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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlyIUXBvNq
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjO2lrst80
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrh61jeBkTo
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwFo7G99l9
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtfsmCkuJy
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDy6xSNsrO
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR545xfNavG
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyNl3KFLyd
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1AGdXDqYE
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iJkotMgnF
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2xvPTrouO
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."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1Tl41oOuh
[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.]171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYUUkVhvhn
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqp3rE5pTe
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk81TMQlWeH
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmWXzKkL9w
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGxGLNSs7S
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqm5KxeHsS2
Silence.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQsptxxVtZ
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."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXh83HtzeS
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3EX0jf8zd
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LoPP56h1e
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ0NUaT4PV
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFOsBnfmO8
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmrkVYRw8X
"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?"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DgCTBJIds
"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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyPYJVJrKi
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxlK2WXjmj
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6qgVrspml
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBnbrA9JXj
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uTB3IPhdI
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OkYNSK3W6
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsscQCCsYcI
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeb2RJo0IM7
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtX966waFX
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0iOGqKk50A
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbh0yoe0iN1
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVWCdA54EX
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLQnRWlKvq
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpuGo5UUa7
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnCiDa0aqN
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTJqFvztwn
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5wfuq4y0u
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIS2LEFqFhA
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcXTaMOVlH
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihqh8SPGYm
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtOHRmghMV
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."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDOSRtJaVG
"Why help us?"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OEnXYkRJD
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."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39xfW3grb9
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzvsgEkj6r
"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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYr0jjp377H
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QCfpiuH5L
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvt412ySsb
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0i9bAnIcb
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitVd6O8khd
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCV2F7o6lkV
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRIbCLCdjW
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RV1YfKbDV
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxViDQU20HF
