Bastian
Chapter 197 - Bastian

✧Bastian✧

 

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“ADMIRAL, MORE THAN HALF OF OUR CREW HAS MANAGED TO ESCAPE!” 

The words reverberated through the frigid, dark night like a death knell. The final mission began. The remaining soldiers scrambled to flee from the sinking wreckage of their ship, leaving behind the half-destroyed hull. In the darkness of the night, the waves tossed and turned, Admiral Sher and his troops surged forward with unrelenting force, their weapons drawn and ready to fire. 

Bastian’s gaze flicked to the watch on his wrist, counting down the seconds until his plan would be put into action. “WE WILL LEAVE IN 5 MINUTES!  LEAVE ONE LIFEBOAT EMPTY. PASS THAT TIME, DON’T HESITATE TO DEPART AT ONCE!”

Time was ticking down and only 5 minutes before Rayvael would completely rest on the depths. The entire ammunition depot was thrown open as elite forces, led by him, were dispatched, blood and sweat mingled to complete their last mission.

Bastian’s mind had to race to search for a plan as Admiral Sher relentlessly launched attack after attack. With the Rayvael loaded with explosives, he saw an opportunity to turn the ship into a deadly weapon that could blow up Admiral Sher  and buy them precious time until Admiral Demel’s rescue ship arrived.

Bastian stood on the frontline and led  his prepared soldiers into battle. From the deck, flares sparkled once or twice, emerging from across the night sea. Three bursts of light in quick succession responded to their desperate SOS signal and confirmed Admiral Demel’s rescue ship was on its way.

One more step, just one more step to reach her place.

 That determination pushed him forward, he sprinted towards the ammunition depot with every last ounce of strength in his body. The deck was in ruins, littered with debris and blood. The stench of death and smoke overwhelmed his senses as he ran, and one by one, he collected the dog tags hanging from the necks of his death comrades on his way.

The deafening roar of cannons once again hit Rayvael as he arrived at the weapons and ammunition depot. A fiery explosion decimated everything in sight, engulfing some young soldiers who had fought until the bitter end in flames. Their bodies burned and fell into the merciless sea, disappearing below the dark waves of the North Sea, never to be seen again. 

“MOVE! SCATTER AND ESCAPE ONCE THE MISSION COMPLETED!” Bastian’s voice boomed over the chaos as he bellowed orders to the remaining soldiers. They scrambled towards their designated positions, dodging explosions and gunfire, some of them raced towards the lifeboats as time was  ticking away in a deadly countdown.

Odette.

The mere mention of her name had the power to make Bastian stand up again.

That name stirred something inside of him.

That name was the reason why he wanted to keep on living.

Whenever he felt the fear of death creeping in, he would think of her – the one whose name was etched into his soul…

‘I love you’

Those miraculous words of her love confession seemed to swirl around again.

‘Please come back’

And her desperate plea continued to echo inside his head. 

Over and over, he had to keep going. He needed to survive – to make it back to the woman who loved him and whom he loved in return.

To My Eternal Odette

The memory of the starting line of his letter to her kept burning, like a relentless flame that refused to die.

Despite being thrown to the ground by the shattering debris from the collapsing ship, Bastian pushed through the rubbles and forced himself up. He wiped the flowing sweat disturbing his view; his helmet has been lost in the chaos. He checked his watch – 

Only 3 minutes left. 

The acrid smell of gunpowder filled his nose as he ran towards his destination like a wild beast on the hunt. His legs burn with exertion, his body screaming for rest, but he pushed on, whispering the words from that sacred letter as if it were a prayer to God that may be listening.

Odette, my dear Odette.

I love you, Odette, I’ve always loved you.

From that moment when first my eyes met yours, to this very second, there has never been a single moment when I stopped loving you.

 Even when I tried to hate you, in the end, my heart still loved you.

But I was living a lie. I used excuses to keep myself from facing the truth. 

To deny you. To hurt you again. To protect you. There was always an excuse attached, but only one truth remained.

I was a coward, too weak to face these new and unfamiliar feelings that besieged my senses. I was always afraid and confused by the strange emotions I felt for the first time in my life, so I just ran away.

Odette..please forgive me.

 Please forgive me for everything. 

And thank you.

 Your love has saved me from my own darkness and pulled me out of an endless hell.

The letter he wrote for Odette continued to dance in his head as the world around him erupted in a symphony of booming explosions and twisting blaze. Images of her waiting for him at the end of a road engulfed in devouring flames flicked before his eyes.

“DANGER, ADMIRAL!” Lieutenant Caylon’s voice shattered through the chaos.

Reflexively, Bastian shielded his head from the raining debris. The impact crushed his wristwatch, shattering its glass and stopping  the clock-hands.

