The forest hummed with the brittle stillness of a held breath. Liora walked ahead, her red hair catching shards of sunlight filtering through the canopy. Nadine's dagger glinted as she scanned the shadows, while Ivy clung to Mira's arm, her laughter strained.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06aJiW0Jk2
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aOWTE0A67
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25OwZO52zk
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsQSbVM2Nq
Six robed figures emerged, blades drawn. Nadine moved first—employing all of Sister Kat's teachings. She had trained all of us on defence and basic attack, from the memory I recovered. She had a saying that this world was cruel and full of secrets and things above human so we should learn to be able to protect ourselves from some things. Well, Nadine was the quite talented at this as you can notice as she disarmed a soldier with a brutal twist, his wrist snapping like dry kindling. Mira, was sometimes tying with Nadine but also sometimes able to hold her stand down so she was second. She hurled a smoke pellet, its acrid fog masking her sickle's arc as it bit into a second attacker's thigh.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZnqAKOUXw
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcQ4U4o4Ef
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteyRp6E5IJ
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKNK4NIDpq
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmCiSIP6Xs
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrB8ogxUNrP
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nz26kbBXp
Kael's strikes were frantic, unpolished. The leader batted his blows aside, grinning. "Is this the Church's great mythic threat? This is so disappointing but it is also quite rewarding. I can't wait fore the promotion I will get when I bring your head back to the church."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvvm8nTy6O
[You're drowning in fear, Host] Elia hissed. [Breathe. Adapt. Do not let the fear control you. Control it instead. If you can't it would be the end of us all and all those you hold dear too.]140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMA8iBOv0Y3
A slash grazed Kael's collarbone. Pain sharpened his focus. Heeding Elia's advice, Kael focused on the battle once more. The Codex flared again, etching cleaner stances into his muscles.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJPgctZB01
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKwLrCh2tN
He feinted left, pivoted, and drove the shattered branch into the leader's knee. The man roared. Kael seized his sword, the blade trembling in his grip.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKwIFTK1Rl
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrJ2xd8CjB
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftjicp6ZQM
Silence.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPna9TYiAVG
Ivy lay against the boulder, the arrow still lodged in her shoulder. Mira retched into the dirt, her hands shaking. Nadine knelt beside Ivy, her stoicism cracking. "Stay awake. Look at me."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrdfzvHTTm
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQ32AiwrDr
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsaowzz6AMm
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECgkeEuq8F
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FL5n0fUWW
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGfWYn2Qw2
"I'm dying right? S-Sister Kat always said I'd die doing something stupid. Well at...cough cough least I didn't die doing something stupid this time, right Nadine?"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AEewouX83
"Not today, Not ever Ivy. You're not going to die, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you, alright?" Nadine said, binding the wound with torn fabric.
"Yeah, Nad" Ivy said with difficulty. 140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdeHXBS1d9
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuhm9fdCWk
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYxYCCQ88I
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qn2X7Tffg
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmtoIehMtT
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXuxf8mNnb
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqtFJn1BOm
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKmnWyofVE
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90lwSeyhJU
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnyPGARow1
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMm1x4P3xPn
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvs4wbUFJzp
Dawn brought sleet, the forest floor a slurry of mud and rotting leaves. Ivy's wound festered, the skin around it blackening like burnt parchment. Mira stumbled under her weight, cursing.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDyPW2ROj7
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNwHTRJ69Y
The village emerged from the mist—a clutch of stone cottages hunched around a crooked well. Villagers peered through cracked shutters as they passed. They followed us with their eyes like they were scanning us for danger.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPm6tRFdpv
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopMHGn4pIG
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2j7zcjM9O
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbihd2TjgOm
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOLYqLIkPC
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMMhPxn3we
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNavZowE9O2
She smiled faintly. " I'm no damsel in need for a knight to save her. The world is a cruel place, Kael. It can shape and destroy you in a heartbeat and whim. I learned it the hard way after the Church killed all I can call family in this world. It etched into me that only those with power or its equivalent or those that have something the world needs is qualified to live in this world."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAm6ggdgwt
"Why help us?"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ny6iSdv95
Her eyes met his, holding something that one couldn't quite decipher, well at least not for Kael. She traced his jaw, her touch colder than the snow. "Because you're the first interesting investment I've seen in years. And I'd hate to lose my stake… not yet. So please, don't die too early on me."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuAr7lh7Lw
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡER8JQZSFeQ
"Was that a confession, or am I taking it wrongly? Probably, I am taking it out of context." Kael said to himself before he stood up and walked into the house also.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCZ8UKKo5i
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6i4IVcEggU
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJjveO5FNg
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwel0L83NV
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquwmmHHLLd
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLnJLqZ2gQ
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdQFJPm3Rk
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdT4basNHfG
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
140Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweBZ0KD0Jc
