A Desolation Called Peace Novels & Stories

Surrounding myself in such an environment, I could feel my gloomy spirits lifting. In my original world, I didn't have a happy family or parents who loved me. Once I was here, I could experience all the things I lacked. Whether it be my family's support when I was sad, or when they hugged me out of joy… It made me yearn for more, and I couldn't bear to lose them. That was why I didn't return to my world after I finished this mission. Even after so many things had happened… Even when my parents no longer loved me.

Two can play that game. I wrapped my legs around his neck and twisted his left arm, he gasped for air. We locked eyes as we violently choked each other. Tears welled up in our eyes, our faces red as a tomato. When I started to see white spots, he lifted his right hand and spoke. "Truce." "Truce." I replied and let him go. We both coughed violently and glared at each other. I rolled to my side and laid on my back, trying to catch my breath.

"Amara, I’ve been thinking about the Final Record. About what Elian said. A year of peace. Do you think we’ve really done it? Is the monster finally dead?" I thought about the vial in the vault. I thought about the broken zip tie. "The monster isn't dead, Tunde. It’s just sleeping. And it stays sleeping as long as we choose mercy every morning. Peace isn't a destination; it’s a rhythm. It’s the way you walk, the way you talk to the seedlings, the way you forgive the person who steps on your toes." Tunde nodded, closing the journal with a reverent touch. "Then I’ll keep writing. I’ll write about the fear, too. So they know that peace isn't the absence of fear—it’s the triumph over it."

Keep in mind what we have battled for. However, the youngster remained silent. Rather, a voice—his voice—resonated across the desert. "Do you want peace, Nyla?" He called in a voice that sounded far away, like it was from a dream in the distance. "Are you ready for everything to end? To put a stop to the suffering? If you accept this, I'll grant you peace. My heart skipped a beat. I didn't comprehend. Calm? What did he mean by peace? The ground trembled beneath me before I could react, and the air became heavy with the threat of something horrible, something devastating.

I rocked myself and sang the lullaby that my mother would sing when I was sad: Little wind that rocks the sea Rock my little one with grief As all her peace within grows strong Let her slumber in the night nice and long. The lullaby soothed me, and my voice was replaced by my mother’s in my thoughts. It almost shocked me, but I let it consume me until I stopped sobbing. I felt warmth overwhelm me, but my necklace still felt cold around my neck. I looked down and saw it shining again. “Riley,” I heard a soft whisper distantly in my mind. I jerked my head up but didn’t see anything.

Because in the dark no one can see, no one can know how hurtful it is. If when he was a child, he wouldn't cry even if he was beaten to death, but now he is so weak that just a little pain can cry. Maybe the older we get, the faster we cry... "Where is its hope?" Little Clause hugged the trembling body, it was like a wind that drifted everywhere without stopping. Where is the place of peace? Where is home called? Maybe those things are too luxurious for him so God can't give him five times seven times. "I'm dead, will anyone cry?"

The moon sank lower, its light thinning like smoke. He raised his gaze to it,his voice barely a breath. “May peace be enough.” The words drifted into the wind, carried toward the sleeping mountains. For a moment, everything stilled again. Then, deep beneath the fortress, something answered. A pulse. Slow. Steady. Alive. Delph didn’t hear it clearly, not yet, but the stones did. And if the fortress could speak, it might have whispered back the truth he didn’t want to face: Peace never lasts forever.

“That’s dangerous.” “For me or for you?” “Both.” For a few moments, the only sound was the soft hum of the air conditioning and the faint thrum of the city below. Dream’s eyes softened, not the cold, controlled kind of soft, but the kind that comes when someone’s guard slips without meaning to. “When I was younger,” he said quietly, “I used to think peace meant winning. Outworking everyone, outlasting them, proving myself to people who never really cared. But it’s not peace. It’s just noise.”

Callie sat up on the stone, her body stiff and aching, but suddenly everything around her shifted. The chaos that had been roaring in her mind… the fire, the screaming, the blood, it all melted away like fog under the morning sun. What replaced it was something else entirely. Peace. But not the kind that brought comfort. This peace was heavy, oppressive. It pressed down on her chest like a weight she couldn't shake. Everything was dark and quiet. Too quiet.

"Why are you so quiet lately?" I used to chatter nonstop even if he ignored me. I shrugged. "My throat is sore. Don't wanna talk." He snorted and left with the packed bisque, not returning until the engagement day. I placed that contract and the divorce agreement on the table. Suitcase in hand, I glanced at the house one last time and headed to the airport. Before boarding, Gideon called. I rejected it, tossed the SIM in the trash, and moved on to my future.