The tank rumbled steadily through the damaged lands outside the castle.
Along the road, the soldiers and the king saw the aftermath of battle. The river nearby ran dark red, heavy with the blood of fallen warriors. Silence fell over the group. Even the children who had followed them stopped moving, eyes wide as they took in the devastation.
The tank driver spoke through the communication system.
"If we continue at normal speed, it will take about four hours to reach the Elf Kingdom. I must follow operational limits."
The king chuckled softly, a hint of irony in his voice.
"A machine that follows laws," he said. "Interesting."
The children smiled again, curiosity overpowering their fear.
The king reached out and touched the tank's metal armor.
"It feels like touching gold," he whispered, awe in his tone.
Turning to John, he asked,
"You said you don't have a kingdom. Where do you come from?"
John answered calmly.
"Not a kingdom. A civilization. Seven civilizations, actually. I'm from the Asia continent."
The king nodded slowly.
"A world far greater than ours."
At that moment, a small girl tugged at John's sleeve.
"My name is Jessica," she said, eyes locking on him. "You… you look like my brother, John."
John froze.
"Your… brother?" he whispered.
The girl nodded, voice trembling.
"Yes… my brother went to war. But… an elf—he… cut off half of his body and ate him alive."
The words hit John like a physical blow. His face went pale. His mind seized with a strange, sudden vision.
A sharp, burning pain pierced his head. His vision blurred. For a brief moment, his eyes turned pale, almost white, reflecting something beyond normal sight.
Inside his mind, an image flashed: a single eye, intricate and unsettling, staring back at him. It twisted and shimmered, full of knowledge and something darker he couldn't comprehend.
John shook his head violently, trying to focus.
"It's nothing," he whispered, though his voice lacked certainty.
But deep inside, he felt it: something was terribly wrong. The memory—or warning—was not his own, yet it had a clarity and urgency he had never felt before.
Around him, the sounds of the tank and the ruined landscape felt muted, as if reality itself had shifted for a heartbeat.
John blinked.
"No… that was real," he muttered under his breath, a cold shiver running down his spine.
He didn't know yet whether it was a warning, a memory, or a glimpse of a timeline yet to come. But he knew one thing: this mission would test him in ways he had never imagined.