A crimson battlefield, rendered in vivid detail.
Screams, roars, and explosions erupted in every direction.
Charred flesh. Severed limbs. Gouged eyes. Shattered skulls. Festering skin.
Standing amidst the scorched battlefield, he braced himself against the agony coursing through his frame. His body was a map of countless lacerations, burns, and contusions—some areas blooming with the deep blue of internal hemorrhaging.
The mission was a success. However, the cost was staggering, both for the enemy and his own side. Comrades who had stood at his side moments before were now scattered remains, transformed into something gruesome and unrecognizable.
Seeing them in that state before his very eyes terrified him. Simultaneously, he was consumed by an intense, murderous intent. Yet he was immediately forced to realize that, like it or not, one could not survive on the battlefield by becoming emotional.
What was necessary was purely rational action. By suppressing his heart, he was sublimated to heights he had never desired.
Days repeated in a cycle that felt eternal. A conflict with no end in sight, no matter how much time passed. He couldn't even tell if they were winning or losing.
Perhaps this was a nightmare. Perhaps he was simply trapped in a dream from which he would never wake, and none of this was reality.
But there was no room for such escapism. Simply to survive, he could not run.
The boy ran through the heart of the carnage.
"Haah... haah... haah...!"
He no longer remembered how far he had come.
The boy ran through the battlefield all alone, his hand white-knuckled as he gripped the knife at his waist.
This was the first war where sorcery had been introduced in earnest.
The conflict, which would later be known as the Far East Campaign, was gradually expanding in scale.
"Cold... it's so cold..."
His long hair was matted and sticky with a red liquid. Was the dripping crimson the blood of the enemies he had killed?
Without bothering to wipe it away, he took cover in a rocky outcrop and slumped to the ground.
Huddled alone, his arms wrapped around his knees, the boy simply... crouched there.
The sensation of taking a life never faded; it lingered, clinging to his hands. After experiencing his first kill, he found himself unable to sleep properly.
He drifted through bouts of shallow sleep, doing nothing but fleeing across the battlefield.
He had lived this way ever since he was driven from his village. He found and secured food on his own, leading a life that could hardly be called an existence.
Even at his young age, he realized there was no longer a place for him to belong, no home to return to. Thus, the boy continued to wander through this manifested hell on earth known as the battlefield.
"..."
There was no longer any light in his eyes.
He looked as if he had lost all interest in living.
Yet, he was driven by the primal instinct to survive.
He should live.
He must live.
Goaded by that instinct, he continued to run through the battlefield with all his might.
He believed that surely, an ideal world waited for him at the end of it all.
However, the boy would later learn that such a thing could not possibly exist in this world—.
◇
"Hah! Haah... haah... haah..."
Sweat dripped from her brow.
Beneath her waist-length hair, the moisture soaked into the fabric of her sheets, forming damp patches across the bed.
Inside the grand manor of House Bradley.
Specifically, in Rebecca’s private quarters. She lay in the canopy bed that dominated the spacious room.
She had been sleeping as she usually did.
The time was 3:30 AM.
It was rare for Rebecca to wake at such an hour.
Especially after seeing such a horrific dream.
"Wh-what was that just now...?"
She whispered the question to the empty room.
There was no one to answer.
Looking closely, it wasn't just sweat staining the bedsheets.
The damp patches were tinged with red.
"Eh...?"
She reached up and touched her face.
Crimson blood was streaming from Rebecca’s right eye, spilling down like a tear. As she wiped away the trail, a sharp, piercing pain lanced through both of her eyes.
"Ugh... uugh. What on earth is... this?"
She couldn't understand it.
In a daze, she stared at her hand. For now, she had to deal with the bleeding.
Rebecca climbed out of bed and headed for the washroom.
She flicked on the light and twisted the faucet, letting the water flow. After washing the blood from her hands, she leaned in to inspect her eyes in the mirror.
Reflected there was her Magic Eye—activated, despite her not having called upon it.
"My Magic Eye? But this is..."
She stared.
Her eyes had turned gold, an undeniable sign of the Magic Eye's activation. However, she had no memory of seeing the future. What she had seen was... a memory, perhaps?
The details were blurry.
The only thing she remembered clearly was the sight of a lone boy running through a place that looked like a battlefield.
It might have been a dream, but it had felt strangely visceral.
As if she were re-experiencing someone else's memory.
"..."
As she continued to stare into the mirror, the golden hue gradually faded, and her pupils returned to their usual black.
The bleeding seemed to have stopped as well, and Rebecca let out a sigh of relief.
After wiping the blood from her cheek, she grabbed a fresh set of sheets and replaced the soiled ones herself.
As she headed back to the washroom to wash the bloody linens, she ran straight into her younger sister, Maria.
"A-Ah, Sister? What are you doing up at this hour?"
"Oh, no. It's, well... it's nothing... really."
"But those. They’re stained with blood, aren't they?"
"This? I just had a bit of a nosebleed."
"A nosebleed?"
"Yes. A nosebleed."
"Hmm. That's unusual for you."
"Hahaha. I suppose I ate a little too much chocolate yesterday."
Rebecca offered a forced smile. Maria, meanwhile, maintained a grumpy expression. She shifted the topic.
"Hey, Sister. Are you really okay with this engagement?"
"...It doesn't matter. It is the duty of the Three Great Noble Families. Besides, I am the eldest daughter. But... I believe you should have at least some freedom to choose for yourself, Maria. I hope you find a love that is truly your own."
"Sister..."
Maria stared at Rebecca with lonely eyes.
They had once been close sisters.
But at some point, a clear distance had opened between them. Thinking back, Maria’s habit of getting piercings had been a form of self-harm—a silent protest against her parents and the stifling expectations of the nobility.
Because you are a noble, do this. Do that. Follow your sister's example.
Maria, who had been showered with such words since childhood, had changed her hairstyle to something eccentric and pierced her own ears numerous times as soon as she hit puberty.
Rebecca had never simply ignored her; she had reached out to Maria every single day.
She was often brushed off. Even so, it was undoubtedly thanks to Rebecca that Maria was able to live her life without the masks people like Amelia had once worn.
There were times when it was painful precisely because she was by her side. Even so, Maria still cherished her older sister. Rebecca was the person she respected more than anyone else—the most beautiful person she knew. Her very existence was noble.
She was both an object of inferiority and an object of adoration.
Holding such conflicted feelings, Maria was utterly opposed to this engagement. She had questioned both of her parents, but they had dismissed her, claiming it was the duty of House Bradley.
That was why Maria had tried talking to her now.
But all she saw was her sister's tragic expression—a look of pure self-sacrifice.
"Well then, Maria. If you'll excuse me."
"Sister. Wait—"
Ignoring Maria's attempt to stop her, Rebecca retreated to her room. She walked quickly, driven by a desperate need to be alone, and once she was back in bed, she finally let the tears fall.
"Ugh... uugh... ugh..."
The engagement was already set in stone.
No matter what, she had been prepared to accept it.
However, reality was far too cruel.
Rebecca had learned the truth during her visit to the Magic Association over summer break.
She had discovered her fiancé’s true nature...
Perhaps because that memory had resurfaced, Rebecca completely forgot about the strange dream she had just had. She had no way of knowing then how significant it would eventually become—.