Chapter Text
Breathing heavily, Jiyan sheathed his blade, the last Tacet Discord dissolving at last. Even after the events of the Everlasting Night, the TDs remained stronger than usual, and Tacet Fields seemed to pop up alarmingly fast. His job seemed to be one never-ending battle.
Sighing, he returned his Terminal to his person and gazed out at the area around him. A wretched battlefield this land was, the once exalted Dessorock Highlands. He was desolated in a barren wasteland, only the distant roars of Spearbacks, and the faint jingle of Tambourinists met his ears.
Despite his transgressions, a gut feeling something bad was coming, Jiyan pressed forward into the emptiness. Duty calls, after all, and it was his responsibility to ensure no fallen soldiers were left behind amidst the chaos.
There was little variation in the terrain this far from civilization. Jiyan took comfort in the military markers soldiers had left out over the course of various expeditions. The morning light reflected off the metal, creating a familiarity with the strange atmosphere.
As he trudged on, Jiyan made certain to keep aware of his geographical position. It would not serve him to get lost this far out. Brittle grass crunched underfoot as he made his way to the next marker. It read 07’-338’92 - coordinates that would make zero sense to anyone outside the rigorous training of Huanglong’s Midnight Rangers. As he stood, the General knew he was on track to complete his full route.
As he made his way to the next marker, the solemn route was broken by a shark shriek full of human terror. Whirling around, Jiyan saw the source of the sound- an injured soldier was held pinned by a Havoc Warrior, two Electro Predators hovering menacingly around. Even from a distance, Jiyan could see his soldier was on the verge of unconsciousness and had a near-fatal wound on his torso.
Brandishing his spear, Jiyan raced over, swiping viciously at the first Electro Predator. The other shrieked, whipping out its bow, aiming directly at Jiyan. He made quick work of the first, slowed only by his dodging of the others’ attacks.
Just as the TD faded into an echo, blinding pain erupted across his arm. Jiyan realized that in his brief moment of false victory with the defeat of the first, he had let his guard down just enough for the Electro Predator to get a shot in.
Hissing, his arm throbbed with lingering jolts of electricity. He would have to change his grip to compensate for the loosening muscles.
After that, Jiyan took extra care to dodge all the purple attacks, not knowing if he could overtake the Havoc Warrior that still lay in wait while he was at a lesser strength. Summoning his dragon, he made another swipe at the Electro Predator, narrowly missing it. It made a noise as if it were cackling with delight at his slip-ups. Cursing, Jiyan dodged another attack. He made sure to get an opening for a follow-up attack, and his dragon at last managed to knock down the TD. As it faded into an echo, he turned to the final obstacle in his way of helping his soldier: the Havoc Warrior.
Now that he was closer to the soldier, Jiyan could see the extreme amount of blood that had been lost- it pooled around his body, and his breathing was slowing drastically. Jiyan would give 10 minutes before the soldier was lost for good.
He shifted his attention to the TD captor. It growled, holding tight to its captive. From speculation, it seemed to know Jiyan wanted to save him. And the TD wasn’t willing to relent. This would be a tricky rescue. Somehow, Jiyan needed to get the beast to drop the soldier.
He willed his dragon to attack the TD’s legs, the point farthest from the soldier. The beast was too concerned with its captive to stop the attack from finding its mark. Roaring in pain, the Havoc Warrior released the soldier, his body dropping to the ground with a dull thud.
Relieved the two were finally separated, Jiyan attacked the beast full-force, his dragon more than happy to have full range and easy access. Though the beast fought back, Jiyan held strong and managed to dodge all attacks. The throbbing in his arm had faded as the raw electro energy had subsided.
The beast faded into an echo.
Panting, Jiyan sheathed his spear, turning to his soldier as quickly as he could.
The man lay curled into the fetal position, arms wrapped tightly around his wounded torso as he breathed slowly, chest rising weakly.
“Soldier. Report your name and condition,” Jiyan ordered as he knelt beside him.
The man’s voice was weak as he stuttered through his answer. “Orpheus Leiden, sir. Was separated from my unit in a fight,” he was cut off as a raucous cough forced its way from deep within his chest. “I’ve been stranded for two days, and have been injured in critical condition for nearly an hour, sir.”
Carefully, Jiyan moved the soldier’s hands away from the wound to inspect it better. He cursed mentally as he saw it was, in fact, critical, and his earlier estimation of 10 minutes may even have been generous. Blood pooled around it, forming a crimson sea in the previously bone-dry soil. The entirety of the soldier’s uniform was stained, and ragged tears ripped through the fabric around the wound.
Shutting his eyes, Jiyan sat back. “You have fought well, Soldier. I pray thee safe return to Knell Square. May you lie in peace with the Emortia.” He opened his eyes at the last word of his blessing and saw the young soldier staring up at him, tears flowing silently.
