Spirit Game

[Days Before]

One day had passed since Druger joined the group, and Rain had noticed the townsfolk coming into his territory.

Don't get him wrong, he wasn't against accepting them. They were of great help. It was only that . . . how could they have known the exact location of their shelter?

The Barren Wasteland was vast and treacherous. Without a map, one could easily get lost in its desolate expanse.

~Chi~

'Suspicious.'

Rain laughed it off, dismissing Chi's worries and his as mere paranoia. But when night fell, and Chi reported the sighting of a strange bird that hadn't been there before, he realized with a sinking feeling that Druger might be leading them to his shelter.

Rain instructed Chi to spy on Druger one night, and what she discovered sent chills down his spine.

Druger was involved in a plan of rebellion. Not only that, but that night, Chi reported another alarming discovery. She had seen Hobgoblins lingering around the Shaman's lair from before.

Since the Raklings had been moving north to avoid Chi's relentless hunt, she had stumbled upon some Hobgoblin tracks up north and followed them into the lair.

The Barren Wasteland was dry, with the wind constantly blowing, so dust would have covered any tracks left by the Hobgoblins. This meant that the fresh new tracks indicated they were still active and nearby.

Taking into consideration that there might be another Hobgoblin lair that they didn't know about, Rain had entrusted the task to Chi to map further north passed the Shaman's Lair. He hoped for good news, but what returned after one night was far from it.

"H-hobgoblin . . . army?" Rain's face drained of color. "One . .

. one thousand, and led by a general Hobgoblin?"

The news hit him like an atomic bomb. His legs gave way, and he slumped onto the ground, feeling the weight of the revelation crush his spirit.

~Chi?~

Chi chirped, asking if he was okay, but Rain couldn't bring himself to respond. His mind was reeling, heart heavy with the burdens of the impending threat.

His thoughts spiraled into a chaotic whirlpool of fear and uncertainty. He had hoped to build a sanctuary, a safe haven for him and his troops. But now, the shadow of an impending invasion loomed over them, threatening to destroy everything they had worked so hard to build.

Rain's eyes scanned the horizon, searching for answers in the darkening sky. His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms as he tried to steady his breathing.

How?

How could he face an army of 1000 Hobgoblins, and one led by a general?

In the south, there was a war brewing, and Rain was already caught in the web of it, whether he liked it or not. And in the north, another fast-approaching army loomed on the horizon, and from the looks of it, they were heading straight towards him.

On the other hand, there was his novice Lord title brewing just around the corner, and his village wasn't even ready! He didn't even have a proper fence! All he had were traps, and they were the simple primitive kind.

But what were a bunch of traps going to do against thousands of Hobgoblin troops?

What was he going to do against a battalion of Ebizo soldiers and their two warships?

The war with the Zuwais and Ebizos wasn't his to begin with, but since Druger and the rest of the rebel army were here, they would think he was one of them, and he couldn't escape this fight.

He wasn't naïve enough to think that the Ebizos wouldn't assume he wasn't involved in the rebellion, given that his shelter was where Druger and the others had been hiding and plotting their attacks.

What's more, he didn't want Druger and Hana to die. He didn't want any of these creatures to die! It would be a massacre!

What they were planning would be a massacre!

Whether he liked it or not, he was already implicated in this!

What to do?

What do I do?!

S-should I escape?

But where?

The Hobgoblins lurked to the north, while the Zuwai and Ebizos clashed in the south. To the east lay the open sea, offering no refuge as he would be easily spotted with the ocean flanking one side, leaving him nowhere to hide.

The only solution was to head west.

Rain's mind was blank, and he was paralyzed with fear for his life and his troops. This was a large-scale war, and the pressure was too much for his seventeen-year-old mind.

~Chi!~

Rain couldn't hear anything. Not Chi's worries, not his own ragged breathing, and not even his own heartbeat.

He couldn't feel anything, and everything went blank.

=======

When Rain woke up, he was in his bed, back on earth, staring absentmindedly at his ceiling as if he would find his answers there.

His palms stretched over the ceiling like he was grasping for something, then tears welled in his eyes, and he sobbed.

"Mother . . . Father . . ."

In this moment, he felt so alone.

What am I going to do?

Rain lay there, the weight of his responsibilities pressing down on him like a suffocating blanket. His mind raced, trying to find a solution, a way out of the impending doom.

He didn't find any, and the pressure crushed him with each passing second. It felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, paralyzing him and rendering him unable to act.

That day, Rain was absent and dazed, staring at the ceiling as if answers would appear above him. He lost track of time, oblivious to the darkening sky. He didn't eat or get up; he simply didn't want to move or return to the Spirit Realm.

He wanted to escape. He wanted to run away.

These were not problems that a seventeen-year-old boy should have to face.

Hours passed, and before he knew it, Rain fell asleep despite his resistance. His mind was exhausted, and his spirit battered. He succumbed to the comfort of unconsciousness.

When he woke up, Rain blinked, finding himself back in the Spirit Realm.