That sound wasn’t the clanging of Papa hitting the anvil in the morning, nor was it the chime of the square's bells during a festival. It was long, heavy, and sounded like a massive monster wailing within the city's heart, pulling me crudely out of a warm dream. My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my mouth.

  My name is Poli. I’m not yet old enough to grow a beard.

  When Papa burst into my room, his face was drained of all color. In those eyes that were always full of smiles, there was something I had never seen before—pure terror. Mama picked up my little sister, who was screaming and crying in fright, while her other hand gripped me like an iron pincer. Her palm was cold, damp, and shaking uncontrollably.

  "Quick! Poli! To the central shelter! Don't look! Stay close to me!"

  But the streets outside weren't the streets I knew anymore. They were a living hell—a nightmare that had crawled out of the scariest storybook to swallow everything. I couldn't see a single familiar face. Everyone’s face was distorted and didn't look like a dwarf's anymore; their eyes were wide, wide open, containing nothing but blank fear. They opened their mouths, and what came out weren't words, but tuneless shrieks that sounded like their throats were being torn apart.

  An uncle with half his beard burned off collided with the people next to me; he was smoking, and the air was thick with the stench of charred hair and something else. I think I even smelled blood—it was wet and sticky, making me want to throw up. I saw Auntie Kara from the bakery, the one who usually sneaks me a piece of candy, but now she was screaming along with everyone else, running past me without even looking at me once.

  I don't know whose child was crying, but the sound was as sharp as a needle piercing my ears. The sobbing of women, the loud crashes of crates being knocked over, and a sound I’d never heard before—a dull thud of flesh hitting a stone wall… All the noises mixed together into a giant, viscous mess that tried to burrow into my head like a monster, wanting to burst my skull, to tear it apart!

  I gripped Mama’s hand tightly; it was my only driftwood in this hell, my only connection to the world. The crowd on the street wasn't a crowd at all; it was a moving wall made of crazed bodies and twisted faces, pressing forward frantically. The air had been completely sucked out; I felt like my chest was about to be crushed, and every breath felt like swallowing grit.

  At the turn leading to the central shelter, a force even more violent and chaotic slammed into us from the side, like an invisible, raging beast! My body was nearly lifted off the ground, but I gripped Mama’s hand with all my might, my knuckles turning white and my nails nearly sinking into her skin. I couldn't let go; I wouldn't let go even if I died!

  But that force was too big, too much to resist. I felt Mama’s fingers being pulled away from my fingertips, inch by inch, forcibly separated.

  "Mama!" I screamed with everything I had, breaking my voice. It sounded sharp and unlike my own. "Mama! Mama—!"

  I heard it! Amidst the countless wails and screams, I heard Mama’s voice. She was on the other side, frantically screaming my name with a sobbing voice!

  "Poli! Poli, grab onto me! Poli—! Poli!"

  Her voice grew farther and farther away, more and more blurred… first drowned out by the scream of a falling uncle, then swallowed by the heart-wrenching crying of a little girl nearby…

  "Mama—!" "Poli—!"

  We called out to each other, desperately trying to catch the last sound of each other’s voices in the ocean of noise. But the surrounding screams, crashes, and cries grew louder and louder, like a giant monster opening its bloody maw. Until finally, I could no longer tell which voice was hers. All the sounds blurred into a terrifying roar that swallowed everything, and swallowed Mama’s final, desperate cry.

  Then, I was pushed to the other side, slamming hard against a cold wall. I was alone. In total darkness and terror.

  I was pushed down and scrambled back up; everyone around me was a panicked adult I didn't know. I couldn't find Mama, I couldn't find Papa, and I couldn't hear my sister’s crying. I was so scared that I instinctively crawled into a corner by the city wall where some discarded crates were piled. I curled into a ball, burying my face deep into my knees and covering my ears tightly. But I could still hear it—that crunching sound like a beast gnawing on bones, the wet sound of tearing.

  I made myself into a very, very tiny ball, so small that I hoped I could turn into a stone so the monsters wouldn't see me. I didn't dare to breathe deeply; I was afraid… afraid those monsters would smell me, like the wolves in the stories. Every heartbeat was like Papa’s iron hammer, thumping heavily against my chest; I was so afraid the sound would be heard.

  I wanted to cry. I wanted to wail out loud and scream for Mama. But I couldn't. I bit down hard on my sleeve; the fabric was soaked with my tears and spit—it was salty and felt horrible. The tears still wouldn't listen and kept flowing, running through the dust on my face into cold, dirty streaks.

