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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOl5f2PmPxW
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeXpnhxR8E
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyy3Izj7Q7
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCGu1ofz1l
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdE7XKTSSFD
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4b1Z7jBLG
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyXdwVCsFF
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61tJOsEGbG
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbadIVob2U
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9azUhqEIdO
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MNVnNfvkl
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."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXAJSkq1va
[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.]160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyO89W2T7J
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuckyHCQTMn
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsy5a50WVsU
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcCwDmykVf
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdfn3PdJxL
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXmM6kci7f
Silence.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyr8FkEXqMq
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."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWG9qVzGFF
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwgGGBVNBi
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmOz0Gem0n
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUED3Bk0Lv
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCqpbMmZwa
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKLnMRFxn6
"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?"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsecnD3LwVb
"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. 160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyynmSWtxDx
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUksIc1pbTl
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oCe9CNYBB
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79m3KzjWHn
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwAdUfZryy
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvVN2yhUPJ
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUj3uufiOk
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fcqvk7SzT
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbrNLakf19
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQoS3pGOOq
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLDD2OX5sA
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeDe5CvDsE
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6W1WNPFip
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPglKy28WOR
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJB8CXdw9U
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlr6breUjO
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7P6in9SCv
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUOq9juDt0
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Lj5dce3lV
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDu1L7i82ud
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPx0qZ9Ii1e
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."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlP4ru6mYe
"Why help us?"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGNHtunttD
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."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvt12nNJx0e
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5HSYHaMwg
"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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngcAff3uKG
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHQauNK9IQ
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HkY4jlWhD
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8H57QxzgQO
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mKtk7joQG
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGw0EjAU7G
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfYwRQtAu6
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleH5SS0wxz
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ctKgVBNiC
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