White Turn to Move

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Wyvernwing 3rd, Caelumoria, Caelumoria's West Outskirts, 1:12 PM.

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"General, team Hiro has taken care of all the enemy airships and flying units. Over," shouted an eighth-ranked soldier as he glided through the air.

"Copy that. We just need to destroy that building now. Everyone, return to the airships and stay away from the target," the general ordered as he landed on the ground.

'It's been a while. I hope this old man is still able to do it,' the general thought to himself.

"Oh, he's going to do that thing?" asked a 12th-ranked soldier as soon as he arrived on the airship.

"All twenty members are aboard the airships, General. Over," reported a 15th-ranked soldier.

"System stance..." The general muttered.

The general plunged his right metal arm into the ground, emitting a bright red light.

"MORS..."

"DE..."

"SUPERNIS!" The general shouted.

"Welcome back, Sky Hunter," a mechanized voice replied from the sky.

"Ah, there it is. I'm still worthy," the general sighed in relief.

"Locating coordinates... Coordinates located."

"Calculating radius... Radius calculated."

"Launching 'Death from Above' in..." the mechanized voice announced.

"Ten... Nine... Eight..." The countdown began.

"Oh, there's the countdown," a 19th-ranked soldier said.

"We better move this airship faster or we might get burned from the impact," added an 11th-ranked soldier.

"Seven... Six... Five..." The countdown continued.

"I've heard about the myth, but I've never seen the real deal," a 9th-ranked soldier said.

"Four... Three... Two..." The countdown approached its end.

"Yeah, we're lucky enough to have General Orion join us a week ago," a 15th-ranked soldier remarked.

"One... Zero... Death from above!" all the soldiers said in unison.

As the countdown reached zero, a visible sound erupted from the sky, and a bright shade of white, tinged with hues of blue and violet, illuminated the surroundings as if there was another sun.

"Whoa, look!" a tenth-ranked soldier exclaimed, pointing upwards.

"Everyone, close your eyes and cover them with your hands, or you will end up blind," the general shouted.

With a sudden burst of light, the beam was shot forward toward the enemy base, leaving a trail of energy in its wake.

The ground shook as the beam impacted the enemy base, unleashing a torrent of destructive energy that engulfed the entire structure.

The soldiers on the airship watched in awe and horror as the base was consumed in a bright, blinding flash of light.

When the light cleared, all that was left was a massive crater, surrounded by a field of smoldering debris.

The soldiers on the airship watched in stunned silence, amazed by the full power of the general's magic as it was revealed before their eyes.

Their ears were still ringing from the impact, but the general was unaffected and had taken the laser head-on without any injury.

As he walked towards the ruins of the enemy base, he spotted a peculiar-looking rock.

"Hmm? What's th-" The general was cut off mid-sentence as the rock emitted a blinding yellow light.

"Ah, that's hot," he muttered as he dropped the rock back into the ruins of the enemy base.

But as soon as he tried to pick it up again, the rock shot up a burst of light into the sky.

"Are you guys looking at this? Doesn't that look like a constellation? I forgot its name, but it looks like two stick figures holding each other's hands," he remarked.

Before anyone could respond, the rock suddenly exploded and the sky returned to normal.

"I should tell the captain about this, but I don't know how to formally write a message. I'm going to ask one of the soldiers to do it for me," the general thought to himself.

He activated his wind glider and returned to the airship.

As soon as he arrived, the soldiers were still lying on the ground, covering their ears.

"You guys okay?" the general asked, casually.

They did not respond.

He decided to wait for a while.

After what seemed to be an hour, Mei, a second-ranked soldier, got up and asked the general about the mission.

"General, did we complete our mission?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes. You're finally awake. Can you write a message for me?" the general asked.

"What? I can't hear you. Is the engine too loud?" she shouted.

The general sighed. "I guess you still need to lie down."

"Huh? Can you repeat what you are saying, general?" she shouted again.

Orion looked at each soldier and noticed that Hiro, the highest-ranked soldier, was pretending to be asleep.

