Rain softened.

  Smoke did not.

  Zack stood at the edge of the ruined battlefield, metal fragments slowly orbiting his body as his remaining troops gathered behind him.

  “You shall remember my name,” he said coldly.

  “Zack — Welder of Magnetism.”

  His sharp eyes locked onto Samye.

  “And you?”

  Samye paused for a moment.

  Then calmly replied—

  “My name is… Sam.”

  Not Samye.

  Not the truth.

  Not his power.

  He revealed nothing more.

  Zack studied him carefully — as if trying to measure something deeper.

  Then he nodded once.

  “We withdraw.”

  With a sweep of his hand, broken steel rose from the ground, forming a shielded path. The remaining Breaker forces retreated into the forest shadows.

  Within minutes—

  Stolen novel; please report.

  They were gone.

  The silence that followed was heavier than battle.

  Samye turned toward the fallen General.

  His legs finally gave out.

  He collapsed beside him.

  Not from panic.

  Not from pain.

  Just… emptiness.

  Moments later, a small medic squad arrived, moving quickly between bodies.

  “General’s alive!” one shouted.

  They worked frantically — stabilizing broken limbs, sealing wounds, carrying survivors toward temporary medical camps.

  When they reached Samye—

  They hesitated.

  “He’s breathing,” one medic confirmed.

  “Get him too.”

  They lifted both men and carried them away.

  Morning arrived.

  And with it—

  Reality.

  Half of Kamaskh lay in ruins.

  Burned homes smoldered.

  Children wandered the streets crying for missing parents.

  Women sat beside lifeless bodies, unmoving.

  Metal debris and shattered stone covered the ground like broken bones of the village itself.

  Piles of the dead were arranged carefully near the temple.

  Some had names.

  Some did not.

  Nearly 50% of the village had been destroyed.

  This was not victory.

  This was survival.

  inside the chief’s hall—

  The air was grim.

  Of the Seven Generals—

  Only four could stand.

  The others were either dead or critically wounded.

  The Chief rose slowly.

  His face was not angry.

  It was resolute.

  “We survived,” he said firmly.

  “But we were exposed.”

  He turned to the remaining generals.

  “Dispatch scouts immediately.”

  “Search the forest perimeter.”

  “Find any nearby enemy hideout.”

  “No retaliation yet.”

  “Information first.”

  Orders were carried out without delay.

  This time—

  Kamaskh would not be caught unprepared again.

  Elsewhere—

  Breaker forces regrouped.

  Zack walked through the forest silently, arm heavily bandaged but eyes sharp.

  “He manipulated time,” one of his lieutenants muttered nervously.

  Zack did not respond immediately.

  “…Interesting,” he said finally.

  Then quietly—

  “Report this to the Leader.”

  The forest swallowed their figures.

  Back in Kamaskh’s medical camp—

  Samye opened his eyes slowly.

  Pain was present.

  But something else was clearer.

  The storm inside him had settled.

  For now.

  Outside—

  Children cried.

  Families mourned.

  And the stars above—

  Watched silently.