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Jimin

War never stopped.

Two weeks after cowering in the cave with his princess, Jimin found himself on the battlefield with his long hair tied back and his sword high in the sky. It was a typical skirmish where Jimin led the charge on foot while Nionna sprinted in opposite of them. Kayira had red and black armor while Nionna's was the standard silver that shined as dark as Kayira's in the light of the moon. Rain poured and covered them in what looked like blood, and Jimin didn't hesitate to slice the closest warrior from the opposing side.

Men and women clashed on the battlegrounds. That time, the arena was the neutral space between Nionna and Kayira's kingdoms, near where they held their burials, with the next one going to be the following day, after the fight had ended.

The clearing made for a solid arena, though Jimin preferred the mountains due to the rough terrain. Nionna soldiers weren't as accustomed to harsh battle conditions as Kayira soldiers were, seeing as they grew up in a wasteland. That was how Jimin had become the man he was; learning to fight in the gutter of the world.

"You're all dead!" one of Jimin's soldiers, a man with armor too large for him, shouted as he charged into Nionna with his sword raised.

Those with too much eagerness ended up dead, but to the soldier's credit, he took three Nionnians with him before he drew his last breath. One death on their side so far. Jimin had to keep a mental tally for the funeral that would take hold soon.

Kayira and Nionna went back and forth, exchanging sword blows and dancing with one another. Jimin ducked and dodged with ease. Any solider that went up against him met a gruesome fate, and all of Nionna knew that. That meant anyone who faced him was either brave or stupid. Most chose not to face him, though, meaning he had to run after his fleeing prey.

Ever since Y/n had shared his bed with him, he hadn't seen the slaughter the same. It didn't feel as pleasurable to see the blood spill and splatter on the otherwise yellow green grass. They were in the middle of Kayira and Nionna's distance from one another, meaning the grass had a mixture of dead weeds and tall stems that brushed by his boots as he marched past.

Anyone who came close got a sword to the throat. His battle armor hugged his slim but muscular figure and shined in the dying light of the sun that poked out from behind the white tip of Kaji. Like his favorite bird, Dali, both mountains had soft glows to them all throughout their otherwise gray bases. They had lime and cyan glows every once in a while, and that was from the variety of living there. Most creatures in their kingdoms had some sort of glimmer to them to help guide them during the red moon hours.

Another idiot dared challenge Park Jimin. The idiot died with two sword strokes. At least he had put up a greater fight than the last. Jimin trudged through the blood-stained ground, keeping his footing solid as more men and women from Nionna rose to battle. A second death occurred on Kayira's side, but they had brought twenty to the fight while Nionna brought sixty. Jimin mowed through their opponents, with Kayira's intense training giving them the advantage, and they fought back three times as hard.

The plan was to take out a good twenty of Nionna's soldiers, and then pull back to attempt to trick them to follow. That strategy hadn't worked much, but it was worth a try, especially since they were going with the hit-and-run approach for all their fights. It made it easier to deal with Nionna despite having smaller numbers.

Jimin twirled his sword around and waited for his next victim. As always, the wait wasn't long. A woman wearing a bulky helmet came swinging at him, and he stepped back to dodge, watching the iron fly past his armor. Battle cries rang out and caused the rest of the world to wash away. The woman swiped at him and missed each time. If Jimin cared for Nionna, he'd almost feel pity. But almost wasn't enough.

When the woman charged again, he decided to stop beating around the bush. One strike ended her. The corpse fell to the ground, the helmet flying off and making a clang noise as it bounced off the ground. He kicked her over so he could loot her, but that was when he froze and saw the face of the fallen.

Princess.

Jimin collapsed, as did his sword. It clanged like the helmet. Perhaps louder. His breathing picked up, and more sweat infected his head as his vision faded in and out. With trembling hands and a flaring nose, he crawled over and cradled her body, tears on the verge of gushing out.

"No, no," he muttered, placing his hand over the gash in her stomach, right under her chestplate, that had cut deep. It exposed her guts, and the mangled flesh oozed red under his gloved fingertips. "Princess, no, please. I'm sorry. Please don't do this to me."

He kissed the back of her hand and gazed at the corpse, taking in her devoid eyes and bloody lips. Metallic flavors spilled on his tongue, and he staggered away, unwilling to peer at his mistake any longer. Wheezes and coughs wrenched out of his tight lungs. His knees ached from how he dug them into the earth, but the pain never brought relief. For a moment, a fleeting moment, he almost reached for his sword to end his misery, but he didn't. Not because he didn't want to, but because someone gripped his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Sir, we must leave!" one of his male soldiers said.

Jimin shook his head and went to protest, but when he went to look back at the body, he realized she wasn't the princess. A random woman with no eyebrows and short blonde hair lay in the dying grass soaked by her fluids. It had been in his head, like his night time "episodes" where he couldn't move, though he would rather face a thousand of those before seeing his princess's sunken eyes one more time.

"You're... you're right." Jimin cleared his throat before picking his sword up and addressing the rest of his team, who held Nionna's weakened guards back. "On me! Fall back!"

They listened without protest. Together, they swiveled on their heels and sprinted away, Nionna following them for a minute before giving up the chase. That gave Kayira a chance to slow and reflect on the past battle. Five of them perished, though Jimin couldn't focus on that, and he doubted he would anytime soon.

Why had he hallucinated and saw his princess's face on that woman? Yes, Jimin had an answer, but he couldn't comprehend it. The same feeling he had received in the cave came to him when he saw her face on that corpse. Although he didn't want to admit it to himself, he knew there was no escaping it. For every year he had been alive, he had conquered his fears. All except tight spaces, but it appeared he had another one to add to the list. A second fear.

Losing her.

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