The war had been going on for so long that we almost forgot what we were fighting for.

Peace?

To say that we were fighting for peace seemed a little hypocritical. We were stopping war with more war. Two wrongs never make a right. The best we could say is that at least we didn't start it. Still, that doesn't make it okay for us to finish it.

Besides, who's to say that our version of peace is the only true one? Maxa's ultimate goal was to create a world with machines interlinked with nature, one devoid of human and their errors. Maybe that world could be peaceful one too, just like the one we've always imagined. There was no way for us to say with absolute certainty that Maxa's version of peace is wrong. There wasn't anybody left on this planet with the right to judge that, not anymore. Nobody had clean hands anymore.

The only thing that we could say with certainty is that Maxa's plan involves mass murder, and that's most definitely wrong.

So it wasn't really about justice, but more like revenge. We never thought of ourselves as heroes anyway, we didn't think we were that altruistic. We cared, but that wasn't the main reason we all joined SM. Vengeance wasn't the main thing on our minds when we entered the war.

It all started with the simple urge to survive.

We were going to be killed. Not just to die, but to be killed, one way or another. Maxa was going to use MAMA's control over the Tree of Life to destroy the world and wipe out what's left of the human race. There was no way to hide, every one of us was going to be killed. It was either wait for death to arrive and take us, or confront and try to beat it first.

So we chose to be killed in battle, to go down fighting, even if the chances of winning are minimal.

We had nothing to lose. At least, that was true for most of us when we first joined.

Him and I always had each other.

We were orphans, raised inside the impenetrable walls of SM ENT Towers with one purpose and one purpose only - to fight. SM knew what we were from a very early stage, they were expecting us. Their initial plan was to wait until we were old enough for training before bringing us inside SM ENT.

I was the luckier one, MASK only found us after I turned 7, which meant that I had the luxury of spending some time with my parents before they were murdered, even though I could no longer remember any of it.

He, on the other hand, had a much tougher time than I ever did. His parents were retired fighters so they were already being chased by their old enemies. The warriors' son became exposed, his true nature revealed to our enemies before he was even born. MASK found him almost as soon as he breathed the polluted air of our dying planet for the very first time. His parents used their lives as bait to let SM fighters escape with their baby boy.

They left him with nothing but a name, one that conveyed their desire for their only son to fight on, just as they did. The warriors named their son after the ancient talismanic blade.

Kris.

***

"Teach me how to fight."

"You already know how to."

"Not just with ordinary weapons like guns. Like SM warriors, with Sprites."

"Not until we get back inside SM ENT Towers."

"Why?"

"There'll be Shadows roaming around."

"Precisely why I should learn right now."

"Not entirely true. It's a day from full moon."

"Why's that relevant?"

"Because."

"Why because?"

Kris sighed. Their journey was filled with too much conversation, questions, for his liking, even with the taller at the front while the other trailed behind. Suho went ahead to their safe house, to check that it was still, well, safe before they settled there for the night. They couldn't risk being ambushed by Shadows while Chanyeol, still a raw fighter, was with them. He was too valuable to them. However, this arrangement meant that Kris was alone with Chanyeol, and the elder had forgotten how talkative and curious (and plain annoying) the younger can be.

"The Tree of Life is governed by the moon - She feeds off moon rays. Since MAMA has taken over the Tree of Life, Her moon energy is harnessed and transferred directly to the Shadows, strengthening them.  But then again, almost every Shadow is already equipped with machine armours and weapons, making them much stronger anyway. So mainly, Tree of Life's energy is for prolonging Shadows' lives because, remember, raw fayths don't get to live very long. It's a day away from full moon, the time when the Shadows are the strongest and most active, so it makes it extra dangerous for us."

"But we're governed by the moon too, aren't we? I thought our Sprites fed off moon energy like the Tree of Life does. Doesn't that make us equally strong?"

Before he could answer the question, Kris' body suddenly stiffened. He spun around to glare at the roof of a half collapsed building as some crumbled concrete and dust fell. Chanyeol turned his head to scan the building for any further sign of movement, but the horizon remained dead silent.

The elder lingered his eyes on the fallen building before turning back around and resumed, "That’s true. It's why our powers are also strongest at full moon. However, we're outnumbered. The energy we receive from the moon is unbiased so both our Sprites and the Shadows are strengthened equally. We may have the extra training and elemental manipulations as an advantage, but MASK also has elemental armour and weapons made by Maxa. It's getting harder and harder to kill them. Then there's the Eclipse..."

Chanyeol opened his mouth and was about to ask another question when he saw Kris' hardened expression. The blond slowly reached into his large and tattered bag. His other hand hovered over the silver bangle on his left wrist and he murmured something under his breath.

Kris turned back around to look at Chanyeol with his newly transformed eyes, wispy and transparent, like glass. Chanyeol blinked once at those forest green pupils, then all hell broke loose.

Chanyeol ducked and was pushed to an enclosed area while Kris rolled to the other side. He could feel hot beams shooting past him, cutting open his sleeves to leave painful scorch marks on the surface his pale arms, as he tumbled to safety.

The scattered debris provided a good cover for the duo, but it also made it harder for them to reunite. The brunette peered from the gaps between the debris to find the blond warrior. He was by what appears to be the remains of a fallen wall, using it as a trench for his attacks. Kris had pulled out a fiery red bow from his leather bag, without any arrows. He was drawing and releasing its string rapidly while spinning on his knees and shooting seemingly invisible arrows at the hidden enemies.

Chanyeol squinted his eyes and saw that burning arrows magically appear from the air as soon as Kris' fingers release the bow's string. Despite the accurate and haste counter-attack from Kris, Chanyeoll could tell that they were outnumbered and overpowered. His analysis was confirmed when what appears to be some type of bullet barely missed Kris, leaving a trail of blood on his cheekbone.

Chanyeol bit the insides of his mouth nervously, he knew he had to help. His hand automatically reached for the gun stored in his boot. The adrenaline rushed to his head quickly, making him feel a little sick and dizzy, but oddly, he was not afraid. He took a deep breath, then he ran.

He shot at his surroundings without taking his eyes off Kris. He could find his enemies without his eyes and knew that his bullets had hit his targets, but strangely, the attacks aimed at the duo did not decrease as he had expected. His gun was obviously not strong enough to penetrate the armour of his enemies.

He almost reached him when he saw it. There was a charm, hung on the end of the large bow. It was attached with a delicately plaited ribbon, a mixture of red, orange and yellow. Chanyeol recognised the charm, even though he had no m