Marching with the army was far slower than walking with Ishin alone, but there was nothing else he could do. Surely, he and Ishin could show up to Liman alone and torch the town, but General Juna had requested that the town stay standing so that when he eventually took control, he had a good port town to use. It was smart, but there was still a part of him that wanted to see it burn.

At every waking moment, he relived the destruction of the town he couldn't remember the name of. The way the flames moved, like waves over the shore, was forever imprinted in his mind. He wanted to see it again, but that meant going against the suggestions of his most trusted general.

In an attempt to make him seem like the King was supposed to be, he rode upon a spare horse gifted to him by General Juna. Of course, Ishin walked by his side, taller than them all as if there was something that made him feel good about being taller than the rest of them. Perhaps Gods had superiority complexes. It wouldn't surprise him.

The army marched behind them in organised lines as they had for the last two days, stopping only for a short break in barely constructed tents. Spies were sent ahead of them every hour to make sure they weren't running into anything unexpected. Harudan listened when they returned to give reports, happy whenever good news came back. General Juna's original plan to spread the Askari thin had worked for the most part.

Contact between both parts of the army was mostly regular. Over the last two days, he'd seen at least three ravens arrive from the north, all with agreements to Juna's plan. Harudan had tried to send his own back to Ishmar in the form of Ignis, who had cried and spat flames when he'd tied the note to his leg. Instead, he'd borrowed a raven and tried for a long time to calm his drake down.

Ignis grieved far louder than he did, something that had surprised him. He hadn't thought an animal like Ignis could feel grief, but obviously, he was far smarter than Harudan had ever thought possible. When he was frozen in the memories of the one man who had stuck by him, the pet they had shared screamed for his other father.

If only Harudan had made it to the crystal falls sooner rather than later. If only he had never sent Jonin off in the first place, then he would be safe and by his side where he belonged. But there was nothing he could do about it. He had made his mistakes, many of them, and he would have to live with them for the rest of his life.

"Your Majesty?" someone next to him said. Juna watched him with a frown. They must have been trying to speak to him, but he was lost in his thoughts.

He shook his head as if that would get rid of his grief. "I'm sorry? You were saying?" he said, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He should have been paying attention.

Even Ishin was looking at him, but Harudan couldn't read his expression amid the flames. Juna sighed but for once, didn't make mention of his distraction. "I was just telling you that the northern part of the army will arrive at Ziya long before we do," they said, their frown disappearing. "They will be digging in and waiting for us, for the real attack."

It was something he already knew, something Juna had told him when he'd arrived, but for whatever reason, they had decided to repeat it. Perhaps to make him feel as if he were still involved in the plans when he hadn't been from the moment the war really started. Everything had been thought of long ago.

"So I've been told," he said, fiddling with the harness in his hands.

Juna didn't try to talk to him again, no one did, something he was grateful for. It was all nonsense, things he had heard a thousand times over in the war room in Ishmar. He didn't need it to be repeated over and over again, as if he were a child who couldn't understand the ramifications of his choices. He understood them perfectly.

They stopped to camp in the middle of the night, but Harudan was still wide awake, watching as people set up his tent. The beacon of light that was Ishin stood on the crest of a hill in the distance, his flames flickering in the harsh wind. He was staring at something, but Harudan couldn't tell what.

Leaving his horse in the care of the soldiers around him, he strode through the tents towards the snow-capped hill. The wind was cold, but his powers and the heat Ishin gave them made it almost nonexistent. The snow crunched under his feet, loud in his ears, but it felt as cold as gravel.

Ishin must have heard him coming, but he didn't say a word even as Harudan stopped at his side. "What are you doing here?" the King asked. Below them were fields of snow with the occasional tree dotted about, on the horizon a dark line of trees barely visible in the cloudy night.

"It has been a long time since I have seen Vishera. I thought I would take a moment to look at the place I helped create," Ishin answered, gesturing vaguely as the darkness beyond them.

"Is it strange?" he asked even though he didn't care much to hear the answer. It felt like what he was supposed to do.

The God hummed thoughtfully. "Very," he said. "But I suppose that is to be expected. A lot of things have changed and yet, nothing has changed. Everyone is still as bloodthirsty as before."

"And you chose to side with us. You could have run the moment you were free, but you stayed, so you can't blame me," Harudan told him, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Because I believed we had a similar vision. You are trying to do what I could not all those years ago," he replied, still not looking at him. "I want to see the world remade into something better. Don't you?"

The answer was obvious. "Of course." There was one way to make sure that happened. "I want to burn them all."

For once, Ishin regarded him with a strange sense of calmness. "Do you remember what I told you back in your little palace?" he asked. Something about the words seemed patronising, but he couldn't place what it was. "If anything changed regarding your plans, then I will not hesitate to do what I think is right."

