Arata steps out of camp with the rest of the soldiers. At some point, they’ve all begun to file behind him. Right… I’m the placebo hero here… Yet Arata doesn’t stop, stepping back slightly, he grabs both General Matt and Morgan on the shoulders, forcing the two to walk by his side.

  “You two… aren’t you both the ones in charge here? I’ll tell you when I spot the enemy.” More like when Ravenna spots one, but no one can see her to know I’m taking her credit.

  Arata begins to think, a distraction to the side, doppelgangers. He suddenly pulls a sword on Matt’s throat, “General Matt, who the fuck is leading this operation! Who are the higher-ups! Take off your shirt… you're being searched for stitches.”

  General Matt begins to sweat, “Arata, what's your deal? I'm human! I swear-”

  Morgan acts quickly, confirming through searching his body, “He's human, but what’s up with you?”

  “Wasn't it strange to you? We’re a distraction, yet have you posted here to consider the tactical advantages? We’re too spread out from the other squads. But that's far from my only problem here.” Arata explains.

  Continuing, he clears his throat, “Our logistical support and morale sucks, but if we fall, we risk being made into alriune, which, with their new human skin, can infiltrate other camps with a little deceit. Us being here is a win condition for our enemies. Either our higher-ups are the most incompetent commanders of all time or have already been taken over.”

  The soldiers all whisper among each other, shocked, panicked or enraged by Arata's conclusion.

  Morgan begins to speak up, “Hey, Arata… if what you're saying is true? Wouldn't it be a bad idea to meet up with the hero's party? That squad might think we're Alriune. Besides, it is not like the journey we took here. On foot with this many men, it’ll take three days. Do we have enough rations to make it through even while it's so dangerous?”

  Possibly… but not if they stop for a second. Arata retorts, “Would we have enough rations to hold this position? The human body can survive three days without food. Besides, Clemence is with the hero's party. You weren't told that, but she spoke with me. She can spot an Alraune. She was probably added for that very reason.”

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  I just need Ravenna to help me guide the soldiers… the plan it's- at least I want to call it better than nothing. Arata felt the weight of pressure on himself.

  He looks to Morgan, asking, “Sir Morgan, that's still just my suggest-”

  “No, Arata… we’ll follow your plan, you’ve got some trick I know. You’ll navigate, I'll lead the troops for you. It doesn't matter if you don't have it all right, you're the closest thing we’ve got to right.” Morgan speaks up, shoving Arata past themself into the front of the group.

  In prayer, Arata asks Ravenna, “Which way to the hero's camp?”

  Ravenna groans, poking out of a treetop, “I was busy scouting Alraune! They're planning to encircle the camp and wipe you guys out. Don't bug me by praying, it's like @mention-ing me through divine means. I’ll create props to direct you through the forest, follow the mannequins.”

  “Encirclement… we need to go back to get valuables anyway. Morgan, let's-” Arata speaks before being interrupted.

  Shouting, Morgan commands the soldiers, “Attention! We are abandoning this position, gather anything useful, and we’re burning the rest to the ground! I repeat, we’re going to abandon camp!”

  Whispers are thrown back and forth among the soldiers before they all cheer as though they’ve been liberated from eternal torment. They’re seemingly very emotional. Many of them whisper to each other that Arata is a divine prophet. Others wanted to see him become king.

  Hey… that’s a bit far for concluding that. Arata begins to backtrack, moving quickly to get back to base. The soldier’s vigor revitalized, they followed shortly behind Arata.

  Camp up ahead, the soldiers rush in, grabbing food, weapons, armor, and anything else that could be of use. While they seemed grateful, Arata felt bad. This is a shit solution, I feel bad seeing their hope… we’ve got to trek through the fire, solely so that we can reach the frying pan.

  Fire, the camp was about to erupt in it. In the final act, the soldiers douse the whole camp in oil, leading a trail of it outwards. Arata stands at the end of it. He gathers the heat of the earth, condensing it into the palm of his hand. I suppose not all of them expected to make it through the journey alive… but none of them expected to survive in this position.

  Morgan shouts, “Alright, men! As soon as the fire is lit, we shall run!”

  With that, the flame is dropped, the trail extends outwards like a flowing stream, and the wave of flames crashes into the fort. The whole structure is engulfed in flames, forming an orange obelisk peering into the sky. Even though not everyone’s survival is assured, they’ve committed themselves to a plan… to use corpses as a bridge to the end is commonplace in war. That’s something my generation never learned, I guess, not sure if I’m ready for that lesson.