Arix gasped for breath, standing outside the house beside the body of Orul. He saw other Nyctona running to their horses. But the damage was done.

  Arix wasn't badly injured. His shoulder had a scratch, but nothing serious. He walked ahead, putting his sword on his back, and looked around to see if anyone needed help.

  Most of the houses were burning, and many dwarves’ bodies were lying on the ground, dead.

  Arix was breathing hard as he moved through the bodies when something caught his attention. He looked to his left and saw a dwarf trapped in the planks of his house, which had burned down.

  Arix went to the dwarf and pulled him out by his arm. The dwarf was unconscious. After pulling him out, Arix checked for breathing. The dwarf was dead.

  Arix tried tapping his chest to help him, but the dwarf lay there. He was trying to revive him when another cry cut through the air.

  "Help! My son! He is dead!" Arix looked toward the sound and saw a mother cradling her son, sobbing.

  Other dwarves were helping everyone they could. Everyone was hurt, many dwarves were dead, and Arix couldn’t save everyone.

  Arix looked around at the devastation. The screams, the bodies, the smoke–it all blurred together. "I couldn't save everyone again. I failed again," he thought as he knelt beside the dead dwarf.

  “I am a useless piece of trash.” Another thought spiraled in his head when someone tapped his shoulder. He snapped out of it and turned to find Lyra standing there, with Meilie behind her.

  “Are you okay?” Lyra asked.

  "No. Many dwarves are dead, and I couldn't help them all. I'm useless," Arix answered.

  Lyra paused. She looked at the dead dwarf beside them and said to Arix, “Were you able to help anyone?”

  Arix replied, “Yes, I saved a child and a dwarf trapped in his house.” He was staring at the burning house in front of him.

  “Then you are not useless. If you saved even one of them, then you are a hero to them,” Lyra said, sitting beside Arix.

  “But what about the others? I failed them.”

  “You cannot save everyone. Many of them were nowhere near you when they died. The best you can do is save as many as you can. And you already did that. So you are a hero.” Lyra paused for a moment.

  "No! I won't be satisfied with saving only a few. If someone is dying in front of me, then I will save him no matter what." Arix stood up and carefully lifted the dwarf's body. “Come on. Many dwarves still need our help. Let’s go.”

  Lyra smiled a bit, then stood up and walked with Arix while Meilie followed them.

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  They took the dead dwarf's body near the town hall, where every dead body was gathered. Arix gently put the body there and moved forward to save anyone else if needed.

  After some time, Arix, Meilie, and Lyra saved some other dwarves who were trapped in their homes or were injured.

  Bromgar instructed everyone to meet in the town hall, including everyone who was injured. Arix followed his instructions and guided everyone toward the town hall.

  The night was far from over. Smoke still hung in the air, slowly clearing.

  “I guess we found everyone we can,” Arix said to Lyra and Meilie. Meilie nodded and pointed her staff at the burning house. A powerful gust of wind burst from the tip, extinguishing the flames and revealing the last trapped dwarf.

  “You're right. We should head to the town hall as well," Lyra said.

  After the dwarf climbed out, he thanked them. Arix told him to head to the town hall, and the dwarf hurried off.

  “Let’s go,” Arix said as he started walking toward the town hall with Meilie and Lyra.

  “Where is Tarin?” Arix asked.

  “No idea. He probably went to the town hall too,” Lyra said. “I hope he is okay.”

  "Yes. Me too." Arix finished his sentence and saw Tarin walking ahead of him toward the town hall.

  “Look, there he is,” Arix said to Lyra and shouted, “Tarin.”

  Tarin heard him and stopped, letting them catch up.

  "Where were you?" Arix asked when he reached him.

  “I was looking for you guys. I thought you were in the town hall,” Tarin answered and started walking with the group.

  “We were helping dwarves who were trapped,” Lyra said.

  “I also helped some of them.” Tarin glanced at Arix's shoulder and noticed the scratch. “Does that hurt?”

  Arix looked at the wound. “Nah, it’s fine. What about yours? You have cloth wrapped around your arm. Looks like you got hit too.”

  “It’s fine. It was just a scratch,” Tarin answered.

  - - -

  Soon after, they reached the town hall. It was packed with dwarves. The injured were lying on carpets along one side, and everyone else stood around the big table in the middle.

  Bromgar was standing on the table, making a speech.

  "These Nyctona will pay for every drop of blood we shed," he shouted, and the dwarves cheered.

  “They took our home. They took our family. We are not going to let them walk free, no matter what.” Bromgar looked around and found Arix and the group standing near the entrance. “And thanks to our new human friends. They helped us in this battle.” He pointed toward the group.

  Everyone turned toward the group and started clapping and cheering for them.

  The group stood there, unsure how to react, when the door behind Arix slammed open.

  Everyone looked at the door and saw a dwarf gasping for breath.

  “What happened, Balrik? Have you found something?” Bromgar got down from the table and started making his way toward Balrik at the door.

  "Yes." Balrik took a deep breath. "I found the Nyctona base."

  Murmurs broke out across the room. Everyone started muttering.

  "Silence!" Bromgar shouted, and the room fell quiet.

  “Where is their base?” Bromgar asked Balrik.

  “Deep inside the old forest,” he answered.

  “Okay then.” Bromgar went toward the table again and climbed onto it, standing in the middle.

  “My dwarves. Do you want revenge on the Nyctona?”

  “Yes,” everyone shouted.

  “Do you want to kill them too, like they killed your family?”

  “Yes,” everyone shouted.

  “Then join me. We will launch an attack on them six days from now.”

  Everyone started cheering as they agreed without a second thought.

  ?? Even gods need to be held sometimes

  What to Expect:

  - An epic, multi-book space opera with a large found family and multiple POVs.

  - A powerful but emotionally vulnerable protagonist with chaotic powers he struggles to control.

  - Strong, capable, and sometimes morally gray women.

  - High stakes, cosmic threats, and detailed world-building.

  What NOT to Expect:

  - LitRPG/System elements

  - Lone wolf power fantasy

  - A story that is only about romance

  This story contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, and graphic violence. It is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

  90+ Chapters in the first month

  500,000+ words already written and backlogged