Round 46: Snow

Two days have passed since the Battle of Hellgate Fortress.
After returning, Eirwen sequestered herself inside her home, leaving the affairs of the elven city in Telis’s hands. Elder Uther set off for the tribe of the tree elves at the foot of Star and Moon Peak in the Northern Sleepforest, determined to explain this great disaster to the enraged tree elves.
Jorais acted as the acting leader of the night elves, rushing to reorganize their defenses in preparation for Agus’s next attack, whose timing was unknown. The elves had lost one of their barriers, while the empire had lost a commander.
Milia stood on a wooden platform by a lake in the elven city, silently watching the rippling water.
Shadows flickered in the forest across the lake—perhaps those of the surviving corrupted elves, wandering among the ruins of the city that would never again belong to them.
A loud wind blew behind her, lifting her golden hair.
“Hmm… little girl… where’s your companion, Jorson?” It was the first time Forty-Seven had appeared before her since returning from Hellgate Fortress, seemingly avoiding the busy and chaotic days that had followed.
Forty-Seven had grown even larger. Mysterious flames had repaired his body, which had been hollowed out by the loss of Melganis and other Pit Flesh. He now seemed to be a pure mechanical construct, with some demonic features—metallic horns, fangs, and claws. His large wings, formed during his fourth rebirth, were folded behind him like a black metal cloak.
“Jorson… he…” Milia stroked the long sword left by Anton at her waist, as if seeking strength and courage from it. “He’s dead. During the battle when Agus attacked Elder Uther’s village… a death ray hit him. I think he didn’t suffer… no.”
Forty-Seven remained silent. Old Anton valued this girl greatly… she had helped him drive away the Flame Monarch, and this debt had to be repaid.
Milia wiped her eyes, and something gray fell onto her hand. She rubbed it, and the ash-like fragments turned into fine dust in her palm.
Had it come from Hellgate Fortress?
She and Forty-Seven looked up. Ashes drifted down from the sky like snow.
They would also fall in other parts of the Northern Sleepforest. The ash flakes resembled the souls of the dead, carrying a cruel and indifferent beauty—as if falling in sorrow.
Chapter 4: The Empire’s Sunset