67: WORDS

In a climactic sequence, Bridge Four must choose between escape and rescue. After witnessing the full scope of the betrayal, they resolve to help save the abandoned army of the warlord. During a devastating battle above the chasm, the abandoned bridgeman discovers he can draw power from nearby gems, speaks an oath that fundamentally changes him, and manifests superhuman abilities as a Knight of the Wind.

Bridge Four reaches the chasm exhausted after carrying their bridge through the aftermath of the betrayal. When they learn that only eight additional bridge crews are present, they are spared from needing to cross immediately. As the rest of the army retreats westward, an opportunity for escape presents itself: they could disappear into the northern Plains, presumed dead, and finally gain freedom. Their members celebrate the prospect of leaving. However, observing the surrounded and hopeless position of warlord's forces, particularly his blue banner standing alone on the Tower, something shifts within the bridgeman leader. After a moment of doubt—haunted by an old memory of his brother's death during a previous battle—he resolves that someone must act with honor. He leads his team back toward the fighting despite the near certainty of death.

During the assault, the bridgeman performs an extraordinary feat of defense, absorbing an entire volley of over a hundred arrows with his shield while channeling strange light, causing the attacking enemy soldiers to flee in confusion and fear. Bridge Four succeeds in setting their bridge as a crossing point for the desperate army above. As the final push occurs, exhaustion overwhelms him and traumatic memories of a beloved figure's death on a battlefield paralyze him with despair and helplessness. But a companion urges him toward an oath he somehow knows instinctively. He seizes a spear, charges across the bridge into the chasm, and throws himself toward the enemy forces below. The moment he lands among them, brilliant light erupts from gemstones worn by the enemy soldiers, flooding into him and energizing him completely. He speaks words binding himself to protect those who cannot protect themselves—the Second of the Knights' oaths. A wave of pure power radiates outward, scattering enemies, and he rises transformed, moving with superhuman speed and strength among his foes.