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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEirp8S7Yny
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7kEQOhtpt
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsxEykFzdU
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPS2vpmcVno
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqwaeJHsJP
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwECiTGRzGX
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D8bGOIWz2
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ113u3jzdGl
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDeeg72ei4
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnmT61gtJE
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kBMsDLZou
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."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpzqEGTeHO
[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.]59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXsbykmXT9
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUmvA0fUKF
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxzKr1rm5K
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbA9EIsJBR
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfguijGdpl4
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XRjYHWFTy
Silence.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZsj6efr6J
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."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVkGg6Lchz
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePca5GvAuE
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JsYX33IEC
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KBBb5qW5A
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ439Y19O9ox
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGkExrvoIc
"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?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFng7wzIe8
"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. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbcfpN7wp5
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5eWVx1POj
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRl0EjMz10
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoIPG8Zrox
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wtt3oykwk
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkvjWnRZUb
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGIaTcsyfG
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6bHp38mUo
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQsBOHr2GC
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw2AA90ney
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVAOHwWgxR
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFtX0wq556
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZa8ZXzYr1
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuPgnobqKg
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3x9E573RuT
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLdHzWNDH7
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPldHCOitJv
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXiTEKZa7s
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1YDpr7BcV
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqYqm94BQS
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYljzHA8ep
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."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErkfMoTbO4
"Why help us?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPR0SjaaLJK
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."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlo3IrVZ9x
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFTC8bAuM1
"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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMw4PQyC4yv
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlirfKFLYl4
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLzCrLxjpc
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQmERQI6hb
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6V4fKc1om
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e0jlAlV1h
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSDJWV1kAX
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJcDrzXsFw
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yXYTk9Fmo
