On a wild grassy hill not far from Eldenrest village, the gentle evening light fell upon two figures lying close together.
Keal lay on his side, gently holding Lyra in his arms. The wind softly brushed through his messy black hair, while Lyra's orange-red strands lightly caressed his cheek like feathers.
Before them, the tiny village lay perfectly within view—wooden houses with smoke rising, the flickering light of fires from the village square in the distance, and the slow rhythm of dancing drums seemed to echo all the way up to the hill.
"I wish time would just stay like this forever…" – Lyra whispered, resting her head on Keal's chest.
"Yeah." – Keal replied, his voice choked.
He wasn't good with words, especially in moments like these. But he squeezed her hand, letting Lyra feel—that he didn't need to say anything… he would always be there for her.
After a moment of silence, Keal suddenly asked:
"Do you want to… leave the village someday? I mean… if we had the chance."
Lyra chuckled:
"You want to leave Eldenrest? The man who swore he'd beat up anyone who touched his village is planning to go?"
"Well… I have a heart too, you know." – Keal scratched his head, looking away.
"We could build a small house somewhere. Near the forest, near water. You like foxes, I'll raise a few. In the morning, I'll go hunting, you'll stay home and bake… then at night, we'll lie like this, watching the moon."
Lyra didn't reply. She looked at Keal for a long time, then gently stroked his hair, smiling:
"I agree."
Keal's heart pounded.
He had killed Goblins without a blink, nearly died rushing into a beast's lair alone, been scolded by Sann for not listening… but he had never trembled like this before.
⸻
Suddenly…
A faint cold breeze swept past. Keal blinked, feeling something was off.
He raised his head. In the distant horizon—where the sky turned deep violet with the twilight—something was flying.
"Hmm…"
A black speck, long and thin, was moving very slowly across the sky… then gradually heading towards Eldenrest. It didn't look like a bird. Not like a hot air balloon. It was silent, but there was something unnerving radiating from its shape.
Keal squinted.
"Lyra. What do you see there?"
Lyra opened her eyes, turning to look in the direction Keal was pointing.
"Ah… it's probably just some tricks from the highlanders' mages. Those summoned objects flying around for show."
"It's nothing dangerous, right?"
"No. They always test all sorts of things every season. Don't overthink it." – She pulled him back down to lie beside her.
"Don't let strange things ruin our first date."
⸻
Keal still looked up at the sky, his eyes doubtful. But then he turned to Lyra.
"Yeah… probably."
And they hugged each other tighter under the fading light.
Far away, the black speck silently drifted… sunlight reflecting faintly off a cold, metallic surface.
Night fell on Eldenrest like any other night.
The fire from the village square still burned brightly, red embers dancing with laughter and chatter. The grilled meat feast was not yet over. The scent of seasoned wild boar ribs spread throughout the village. The children, after their dance, still ran around, holding half-burnt bamboo sticks like tiny warriors.
No one knew… that tonight's sky no longer belonged to them.
"Click… click… Zzzzzzzzz…"
A sound like metal tapping, mixed with electrical static, soft as a mosquito… echoed from the air.
No one heard it clearly. Only a few dogs in the village began barking madly, tails tucked, eyes wide and staring towards the eastern sky.
"BOOM…!"
The ground trembled slightly.
Sann—sitting and sipping wine by the fire—immediately looked up. The alcohol haze vanished. His eyes swept across the village.
"Everyone's quiet…?"
Too quiet. The children stopped running. The laughter died down. Some adults were looking up at the sky.
From behind the mountain range—a gigantic, teardrop-shaped flying object, nearly 100 meters long, with a silver-blue hull—silently drifted down like a ghost.
It made no sound other than a deep hum in the air, like the universe's groan.
As it approached, glowing symbols began to appear on its hull—characters that belonged to no language of this world.
And then—it stopped directly above the center of the village.
"WHIRRR—CLACK—ZZZAP!"
A circle of light appeared beneath the ship's belly. Six rotating energy columns separated and opened a path downwards in mid-air.
From within that light… six dark figures descended.
"WHOOSH—WHOOSH—WHOOSH!!"
They didn't fall, but hovered, landing on the ground with an unsettling smoothness.
They were creatures in full-body armor, glowing blue and violet, their armor like hardened liquid, with energy veins running all over them.
They were taller than ordinary humans, carrying weapons of unknown shape—like plasma guns but without barrels—only glowing green energy cores like artificial hearts.
One figure in the center activated a comm device, an electronically distorted voice echoing:
"Confirmed Class C residential area. Proceed with collection phase. Objective: native biological entities—alive. Brain intact."
"Gamma team acknowledged."
They began to act.
No warning. No sign of negotiation.
Green energy beams shot out—each beam piercing straight through the chests of the villagers, making them collapse, trembling and convulsing, then gasping their last breaths in agony.
"Aaaaaah! Help me—!"
"Monsters! They're killing people!!"
"Run—RUN NOW—!!!"
The adults began to resist. Some held axes. Some threw stones. Some bravely charged forward with a crude knife.
But it was all in vain.
They were not slow—each movement swift, precise like machinery. The one with the axe was blasted back three meters, blood spurting like a fountain. The one who charged with a knife was shocked until their entire body was charred black before collapsing.
"ZZZZZZZZ—THWACK!!"
An energy net shot from a soldier's wrist, wrapping tightly around three villagers and pulling them into the air like fish caught on a hook. Cries, screams, and wails echoed throughout the village.
From afar on the hill, Keal was holding Lyra in his arms, still lost in a gentle dream.
Then he saw a green light flash.
He bolted upright.
"That's—… no way…"
He saw fire. Smoke. Figures being pulled into the sky. And most importantly—the village was under attack.
"LYRA!!! BACK TO THE VILLAGE NOW!!"
Lyra froze, unable to react before Keal lifted her and dashed away like a gust of wind. He ran, gasping for breath, his eyes wide, his heart pounding as if it would explode.
⸻
In the center of the village…
Sann stepped out from the firelight.
His eyes showed no panic. Only a deadly silence.
He clenched his fists tightly. Each joint cracked dryly.
"What… are you things…?"
No one replied.
An energy beam swept towards him—he tilted his head slightly, dodging it without fear.
The wind died down. Smoke billowed. The battle was about to begin.