Story Reader / Main Story / 28 Polaris Bond / Story
Here, time seems a divine grace stripped away.
This place is dominated by guns, bacteria, steel, blood, fire, and death.
Load, aim, shoot, and eject.
The Lee-Enfield rifle in her hands, capable of firing ten rounds in half a minute, becomes a rhythm of survival.
Good aim!
I'm still not at my best! If my master were here, he could fire thirty rounds in a minute!
Aim for their heads, stop wasting bullets!
If you're so good, why don't you do it?
Alright, let's enjoy the peace while it lasts, stop arguing.
<You are resting against a collapsed triangular wall.>
<Around you, an eclectic arsenal sprawls out: from muzzle-loading rifles and bolt-action rifles to submachine guns and sniper rifles. There are also magnetic pulse rifles, cannons powered by unknown energies, and an array of flashy, sophisticated firearms.>
<The array extends beyond guns to include hammers, katanas, scalpels, and heavy greatswords. There are wizard staves, chainsaws, and daggers, alongside those wielding bare fists or even conducting a military band.>
<It's a bizarre sight—what, have painters and bards now joined the fray as well?>
<In this madness, anything seems possible.>
<Just like the sword in your hand.>
<Despite your exhaustion, the sound of human voices nearby draws your attention. Ignoring the pain, you limp toward what appears to be a group of relatively normal-looking people, hoping to find some semblance of order or perhaps an ally.>
Hey...
Wow! There's somebody still alive!
Come, have a seat here.
<The soldiers, curious as if viewing a rare animal, circle around you.>
Why are you so clean?
Dressed all in white, did you just come from a funeral?
Show some respect. We even got farmers with scythes out here too!
You're good at breaking up fights.
Hey, where did you come from?
<You shake your head, because you really don't know how you ended up here.>
What is this battle—or this war?
Where did those monsters come from, and how long have you been here?
No idea, not a clue.
All we know is that in two days, when reinforcements arrive, we break through.
That's nonsense. Didn't you hear that from Kaka?
And Kaka's been dead for three days!
How do you know it's been three days?
I've been keeping track!
In this endless darkness, how can you tell one day from another?
So, you're waiting for reinforcements?
Yes.
Where are they?
Not here yet.
So, you've just been here all this time?
What else can we do? There's nowhere to go.
I've been here... about five days now.
See, I told you so!
Time here is messed up.
Some bastard must be messing with time around here!
If you ask me—
Alright, alright.
Hey, want some food? I just made it!
<She places a bowl of deep red soup in front of you.>
<The thick, bubbling soup contains chunks of unidentifiable meat and organs. It looks disgusting but smells surprisingly delicious.>
No... thanks.
<Refusal is a virtue, something you're quite adept at, isn't it?>
<The soldier returns to the group, silently enjoying the meal.>
<The delightful aroma only makes you more exhausted. The endless battles have every part of your body screaming.>
<The trench is full of mud, and you slowly slump down to the ground.>
<Is there something beneath you?>
It's a...!
<It's just a severed hand.>
<In such wars, who doesn't die? Who doesn't lose a few "parts" of themselves?>
<Legs, eyes, ears, ribs, arms.>
<And of course, losing "life.">
<These tragedies happen thousands of times in war, repeating over and over again.>
<It never stops.>
<As long as humanity exists, they will continue, endlessly...>
Dying in battle...
But still holding this gun.
Keep fighting... until...
<Until death, right?>
Suddenly, the crimson air seems ignited. A brilliant white light from the plains far away lights up the entire battlefield, a towering mushroom cloud squeezing the sky.
A few seconds later, a deafening boom follows—
Reinforcements! They've arrived!
The reinforcements are supporting us!
<Look at how happy those who rush into war are.>
<Overjoyed, the soldiers rush toward the blinding explosion, ignoring the searing pain in their eyes.>
An explosion of this magnitude...
Retreat! Quickly! Or you'll die!!!
Get down!!!
<But who are you to order them around?>
<You are just a mere number in this war.>
<An endless number.>
A hot wind, laden with high-energy particles, sweeps across the battlefield.
It peels off the skin, burns the fat, dismantles the muscles, tears apart the organs, and crushes the bones.
Later, when I reach the sea of corpses and blood, the soldiers are nowhere to be seen.
They might be part of that sea now, claimed by the war itself.
I know, it's part of war, a price that must be paid. I shouldn't be so sentimental.
Yet, something still urges my "heart."
It makes my hands search the ground, filling my nails with blood and dirt.
It compels me to search and dig, despite the futility.
Time becomes indistinct.
All that remains are bodies melded with metal.
This is what war leaves in its wake.
I couldn't save anyone.
I could only watch as a wild blaze of fire and smoke licked the sky, the scorching wind searing my skin.
I stagger to my feet; the only other living thing is a vulture.
Across the expanse, far in the distance, I see another figure struggling to rise amidst the flames.
He is frail, his body bent over like an oversized newborn.
He isn't a survivor.
He is just like me.
We both defied death.
But night now re-ascends, and it is time for parting. All is seen.
