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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaL5rggec1
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEaDc2MS3v
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9n9zSoNrD
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJ0gqu0D3A
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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxXbm0uIB0
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZMJ9m2PlT
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU89vwSFOqg
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡES6of61b1M
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzo4Ib4mfl
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHV9OnTGruV
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8p7GJew3P3
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."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTMZ0hJ73r
[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.]384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkbWxdx322
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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHayqYnhMVV
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9C5k676nN
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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUxkz1cwb2
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5F58gWWCH
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8lRELL3i6
Silence.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqhaubDu1I
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."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkv3tGKkrAa
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLJhoT8Pe7
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpuWu9rOgy
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzXieeDiKl
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoUKNOBwSC
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BMSORQoaG
"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?"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzesukCPcio
"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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlDX2HTLRd
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxuqVlpzYV
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxhuL2uzjc
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmS2tALKbuM
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVx6toDinP
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXUfeM96WK
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3f9qA1Q4ss
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2MfjZRnIQ
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKEH6bibFf
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ488URG8rg7
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrDCEY9OxK
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlpOJxQt8K
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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfEO8Ueysi
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJ9BykTAap
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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbF3GtdHjv
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrOCtuW4hn
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzRjESh5zz
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqZ1PhyoXR
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXpgGBPV08
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KDjXFIQ6m
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXr1vVCyXW
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."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCEEeI3JuJ
"Why help us?"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwew6KOrZ8t
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."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxNHqYnyhD
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjS1QMBmnW6
"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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2oVtOa0FL
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUJ9sFUFDN
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrGlWViYWt
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSfX3SymCQ
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nkzhXcCrD
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKT7jq4sP3
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvRY6o4If6
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhhL4jU7E9
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1uZVgbrAC
and then Add to home screen.