“HARIZE!!!” Armony’s fingers grasped tightly to the feathers of his friend as her body went limp.

  Peering down towards her merle feathers, he saw it- two bloodless holes, cauterized on the spot. In that moment, his jaw clenched, and his legs began to stiffen! But with the coming fall, he had no choice but to act, pulling Harize around and behind him in case they were to be shot at again. “No, no, no, no…”

  “HARIZE, WAKE UP! HARIZE!!!” He wasn’t yet panicking, but they were not only open shots, they were also falling to their death.

  But… Harize didn’t respond, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, which dangled with the momentum of their fall.

  All Armony could do was hug her in their descent, ruffling his head into her feathers to try to hear the beat of her heart.

  Nothing. Not a thing.

  Not even the slightest rhythm, nothing… at all.

  “I’m sorry, Harize- I’m so…”

  …

  .

  …

  “Sorry…”

  Darkness took hold of the boy in his descent, whether it be from the speed he fell, the death of his friend, or from the fear of being hit.

  Yet something opened his eyes.

  Something indescribable, but all too present.

  Instantly, Armony let go of Harize, his eyes watching her float away from him in what felt like slow motion, memories slamming into him like waves, before twirling the interval flute from its holster and presenting it to his maw. With a single breath, a silent tune rang out over the sky, a cold vibration hitting all ears below and above Armony- until finally? The air ran still.

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  Slamming his feet down, footholds would appear in the air, which he used to sprint and catch Harize before tumbling to the ground below to immediately take cover! Yet no shots followed, leaving Armony and Harize behind a mound of rubble in utter silence. He didn’t get a good enough look at the state of the town they fell into, but that… didn’t particularly matter.

  Looking down on Harize, for a moment he saw her cheeky little grin peering back up at him but… there was nothing but lifeless eyes and a subtle frown. Which brought one about on Armony as he gently laid her down onto the ground. There was a ball in his throat, and he felt as if he were suffocating in the deathly silence of the town, spare for the crackling of a fire nearby.

  “This doesn’t suit you at all, friend… not one bit.” He bit his lip and took a deep breath before looking away.

  He couldn’t bear the sight of Harize… dead. Of all people, Harize? How…

  Armony stood slowly, his hand taking hold of the rubble he hid behind, before peering around it towards the state of the town. It was destroyed.

  Buildings were torn to shreds, both by cannon fire and what was clearly a large animal, gigantic claw marks mowing the inside of the wall, yet not piercing all the way through. “What… happened here…”

  “Me.” A feminine voice whispered from behind Armony.

  The boy turned to where Harize laid, yet when he did? Harize was no longer there. Instead? A small ring spun endlessly, turning his once saddened and concerned gaze… furious.

  He marched over to the coin and swiped it from the ground, and when he brought it up to his face to inspect? He almost wanted to vomit.

  It was a coin.

  A circle inside of a circle.

  It had a reddish-orange tint, which gleamed just as his flute did.

  A copper coin.

  “So you’re… what did this?” He spoke aloud, but mostly to himself, his eyes once more scanned the area, yet… all seemed dead and empty. Nothing moved beyond the flames littered across the broken town.

  He almost couldn’t believe it, but looking down at the coin he held, it began to make sense. This wasn’t merely a product of trade… This was THE trade, the one that caused this destruction and much more mayhem in the central island of Reustera. It wasn’t merely an item of currency- it was SOLELY currency, which was used to take proper claim over the land of the Coyn.

  And soon this one by the looks of things.

  Lifting it up once more to inspect it, he let out a sigh before crouching down and then sitting against the rubble.

  There was no one to save, and the plundering brought itself to him. He smiled for a moment, a stale, hurt smile, as he tossed the coin out to where Harize used to be. His head lowered as tears began to well.

  When he expected to hear a clang, however, he heard nothing…

  ...but a low sigh.