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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudzBd4J95r
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWWtm2aTIj
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTl2QZjqcWr
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NDQuOX9tj
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryVvQvNoyh
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFIrbxfNnq
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QVXqK7Vgr
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Mjq3S3QAl
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyH8muU2lI
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3AQvQ9LKl
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRmheZB3H3
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."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAhSt5fk2x
[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.]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpi5u8k11HJ
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmk30FMWiOO
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtfV9FvQAA
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiXWgmbSB5
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AOCXeMfjI
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4svopYtYrg
Silence.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHcPRRAL61
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."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpv3u4fg4Pc
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2GeOUSXKJ
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pYaXbZexg
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XMQvDY0ts
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFO91DHAfVw
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwwPrh1su8
"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?"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfq4SoXjPb
"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. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzgaDWdcqg
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvqU5Ehdxa
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZyLbCJblI
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfX2eo9eTr
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvX9EPwxw2O
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSeNpeV2tq
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEMw7oe69Z
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhRuk98IqL
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJizrtbJnkZ
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrw1PWLYCqA
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYln41Kb3z6
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbgbeYlkJM
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fuDKwRhqB
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfqGU9XR9R
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOrVxC3hlw
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHkOzeCUrz
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EDwDmBpHs
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfyKiEzawR
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDI5smPA08H
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3cXA7zP6S
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77cSH9lZFk
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."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzLyeCHLsa
"Why help us?"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZxQvLQsPJ
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."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaxonkOVtF
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TB0afITpO
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykPZMk1qb8
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhd7rjLV4D5
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXv4FRBmtlv
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkZpjXrrXO
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSz3WifOGY4
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQj9HG7Sb2
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzTlkNsKVA
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTn191MuLu
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9RqEW8Vdr