  My body shook uncontrollably as if it didn't belong to me anymore; every shudder made my bones hurt so much. It's so cold… the floor is so icy… Mama, did you not want Poli anymore? Was it because I didn't hold your hand tight enough? I'm sorry… Mama… it hurts… where are you…

  Suddenly, the entire earth jumped violently, as if a giant had stepped on it hard! A crate above my head fell with a clang, smashing down beside me. The flying pebbles hit my cheek, making it sting. My heart nearly stopped from the fright; I froze completely. I heard even scarier sounds of fighting from atop the city wall, and even saw giant black shadows fall from the battlements, making dull, heavy thuds, followed by the short, pained shrieks of dwarven uncles as they died.

  The monsters… they’ve entered the city. I’m going to die here all alone.

  No! I don't want to! I don't want to die alone in this dark, smelly corner! I couldn't take it anymore. I had to find Mama; I’d rather die outside than be swallowed alive by fear alone! I ran out of the corner crying, only to run straight into a monster.

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  It was a monster taller than Papa. It was covered in blood, dragging a bone club that was still dripping, and a pair of malicious eyes stared fixedly at me as foul, yellow-green drool dripped from its mouth. I fell back onto the ground in terror. I wanted to run, but my feet wouldn't listen, as if they were nailed to the floor.

  I wanted to scream, but it felt like a stone was stuck in my throat; not a single sound would come out. My body shook like the last leaf of autumn. I could only stare at it, and I knew—I was going to die.

  Just as the monster raised its bone club, preparing to smash my head to pieces, suddenly, it was so bright… I didn't even see what happened. I only felt a warm light descend from the sky. Then, the giant monster before me… just like that… silently turned into little bits of black ash and was blown away by the wind.

  I… I didn't know what had happened. I just sat there in a daze, looking at the ash, my mind completely blank.

  A person wearing white armor with a pair of snow-white wings on their back landed lightly in front of me. That person was beautiful—more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen—and the light on them was warmer than the brightest fire in Papa’s forge. They looked down at me, dazed as I was, and offered a gentle smile. Then, the person turned, flapped their wings, and flew back into the sky to join those other glowing figures fighting in the air.

  I sat on the ground in a daze, and following the direction that figure had flown, for the first time, I truly looked up at the sky. And then, I saw it.

  The entire night sky was enveloped in golden light. At the highest point, a dwarven uncle as stout as Papa with a rounded belly was floating in the air, with six even more beautiful wings like the sun on his back. Beside him were two even more beautiful people with four wings, guarding him silently like the statues in front of the Lord’s Manor.

  And behind them was a massive door made of stars. The sky was filled with flying people like the one who just saved me; they were chasing and destroying those horrible monsters.

  Just as I was watching in a trance, almost thinking I was in a dream, a familiar voice—hoarse and carrying a sob—tore through my confusion like a ray of light:

  "Poli! My Poli!"

  It was Mama! In that instant, life seemed to be poured back into my frozen body. all my fear, all my loneliness, turned into a torrent of tears in that moment.

  "Mama—!" I wailed, scrambling up from the ground and running as hard as I could toward the sound. I ran so fast that I even tripped over a piece of rubble, scraping my knee painfully, but I didn't care. I got up and kept charging forward, diving straight into her warm embrace.

  I buried my face deep into her familiar apron, which smelled of flour and salty tears, rubbing every tear of my life onto it. Her arms were so strong, as if she wanted to rub me into her body; I could hear her above my head, making uncontrollable sounds of both crying and laughing.

  In Mama’s warm and safe embrace, I finally dared to look up at the sky again.

  I saw those flying people chasing and destroying the horrible monsters in the sky.

  Just then, I saw the six-winged dwarven uncle charge toward the last, biggest, and scariest black shadow in the sky!

  Then, a light brighter and more blinding than the sun exploded! I shrieked in fright and immediately buried my face deep into Mama’s embrace, closing my eyes tight. Then, I heard the loudest, scariest sound in the whole world! That sound was so, so loud; I didn't hear it with my ears, but it felt like a heavy hammer slamming into me, making my teeth chatter and even making the organs in my belly feel like they were shaking. A huge storm blew past afterward, and Mama shrieked as well, using her back to shield me tightly; I could feel many little stones and dust hitting her like raindrops—pat-pat-pat.

  After what felt like a very, very long time, that scary sound and the wind finally stopped. The world became so quiet, it was frighteningly quiet.