Jiyan felt a rock sink to the bottom of his stomach. Soldiers always were the same as they finally understood the significance of Knell Square’s samsara. They all eventually understood it was the end of their career as soldiers of the Midnight Rangers.
Weakly, the soldier raised a hand to clasp at Jiyan’s with all his remaining strength. “Please, General,” he breathed, light already fading from his eyes, “in my pocket, is a letter, addressed to my unit. Please, deliver it for me.”
With his final request made, his strength was lost completely, as his hand fell soundly to the earth. The last of the light faded from his eyes as his chest stilled one last time.
Jiyan lowered his head, allowing a moment of silence for his fallen comrade.
Once his emotions were collected at last, he reached for the pocket sewn into the soldier’s uniform. Unzipping the pocket, Jiyan found the requested document, as well as the soldier’s identification card. Pocketing both, he stood up.
Eyes dry and heart firm, Jiyan set about performing the regulatory field funerary service.
Not an hour later, the task was complete, the lingering char on the ground and in the air the only indicators of what had happened.
He made his way to the next coordinate marker and continued mindlessly fulfilling his job. Locate marker, spot TDs, kill TDs, check surroundings, and repeat.
Before the sun had reached noon, Jiyan was forced to pause as his Terminal buzzed, warning of an incoming transmission. As soon as Jiyan accepted the call, the hologram of a familiar researcher displayed before him, red hair and a white lab coat standing only slightly out of place in front of the yellowed grass.
“Mortefi,” Jiyan greeted, “to what do I owe this unexpected summons?”
“General, I heard you were still dispatched to the Dessorock Highlands. In light of the immense data we were able to collect from the events of the Everlasting Night, I took it upon myself to further research into the lasting effects of the Retroact Rain on the landscape,” Mortefi explained. “It is my hope that you would be willing to assist with my data collection while you are there.”
Jiyan breathed a huff of laughter. Though he worked with Mortefi often, it had admittedly been some time since it was the researcher calling the shots. “Is that so? Well then, I suppose I can help, as you were a great aid in our last battle. What exactly would you require of me?”
“Nothing too crazy, fret not. All I require for now is the collection of some local flora, a few TD echos, and some first-hand accounts of overall environmental details. Is that something you are capable of completing whilst on duty?”
Nodding, Jiyan agreed easily. “Yes, that should be doable. Is there a due date for this assignment?”
A chuckle was heard from the other end. “No, just bring the samples to the Academy as soon as possible.”
“Will do, Researcher. Ending transmission.” With his sign-off, the Terminal shut down, and the floating hologram of Mortefi faded. Even after, Jiyan found a slight smile still painted on his lips.
Though the new assignment was unexpected, Jiyan figured it would be easy enough to complete, as well as a pleasant distraction from less positive events. As he would be traversing the land for the rest of the day as is, it wouldn’t be much effort to collect a few flowers as he did so.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a cluster of Terraspawn Fungus peeking out from a crack in the earth. With his first target spotted, Jiyan made his way to complete his new task.
Hours passed in a comfortable routine; fight some TDs, collect their echos, stoop down to grab some flowers, and repeat. It was mindless work, really, allowing time for the General to go over the thoughts that had followed him. It took something out of him to wonder how that fallen soldier from earlier, Orpheus, had been stranded from his unit, exactly.
Jiyan’s fingers itched to read the letter he was given for any clues, but refrained, as it was the barest minimum of his moral code to fulfill a fallen soldier's last wish. It is his job to deliver the letter, and nothing more. That is his duty, he must not stray from it.
Jiyan found himself having to remind himself of this countless times as he finished his patrol route, the sun low in the sky, just about to set. He looked out once more over the barren landscape, glowing soft orange with the dull light. He had made great progress today, both with his military duties and with his request from Mortefi.
With a final survey of his surroundings, Jiyan activated his Terminal and teleported to the Resonance Beacon at the base at Norfall Pass. Before he would let himself file any reports or deliver flowers to Mortefi, Jiyan decided he would pay a visit to Orpheus’ unit. It was only right, after all, to pay one’s respects.
Jiyan steeled himself. It was never a fun time meeting with the team of a fallen soldier. He knew too well the immense loss they would feel, and the guilt at having left him behind, intentional or not. It was not an easy task. Alas, this is the life of the General of the Midnight Rangers. Jiyan has never held any false illusions that his job was easy.
He just hoped Mortefi would still be at the Academy once he was done. He had meetings tomorrow morning and did not want to deal with both researchers and co-workers on the same day.
Sucking in a deep breath, Jiyan put one foot in front of the other and headed to the barracks to find Unit 99036.