Spiritbound [Spirit Magic, Military, Progression] (Book 1 Complete)

Tucker walked through the broken gates. The smoke was still thick from the relentless barrage of cannon fire, but now only silence remained. The cheering had faded. All that remained was the cough of wounded men, the clatter of shifting rubble, and the slow march of survivors regrouping under their tattered banners. Hundreds of dead bodies surrounded them on both sides. Dirt and blood smeared into the fabric of friend and foe alike.

He stepped closer to their fallen comrades, but there was nothing Tucker could do. His hands were trembling. His chest ached, a dull sensation numbed his heart. The storm had passed, but the silence it left behind felt heavier than the wind ever was.

Tucker sat on a broken pillar, out of the way of the medics rushing to carry the injured soldiers. They shouted for bandages and healing potions. Anything they could get their hands on. Someone was crying behind a fallen archway, beside a body that was now breathless. While Brian barked orders somewhere in the fading distance.

Across from him, Luka dropped onto a chunk of masonry with a sigh. "Our losses are… devastating."

"I know," Tucker replied. "According to the other soldiers, out of the three hundred and fifty soldiers in our platoon. Sixty-seven are dead and twenty were missing."

"Fuck…" Luka bitterly cursed, gazing at the blood-covered tiles.

It was spring in the southern regions of the Everheart Kingdom. A land known for rain. Above their heads were endless dark clouds that blocked the warmth from the sun. Droplets of water fell from the sky, gently landing on Tucker's shoulders. Even though it was a light drizzle, the weight behind each one hammered against his heart.

"I should have been there." Tucker clenched his worn-out leather gloves. "I should have done something to make it back sooner."

Luka's gaze lingered on Tucker's hands. There were countless scars on his palms, torn from the battles they had endured. After a moment, his eyes drifted back to the colorless clouds. "We both know there's nothing you could have done."

Tucker shook his head and scoffed. Not at Luka, but at himself. "There's always something that could have been done. Something I could have done."

"That's not a healthy mindset to have, and you know this."

Tucker released a tired sigh from the depths of his heart. He brushed the dust off his thighs. "We're barely holding on, and each day our losses grow heavier." His defeated eyes fell on Luka. "Look around us… Our brothers are dead. They trusted me and I… I failed them."

Luka pressed his back against the crumbling wall. Everything they had built was slowly falling apart. It was nothing short of a miracle that they saved the storage garrison. If it wasn't for Nemo finding them in the sewers, they would have never made it in time. Both of them did their best with what was given, but the deaths of their comrades weren't Tucker's burden to bear.

It was the advisors. The ones who caused such a devastating blunder.

He bit the bottom of his lip, struggling to hold back his frustration. From what Ray had told him, Nox was locked away deep within the castle, but the entire situation was rotten to the core. Luka crossed his arms while stomaching the anger that simmered at the edge of his thoughts. He wasn't certain, but parts of him believed the advisors had sabotaged them.

Luka scanned the surroundings. Most of the soldiers were far from them, focused on tasks assigned by the other captains. What he knew was nothing more than suspicions; however, Tucker had a right to know. In a voice barely above a whisper, he asked, "Did you know that the plan to defend the breach had to be approved by half of the captains?"

Tucker's eyes widened. "What?"

"Seems like you didn't." Luka turned to face him. "It's something I found out from the Captain of the Twenty-Eighth. But it's not something you or Captain Morgan would know, since we've only been stationed at the bastion for a short while."

"Then that means the other two captains agreed to it."

Luka broke off from his friend's gaze and lowered his head. He clenched onto the side of his arms and dug his nails into his sleeves. "Before I tell you anything else, I need you to promise me you'll keep your emotions in check."

The rain poured down on them as Tucker tried to piece together Luka's words. He knew his friend like the back of his hand. Luka wasn't the type to lie and rarely held things back. So if he was warning him not to lose control, then there could only be one explanation.

Someone had betrayed them.

Each drop struck the stone and metal around them, adding a layered murmur that failed to bury the rage in Tucker's mind. He could see the look in Luka's eyes. A worried expression mixed with fear. His voice blurred into the background, words reduced to nothing more than muffled fragments lost beneath the downpour. Everything around Tucker seemed to move in slow motion. His aura pulsed uncontrollably within his body.

He needed to think of this rationally, to not lose control of himself, even though every muscle in his body wanted to find the man responsible for sending his men to their deaths… and tear him apart.

Tucker closed his eyes, falling into the depths of his soul. This entire time, it felt like an unstoppable wall known as the Empire was crushing them from the front, pushing them back inch by inch. However, in reality, there wasn't just an enemy at the front, but one from the back as well.

The walls were closing in. He could feel it, not just in the sturdy stone bricks beneath his palms but in the weight pressing against his chest. Towering structures with crimson banners and darkness loomed on both sides of him. His boots scraped against the smooth ground as Tucker planted himself in place, forcing the walls apart with everything he had left.

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Light poured in from above his head, yet the air was cold. Nothing more than a distant promise that provided no warmth. But it was the only thing left for him to protect. A desperate attempt to break free from the forces that sought to break his spirit.

He slowly opened his eyes and quietly asked, "Do you have any proof?"

Luka calmly observed his captain. He could tell from the light in Tucker's eyes that they were on the same page. "To some extent, we do. Captain Maystone and the Twenty-Ninth's vice-captain is meeting with the Commander."

"The vice-captain? Not the Captain himself?"

"From what I heard… the Captain of the Twenty-Ninth and his knights sacrificed themselves to buy time for the other platoon's escape," said Luka with a heavy heart. "Out of all the platoons, the Twenty-Ninth is the only one where casualties exceed ninety percent."