  I peeked out from Mama’s embrace and found that the biggest, scariest shadow in the sky… was gone. Only the uncle with wings remained, floating silently in the air.

  The dwarven uncle floating in the sky gently opened his arms. Then, light. It wasn't a scorching light like the meteors, nor was it a blinding light like the angels. It was a… warm, golden light, like Mama’s embrace, falling down gently, so gently. The light fell on my face, feeling nice and warm. I looked down and saw the bleeding wound on my knee from when I tripped; it didn't hurt anymore—there wasn't even a scar left. I felt Mama’s arms holding me stop shaking, and Papa’s heavy breathing became steady. I saw the dwarven uncles lying around us, groaning and injured, slowly and disbelievingly sitting up, looking at their perfectly whole bodies. That light healed everyone.

  Just as everyone stood up, crying and laughing, I saw the dwarven uncle floating in the sky gently lift a hand. Suddenly, all the flying, glowing people seemed to receive an order and turned into streaks of faster, brighter light, charging toward the monsters still running around in the corners of the city. As soon as the light touched those black monsters, the monsters shrieked and vanished, turning into black smoke.

  Soon, the last monster disappeared. The entire city, except for the sound of fires burning, could no longer hear any roars from the monsters.

  All the light came to a halt, turned around, and faced that six-winged uncle silently in the air. Then, I saw the most unbelievable sight. All the flying people, in the air, knelt on one knee toward him and bowed their heads. That sight was more solemn and shocking than any picture book I had ever seen.

  I saw those flying people, like a river of light, fly back into that massive star-door one by one. When the last light disappeared and the door slowly closed, the sky returned to its original, late-night calm.

  First, there was a deathly silence. Then, I don't know who started it, a hoarse cheer rang out. Then a second, a third… Finally, the entire city erupted in a deafening, thunderous cheer! At first, it was a mess of shouting, but soon, some words I didn't understand but felt powerful emerged from the crowd, growing louder and louder. I couldn't tell who was shouting, nor could I tell if they were old or young; those voices came from all directions, merging into a giant torrent of sound:

  "...The Proxy of the Dwarven God..." "...The successor of the fire of Brom Stoneheart..." "The Star-Flame Judge—!"

  Finally, all the voices merged into one sentence I could understand, a sentence that made everyone cry and shout together:

  "OUR HERO—!"

  But that deafening cheer didn't last long. Gradually, the massive shouting turned into waves of suppressed, weary sobbing and whispers. Just like the furnace fire Papa works with, slowly dying out after the work is done.

  Amidst this sorrowful and quiet atmosphere, I saw a black-bearded uncle carrying the uncle with wings, slowly walking down from the city wall. That uncle was just like Papa—a stout and burly dwarf with a big, rounded belly, looking very strong.

  The crowd stopped cheering; they just stood there as if cast under a spell, automatically parting to make a silent path for them. Everyone watched them with a look I’d never seen before—a mix of reverence, gratitude, and sorrow. The black-bearded uncle’s steps were heavy but steady. And the uncle he was carrying had his eyes closed, looking just like he was asleep.

  I saw my Mama gently, gently let go of my hand. She looked at that figure, her face still bearing tear tracks and her eyes red and swollen, but that look… it wasn't fear anymore. She made no sound, just stood still with her hands clasped before her chest, fingers tightly pressed together and pointing slightly upward. Then, she bowed her head deeply, deeply, until her forehead lightly touched her own knuckles.

  Then, I saw my Papa—the bravest Papa who had just used his body to protect us—copy Mama’s gesture. He moved my sister to his other arm to hold her steadily, then used his free, dust-covered hand to make the same gesture, bowing the head he never easily bowed.

  I didn't understand what that gesture meant, but I could feel the overflowing, chaotic emotions in their hearts. There was gratitude that our family could still hold each other, sorrow for this horrible disaster, and… an indescribable reverence for that figure.

  I followed their example, clasping my tiny, dust-stained palms together, and bowed my head clumsily yet with absolute sincerity toward the figure being carried, the one who had saved everyone.

  I don't understand what those titles the adults shouted mean. But I know—our family can still hold each other because of him.

  Through the eyes of young Poli, we see the true cost of war and the pure wonder of salvation. To a child, Yggdrasil isn't just a god; he's an "uncle just like Papa" who brought the light that sent the monsters away. This chapter concludes our series of perspectives on the Great Battle of Khagurem.

  If you were moved by Poli's journey and his reunion with his family, please follow, favorite, and leave a comment on Royal Road. The dawn is coming to Khagurem!