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.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68gVoGqfOO
"Stay close," Liora warned, her voice calm but edged with urgency and seriousness. "The Church favours ambushes near—"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXSjeYfrBV
A crossbow bolt whined through the air.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXOCcptHRX
Ivy screamed, shoving Kael sideways. The arrow meant for his heart struck her shoulder instead, tearing through fabric and flesh. She crumpled, gasping.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHALj4rZfZ7
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.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7axHeIfT9X
Liora vanished. A scream echoed as a Church scout stumbled into her tripwire, his throat meeting her blade. "Focus, Kael!" she barked.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUG7ZnZt8z
A soldier lunged at him. Kael stumbled, parrying clumsily with a fallen branch.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawvHPwYOJ2
[Host!] Elia's voice cut through his panic. [The Codex is yours. You must use it to survive this ordeal!]133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWVKUcbyY3
[Imprint Awakened: Swordsman (Word)]133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99oIbn1faR
Golden light flickered in his mind. He deflected the soldier's strike, but the branch splintered.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSWkmE72p9
The leader—a hulking man with a scarred face—stepped forward, great sword humming. "The Broken God claims you to his eternal embrace."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyWVrCza0C
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."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmaF3yCo4E
[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.]133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIrRFI4jwo
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.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqObcrdJm8j
[Imprint Evolved: Novice Swordsman (Line)]133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcNE2oGbQs
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.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9U5dfo8v3
"This is for Sister Kat," he whispered, plunging it home.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjNWc4WvCz
The leader fell, choking on his own blood.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVMpRmp8rr
Silence.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGNVaqoQCa
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."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQulZGxDBh
Liora crouched next to Kael, her tone softer than he'd ever heard it. "Your first kill?"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYcNoZvkha
He nodded, staring at his bloodied hands. He felt sickened and distraught. 133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8864boEyWp
"It never leaves you," she said, pressing a cloth to his collarbone. "But it gets quieter and less impactful next time."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5d65mPcOrg
Mira wiped her mouth, tears streaking the dirt on her face. "Three. I killed three."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyR0XkDvEC
"You saved us," Nadine said bluntly to Mira, while yanking the arrow from Ivy's shoulder. Ivy whimpered, her laughter brittle.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbb1rWy4Bwm
"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?"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4w4tTy81vC
"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. 133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBEIdTEAHB
Liora scanned the trees. "The main force is more dangerous and an elite force. They track by scent. We have to move. Now."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoLbCHKbiU
Kael staggered to his feet. "Ivy can't walk—"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44EU7dIPQf
"I'll carry her," Mira said, hoisting Ivy onto her back. Ivy's blood seeped into her shirt.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAf2xOX05nx
They trudged through the night, the forest swallowing their footsteps. Ivy's feverish whispers haunted the dark.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIWvg9btnf
"Why'd you push me? It was reckless" Kael asked, gripping her hand.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaT9nRCfMl4
"You're the one with the magic book," she rasped. "I'm just… expendable."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB73Wzws0tJ
"Don't." His voice broke. "You're not. You're just as important as me"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8j95Cyvq5
"Thanks. That makes me so happy, hearing that from …cough cough...you" Ivy said133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwAXBUQRHU
Liora glanced back, her expression unreadable.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsocy2eYL48
By dawn, Ivy's skin burned. Nadine forced water down her throat. "Stay with us."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8VUWk0fQa
"Trying my best to, Nad....ine. Besides you're not being exactly gentle right now" Ivy mumbled.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7GolvLhKE
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.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LPpHlnK6y
"Close," Liora muttered, though her jaw tightened with every step.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4dqOJ3Pp5
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.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GEYlmEWtD
"That was, a unique welcome" Mira muttered.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWC0SjPeU2h
Liora ignored her, leading them to a barn loft reeking of mildew and hay. "Rest. I'll trade for medicine."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozcow4WwkL
Kael caught her wrist. A fresh cut up her forearm, too precise to be accidental. "You're hurt. You should rest"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0riLhuKvJz
She pulled free. "Bargaining requires collateral or something of value which I am sure you have none."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9Axn58pFv
That night, Kael found Liora on the rooftop, her gaze distant.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiwHKKubvF
"You never told us you knew how to fight like that, I was worried about you during the ambush" he said.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUYtEGgqgr
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."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF71pB6uM8V
"Why help us?"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg56LpWkXpc
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."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuY0W6F3u4R
Before he could reply, she stood up and started to walk back into the house.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uyC0lVVj1
"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.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAw7OUQE5x
Ivy's fever spiked at midnight. Her whispers dissolved into delirium.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmfDc9IOh9
"Sister Kat… I'm sorry… I couldn't save them…"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AaKnh2vOD
Mira gripped Kael's arm. "She's getting worse."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy08iBu0j8e
Liora returned with a hooded healer, her sleeves dusted with ash. "The Church's scouts have lost our traces, for now."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBarFh6DRWi
The healer peeled back Ivy's bandage. The wound pulsed, veins blackening.133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6KA1ZMrRu
"This isn't infection," the healer said. "It's cursed. She has been cursed."133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsnTJXt3lC
Nadine's and Mira's face paled. "Impossible. The arrow was clean—"133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwMQvdSdPv
"No." The healer pointed to Ivy's trembling hand. A faint Broken Crown sigil glowed beneath her skin.
133Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrXVcu3DCA
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