Earth Forces Go to War

The moment the attack was set to begin—the moment that symbolized countless lives lost and endless clouds of gunpowder smoke rolling in—was truly imminent.

Djibril's eyes burned with morbid excitement as he stared without pause at the changing numbers on the clock. He could barely breathe from anticipation as he waited for that sacred moment that would declare the beginning of war.

Even the air around him seemed to tremble, stirred by the invisible energy radiating from his heart as it pounded frantically for this "experiment."

Beside him, Dares wore an expression of indescribable heaviness and sorrow on his weathered face.

He clung to an almost absurd, equally unattainable wish—a Mirage Colloid-like hope that Orb, that stubborn island, might still change its mind even now, even at the very last moment, and choose to surrender, thus avoiding this meaningless bloody conflict meant only to satisfy one man's twisted desires.

The crew across the bridge, each at their respective posts, also felt an unprecedented tension rising like a tide.

Their nerves were taut, their muscles stiff, and every face bore the foreboding of the fierce battle about to unfold.

Some clenched their teeth until their facial muscles twitched. Others had beads of sweat forming on their foreheads and sliding down their temples. Still others tapped their fingers unconsciously against their consoles, producing faint, hurried clicks—not operating them, but venting the anxiety they could not ease.

The air seemed frozen. Only their heavy breathing and pounding heartbeats sounded unusually clear within the oppressive atmosphere.

Time crept deeper into the morning.

On the eastern horizon, the rising sun resembled a vast furnace, slowly yet steadily spreading its scorching brilliance outward, strand by golden strand. It was warm, yet carried an undeniable sense of command.

At first, that light gently coated the cold steel