"You would kill me because I'm trying to do what I think is right?" Harudan asked, scoffing loudly.

"If it's bad for the realm, yes," the God said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. To something like him, it probably was. The death of a single Ishini was nothing in the eyes of a being who could do anything he wanted.

He sighed. "They are my enemies. I want them gone, is that so hard for you to understand?"

"They are not your enemies. They are people who need a better leader, is that not what you told me?" Ishin asked, finally looking down at him, something akin to disapproval in his eyes. "What kind of King would you be to them if you gained their country by burning it to the ground? Do you want to be King of the ashes?"

He didn't, but that wasn't what came out of his mouth when he spoke. "They killed him. It's what they deserve," he hissed, his fingers clenching around the hilt of Jonin's sword.

"They didn't. The Beast did." In the silence that followed, the wind whipped at his long hair, blowing it from the confines of the leather band and into his face. It stung his nose and ears but only for a second before the heat of the God next to him replaced it.

The Askari. His original reasons for the war, the ones he had told Jonin of constantly over the years before he'd been crowned King of Brenmar. He'd wanted to save them from a man who didn't care about them, give them a world where they could live without struggling. He'd asked for the citizens of the towns to be kept alive for that reason and in his grief and anger, he had slaughtered them without a thought. Part of him ached with guilt, but satisfaction still flowed through his veins, leaving him as a confusing mess of feelings.

Ishin didn't seem to notice his thoughts. "Burning their home will not solidify you as the ruler they need, but one far worse than what they already have," he said, the blue tips of his face flames waving in the wind. "And I will not help you do that. I am being merciful by not killing you on the spot. In Liman and Ziya, I will not burn the buildings, but I will help you defeat those who stand in your path."

"Why?" he asked before he could stop himself. Why not just kill him then and there?

"Because your grief is blinding you, young King. It will take time, but eventually, your sight will be clear again. Until then, concentrate on gaining the throne of Minisia and what you will do to make these people's lives better instead of murdering them," Ishin ordered. It was as if the God were in charge and not him, but he couldn't find it in him to argue.

He sighed and pushed his dark hair away from his face. "And what will you do? What is your goal?" he asked, pursing his lips at the God.

"I will fight the armies that try to stop you," he said. "I will kill the Beast that was Promised. He is the one thing that could potentially stop us and I will not let him do so. When you win and take control of both nations, then I will continue my work to make Vishera better. Not by your side, but still working with you to achieve a similar goal."

It was the best he could hope for when it came to working with Ishin. He had his own goals in mind and for the moment, they coincided with his original ones. Taking life lessons from a God was not something he had ever expected to happen to him, which gave him all the more reason to listen to them. Despite everything that had happened, he needed to concentrate on the original plans he and Jonin had come up with.

What would he think of him if he threw them away for the sake of revenge, especially if he was taking it out on people who hadn't done what he wanted to hurt them for? He would be disappointed in him, completely and utterly disappointed. If he destroyed Ziya like he wanted to, he would have nothing to rule and his war would have been pointless. He had to do what he had promised a long time ago, for Jonin.

They would come across the Beast eventually and when they did, that would be when Harudan got his revenge. He would finish the job he had sent Jonin on and murder the man who had taken him away from him. All he needed to do was listen to Ishin and concentrate, only let his anger get the better of him when it was necessary. Jonin had been the rock for his anger and without him, there was no one to keep him in check but himself.

He wasn't going to give Ishin a reason to kill him. His job was to take over Minisia and rule Vishera as one joint nation, giving the different peoples a life of peace and prosperity. He was supposed to do it with his family by his side, but the only person he had left was Nerin, and even he wanted nothing to do with him anymore, despite his many attempts. There was nothing he could do about that anymore though.

"Go on, young King," Ishin said, breaking his train of thought. "You need to rest. We have a long journey ahead of us. See to your drake as well."

He shouldn't have been taking over from anyone, but as he spoke, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. A loud yawn escaped his throat and he sighed. "So be it. Thank you for your words, Ishin. I will not disappoint you," he said.

Ishin didn't say anything until Harudan was halfway down the hill. "I hope not." It was so loud that he could have sworn the God was right next to him, but when he turned, Ishin was looking over the fields once more. He shook his head and entered the camp once more, giving a brief nod to Juna when he passed them.

Ignis flew over the tents and when Harudan whistled, he dived down to land on his shoulder. "Hello, boy," he said and scratched him under the chin. "It's time to sleep, don't you think?" Ignis chirped in response, dragging the sound out. With a sigh, Harudan headed into the tent that had been set up for him, closed the flap behind him and collapsed onto the makeshift bed, Ignis curling up at his side.