"Did the advisors order this as well?"

"No, the only reason the vice-captain is still with us is because his captain told him to fall back. If not, then we probably wouldn't have any witnesses for what happened in the Twenty-Ninth." Luka glanced at the fallen bodies in sorrow. "But right now, things are a mess and morales down the drain."

Both of them fell silent. Only the soft patter of rain echoed in their ears along with the distant thud of muffled footsteps. Their eyes shifted to the side, focusing on Ray and Eric. Sadness and a hint of regret filled their expressions. Ray clenched onto one of his arms, fingers digging into the fabric of his sleeve while his gaze fell to the ground.

He opened his mouth, searching for words to apologize. To take responsibility for the losses, but Tucker raised his hand and stopped him. He didn't need to hear it. He knew they had done everything they could with what they were given. And as the captain, Tucker couldn't bring himself to blame them.

There was no point in blaming those further down the chain for trying to make the best of a bad plan.

From what he had heard, Ray and Eric had fought on the front lines alongside the knights, doing everything in their power to protect the men behind them. But there was only so much they could do while fighting such skilled opponents. If it hadn't been for their bravery, and for Jess's medics scrambling to keep the wounded alive. Then the death toll would have been far worse. With just fifteen soldiers and Pathfinder herself, they rescued five hundred critically wounded allies while fending off enemy soldiers. A feat few could pull off.

"I take it you have something you want to say?" Tucker asked, staring at Eric.

He scratched the back of his head and worriedly glanced at his Captain. "We received word from the Order."

"That's great news," said Luka, leaning forward. "Does this mean reinforcements are arriving?"

"No, there won't be any reinforcements," Eric answered. "The Order… has notified the bastion that all watchmen are to return whenever the opportunity arises."

"What?" Disbelief filled Luka's voice. "Bullshit, there's no way they would have all of us return. Not without good reason."

"They do have good reason." Ray took a moment to collect his thoughts, each word hanging by a thread. "It's been confirmed that… that the Aegis bastion has fallen."

The words that came from Ray's mouth caused them to instantly fall silent. Tucker was speechless. He couldn't find the words to describe what he was feeling. It had only been three days since the siege had started. Three long, grueling days that pushed them to their limits.

"How long did it take for them to take the bastion?" Tucker asked.

"The outer and inner walls were lost on the first day. By the next day, the castle had fallen too." Eric kept his composure, but the slight tremble from his fingertips told a different story.

"And what are our casualties?"

"As for how many dead… we don't know yet, but it's safe to assume that all forces were killed in action."

Tucker stared at them and slowly exhaled. His gaze shifted to the rain-soaked tiles. Was it really hopeless, after all? Was it impossible for them to win against the Empire? Thirty-five thousand soldiers gone in two days. It hardly seemed real, no matter how many times he repeated the sentence in his head.

"Do we know how they lost?" Luka asked.

"Yeah, we do." Ray brushed a damp strand of red hair from his face and leaned against a broken pillar for support. "Our intel was wrong. The Empire didn't assign one war machine to each fortress city. They hit Aegis with all of them."

"What?" Luka's breath was caught in his throat, shaking as it left his body. "That can't be. The watchmen reported seeing the machines at the other bastions."

"Decoys," Eric replied grimly. "Those machines are still at the other fortress cities, but they haven't moved an inch."

"Is there any new information on how we can fight back?" Tucker asked.

"Not that we know of. If there was, then the Order would've already told us, but that's not the problem." Ray gritted his teeth and punched a nearby wall. Blood dripping down from his knuckles. "They want us all to return when we get the chance. It's our golden ticket out of this hell, but…"

"It would mean abandoning the Thirty-First," Eric added, sitting on the stone steps.

Tucker's jaw tightened at Eric's words. He didn't speak, but the weight of the silence around him said enough. The rain fell harder on their shoulders, hissing against the stone like the world itself was trying to drown out the truth. The two didn't need to say anything, but Tucker could tell that they were considering it.

Luka stood up from the chunk of masonry, anger flashing in his eyes. "Are you guys serious right now? They're our men, and the only reason they marched through this hell is because they trust us. How can you even think of leaving?"

Eric ran a hand through his soaked hair. His gaze was distant, refusing to meet Luka's. "I know. Gods, I know. But if we stay, there's a chance we lose everyone, and I have a family waiting for me back home… a fiancé… I can't risk my life, not like this."

Ray turned away, pressing his bloodied hand against his chest as if he were trying to keep himself together. "We just wanted to let you know your options."

Tucker finally spoke. "So… you've both made your decision?"

Ray and Eric slowly nodded as the weight of their choice reflected in their eyes.

A bitter laugh escaped Luka. "I can't believe you guys. You two, out of all the people, should know what it means to run. We're the last line of defense, and if the Stafford bastion falls, do you know what's next?"

No one answered. They all knew what it was in their hearts.

Tucker rose from the broken pillar, the rain trailing down his face. His mind turned over every grim possibility. The entire situation was a mess, from the suspected betrayal of the advisors to the fall of the other fortress city. Everything was falling apart around him, but in times like these, his mind felt clear.

Retreat meant survival.

Staying meant sacrifice.

If they all walked away now, then everything the Thirty-First had fought and bled for would've been for nothing. Their courage, their pain, it would all be meaningless. There was still a chance for victory, even if hope was slowly slipping through their fingers. He owed it to the fallen, to all of them. To give the Kingdom something it could still believe in.

Tucker drew in a slow breath and exhaled, watching as the mist that left his lips drifted to the sky. He turned away from them, each footstep splashing against the soaked stone. He didn't look back at them, nor did he need to. Only the final words that left his mouth filled their minds.

"I'm staying."