The forest stretched endlessly around us.
Leaves rustled softly overhead, brushing against one another in the warm breeze. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in broken shards, flickering across the damp ground as our boots pressed into the soil with dull, muted thuds.
The air smelled of wet earth… and something faintly metallic.
I noticed something swinging slightly with each of Dan's steps.
A pendant.
Blue sapphire.
It caught the light—glinting with a soft, cold shine as it tapped lightly against his chest.
Clink… clink…
"Hey, Dan?" I asked, my voice cutting through the quiet.
"Hm?" he responded, not slowing.
"The pendant…" I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Do you transform?"
There was a brief pause—
then a sharp exhale.
"Lad, you only noticed now?!" he groaned, dragging a hand down his face.
A faint chuckle escaped me. "Well… that explains your diet."
"Hahaha!" His laughter broke through the forest, loud and unbothered, scattering a few birds from the trees above.
"Wolf?" I asked.
"A big one," he replied, rolling his shoulders. "But I can't control him yet… last resort."
"Right…"
The word barely left my lips—
when the air changed.
The wind… stopped.
Even the insects went quiet.
A faint creak of wood echoed somewhere deeper in the forest.
My chest tightened.
"A—Astrid…?"
Something slammed into me—
not physically—
but deeper.
A crushing pressure wrapped around my chest, squeezing tight as a dull, throbbing pain spread through my heart.
Leaves crunched softly ahead.
Slow footsteps.
"I wasn't… expecting to see you here."
Her voice drifted through the trees.
Calm.
Too calm.
Dan shifted beside me. I heard the faint grip of his fingers tightening.
"Hey… you know her?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah…" My throat felt dry. "I—I tried to save her."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Then—
"You didn't save anyone."
The words landed—
sharp.
Cold.
My breath hitched.
Stopped.
A faint ringing filled my ears.
"I was waiting," she continued, her boots pressing into the dirt with slow, deliberate steps, "for the bandit to attack me… so I could judge him."
Each word struck harder than the last.
"I screamed… so he wouldn't predict my move."
My fingers twitched.
A faint tremor ran through my arms.
"But you showed up."
She stepped into view.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
Unblinking.
"After you touched his forehead… you collapsed."
A pause.
The wind returned—soft, whispering through the leaves.
"That wasn't coincidence."
My throat tightened painfully.
"The bandit didn't die by your hand."
Her voice lowered.
Quieter.
"He died running… from your corpse."
My vision flickered.
For a second—
the forest warped.
"I buried him."
A sharp taste filled my mouth.
Iron.
I bit my lip—
hard enough for blood to pool against my tongue.
"I even hired two assassins…" she continued, her voice steady, "when I told you to go to the city."
Beside me—
Dan stiffened.
I heard it.
The subtle shift of his footing.
The tension in his breath.
"I won't forgive you."
Her words came out softer now—
but heavier.
"For judging him."
A low hum filled the air.
VMMMM—
Purple light began to gather in her hands.
Crystal formed—slowly—growing outward into the shape of a bow.
It pulsed faintly, emitting a high, thin vibration that made my skin crawl.
She raised it.
Aimed directly at me.
The world narrowed.
My heartbeat slowed—
My thoughts—
stopped.
Everything fell into place.
"You—you were the girl that monster adopted..."
"I…"
My voice came out low.
Distant.
"I judged your father."
"Tell me."
Her grip tightened.
The crystal bow creaked softly under the pressure.
"Where did you send him?"
Pain erupted across my back—
sharp.
Relentless.
Like invisible arrows piercing through me one after another.
I flinched.
My fingers curled tightly around nothing.
I couldn't look at her.
But something inside me shifted.
The memories didn't cause any pain
They just told me the truth.
I exhaled slowly.
The air felt colder
I lifted my head slightly.
"Hell."
Silence.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then—
"I sent that bastard to hell."
I clenched my fists.
The air around my hands warped.
SHHHHKK
Daggers formed.
One in each hand.
Their edges shimmered, faint heat rippling along the blades as mana bled into them.
A low hum vibrated up my arms, steady… alive.
Behind me, I heard Dan shift.
CRUNCH
His boot pressed into the damp soil.
A slow inhale.
"Dan…"
My voice didn't come out strong. It dragged, thin and rattling. My eyes never left her.
I could feel the cold sweat slicking my palms against the daggers.
I shouldn't have said it, a voice screamed in the back of my head. I should have lied. I should have told her he went to Heaven.
A brief pause.
Then—
"You sure?" Dan asked.
His voice was serious.
It was the voice of a man waiting for a command he knew might get us both killed.
I swallowed. My throat felt like it was lined with broken glass.
I rolled my shoulders slightly, but they felt heavy.
My grip on the daggers was too tight, my knuckles red and aching.
The daggers felt… different. Not lighter.
"I..."
The word died in my throat.
I looked at the purple light of her bow. It was beautiful.
It was the light of a daughter who loved her father.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
What if I was wrong?
What if the System lied?
What if the memories were just... pieces?
The daggers in my hands trembled. The fire along their edges flickered, turning a sickly, pale orange.
"Dan, I—"
I stopped.
I closed my eyes for a split second, and the Old Man's face flashed there.
The rot. The screaming children.
The way he had looked at Astrid,
not with love, but ownership.
My eyes snapped open.
The fear didn't leave. It just turned into a cold, hollow stone in the pit of my stomach.
"I'm sure," I whispered, my voice breaking on the last syllable.
I forced my feet to stay planted.
"Sure as hell…"