Perhaps 2 minutes left…

Counting the remaining time, he flew through the ship’s corridors to reach the ammunition room before it was too late. He just turned the corner and finally opened the door, when a fierce explosion rocked the entire ship. The roar of cannons and the people screams rang in his ears. Chaos erupted as shrapnel rained down on the ship, ripping apart his comrades and sending them falling into the unforgiving ocean below.

“GET UP! RUN QUICKLY!” Bastian screamed through the smoky air. He sprang to his feet and urged his soldiers towards the waiting lifeboats. 

The Lovita cannon relentlessly attacked Rayvael again and again. Bastian dropped to the ground and crawled, using his own wounded body as a shield. His uniform was torn and covered in blood and ash, but he forced himself to get back up and keep running towards the depot.

I will do my best to let go of the veil of past regret that dims my spirit’s light.

It’s my duty to you, as a way to show my gratitude for your forgiveness and your love.

 I promise to return to your side with nothing else but love for you.

I will stand by your side to start anew, as your lover, your friend, and your family. Through this, I hope to make amends for my wrongdoings by devoting myself entirely to you for the rest of our lives.

The promise inscribed in his letter was a lifeline. It pulled him to stand again and again. Every time pain imprisoned him and nearly toppled his consciousness. When his entire body was being crushed—he would remember those words he wrote in his letter.

Odette, …I want to live.

I want to live with you.

“ADMIRAL! ADMIRAL!” 

He could faintly hear the cries of the rescue crew. The ship’s hull was engulfed by water and a Lovita vessel fired, sinking one of the lifeboats. The expected Demel Fleet was nowhere in sight, likely occupied with other enemy ships..

“SHER! YOU BASTARD!”

Bastian staggered towards the ammunition warehouse, the door loomed ahead of him, partially open. He found Lieutenant Caylon weakly sitting and holding onto the door handle.

“I promised…. my wife and children… I will return…” Every time he tried to speak, red blood kept spilling from the corners of his lips.

Bastian carried Caylon to safety, blood soaking his hands. He couldn’t tell whose blood it was as they fled from danger.

Caylon’s whisper calling for his family faded as they escaped into the night. A photograph, stained with blood, slipped from his weak grasp and was carried away by the strong winds, disappearing into the haze of gunfire. He placed Caylon’s lifeless body on the edge of the deck. Then, he took a dog-tag pendant from Caylon’s neck and tucked it into his pocket.

 Bastian stood gazing at the sinking Rayvael, the icy sea water rushing in to envelop the entire ship. The sound of increasingly intense artillery fire became blurred, as if happening in a distant world. He no longer felt pain in his body; everything seemed swallowed by the shadow of the impending death.

A deranged laugh escaped from his lips, echoing across the deck as he stumbled forward on legs that felt like lead weights. 

Odette, even if my body cannot return to your side, may you not dwell in overwhelming sorrow and despair.  Let not my demise cast you a lasting sadness, for my love will always be with you..

My love will be in the winds that rustle through the skies where you fly, and in the waves of the sea when you swim in. I will always be with you wherever you are , in your world, everlastingly accompanying you.

 So, Odette, when I’m gone, I hope you love your world and fill your days with beauty. For I hold firm to the belief, that’s  the way to keep our love to last forever, beyond the end of time.

The words from his last message to Odette pounded in his head like a relentless drumbeat, driving him forward as he stumbled and clawed his way through the darkness. Thick smoke choked him, his body screamed for him to stop, but he pushed on, tripping and stumbling until he rose again, And then….

Like a beacon of hope, Admiral Demel’s ship emerged through the fog.

This was it – the final showdown.

He wiped his face, smearing blood, sweat, and tears across his skin, before turning towards the final lifeboat waiting for him. The watch on his wrist had stopped ticking long ago, but he knew that only five minutes had passed.

Bastian ran across the battered ship’s deck, and jumped into the churning sea where the rescue fleet loomed in the distance. In a split second, a blast erupted behind him, a boom split the air as a shot destroyed through the ammunition warehouse. Flames burst forth, engulfing the Rayvael ship in a fierce inferno and rapidly creeping towards Admiral Sher’s warship. 

Bastian closed his eyes against the blinding glare of fire across the ocean floor. The icy water swallowed him whole, dragging his body further and further…. into its depths…… 

Odette….

my eternal love……

My life was once a broken ruins, forged from the embers of hatred and pain. I used to live only for revenge and destroy things—I believed it was my sole reason for being alive in this world.

Through you, I understand the meaning of true love. That’s the gift you gave me. Because of you, I learned how to protect myself in order to keep living on.

You were the first person I wanted to protect when the sword of life came my way. With you by my side, the world seemed brighter and more beautiful, and our memories together continue to give meaning to my life. 

I am grateful to have you in my life. You have brought joy and love into my world.

 Odette my love, I found happiness in loving you.

There were countless words I wanted to share with you while holding you close. But, when the time comes when my arms can’t hold you anymore, I hope you remember this,

Loving you, that’s my life…..

With eternal love,

Bastian.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

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