As night fell, the revelry that had filled Village No. 67 for hours finally subsided. In the darkness, only the embers of the bonfires gave off a faint glow.
Sura nestled against the drunken Spartacus when she suddenly felt someone gently tug at her clothes.
She looked down and found little Qiqi beside her. Smiling, she gently gathered the girl into her arms.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you asleep this late?"
"Sura, is Daddy never coming back?" Qiqi asked softly, her head lowered.
Sura stiffened, and Spartacus's hand stirred slightly. Habits forged on the battlefield had made him a light sleeper.
"Of course he is. I told you, your daddy is just on duty. He couldn't come back with us this time." Sura still couldn't bear to tell the little girl the cruel truth.
"Really? But Mommy was crying in her room for ages just now..." Qiqi said despondently.
Though she was young, she had seen and heard enough to understand more than nothing. In the end, she had sensed something.
Sura remained silent for a long time, merely holding the quietly sobbing Qiqi tighter.
Spartacus quietly opened his eyes. Without a word, he gazed up at the hazy stars, feeling lost.
Qiqi's father had been his fellow villager and comrade, though they had been assigned to different combat squads. After a battle two months earlier, there had been no further word of him.
In the end, there hadn't even been an official death notice.
But no one had the energy to care about such "trivial matters." Staying alive already took everything they had.
Perhaps one day, I'll vanish from this world without a sound, just like him. When that happens, will my family be as heartbroken as Qiqi...?
Spartacus looked at Sura beside him, tenderness and anguish flickering in