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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbV6LMolNB
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfApKrdsgQ
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpU4EjegVR
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcE6Vn4t4W
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qE46rd0gL
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdnNF5Oe7r
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI09NJ5BbS7
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqf1sGjPiE
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hkoD86nVq
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMDh43Lgzt
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOW3QxMAZ32
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."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgDGwpmtLF
[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.]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbcXJVzOzs
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVs4zEj8mIR
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpiU52AQlb
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwsJnZoZSC
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAGdRpJ2Hw
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQ6SDtKEQt
Silence.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEAafTGftI
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."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTM8lzWY2S
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NQPQ9oyek
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIKiDky4lh
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAWreTc0im
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89nFxAUzN0
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPeAIfb9Sl
"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?"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtieru2eLJD
"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. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjpuKOIuhM
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweIGvgkQT4
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡka21UbK60F
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVgBmgr5nw
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlQ5v85dK9
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39hR4J8Abt
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdRKVRmgxR
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfQ0A0nB6y
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAtUEd7mUc
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6fMuKqaMP
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPn36mGuCH
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZ62BSOLdj
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SK0fKX5tG
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieE17OBZE4
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQg9fLY8h8
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWH3U5cv1VN
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3G2pJ2hSc0
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLPrx2ZT9c
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWG453vBbr
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KPILw4oOD
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHj8y9lUp6e
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."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZcCKXhfx6
"Why help us?"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmpwTORqzk
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."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfX5StfTmE
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTHcqZRuJG
"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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOIUoNgCOn
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8NIdPPWET
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamgA1jmF09
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZRd2LwAm5
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gJ0w0MBqj
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UAekoNccD
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYU6v199fbS
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSy8iJwrvo
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLn1TdfrqJD
