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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmLxJGppde
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ijJ1mlaeh
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0wbYK5O8g
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTSWNB3Hm7
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3Vsqaaihi
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdeiA1QOO1
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jDtDOJpvw
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfEF7uYCSX
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1mlp8hpYf
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDAsYbPHNd
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfHShcXH5Y
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."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wrxDLMJXD
[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.]50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVdOKanl1Z
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1izoyJDzfT
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMzvrLEp3o
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIXYmc1Yok
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4v5NC6KOoM
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5anzJj7a3c
Silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprTAeSPpzR
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."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lI2OeoWbQ
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1G9EMgg5x
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUdBEIFgWO
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJQfVz4Lhl
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HugnZVaOz
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkuBbsj1FD
"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?"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBLavyuhJ0
"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. 50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeG4rAGPwr
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQbiiZMb2Y
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KVBdt15w1
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2oRES5tAm
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLTPpfaWuH
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6ZcMoHw1h
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX96micPJCA
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKv4pYtZ4Tl
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5dSj7Xs0u
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlE9T8QUl6J
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HVL06Bd4V
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoy1dt6UQZK
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrs4dT30r4
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZ2GFdm1YJ
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gP2qfbnKz
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNhzwDNoEs
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvTtnXDOjQ
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDPHPNEfDT
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0x27rCNbfw
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qYO0MUFQm
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyNqNYo398
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."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSI9jlUMiJ
"Why help us?"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYFADLykfn
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."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tajqytAcA
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkHXKhTyuA
"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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yYJBhfUg3
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6VBSnKHIM
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOg9NHmdSOu
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqUOxLMfRZ
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIue7Q4HAwx
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5xustnOO8
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98K3pAg8vk
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6T8SoI89ta
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrabemyPrRo
