This story is part of the Wanderer series.
Up on the dark hill, the three colonels stood in rank, space out roughly a meter from each other. They gazed across the moonlit plains, where a fortress city rested on the steep mountains. Silhouetting the luminous city was the sleek and slender profile of the princess, arms brought together under the sleeves of her war robe and her long dark hair flowing with the wind.
“Tullius.”
The man to her right straightened. “Yes, Your Highness?”
“Have our men withdrawn?”
“Yes.”
“Very well.”
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in.
“It’s time to end this war.”
The brown-haired colonel observed her anxiously, looking like he had more to say. “Your Highness,” he began slowly. “Shall we dispatch one last ultimatum? The city would make a good resupply—”
“Spare your breath,” Katsuo gruffly interrupted. “We offered them a surrender. They declined. That is their answer.”
Still, Tullius looked like he had more to say, but spent all his might to hold his tongue. He reluctantly gazed forward, his face awashed with regret.
Miyako disregarded their exchange, keeping her eyes closed.
“Asahi,” she thought to herself. “I will finish your work.”
With one last breath, she opened her eyes, revealing two malevolent magenta moons. Three black arms swirled out of each pupil, spinning to a stop in unison. A burst of energy swept out from her as her silhouette suddenly glowed, sweeping across the plains and over the city. Shortly after, as her aura washed over, a twinkle of light appeared low in the sky above, bright white and magenta. Shining like a star brought down to the earth, it was joined by another twinkle further across the city. Then another, and another, as a line of ominous stars stretched across the length of the city’s footprint on the mountain, numbering about a dozen.
On the ground, citizens stared up in alarm and confusion. Loud yelling broke out, and the streets became lively as some rushed indoors while others came out, with lances or staves in hand. Miyako’s omnipresent gaze saw this, and yet she coldly progressed, accelerating her resonance to feed the malevolent stars. She kept her breaths steady and deliberate, allowing herself the time to channel all she could, knowing she could not be contested.
The three colonels watched from behind, their faces illuminated as the stars beyond grew bright enough to light up the night. Tullius gazed with muted horror, while the other, long purple-haired colonel wore a grim yet conflicted expression. Katsuo, crossed-armed in the center, remained stern-faced, fidgeting the fingers of one hand on his elbow guard. They all knew what the final outcome would be.
As the stars began to groan, Miyako exhaled one last time, and slowly closed her eyes, letting go. In a bright flash, the mountain simultaneously lit up, the night becoming bright as day for an instant. Then, the next instant, the light was swallowed by clouds of dust, rapidly expanding to engulf the mountain. A visible wave swept across the plains, followed by a loud boom once it reached the hill they were standing on.
The two flanking colonels flinched and took a step back as the explosion shook the earth. Katsuo, his silhouette glowing, resisted the force, not moving a stone’s length. Miyako’s hair waved wildly with the gust before falling back to her shoulders.
Opening her eyes, no longer glowing, she observed the city through the clouds of dust. Nothing but a roughly even layer of rubble remained. All semblances of buildings were gone, leaving the shapes of their foundations. Crumbles of debris tumbled down the slopes, continuously kicking up dust. A darkened earth was all that remained.
Keeping her aura in place, ready to relink with at any moment, she turned around and faced her men as her own and Katsuo’s silhouettes dimmed.
“Katsuo. Ready the First army. Ueki. Ready the Fourth.”
The two colonels expelled a brief affirmation and turned around. Miyako, moving her eyes to Colonel Tullius, silently stared at him for a brief instant. He froze, becoming tense.
“Ready the aid units,” she curtly ordered, moving past him. “I toppled the buildings. Not the earth.”
The colonel blinked, relieving his shoulders. “Yes, Your Highness.”