hands shaking, throat tight. 

Lorian's words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. The silence swallowed Roy's protests, leaving him speechless and trembling. 

"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 into his usual mask. "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 to find or regain possessions possible, offering a semblance of stability amidst chaos. 

It made it easier for families to pick up threads of their past in the aftermath, knowing their memories were preserved somewhere safe. 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 brought in.

In the middle region, you can find it placed on the northern right side, offering a place of solace and remembrance among the bustling activities of Utopia City. 

"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 with a shake of his head. "That would be the only way to wake him up from his stupidity. 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 Silca 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 four, maybe five hours if we're lucky," Louise said, his voice growing heavy as the reality set in. Sweat trickled down his brow, and his jaw clenched.

"That's…" Roy trailed off, looking up at the sky. "It's close to evening, isn't it?"

Selene shook her head, glancing at the Sun-Moon Jil. "It's only 11:34 a.m."

"Oh." Riley's surprise flickered across his face. "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 leading a crowd normal people, teenagers, children, and elders. They'll need breaks. Even with the children and elderly riding Unicols, the animals are already straining under the weight. We'll need breaks for all of this."

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 that winds through a field of boulders and ancient stone pillars. It'll slow us down, but there's cover."

"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 gently around Lorian's shoulders from behind. "You aren't one to make decisions like this, young master," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lorian's voice was low. "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, the other is lost forever, a memory that haunts you." Lorian's hands found hers and squeezed.

"Yet it's still hard, isn't it?" Selene's voice was soft, her hug tightening, he didn't answer, but the gratitude in his eyes said enough. "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.