Your P.O.V

When we got to our designated spot, we were at an incredibly large portal with an obsidian outline and a purple door that led to another dimension.

Axel started speaking again, but I couldn't focus on anything other than the purple portal.

"Are you ready?" I heard Axel ask.

I turned to look at him, and he was riding on top of his horse with blood red armor and a flag on the back of his stallion.

I nodded and watched as he walked through, and I quickly followed in suit.

What happened next will forever go down in history.

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As I came out of the other side, I found myself in a familiar world with a cloudy sky, and green grass covering every inch of land.

There was a blue stream, oak trees, pigs, sheep, rain, bushes, vines, clouds, the sun, and-

"Time to advance!" I heard Axel's voice yell.

He looked unfazed by the sudden change of setting, and I shrugged it off, because he's probably seen this before.

We rode in silence, the only sound was the rhythmic stomping of the army behind us.

I turned my head, and saw about a hundred people behind me.

From what I heard about Phoenix Drop, it was significantly small, and shouldn't put up too much of a fight.

I still bit my lip.

If they were so easy, wasn't this overkill?

I sighed as the rain intensified, drenching my outfit until I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me.

"We have a mile left to go." Axel said, making the troops halt in their tracks.

He started yet another speech, and I shook my head as I thought of the quickly approaching fight.

The thing is, I don't even want to fight. I'm too tired and numb to do anything other than fight, but it doesn't mean I enjoy it. I hate it with every bone in my body. But Axel really wants me to do this, but I just hate it! Ugh! I hate it so much!

My grip on the reins tightened, suddenly hating the position I was in.

I can't breathe. It's suffocating. I can't take it! I can't do this! I don't wanna do this! I can't handle it anymore-

"Advance!" I heard Axel's booming voice yell as Phoenix Drop came into view.

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Travis' P.O.V

"They're coming!" A soldier yelled from the lookout point.

"Alright. This is it. Does everyone remember the plan?" Zoey asked, referring our plan the battle. Nicole, Kawaii~chan, Dante, Donna, Logan, Levin, Malachi, Alexis, Kyle and I nodded before we ran for our positions.

I ran with Zoey and Nicole to the top of the wall so we could confront Axel when he arrived, and the Scaleswind troops hid out of sight for the surprise attack.

It was quiet for a minute before the faint sound of a hundred people marching was heard through the air.

Oh my Irene... it's happening.

That's when we noticed the sudden dark aura that engulfed the forest. It was thick and a horrible feeling, but it was there nonetheless.

After a minute or so, we could see the troops. And the one leading them.

I gripped the handle of my sword, suddenly wanting to kill this man in the most painful and slow way as possible.

Zoey noticed and put her hand on my own.

"Not yet." She murmured. I nodded and waited.

When they arrived and saw us, it was quiet.

I then noticed the person riding beside Axel. A man in a cloak was sitting on top of a black horse, but this person seemed... dull. Devoid of life.

I frowned and Axel started laughing.

His laugh made me want to personally rip his throat out of his neck and watch as he slowly bled to death.

"Wow! What a surprise! Oh well. It may not be a 'surprise' attack, but don't worry we have surprises!" He said with a taunting voice.

Then, a female guard stepped forward, and Axel motioned for her to take her helmet off.

The woman seemed hesitant, but took the helmet off.

Brown hair tumbled a little past her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled in the sun.

It unfazed me at first, but then I heard a whimper from beside me.

I turned to look over, and Nicole was on her knees.

"Pearl..." she trailed off. I looked back over the ledge, and the girl seemed very uncomfortable as she tried her best to avoid eye contact with Nicole.

So... her name's Pearl.

"Oh, that's not all! But I have a few things to say first. 1, what do you think?!" He exclaimed as he motioned towards the troops behind him.

"You thought I was just a stupid redstoner, but I'm actually the general of a very powerful army from hell! Can you believe it! I guess the saying is true. Looks can be deceiving!" He said with another laugh.

I growled, and Zoey narrowed her eyes at him. "You said something about a 'surprise'." She said while doing quotation marks with her fingers.

Axel chuckled. "Ah! Of course how could I forget!" He turned to the man in the cloak beside him and whispered something in his ear.

The man nodded before reaching for his hood, and my heart froze as it fell from his head.

It was a her.

A 'her' I had spent nights thinking of and a 'her' that I thought was dead.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. She seemed dead inside, making me want to walk over to her and hold her in my arms, like I used to.

I reached out for her. "(Y/N)..." I trailed off as a smile spread across my face.

She looked worried and stared me straight in the eyes as her lips started moving.

My world stopped turning as she spoke these next words.

My heart stopped beating as she spoke these next words.

My brain stopped working as she spoke these next words.

My entire world shattered as she spoke these next words.

Three words, killed me.

In such a way, that almost nothing could amend the pain they caused.

"Who are you?"

My eyes widened as my entire body froze. I was paralyzed.

"W-What?" I murmured, and she only seemed uncomfortable as she continued to stare at me.

"Do you like it?" Axel asked as he laughed at me.

"Your face! You should see it!" He said through his laughter.

I grit my teeth as I stared her in the eye. Her (E/C) eyes stared at me in utter confusion, no recognition whatsoever.

I curled my fingers back into my palm and grabbed the handle of my sword as I continued to watch her.

"Hello? Earth to idiot?" I heard Axel's distant voice say.

Then, I watched as a pair of fingers lifted her chin and tilt her head.

Then she kissed him.

On the lips, and her eyes widened at first before he parted, leaving me in shock.

She didn't pull away.

She didn't resist.

"Jealous?" I heard Axel taunt as I stood there, completely paralyzed.

"You bastard!" Zoey yelled as she noticed my horrified expression.

(Y/N) stood there in shock before her face turned red and she turned away from Axel.

He only let out another laugh, as if this was all some kind of joke. If he favors his life, he better pray to his gods that it is.

"Hey Travis! Did I get your attention? Good. Enough of the chit chat. I have a few simple demands, so we can be done here very quickly. First, hand over all the magicks users in your pathetic excuse for a village, give us your battle strategies, plans, etc, and hand over Lady Aphmau." He said, as if it was as simple as trading a few pieces of wool.

"You're insane if you think we'll do any of that!" Zoey yelled at him as I recovered. By now, Nicole was up and off the floor, ready for the signal.

"Oh well. It was reasonable, I don't know why we can't just get along!" He said with a smirk.

"You know very well why, you asshole!" I screamed at him, putting my anger and fury into the words.

He put a fake offended hand on his chest and scoffed. "So rude! Where is this coming from Travis?" He asked as if he didn't know.

"Enough of this. My men are ready for blood." Axel said as he turned his horse around to face his troops.

"Get ready." Zoey whispered to Nicole as the red head got the flare ready.

"Tear it down boys!" Axel yelled as his troops advanced towards the wall.

As soon as that was done, Nicole pointed her flare towards the sky, and fired.

The Scaleswind soldiers jumped into action and I leapt from the top of the wall and landed on my feet.

Irene be with us all.

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