Karen’s hands stopped moving for a moment.

“Christmas,” she said slowly, “is a day people used to celebrate in the past.”

The boy stared. “Celebrate what?”

Karen glanced toward Solomon, then toward Alex, hoping they could answer for her.

But both of them also caught off guard by the question.

Karen took a breath.

“Some people believe it is the birthday of a holy figure.

Some people just use it as a day to be kind, to gather with family, to give gifts, and to tell each other they matter.”

The boy tilted his head. “Gifts?”

“Yes,” Karen said. “Small things. Sometimes toys. Sometimes food. Sometimes just a letter.”

The second boy leaned forward. “Why would you give your food away?”

“Because you want someone else to smile. Because you want them to feel warm inside.”

The first boy stared at her confused. “But what if the food run out? Won’t we all dead?”

As they’re surviving one the mood, food were always rationed.

In fact today is the first time they even tasted meal this sweet.

Mingyue, who had walked closer without anyone noticing, looked at the kids and then at Karen. “We need more than just food to survive.”

Karen nodded, grateful for the support.

The boy turned to Mingyue. He had been scared of her at first, like most kids were.

But tonight, he seemed curious.

“Are you one of us?” he asked.

Mingyue answered without hesitation. “No. I come from another world.”

The boy took that in, then asked the next thing like it was logical. “Do you have Christmas too?”

Mingyue looked at Alex for a brief second. Then she looked back at the boy. “No. But I know about it.”

The boy blinked twice. “Is that why everyone is loud?”

A few people chuckled again.

Karen reached out and lightly tapped his forehead with two fingers. “Yes. That’s why.”

The boy rubbed his forehead, not angry, just thinking. “What about the New Year?”

Karen’s eyes flicked to the schedule sheet pinned on the wall, the one they used to track supplies and patrol rotations.

It were messy, and half the days were crossed out with notes like “raid,” “repair,” “funeral.”

It’s been a long time since they even teach month and years.

Date is just there to allow them to track what to do next.

“The New Year,” she said, “is when people count time and tell themselves they can do things better.”

The boy’s eyebrows pulled together. “Better?”

“Become stronger,” Karen said. “Start reflecting what you have done the year before, what can be fixed, what can be improved.

Are you close with your goal for brighter future?”

The boy looked down at his cup. “Can someone like me have a brighter future?”

The question hit the room like a bullet.

They all understand the boy question.

Most adult press it down inside their heart, but it will be a lie if they don’t feel like this.

So many generation have wasted their life, sacrifice everything they had, yet they those who survive what right they have to be the one enjoying all this?

The boy for example surived after his family sacrified heir lifes.

Why him not them?

survivor’s guilt…

Each of them carry it on their hearth.

Even those that survive from the old world feel this.

Just like Alex they often think of the past, they could have done this or that.

They could have done things better, than more people will live.

Karen’s eyes got wet, but she did not let the tears fall. She put her hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“You can’t undo it,” she said. “But you can keep going.

You can carry them with you. You can live in a way that would make them proud.”

The boy’s lips tightened. He nodded once, small and stiff, like he did not want anyone to see him shake.

Solomon spoke from behind. “Hope is not a feeling. It is a decision.”

Some people turned toward him.

A few soldiers straightened their backs without realizing.

Solomon continued, eyes on the kids. “When you wake up and choose to eat, choose to train, choose to help someone else, that is hope. Even if you feel nothing inside.”

The first boy stared at Solomon. “Is that why we must live for a brighter future?”

Solomon did not answer right away. He looked at Alex for a moment, then looked back at the child.

“Yes,” he said. “I promised someone I would not give up until the end.

He put his life to lay foundation that allow us to survive to this day.

There are many regret, but never forget we must live the best we can.

Only than will their sacrifice have meaning.”

Karen’s hand tightened on the boy’s shoulder. She looked away for a second, like she was hiding her face.

The words is not just for the boys, it’s also for Solomon himself and everyone else.

‘I really underestimate how hard they had live their life so far.’ Alex’s though.

Now he understand In war, there are no winners, only survivors.

Yet they will soon go to a even bigger war…

‘No I will not let them face it, as long they put in safe place than it’s alright.’

Alex than grinned. “Christmas is about gifts, then where are the gifts?”

A few people laughed again, grateful for the escape.

Karen wiped her eyes fast and stood up. “Gifts. Right. Gifts.”

She clapped her hands twice. “Everyone, line up. We don’t have much, but we prepared something.”

Alex watched the line form. He knew what they had prepared. Simple items, things pulled from storage and repaired by hand. A scarf made from stitched cloth. A small knife with a new handle. A toy made from metal scraps that could roll on a wheel.

“And now, this is a gift from me.”

Alex clapped his hands. The thunderous sound pulled everyone’s attention.

He drew a rune in the air, then shot it toward the ceiling.

The ceiling started to distort, then changed into a clear blue sky.

He shot another rune. It exploded into many pieces, spreading out into a complete formation.

BOOM! BOOM!!!

