The Fifth God

There it was again—that same feeling as before. As if their consciousness had been torn from their bodies.

Moments later, a rift tore through the air and flung Ashfall, Lira, and B-Day outward.

They landed in a dense jungle filled with strange flora. Unlike the trees on Aethra Prime—with their ordinary green leaves and brown bark—these ones were entirely different: black bark, glowing spots, and crimson foliage made the forest feel almost alive...

Something about them just felt... wrong.

"Whoa! What's up with these trees?" B-Day asked, cautiously touching one of the trunks.

"We're not on Aethra Prime anymore. Why should the trees look the same?" Lira replied—surprisingly.

B-Day stared at her, stunned. "Y-you answered me…?" He turned to Ashfall and whispered, "I don't think that's really Lira."

Lira clenched her fist, ready to punch him.

Ashfall chuckled, activating his suit's camouflage. His armor shimmered into a black-and-red pattern that blended perfectly into the environment.

"We've got 58 minutes and a handful of seconds left—let's move," Ashfall said, drawing his pistol and getting into formation.

"How do we know where to go?" B-Day asked, syncing his armor's color scheme with Ashfall and Lira's.

"Your watches show our remaining time, location, and the path to the exit. Just turn the dial as if you were setting the time and follow the hour hand." Ashfall demonstrated—and the hour hand glowed red, pointing toward twelve.

The others followed suit and saw the same result.

Without hesitation, they moved across the crimson-leaf-covered ground, deeper into the forest of glowing trees.

Eventually, the canopy thinned, and a piercing red light flooded down through the treetops.

"Is that the sun of this world?" B-Day asked.

"Yeah. The suns here bathe everything in blood-red light."

"Suns? Plural?" B-Day and Lira asked in unison.

"You two really are in sync," Ashfall said. "Yes—two suns take turns lighting this world. That's why there's no night. The weak sunlight allows only these specific plants to grow."

"I'm in sync with her?! Never happening," B-Day scoffed.

Crack.

A sudden noise behind them. Instantly, all three raised their weapons, instincts kicking in.

"Shh," Ashfall whispered, raising a finger to his lips. He crept toward the sound, silenced pistol raised.

He pushed aside a red bush and spotted a small creature—about half his height. It resembled a rabbit, but with none of the cuteness. White, steel-hard tentacle-like hairs pierced through a giant insect as the creature methodically devoured it.

He motioned to Lira and B-Day, who approached carefully.

"I've never seen anything like that," Lira muttered in disgust as the creature tore the insect apart and selectively ate only certain parts.

Suddenly, the creature's head snapped 180 degrees. Its spider-like face, dripping with bug blood, clicked its mandibles menacingly.

Then came more—first a few, then dozens, then hundreds of the same twisted creatures, crawling out of the underbrush and advancing toward them.

"I think it's time we ran!" B-Day shouted, sprinting in the direction of their target.

Ashfall and Lira followed instantly. The tentacle-furred monsters gave chase.

"Commander Ashfall didn't give any order! You can't just run off!" Lira shouted mid-sprint.

"Not really the best time to argue about protocol!" B-Day snapped, picking up speed as the creatures closed in.

Lira glanced at Ashfall, who gave a quick nod—permission granted.

After an exhausting sprint, they burst into an open clearing.

Even under the dull red sun, they had to squint from the brightness.

The creatures halted at the treeline, mandibles clicking hungrily, but none dared step into the open.

"I—I think we made it…" B-Day collapsed into the red grass, gasping.

Ashfall sat beside him and checked his watch. Eleven minutes had passed.

"Is this job always this stressful?" B-Day asked, still trying to catch his breath.

"You acted without orders," Lira said, standing over him without even panting. Her tone was stern.

"She's right," Ashfall added, holstering his pistol. "Any other commander would've ended your career right here—right call or not."

"But you acted on instinct. It was the right move. Still, you'll be held accountable for disobeying orders."

He pointed to the small recording devices embedded in their armor—streaming everything live to an unknown Death Squad facility.

Suddenly, B-Day understood why Lira had yelled at him so much. She was trying to protect him.

Lira and Ashfall extended their hands and helped him up.

"Understood, sir," B-Day said, nearly tearing up.

"Why are you crying now?!" Lira asked, wide-eyed.

"I-it's just… nice. You were trying to protect me."

"Tsk. Too soft."

"Oh come on! Talking to you is like arguing with a wall. And I'm not even saying you're a rock!"

Their bickering resumed until Ashfall pointed at the live cameras.

"Didn't I just say something about that?"

They went silent and followed him across the flat terrain to a nearby hill.

At the top, a massive crater revealed itself—within it, a vast settlement built from the same black-glowing wood as the forest.

"That must be the center of this world…" B-Day said. His suit generated a helmet and zoomed in.

Ashfall and Lira checked their watches—the signal confirmed their objective was here.

"I see thousands of people down there—and in the center plaza, someone's giving a speech!" B-Day reported.

The others focused their visors on the scene.

"That man… he stands out," Lira observed. "His clothing is far more advanced than the rest. He's the only one wearing real fabric."

"We sneak in and listen," Ashfall said, adjusting his armor to mimic the white fur clothing of the locals.

B-Day did the same. Lira hesitated for a moment, visibly uncomfortable.

"What's this? The perfect soldier refusing an order?" B-Day teased.

Irritated, she complied. To her surprise, the disguise was remarkably convincing—it looked like normal everyday clothing.

"We've used up over 15 minutes. Let's investigate the speech and gather information."

"What if we don't find anything?" B-Day asked, glancing at his watch—now shaped like a shell bracelet.

"As you should've learned in training," Ashfall began, "our job is information gathering. If we find nothing, another team follows using our data. And so on, until Death Squad has enough proof to act."

"Oh. Got it."

"You weren't listening, were you?"

"Nope."

Lira kicked him in the stomach, sending him doubling over.

"Focus," Ashfall interrupted. "No attention drawn to us. Got it?"

They approached a stilted hut near the town's edge.

"If anything goes wrong—meet at the forest's edge behind the hill. No matter what, we head for the exit at minute 55," Ashfall said, eyes locked on theirs.

"Yes, sir," both replied, realizing every second mattered.

They merged with a group of locals heading toward the central square.

Together, they moved across the rocky terrain into the crowded plaza.

"DO NOT BELIEVE IN ALL FOUR GODS! THERE IS BUT ONE TRUE RULER!" the speaker shouted at the stunned crowd.

"WORSHIP THE TRUE MASTER, AND ALL MISFORTUNE WILL BE KEPT AT BAY!"

The villagers didn't understand, but they listened in silence.

Suddenly, something massive eclipsed the sun.

A deafening screech filled the air—a gargantuan bird, nearly as large as the settlement itself, landed at the crater's edge. Its arrival alone destroyed part of the city.

Its enormous, muscular form blocked the sun entirely. Then it folded its glowing white wings and waited like a divine presence, the red sunlight casting a majestic glow across its feathers.

"W-what is that…?" B-Day stared in awe.

The villagers began singing a hymn and bowed toward the creature. The trio copied them to avoid drawing attention.

"Probably a native beast—but who could control something that powerful?" Lira whispered as she bowed.

Suddenly, two figures leapt from the bird's back, descending toward the plaza.

They landed before the speaker with an explosive thud.

Radiating power, they spoke in unison:

"What are you doing with OUR property in OUR domain?!"