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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShDVGeKXZD
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZN4dP0xUiR
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKolCrtKbuk
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0oeotwJqd
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ993aSZXDcO
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYLSZfB898
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkDlzts6vl
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5NbjAQg3Z
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSF7A7QnWU
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdYaFWhJWp
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRF6wnwQHae
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."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgAPoGxtjv
[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.]15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtxFSvwoXU
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZ1G7lzEcG
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqyKXHURvs
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoyQxMTHJp
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoaFaQELwH
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOY63gdUG9
Silence.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0WdAfkj43
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."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQaMwu63fb
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UsHirFGMD
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBIJTHkRi5
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMUG4H4Mim
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtyHjrfKfo
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEk9mmXOfY
"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?"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsddu2S8TsH
"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. 15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8wERFAV5T
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5igR1Zirh
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu76WLJbWGt
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGAWrDYp2H
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09CG3oIPZy
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuUodYOsUQ
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSYkda7PHU
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatKXBjBq0x
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJmfSzEK7k
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJ2BxA5Sz3
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQBFcYYmRa
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjGc1kNpgT
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkcZsBSXXo
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKtgoONbNM
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmLu0bOy1u
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49uf9xUM6W
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2jM82cvi1
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGsypHzdpJ
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldDSQtDTwl
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ySfaE1VR4
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUQtlmvERF
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."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviqlOw7wvb
"Why help us?"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBX6ohI3gt3
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."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFXURMZvDO
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe59mpsxR73
"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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFazUCN7Xqh
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYdersA0aQ
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wTrfpOlgY
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hzeQhR3qC
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hVCtva52W
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCL14v5SzZe
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvk1LcGORk
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4FLSCIZkz
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3DKQKJnHP