Fireworks burst across the sky, pulling everyone’s gaze upward.

The colors bloomed and overlapped, bright enough to make the room feel bigger.

But Alex didn’t stop there. He gathered lifeforce on his finger and fired it toward the ceiling.

A green light struck the sky and exploded into a bright, warm glow. It did not blind them.

It felt like dawn after long darkness.

Then white snow began to fall.

A few people froze, not sure what it was.

One of the kids reached out.

The snow landed on his palm.

It was warm.

His eyes widened. He touched it again, then looked up, confused. Snow was supposed to be cold, right? That was what someone told him once.

The warmth seeped into his skin.

Color returned to his cheeks.

His one skinny body start to change. He become Plumpier and Healthier.

He swallowed and stared at his hands like they belonged to someone else.

“I… I feel…” he whispered, then he could not finish the sentence.

Around the room, soldiers stiffened.

A man who had lost two fingers flexed his hand and froze, feeling something new press against his palm.

He looked down slowly.

The missing fingers were there.

A real one, with the same rough skin and old scars that matched his life.

Another soldier who had limped for years put weight on his bad leg. His eyes went wide.

He took one step, then another, testing the ground fearing it was just a dream.

Someone with a missing arm felt heat surge at the shoulder. They gritted their teeth as nerves woke up. T

hen the shape returned, bone and muscle knitting, fingers forming.

When it finished, he held his hand up and stared at it, shaking.

A sound broke out across the hall.

Quiet sobs that people could not hold back.

A few dropped to their knees. Some covered their faces.

Some laughed like they had finally gone insane.

“This…This is a miracle.”

Karen covered her mouth with both hands. Tears ran down her face and she did not wipe them.

Solomon’s blanket slipped off his knees. He did not even notice.

He was smiling, wide and stunned, seeing something he thought he would never see again.

Alex clapped his hands again.

A new table appeared in the middle of the hall.

It was long and heavy, solid wood, filled with dishes.

Not just soup and dried fruit.

Roasted meat that made the air rich. Warm bread stacked high. Steaming rice.

Bowls of thick stew with real herbs. Plates of sweets, the kind most of them had only heard about.

The smell alone made people stand still

Karen snapped out of it first. “Line up again! Another line!”

People laughed through tears and started forming up, quicker than before, afraid the food would vanish if they hesitated.

Alex stood back and watched them. His smile was small, but his eyes were clear.

He saw soldiers feeding kids first without being told.

He saw people who argue before sharing plates.

He saw Solomon now smiling from ear to ear while a kid tugged at his sleeve and tried to show him the warm snow like it was a secret treasure.

Mingyue walked to Alex’s side.

She linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder.

“It’s amazing what a strength can do,” she said softly. “In their eyes, this is magic. A miracle.”

“A Christmas miracle,” Alex replied.

His gaze sharpened, the warmth still there, but now filled with determination.

“We will never let our people face something like this ever again.”

Mingyue nodded. “Then let’s become even stronger.

Then find the vampire race and the ones who defeated at that war.”

Alex nodded.

He knew their situation would be worse, but seeing survivors from his own planet made him realize how much he had underestimated the weight of loss.

Those who lost the Progenitor War had lived like this for generations after generations.

They had sacrificed everything, then spent their lives inside ruins, clinging to scraps and praying it would change.

Were they even still hoping?

And what about the vampire survivors?

Alex’s thoughts drifted to Thalia, one of the survivors he had met.

“The recovery of Edonia, the return of the vampire race,” Alex said quietly, like an oath.

“We’ll make sure it happens with a bang.”

“Mhm.” Mingyue replied with a nod.

***

Meanwhile, in another place, Alice bit her lips hard while Vesa floated around her.

“We need the King and Queen’s help. The situation has changed.”

Alice’s nails dug into her palm. “I should have checked more on them…”

“It’s pointless talking about what could have been done,” Vesa replied. “What matters now is what we must do.”

The planet she was born on, the planet she had lived on, had changed into something she barely recognized.

The sky was filled with humans, like they’re the owner of the planet.

Meanwhile her people the feline race were tied with collar.

Some of them stared blankly, eyes dull, faces hollow.

Others thrashed for a few seconds, then stopped, their strength drained by fear and exhaustion.

The collar shimmered faintly, pressing into fur and skin, tightening whenever someone moved too much.

Many were forced to kneel.

If someone fell over, the collar chain yanked the whole line, and the others would stumble with them.

Alice’s eyes locked on a young feline boy.

Tears ran down his cheeks as he bit down on his own sleeve, trying not to make noise.

A human soldier walked past and kicked the ground near his face.

The boy flinched so hard his shoulders shook, and the rope tightened, cutting into his wrists until he went still again.

The soldier let out a sneer.

Alice’s vision blurred for a moment, and she blinked hard, Her eyes stayed locked on the ropes, the collars, the cages.

“Human Progenitor,” Alice said, each word scraped out like a curse. “I swear I will make you pay.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep