Chapter 126: The Love of War
The atmosphere became heavier, and the wind rolled differently now. Not naturally, and everyone felt it first. The subtle shift in pressure was spreading across the plains like an approaching storm. The grass bent unevenly as distant movement appeared beyond the hills.
Several people tensed immediately as Victor stepped slightly in front of Sophia while Ethan instinctively moved Lily behind him.
Then a familiar voice echoed from further down the slope. “Can everyone stop looking so terrified for five seconds?”
A figure emerged over the hill with black armour and a dark coat. Silver hair catching against the sunlight.
Orion.
Behind him walked several exhausted survivors and Liam, some injured, others barely able to stay upright.
The moment Graham noticed him, he raised one hand casually. “Yo, you alright?”
Orion looked up toward the clearing with visible irritation already written across his face. “Do I look alright?”
Graham smiled faintly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Orion sighed heavily before finally reaching the group while dust covered parts of his coat as dried blood stained one sleeve.
Not all of it looked like his.
Roy's and Liam’s eyes met, and they did a simple nod, acknowledging the other, which was caught by Kieran. Liam then waved at Aster for him to wave back cutely, which was caught by Roy.
“I’m annoyed,” Orion muttered while glancing around the clearing. “Everything about today is annoying.”
“That’s fair,” Daniel admitted immediately.
One of the survivors behind Orion collapsed onto the grass the moment they stopped moving. Another person quietly whispered. “Thank god there are other people.”
Relief spread through parts of the growing group. The more survivors that appeared, the less hopeless everything felt.
Kaelen Vyrn stepped forward calmly. Even surrounded by confusion, the Third Celestial Watch member carried herself with unnatural composure. People listened instinctively whenever she spoke.
“Everyone,” Kaelen said evenly.
The clearing slowly quieted. “Group together.”
Most people obeyed immediately. Everyone except that woman. She remained leaning against a nearby tree with a cigarette resting between her fingers, clearly uninterested in participating.
Kaelen glanced at her once before deciding not to bother. “First,” Kaelen continued, “we need to establish what resources we currently possess.”
Victor frowned slightly. “Resources?”
“Money. Jewellery. Weapons. Anything valuable.”
Several confused looks appeared. Kaelen’s expression remained calm. “Without money or power in any world, you are effectively useless.”
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The bluntness of the statement silenced people quickly. Unfortunately, nobody could disagree. Roy quietly observed the reactions around him.
Fear. Confusion. Denial.
People were finally beginning to understand the situation was real. This wasn’t some temporary incident, and they weren’t waking up tomorrow back in the stadium.
Kaelen crouched slightly before drawing lines into the dirt with a stick. “We organise first,” he said.
People slowly began placing items of any value together, from watches, chains, wallets, and jewellery to even very expensive rings. Marcus reluctantly handed over a gold lighter while Daniel emptied several folded notes from his pocket.
Roy watched the growing pile carefully.
Not bad. They probably had enough to survive temporarily. Not comfortably but temporarily. Tanaka crouched beside the valuables while staring dramatically at his own empty pockets.
“…I contribute emotional support.”
“You contribute to my migraines, so shut up,” Roy answered immediately.
Tanaka replied with a retort. “I’m being oppressed.”
Aster giggled a little from what Roy said, and Roy saw that, and suddenly his migraines disappeared. Meanwhile, Ethan quietly spoke with Victor and Sophia near the edge of the group, leaving Lily alone as she stared at the rest of the group from a little distance.
Roy noticed that too immediately. They were discussing what information to reveal.
Smart again. The fewer people who knew they were from another world, the safer they probably were.
Eventually, Kaelen stood again. “We need shelter before nightfall.”
One survivor raised a hand nervously. “Where exactly are we?”
That caused another silence because despite everything, nobody had actually answered that question yet.
Kaelen looked toward Woman. “You know the area?”
The woman exhaled smoke slowly. “Enough.”
She pushed herself off the tree lazily. “The nearest city is London.”
Roy immediately understood one thing: this might not be another world but maybe a past.
Several people visibly relaxed, then Sophia suddenly frowned. “…Wait.”
She looked toward the woman carefully. “What’s today’s date?”
The question seemed random at first. Until everyone realised why it mattered, and the woman glanced toward her blankly.
“Twenty-fourth of October.”
A pause.
“Nineteen eighty-five.”
Silence. Absolute silence.
Several people genuinely stopped breathing for a second. Daniel laughed nervously. “…Funny joke.”
Nobody else laughed. Victor’s expression stiffened. "Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“No.” Daniel shook his head immediately. “No, that’s impossible.”
Lily’s face paled. “…1985?”
Roy’s eyes slowly hovered on others' reactions. Not another world but the past, just as he assumed. Or at least… something resembling it.
Tanaka looked horrified. “…Does this mean there’s no internet?”
Roy looked at him. "Bro, that's your concern?”
“Yes.”
“Fair enough.”
Kieran remained quiet.
Sophia slowly sat down against the grass. “…We’re screwed.”
“Potentially,” Roy agreed.
“Why did you say that out loud?”
"Transparency, you know.”
Mella tugged lightly on Roy’s sleeve. “…When was nineteen eighty-five?”
Roy looked down at her quietly and whispered so that the woman didn’t hear what he was about to say. “Like approximately 40 years ago.”
“I wasn’t alive then.” Mella said innocently.
Roy found that a little funny. “Yeah, neither was I, Mella."
Mella just stared at Roy from his response; there was no reason why she just did.
Eventually, Kaelen spoke again before panic spread further. “Listen carefully.”
Everyone looked toward him. “We don’t know why this happened yet.”
Her voice remained steady. “But we are still alive.”
That alone stabilised people slightly. “We move to London first. We secure shelter. We gather information.”
Then her eyes hardened slightly. “And we search for the remaining survivors.”
Hope returned almost immediately after that sentence because finally… somebody had a plan and plans gave frightened people something to hold onto.
So, the group moved.
The journey toward London took hours because they had to walk there since the bus drivers wouldn’t take phones or jewellery as an exchange for money.
The open plains gradually gave way to dirt roads and scattered farmland while the sun slowly lowered across the horizon.
The deeper they travelled, the stranger everything felt.
Old vehicles occasionally passed by. Roy quietly observed everything. Even the air felt older somehow but weirdly refreshing.
Eventually… They saw the city.
London.