OLD-WORLD EXTRA

{Winter's Coming}

Lyra gathered the family.

Explained what was happening.

The Aether was returning.

The atmosphere had thickened.

And with it—snow. A true winter.

Laure trembled.

Dreaded it.

The final act had begun.

Lyra whispered, voice barely above a breath—

"Oh, mother of my love, if there were anything he cannot withstand, then nobody in this world would be safe from it."

They turned to the holoscreen.

The broadcast flickered.

"Yesterday, you were a soldier on the frontlines."

"But today, the frontlines are history."

"Uniforms are relics. The war rages everywhere. And there will be casualties."

"I—"

The screen shut off.

Silence.

No one needed to hear more.

{Aether Flux}

Before it began, Amon stood beneath the sky.

He could feel it.

"Something shifted."

The world held its breath.

Everything fell into an eerie quiet.

The tension settled into the bones of every living thing.

Then came the Anomalies.

They emerged without warning—

Humanoid figures.

Random objects.

Shimmering in and out of reality.

And if touched?

They exploded.

Like nukes.

A sign.

A warning.

The Monster Tide was near.

{A Tired Father}

Elijah sat with his father.

A conversation.

The last before all hell broke loose.

"In a way… you've never loved me, have you?"

"..."

His father said nothing.

Silence.

Elijah exhaled.

"At least you're being honest about it…"

His voice was quieter now.

"I know you've always found it hard to be honest. Who did you learn that from?"

His father shifted...

"What we learn from others must chime with something from oneself."

"There must always be something cold, calculated… perverted about me."

"I see it very clearly now."

"Emir helped me to see it."

More silence.

Longer this time.

The weight of unsaid words stretched between them.

Elijah clenched his fists.

His voice wavered—between anger, sorrow, and something else.

"You're not behaving like the family head anymore."

"Everyone's talking about it."

"You're distracted. Unsure. Hesitant."

"Once, you were firm."

"You were strong. You had control over the family."

"But now…"

His voice cracked.

"Now you allow them to do that to ME!"

His father sighed.

Spoke.

"Oh… I'm filled with doubts. I've come to believe that being firm and strong was an illusion."

"An illusion?"

Elijah hissed.

"Not in the face of a Monster Tide!"

His father nodded, slow and tired.

"That's why I let you go."

"That's why I let you join Emir."

"I knew that one day, he would rise above our folly."

"That he would reach heights greater than we ever could."

"You and him—you can save us."

Elijah sat there, stunned.

The room was silent again.

Thick with something too painful to name.

"Father… you loved my brother, right?"

"You loved my sister, right?"

"You love my mother, right?"

A pause.

Then, softer—

"But have you ever loved me, Father?… Do you?"

"Because if you do, I want you to say so."

"I need you to say so."

His voice cracked.

A boy's voice.

Not a Reaper's.

Not a Celestial's.

Just a boy.

"Please."

"Please."

And his father?

"..."

He said nothing.

Elijah stared at him.

Eyes searching.

Desperate.

A moment passed.

Then another.

"..."

"...Have you truly abandoned me, Father?"

{True Brothers}

Emir clapped a firm hand on Elijah's back.

Then, without warning—he grabbed his cheeks.

"You can't be going after my sister while looking like this."

He shook Elijah's face like a worried mother.

"I need to trust that you can protect her while I'm not around, alright?"

Elijah nodded, expression dead serious.

Then, suddenly—he hugged him. Hard.

Too hard.

For a second, Emir chuckled...

'Does he like me more than he likes my sister?'

He didn't push him away, though.

After a long moment, Emir pulled back and spoke:

"I kidnapped Aria."

Elijah stared at him.

Then, without missing a beat—

"I know."

And just like that, they both laughed.

Because of course, Elijah knew.

{The Tide's Arrival}

It started subtly.

Most people didn't even notice.

Only the teachers and higher-ups fought in those early days, keeping it hidden from the public.

The real battle hadn't even begun yet.

But something vast stirred in the distance.

And when it finally arrived—

It came riding the body of a flying whale.

A living fortress.

A sky-consuming leviathan.

It carried the first wave of horrors within its colossal, rotting flesh.

The Monster Tide had arrived.

{Risen From The West}

The day began with a lie.

The sun rose from the west.

People flooded the streets.

Some fell to their knees, sobbing, praying. Others screamed in terror.

Banners were hoisted, their bearers shouting that the end had come.

Templars. Fanatics. True Believers.

Emir walked through it all.

His boots echoed against the pavement as he passed the wailing crowds.

The cries of despair.

The pleading hands reaching for salvation.

The banners snapping in the wind.

Then, finally—he saw it.

The sky darkened.

A shadow spread across the heavens, blotting out what little light remained.

A beast floated in the distance.

The monstrous whale.

Its corpse-like body bloated with horrors from the deep.

This act had truly begun.

{The Conspirators}

They found him first.

Isaac and Isidore.

They had a list.

Names.

The people responsible for his father's death.

Or his disappearance.

Whichever version was true, Emir didn't care.

They had conspired against his father.

And Emir would hunt them all down—

If he survived this war.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Amon's voice echoed.

"Be careful of overconfidence."

Emir didn't answer.

He simply tightened his grip on his weapon.

{Playing Checkers}

The Monster Tide, combined with the Order's attack, had turned Earth into a battlefield.

The planet was now divided into sections.

Section One. Section Two. Section Three.

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Like a chessboard of blood and steel.

But this wasn't chess.

It was war.

Where to send troops?

Where to pull back?

Which section to abandon?

Which section to fight for until the last breath?

Emir stood at the table, staring at the pieces.

A map of the world.

Every battlefront a square.

And now—

He had to decide.

He turned to the meeting group.

"I need your help."

They all leaned in.

A new game had begun.

{The Iron Oath}

The hall was packed.

Men. Warriors. Veterans.

Their faces were grim. Their hands clenched around weapons.

Emir stood before them.

His voice rang out.

"To everything, there is a season—"

"A time for every purpose under the sun."

"A time to love. A time to hate."

"A time for war."

His eyes burned.

His voice grew sharper.

"And now—"

"NOW IS THE TIME FOR WAR!"

The warriors roared.

Slammed their weapons against their shields.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

"NOW IS THE TIME TO HATE!"

Bang.

"THIS IS THE TIME FOR BLOOD!"

Bang.

Bang.

The sound was deafening.

Emir raised a hand, silencing them.

Then, low and steady—

"I need section three to be watched carefully. Forward knowledge is everything."

"I need the factories to burn, day and night."

"Most of all… I require you. My men. My strong, fighting men."

"Because that is what it will take to save us."

"The blood of man."

A pause.

Then—

"So I command you all—pick a side and bleed."

The warriors cheered.

No hesitation.

No fear.

Only iron resolve.

"Battle awaits."

"Many of you will die."

"But your legends will live on."

"Children will act out your tales."

"Men will fear your names."

"Women will honor your glory."

"For this… is the legend of the NORTH!"

The warriors roared once more.

And war marched forward.