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.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1lrHr564l
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJjHNq3Een
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCYYYkNHSi
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYjy5ayHFM
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.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHiGNpFH0u
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeGhRQrnBi
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SeVtYDD1A
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5FBnxP6Lk
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTEkuPfeF0
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhx17yuBq93
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eusC3DqQP
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."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoiLW2VBM8
[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.]204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7gIvgjitP
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.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5CfvazhsT
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAn6Dw39VW
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.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVa9hcWpGk
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPt9paB091
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOKdwPlpCR
Silence.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTPuxH8qYE
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."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiIV3tzvYy
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hVZ1Il1RS
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0W5ue27ipr
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgz20ob334
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1E4ttt5FX
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ewr1ddpHf
"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?"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpvyMScUom
"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. 204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRP2dULcDHQ
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuotq4FoD7P
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZh3dm14WKU
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhWnmWyRYM
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0xKYajAEw
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVfxcAGrvv
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡav8gfFbUky
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJxAhg5CPA
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2EW4fYNHq
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwpUukvhMS
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRkgrahYi1
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4GaGEWmyZ
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.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSRXk4K7Ms
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKUyBCTg4O
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.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4SFvTVKjO
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0CdKGG5jA
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdv7A2QMJq
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6bAjku5YQ
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42OaiO88R3
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwoQ81ij8S
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2rvkJRM3S
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."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFACcDpWLT
"Why help us?"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsgHiLz4Sl
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."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YJHc7JUY4
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvu0uNAKj9L
"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.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhF9LYrWEf
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3EZxIezYe
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FzZ4DWIsL
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzSx5BDB9y
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3syxW1tD2
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSO9da1wZmv
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtoHEvXpss
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGXlisFAhe
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHcuXhxIfF
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