Alright, since it's taking a lot longer than I thought, here's a preview of Another Side's Phase the First, Act 4. This won't spoil much of the story, but please bear with me. (It's very short because...  yeah)

Act 4: The Will to Move On

Arturo drew his beloved blade that had reaped the lives of those who stood in his path. Under the light of the moon, it glowed in its solemn beauty which would steal the breath of anyone who crossed paths with it. Arturo had received this sword as a result of his tireless efforts to climb from the pits of despair to the top ranks of the military in the face of all odds. Now, here he was facing off against a simple villager. By rank, they were farther apart than the stars and the land, but on this battlefield, they were equals with the rights to life and the ability to kill.

Propping his sword straight in front of him using his two hands, Arturo steadied himself in front of his opponent. He felt his heart beating in excitement and anxiety as he could feel the smothering tension that lay between life and death. It was merely a duel, yet when Arturo's eyes met Tiro's, there was no sign of mercy within them. Within Tiro's eyes was an indefinite void that lacked the human capacity to feel an ounce of compassion. His arms did not move from the sides of his waist, but Arturo saw the stiff contraction of the muscles and the balled fist. An aura of absolute determination seemed to burst from Tiro's body in waves that continued to repeatedly collide with Arturo. However, he stood firm and stared back in anticipation.

"Do you not have a sword?" Arturo asked. Tiro had come barehanded. No weapons could be seen on his body. Normally, Arturo would have assumed he was being mocked, but the unsettling atmosphere made him think twice.

"I won't need it. If I came to talk about peace, why would I bring a weapon?" Tiro said dully.

"Very well- have at thee!"

The city was up in flames. Marauders of another country had invaded one of the cities on the outskirts of the Valerian Empire. Women and children were wailing while the fathers were humiliated before death. Other females were targeted by the bandits for the sake of sexual pleasure. Some were taken as captives. Amidst all of this chaos, Arturo found himself hiding within a cabinet. Through the little cracks, he saw his best friend extending his arms in front of his mother. The little sister was hiding behind him. The father had already passed before their eyes.

Without mercy, the two children who Arturo had been friends with since childhood lost their lives. It was astonishing how quickly the life could be snuffed from them. The pillager in the room progressed to abuse the mother. In a fit of rage, Arturo left the shelter of cabinet and attacked the murderer with a kitchen knife.

That was the first life he had ever taken with his own hands.

He looked at his blood stained hands and dropped the knife. He looked at the person he just saved. She was looking back at him in horror rather than gratitude. Confused in his frenzy after losing his friend, he ran outside and suffocated in the smoke from all the burning debris. The smell of burning human flesh and the fresh memory of his first kill made him puke while shedding tears of sorrow. However, Arturo picked himself up again and ran home- only to find that both of his parents had been slain side by side. Their backs each wore a huge gash that was deep enough to cut a tree branch. The blood continued to ooze out of their bodies and spread itself across the floor. In horror and shock, he knelt down beside the two of them with his bare knees touching the soaked floor.

"Father. . . Mother. . . Papa! Mama!"

Once again, little crystallized droplets fell to the ground and intermingled with the blood of his brethren below. The sorrow stemming from the shedding of blood was one that Arturo was beginning to understand.

He felt a pat on his head. Without realizing it, Arturo's dying father had moved his arm to gently rest itself on his head.

"Have. . . love."

Hence, Arturo escaped the village and began to fight for the sake off protecting what he loved. He valued life above all else in battle. This valor along with the strength he acquired through dedication and hard work had pushed him through the ranks of the military.

He vowed to himself and upon the lives he couldn't save on that fateful day that he would serve the military and aim for world peace to make sure that no one else would go through the same experiences he had gone through.