I am finally free.
After a year in that underground hell of sweat, scars, and silence—I could finally breathe. I stood still, letting the reality wash over me like sunlight I hadn't seen in ages. The chamber behind me, once filled with the clashing of blades and the cries of battle, was now quiet. My hundredth victory had set me free.
Now… I can go to the surface again. I can finally see the daylight.
Or so I believed.
A shadow fell over me. A tall, thin man in a black coat approached. His hair was pale gray, and his eyes were too calm, too knowing.
"So," he said, his voice smooth like oil on steel, "you're the newbie who completed his 100th victory today."
I nodded, still catching my breath.
"Good," he said, his expression unreadable. "Even though you look young… you're quite powerful." He paused. "You're useful."
Without waiting for a response, he turned. "Come to the surface with me."
I followed.
And just like that, the gates opened for me. I ascended, feeling lighter with every step. The stale air of the underground halls gave way to a wind I hadn't felt in so long. For a moment, I felt like I had stepped back into life—real life.
I, who had lost everything, now had a chance. Even if I was trained to be a war puppet, I still had freedom. I still had hope.
I was happy I endured it all…
That was what I thought.
But reality is rarely kind to dreamers.
Instead of the usual soldier's quarters, I was taken to a new camp—one unlike anything I'd seen before. Futuristic towers stretched into the sky. Strange vehicles zipped through the air. The camp buzzed with life, but none of it felt familiar.
There, they explained the truth.
While I had been fighting underground, the world above had transformed.
The long-waging war between the Six Houses—the one that tore apart families, villages, and lives—was suddenly called off.
Why?
An alien invasion.
With this new enemy, the families declared a temporary truce. They joined forces, pooling their might and technology to stand against a common threat. Together, they built space warcrafts. They forged new weapons. They created a unified training program, drawing soldiers from all six factions.
Their advancements were breathtaking. Artificial intelligence, plasma weaponry, orbital stations—far beyond anything I'd imagined.
So much progress…
All while I was bleeding for survival in a pit of forgotten names.
If they could build such marvels to fight an enemy…
Why didn't they develop such things for peace?
Why didn't they use their brilliance to stop the war that claimed my family? Why didn't they unite before the alien threat, before they reduced my village to ash?
Why did we have to suffer?
What was it all for?
I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.
Everything was gone—my father, my people, my past—all lost to a war that, in the face of a new danger, suddenly meant nothing.
They discarded their grudges like worn-out weapons.
If peace was possible now, why not then?
The bitter truth screamed in my mind: The world doesn't care.
It isn't justice that guides the hands of the powerful. It's fear.
And now, with a greater fear looming in the stars, they found unity.
And we—the broken, the forgotten—were just tools for their new war.
What are we, then?
Weapons?
Pawns?
What is this world that feeds endlessly on war? Why do humans crave conflict more than peace? Why do aliens become our enemies before we even understand them?
Why?
Why does everyone want to fight?
A memory flickered—my father, standing tall even in death,trying to protect my family during the last moments of our village.
A weight pulled at my chest. Anger. Grief. Resolve.
No.
I wouldn't accept this.
Not this world.
Not this cycle of war and greed and death.
"This world," I whispered, "this world filled with lies, with greed, with power-hungry monsters… I will not let it go on."
I looked up at the blood-red horizon. The sky that once seemed so far away was now within reach.
"I swear, Father," I said, my voice shaking but strong. "I will not waste this life you protected. I'll change this world."
I could feel it in my bones—my purpose.
"I'll obliterate this cursed world… and build one where peace can breathe. Where no child becomes a soldier. Where no one dies of hunger. Where civilians aren't slaves in another's war."
I raised my gaze to the stars.
"I promise. I'll change this world."