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The blood-red haze before his eyes gradually dissipated. Ashur gasped and coughed, blood trickling down his chin. From the adjacent room came the frantic screams of Tao Kug, but not a single word could be made out – his ears were ringing, and his head felt like it was filled with lead. He struggled to his feet, but slipped in a pool of blood and fell to his knees. A hand, desperately seeking support, grabbed onto something, and a piece of fabric flew away. Glass crunched under his fingers, cutting them. Ashur looked at the crushed glasses clenched in his hand, and then at the lifeless face of Nikolai. Blood-soaked shards fell into his eyes, scattering into the open mouth in a silent, posthumous scream. He remembered the bright flash and the roar, and realized that the Pendulum was right – although his body, burning from the close-range shot, screamed that he should have lied.
From the entrance came a loud, alarming clang, as if someone was ringing a tocsin. Staggering, Ashur took a few steps on unsteady legs, but was overcome by another coughing fit and collapsed in the doorway. From here, he could see his comrades killing people in the armor of the city guard. He didn't understand what was happening – after all, they were the ones who were attacked by a spy, how did it happen that they were considered the criminals? There was no time to figure it out, and Ashur watched helplessly as the guards fell one after another in shapeless heaps in the passage.
Soon, others will come. Something had to be done. Something had to be figured out. He was an entrepreneur! He should have solutions, clever and unexpected, that would lead to a way out of the most hopeless situation! Ashur gathered his will and, with a desperate, sharp movement, got to his feet... only to be knocked back down immediately. An invisible being rushed past, brushing against him; he only managed to see the fleeting, distorted face of Lyfa and hear footsteps fading into the depths of her ravaged home, littered with corpses.
Madness hung in the air, the smell of blood and death permeated everything. His comrades had completely lost their minds, searching the bodies and scouring the house for his unfortunate mistress. Ashur clenched his fists and winced in pain, blood flowing down his arm as if a razor had been driven into it – he had already forgotten that he was still holding the broken glasses of Nikolai in his hand. Dropped on the floor, they clinked sadly, and this sound seemed to herald the inglorious end of the warriors of Celestia. If that man hadn't fired in a fit of inexplicably aggressive confusion, everything would have turned out differently. He looked at the Pendulum, which had blinded the one hiding in the shadows – and realized that this thing should not fall into the hands of the enemy. Summoning his strength, Ashur tore the talisman from his neck and threw it far out the window. Let a good person find it.
A voice came from the street, calling on them to surrender. Calling them criminals. But their goal was the good of Eolia! Not as Dithlind and Refitea see it, but as Queen Celestia wanted. But it seems that the queen really went into the past and was now nothing more than a prisoner, and the people were already starting to cope without her. Their struggle is futile and doomed. As is Ashur's mission. The people of Eolia do not want the expulsion of the invaders and the restoration of sovereignty – they just want to survive. It's a pity that this thought didn't occur to the queen.
Before going outside with his hands raised, Ashur encouragingly placed his blood-soaked hand on the shoulder of Pyzhma. This girl meant more to him than all the other comrades. He almost saw her as a daughter, which he never had. He understood that her future was extremely bleak and that he could do nothing about it. But still, he wanted her to feel a little paternal warmth at the last moment.
When Ashur left the house, surrendering, the sun shone in his eyes, but the fresh air dispelled the anxiety and the suffocating stench of madness that hung in Lyfa's house. He was ready to accept his fate. As he walked behind the clouds, the sun allowed him to see the branches of the trees nearby more clearly, swaying slightly in the wind. On the top of the nearest tree, a strange creature huddled in fear, clinging tightly to the trunk and looking down at the gathered crowd. Ramon had picked up a sun-shaped talisman and was wearing it around his neck. Seeing it, a smile crossed Ashur's frozen face. Now he knew for sure that his last will would be fulfilled.
From the entrance came a loud, alarming clang, as if someone was ringing a tocsin. Staggering, Ashur took a few steps on unsteady legs, but was overcome by another coughing fit and collapsed in the doorway. From here, he could see his comrades killing people in the armor of the city guard. He didn't understand what was happening – after all, they were the ones who were attacked by a spy, how did it happen that they were considered the criminals? There was no time to figure it out, and Ashur watched helplessly as the guards fell one after another in shapeless heaps in the passage.
Soon, others will come. Something had to be done. Something had to be figured out. He was an entrepreneur! He should have solutions, clever and unexpected, that would lead to a way out of the most hopeless situation! Ashur gathered his will and, with a desperate, sharp movement, got to his feet... only to be knocked back down immediately. An invisible being rushed past, brushing against him; he only managed to see the fleeting, distorted face of Lyfa and hear footsteps fading into the depths of her ravaged home, littered with corpses.
Madness hung in the air, the smell of blood and death permeated everything. His comrades had completely lost their minds, searching the bodies and scouring the house for his unfortunate mistress. Ashur clenched his fists and winced in pain, blood flowing down his arm as if a razor had been driven into it – he had already forgotten that he was still holding the broken glasses of Nikolai in his hand. Dropped on the floor, they clinked sadly, and this sound seemed to herald the inglorious end of the warriors of Celestia. If that man hadn't fired in a fit of inexplicably aggressive confusion, everything would have turned out differently. He looked at the Pendulum, which had blinded the one hiding in the shadows – and realized that this thing should not fall into the hands of the enemy. Summoning his strength, Ashur tore the talisman from his neck and threw it far out the window. Let a good person find it.
A voice came from the street, calling on them to surrender. Calling them criminals. But their goal was the good of Eolia! Not as Dithlind and Refitea see it, but as Queen Celestia wanted. But it seems that the queen really went into the past and was now nothing more than a prisoner, and the people were already starting to cope without her. Their struggle is futile and doomed. As is Ashur's mission. The people of Eolia do not want the expulsion of the invaders and the restoration of sovereignty – they just want to survive. It's a pity that this thought didn't occur to the queen.
Before going outside with his hands raised, Ashur encouragingly placed his blood-soaked hand on the shoulder of Pyzhma. This girl meant more to him than all the other comrades. He almost saw her as a daughter, which he never had. He understood that her future was extremely bleak and that he could do nothing about it. But still, he wanted her to feel a little paternal warmth at the last moment.
When Ashur left the house, surrendering, the sun shone in his eyes, but the fresh air dispelled the anxiety and the suffocating stench of madness that hung in Lyfa's house. He was ready to accept his fate. As he walked behind the clouds, the sun allowed him to see the branches of the trees nearby more clearly, swaying slightly in the wind. On the top of the nearest tree, a strange creature huddled in fear, clinging tightly to the trunk and looking down at the gathered crowd. Ramon had picked up a sun-shaped talisman and was wearing it around his neck. Seeing it, a smile crossed Ashur's frozen face. Now he knew for sure that his last will would be fulfilled.