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.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBaHsTfdxN
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckX5jzoKfC
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiW1POXefPj
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2PKOgCyyq
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.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nel7z8fuj
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnU5WSiAeUd
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMeQUYpxNBy
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbw4BU4H3eN
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINiX32lLDA
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dZDYvpByT
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdyXsvlKsJ
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."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiK8J6MDztV
[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.]63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTGXlmhxb7
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.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQIBpHd98s
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIRHTZOtpn
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.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bKfdjW2zM
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfPOr1V56b
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHskl3aaZOP
Silence.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHGAT9SrMx
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."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgC2Dn9Pu6k
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0OquJyuD0
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7k5kNE0CHi
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLpxyovY2i
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuK81opSvz2
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7w7kmk13I
"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?"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxMICgFUjw
"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. 63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSRKlm4xd1
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfamS8d32Wm
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlLgfZZkUC
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13alt2bW3C
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaJr7WN0fk
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrDjMkNYJx
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqg6Oy1jC2H
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lkLcPe5HY
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUMLSDTvnc
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSgeDWhUhJ
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5jewcLLLF
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFG9AJFElNA
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.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzcMkycOst
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgxL8I23bX
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.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgxoGpgHNg
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSPSVSl0ea
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBuHQ06etW
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwwQut6Onf
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRYnkG6l9B
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB99gIRKrd
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOw8CyC77dB
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."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTuCXEI7fJ
"Why help us?"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmFdK3ICaQ
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."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnUXn4PI8S
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurJyc2QPvH
"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.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1R9D68bTX
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOWYIOAso4
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7GnxoX3mv
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5xCGlzE2h
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsdk2qZZzp
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2qlgIkL5o
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1158T0xOeM
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeISvMoSB8
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IvefZdQwm
