Nightreign

Suddenly glancing upward, the present Dawn found herself now a few meters away from a massive circular ring of fire.

Yet, through the flames, Dawn spotted countless shadowy figures standing deadly still within the ring...seemingly waiting.

Without a second of hesitation, she covered her face with her metal sleeves and sprinted forward, her iron chest plate and armor protecting all of her body but her long hair.

As Dawn leaped through the fire ring, countless flames appeared on the ends of her clean white hair and spread upward like a plague.

Yet, as she intentionally landed head first on the ground, her hair brushing against the rough sand, the flames were quickly extinguished.

Within those few moments, the damage had already been done, though.

Dawn's white hair, which used to stretch down to her waist, was now transformed into a rough bob cut that ended at her jawline, with ragged and varying lengths around the ends.

Ignoring her new haircut, she immediatly glanced upward...and there she saw it.

A crimson-red crystal, like a beacon of light in this darkness-filled world, stood before her, encapsulating all her hopes and dreams.

This was it...the first step on her path.

However, in front of that crystal lay a squadron of about ten soldiers, each armed with an iron sword and a full set of armor.

Soldiers of the Star Emperor...or Nebulites.

Dawn immediately recognized there was no chance she would win a fight, even considering the messy formation the soldiers were in.

As she stood up, the soldier's previously motionless star-shaped pupils suddenly flicked upward, making contact with Dawn's normal white eyes.

They were...like zombies.

They didn't move or say anything to her...they just waited with their backs to the blood-red crystal.

Did not one of them have a single bit of ambition left in their hearts...?

If any of them wanted to...they could simply turn and touch the end crystal, gaining unimaginable power and becoming a Lunite.

Soulless cowards...are they even human!?

No...to be human, one must have the will to live.

These soldiers had already accepted their death.

Letting out a sigh, Dawn took a step forward, raising her sword.

A high-ranking member of Star Emperor's clan was most likely on their way to claim this crystal, so there wasn't much time.

Yet, as Dawn gazed at the ten soldiers before her, she felt sympathy.

She had been like that once...simply waiting to die.

Of course, she hadn't intentionally tried to die like them, but it was similar enough.

However, she had found her passion.

Her reason for wanting to become a Lunite.

Her reason for every single action, step, and thing she did in this world.

Raising her shining white sword to the sky, illuminating her figure and the area around her, Dawn calmly opened her mouth.

"Defect Nebulites."

And as those words echoed throughout the empty area...Dawn saw it.

A sign of life.

One soldier's pupils suddenly flickered to the right, another soldier's fist suddenly trembled, and a third soldier suddenly took a deep breath, as if bracing for something.

Taking a deep breath as well, Dawn recalled her childhood.

More specifically, her countless chivalry and speaking classes, which she had to endure for 7 hours a day for years.

Mimicking the commanding tone she had not used since her time with the Saturn Castle, Dawn opened her mouth.

"Your Emperor has abandoned you. He has ordered you to die. He lies to you."

Dawn's voice cut through the air in almost-visible sound waves and bombarded the soldier's ears.

Her vocal cords had been trained to speak for more time than these soldiers had even touched a sword.

The harsh and strict tone immediatly took the soldiers by shock.

Some staggered and almost fell forward, thankfully not backward onto the crystal, while others inadvertently dropped their swords and raised their hands to cover their ears from the deafening and commanding voice.

All of them wondered one thing.

"Was this truly the voice...of this small girl in front of me?"

Dawn was now a small and nice bunny wearing an aggressive and scary bear suit.

Slicing her sword through the air with a whistling sound following, Dawn pointed the tip of her shining relic at the soldiers.

Now their bodies were illuminated. The soldiers could look down...and see their legs, their feet, their knees.... their body.

Something did not belong to any emperor or ruler, but to themselves.

Raising her voice higher, Dawn continued, turning from talking normally to all-out yelling like a general commanding their soldiers.

"YOUR RICH EMPERORS GROW RICHER WHILE YOU DIE IN THE DESERT."

"THEY WILL GIVE YOU A MEDAL, NEBULITES...ONLY AFTER YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD."

Now casually strolling forward with no sign of weakness or hostility, Dawn lowered her sword and waved her free left hand at the soldiers like a friend...greeting a friend.

Lowering her voice to a soft whisper, she sympathetically spoke again, emphasizing certain words with a higher voice.

"Poor Nebulite...your Emperor will leave you behind."

"He made you fight this battle, Nebulite. He does not care about you, Nebulite. He has betrayed you. He will leave you to rot in this desert."

Faced with Dawn's words and approaching figure, some soldiers raised their swords, trembling with fear, while others...simply remained still, as if processing her words.

Dawn, unfazed, walked directly before one soldier with her sword by her side and gazed right at his face, paying no attention to his raised sword that was nearly centimeters from her face.

"Defect, Nebulite. It is a very good idea to leave a sinking ship."

*CLANG*

The soldier instantly dropped to his knees, letting his sword bang against the rough sand.

Standing still with the soldier at her knees, Dawn shifted her gaze from one soldier's face to another, making eye contact with each of the nine remaining Nebulites.

Raising her sword to the sky, once again, and illuminating her body, Dawn yelled out, using every ounce of strenght to vibrate her vocal cords to the maximum.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST ACT OF DEFIANCE! MAKE SURE HE DOES NOT FORGET YOU, NEBULITE. DIE AS A REBEL, NOT A COWARD."