But It didn't, it hadn't for eons now. The pale band remained. Still wrong, still present. Like a stain that refused to wash away.
A soldier approached the generals where they stood.
"General Roah. Night scouts request permission to push forward for measurement."
Roah didn't hesitate.
"Denied."
The officer blinked. "Sir?"
"No one crosses the markers tonight."
"But standard—"
"I said denied."
The officer straightened. "Yes, sir."
He left quickly.
Linh glanced sideways. "Paranoid?"
"Staying alive."
Linh chuckled. "Fair."
Another silence stretched.
Then quietly, almost to himself, Linh said,
"…If this keeps up, they won't need to fight us at all."
Roah didn't answer.
Because he was thinking the same thing.
If the light kept advancing… If their territory kept thinning…If whatever sustained them weakened…
Then the enemy could simply wait until Izz stepped back far enough. A war won without charging once.
