General Rivers and his troops rushed toward the Eastern Front.
Lieutenant Leroy and his injured men had barged into their camp late last night with urgent news, bidding them haste. While the company hastily decamped, the Lieutenant left first with the advance force.
As the company neared the clearing, General Rivers smelled it first: a noxious reek that stung the nose, constricted his throat, and churned his stomach.
Before them was an ocean of carnage; the soil itself was so saturated with blood that the viscous liquid muddied the landscape and pooled into sticky puddles. The innards of the disemboweled released into the air the vile scent of human waste, decay, and fear.
Clouds of insects ebbed and flowed over the undulating topography. Black agents of death—the carrion eaters, both beast and fowl—prowled among the dead, giving no care to the presence of the army, whereas the scavengers of war, who had been looting the field of iron and valuables, fled at first sight.
General Rivers and his men watched as Lieutenant Leroy madly plodded across the battlefield. He would only stop his advance to examine the faces of the fallen or to scramble after the beasts as they carried away their feast, all the while calling his captain's name.
The rest of the advance force trailed behind him, methodically working through the bodies.
Without another moment's waste, General Rivers ordered his men to assist the advance force with identifying those dead and alive. As the men emerged from the tree line, all at once, the battlefield erupted into groans of pain and screams for salvation.
There was no glory here, no honor.
There was no victory nor defeat.
There was simply the dead and the unfortunate who bore witness to them.
The sun had crawled out of the valley and drenched the open field in crimson light as the living were salvaged from the dead.
***
It had been a week since that raid on the Eastern Front. The corpse of the enemy general, Duke, was identified, the dead were buried or burned, and rewards and condolences were distributed.
Iker was yet to be found.
A year later, the war was concluded, and the Sargomon Empire, now unmarked on any map, became the last of many to fall before the might of Soalis.
Two years after the war, the nation settled into peace. Revolts subsided, and the Revolutionary Union slunk back into the shadows. The national currency stabilized, and the economy began to recover.
Then, seven months later, Iker returned.
Cassius Leroy was the first to hear of this. In an instant, he reported it to his father, and the two of them rushed for the outpost.
Cassius hadn't been without thought over the past several years. He imagined happy reunions, the first meeting in years; he imagined sad reunions, meeting face-to-face with an empty husk of a corpse; he imagined the resignation he would feel after decades of no contact or new leads, the feeling of saying goodbye without a goodbye.
But this...
This was different.
"Marshal Leroy, it's been a while," Iker greeted with a smile. "And Cassius. I heard you're a captain now."
Before the Leroys stood a man they could barely recognize.
The way he held himself, his frighteningly thinned frame, the burn scar that clawed up half of his neck, the ragged edge in his voice, the distanced way he viewed the world—it all belonged to a person they did not know.
And that smile, if that's what you could call it.
"You—" Cassius began.
"It has been a while, Iker," Marshal Leroy interrupted. "I'm glad you've returned."
"It's an honor to be in your presence again, Marshal."
"I'm sure we have much to discuss about the years you were away, but first, let's head home."
Iker hesitated for a moment before he smiled that smile again. "Yes, let's."
***
"Did you hear? Captain Iker has returned."
"Really!?"
"Shhh!"
"...Did you see him?"
"So that's why the lord and young lord were in such a hurry this morning."
"Did they return? Where are they now?"
"The drawing room. The young lady was so excited, I swear I could've heard her from the other side of the building."
"Who're you talking about?"
"You don't—? Right, you were hired right after the war."
"Sir Iker could be the lord's son if you consider how well our lord treats him."
"Not just the lord, the entire family."
"It's a pity he went missing during the war."
"True. The family..."
***
"Iker! You're back!" Aeris Leroy exclaimed as she burst into the room.
"Aeris, you've grown a lot," Iker responded with a smile. "How old are you now?"
She proudly lifted her fingers. "I'm ten!"
"You were so small the last time I saw you."
Aeris's excitement simmered. "Where were you this whole time?"
The room stilled.
"Aeris," Mrs. Leroy chided. "I told you not to ask that question."
"But why did he only come back now? Why doesn't anyone say—why doesn't anyone tell me anything?" Face flushed and fists clenched, she turned to face Iker. "Where were you? What happened to you? Why do you look—"
"Aeris—!"
"Why did you lie to me?!" Her chest heaved as she held back the tears. "You said you would be back soon—so why did it take you this long to return?!"
"Aeris!" Mrs. Leroy pulled her daughter aside. "I'm so sorry, Iker. I—"
"It's alright, Mrs. Leroy." Iker pulled out a minute box from his jacket and crouched down. "Here, Aeris, this is for you... I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. I'll apologize, okay?"
"..."
"...Evelyn, why don't you take Aeris with you and see what's for lunch?" Marshall Leroy spoke.
"Yes, I'll go do that. Come along, Aeris."
Evelyn Leroy hurried her daughter along until, at last, Aeris's hesitant footsteps led her out the door.
Marshal Leroy waited until their footsteps retreated down the hallway. "Iker. Do you have anything else you would like to say?"
"... No, sir."
"That's fine. Just know that I am here to listen whenever you are ready to speak."
Iker smiled. "I understand."
"Well then... Cassius, go show Iker to his room. Take this time to rest. Lunch will be ready soon."