The Courier felt the gentle breeze, wait, A breeze?
His eyes shot open and saw that he was deep inside a forest he sat upright and processed the information around him, he saw his helmet in the hands of Carolyn as she stared at it
"You're awake... and alive." Carolyn broke the silence
"You didn't expect me to be alive." He responded
"After what happened near Hope? No."
"Hope? Oh right, after you abandoned me, It's too late to say sorry, Carolyn."
"Sorry? Vale just got torched and Hundreds of thousands are dead and you want an Apology?"
"Of course, If I didn't run into Adam Taurus, I could've turned the tide."
"Turned the tide? You're as delusional just as when you disappeared."
"Of course I could've, Look at me, I have armor no one has ever seen, Training and weapons not one person has known, I can turn the tide." Y/N boasted
"How many can you kill in a minute?"
Carolyn asked in a cold voice "Hundreds? Thousands? because that's the average of a Top of the Line Huntsman."
"Just the same as ever."
"And you haven't changed."
"What do you know about me? How I changed?"
"More than you'll ever know."
_______________________________________
Caine witnessed the carnage of Vale, his hands balled up into a fist and began shaking, he was furious, raging, he saw in the distance lone figures trying to escape the hell on remnant, or doing their best to fight off the hordes and armed forces of the
White Fang and failing.
An attendant made himself known
"Sir, We found out who dismantled Operation Scarecrow." The attendant showing the Commander a piece of paper
His eyes widened and his teeth bared
"The Madman's project is still alive?"
"It appears so sir."
"After this, there is all the reason to shut it down."
"As if sir, the project has been active for over a thousand years, and it's producing results, some negative, some positive but results none the less."
"He's untouchable? Is that what you're saying?"
"Yes sir."
"In my experience, No one is untouchable, Not Ozma, Not Salem, Not even the gods."
The Commander's mind briefly flashed to a time where a mighty kingdom experienced what Vale is currently experiencing with the exception that there were only two survivors
"We will see sir."
"Bring this 'Courier' to me, him and I need to exchange a few words."
"Of course, Sir."
With that, the attendant left the throneless prince alone
_______________________________________
The Courier and Carolyn walked pass the dying and wounded on the bloody and muddy ground, the groans of pain from both soldier and civilian, the wails of widows and orphaned children filled the air, drowned out by the sound of gunfire and heavy machinery, as if no one cared
The duo reached Caine's tent, a dirty one, with faded colors perhaps it had been exposed to different elements
The Courier set one of the flaps aside and saw Caine in the far end of the tent near another opening, and different people from different parts of remnant either resting, bandaging their wounds or staring at a map and pointing out marked lines