"Hmm... Someone is going to their deathbed early," the general whispered to himself, noticing Hiro's feigned slumber.

Sweat beads formed on Hiro's forehead as he overheard the comment.

"Wakey, WAKEY!" the general kicked Hiro in the torso.

"FUCK! Fine, what do you want?" Hiro groaned as he immediately stood up.

"Write me a message," the general instructed.

"Hah!? Ask Mei for that," Hiro replied.

"She can't hear my command," the general explained.

"Just use sign language," Hiro said, communicating to Mei using a form of sign language.

"My... My... The general? With me? But I'm already thirty years old, General. You should find someone younger," Mei blushed.

"Hiro! What did you tell her?" the general shouted.

"HAHAHA! She wants to give her virginity to you," Hiro laughed.

"Just tell her to make a message, you fucking useless first-ranker," the general said, grabbing Hiro's throat.

"Alright, alright, let me go," Hiro wheezed, signaling Mei to write the general a message using sign language.

"Aww... So that was a lie? I hate you, Hiro," pouted Mei, giving him a playful punch that did no harm.

"General, you should have just told me that earlier," she continued.

"What kind of message do you want me to write?" Mei asked.

"Tell her that I want to inform the captain that the mission was a success and that there was a bright light emanating from the ruins to the sky that appeared like two stick figures holding hands. Request team Sigma to investigate it," the general said.

"Are you high or smoking crack?" Hiro asked the general.

"Just tell her that, damn it," the general replied.

"Jeez," Hiro sighed as he signaled Mei to write down the message content.

"Hmm? Alright," Mei said cheerfully as she clapped her hands and began to write the message.

...

...

...

"Mhm, it's done, here, general," Mei said as she give the letter to the general.

"Alright, let me read it first." The general said.

"Dear Captain,

I wanted to inform you that we have successfully taken down the enemy base in the west. Your hard work and dedication have been essential to our efforts to defend our nation and bring the war to a close.

However, I must also inform you that something unusual occurred after the base was destroyed. There was a sudden burst of light emanating from the ruins into the sky, which appeared to form the shape of two stick figures standing next to each other, holding hands.

As such, I am requesting that you send Team Sigma to conduct a thorough investigation of the area surrounding the base as soon as possible. While we do not yet know the cause of the burst of light, there may be hidden dangers or unknown factors that could impact our mission.

I have complete faith in your skills and experience, and I am confident that together we can uncover the truth behind this strange occurrence. Please keep me updated on any developments or findings, and let us remain focused on our ultimate goal of protecting and defending the land.

We will be back before sunset.

Sincerely,

Orion Sky Hunter." The message read.

"Impressive, I'll send this to the captain." The general thanked Mei.

"HIRO!" The general shouted.

"What now?" Hiro replied, annoyed.

"Summon your raven and send this to the captain."

"What a pain," Hiro grumbled.

Hiro pressed his hand to the airship's floor and spoke, "System pact, Corvus Noctis." A shadow emerged and took the form of a raven. The bird had pure black feathers that blended with the shadows, and its right eye shone a bright red in the light.

"You know, I can see what the raven sees with my right eye. It's so annoying," Hiro complained.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Tie this to its leg," the general said.

Hiro fastened the message to the raven's leg and commanded it, "There you go. Fly and deliver this as fast as possible."

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Wyvernwing 3rd, Caelumoria, Zodiac Warriors' Strategy Room, 4:36 PM.

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"Asterius De Astraia," Maya said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I still remember what he said that time, I grabbed the sword without thinking twice." Maya thought to herself.

...

...

...

"Once you pick the sword..."

"You will be known as..."

"Maya Starblade."

As Maya reached for the swords, one of them transformed into an image of her father, his lower half shrouded in shadows.

"How... why are you here?" Maya's voice quivered as she spoke, her heart pounding with shock and confusion.

"Because you grabbed the sword, you awakened my long-lost soul," he replied calmly, stretching his body as he spoke.

"No..." Maya muttered, her mind struggling to comprehend what was happening.

"Ho, it's good to be back," he continued, a faint smile on his lips.

"Why are you..."

"...alive?"