I looked at her face one last time, forcing myself to memorize it—
before pretending to forget her entirely.
A sharp metallic clink cut through the quiet.
Dan pulled the pendant from his neck.
"Lad… if something goes wrong, just hit me with this."
He tossed the blue sapphire toward me. It spun once, catching the light, before landing in my palm. The metal was colder than I expected.
"My bow…" she murmured.
A low hum began to vibrate through the air, thin at first, then rising steadily.
Purple light gathered in her hands, condensing into crystalline fragments that stretched and locked together, forming a bow. The energy pulsed faintly, humming like a taut wire.
"But—how…?"
Then it clicked.
The hospital.
Patients she could judge.
That's how she awakened it...
I pushed off the ground and charged straight at her, dirt sliding beneath my feet as I accelerated. Wind rushed past my ears, sharp and loud.
Three arrows tore through the air.
THWMP—THWMP—THWMP.
My eyes widened. Three in a single draw?
I twisted, boots scraping against bark as I leapt from one tree to another. One arrow sliced past my cheek, close enough to sting. Another shattered against a trunk behind me.
The third hit.
A sharp impact tore through my left shoulder.
"—Tch!"
My body jolted as the arrow bit into flesh. Heat flared instantly, followed by a spreading warmth as blood soaked into my sleeve.
I almost lost my footing.
Did she predict that?
No.
She knew.
She knew I was left-handed.
My breathing grew uneven as a strange numbness began creeping down my arm.
slow, cold and wrong.
Poison.
"…This isn't good."
I turned, searching for Dan.
He wasn't there.
My heartbeat spiked, pounding loudly in my ears.
I glanced down from the tree—and froze.
A low, guttural growl crawled up the trunk beneath me, vibrating through the wood.
A massive wolf stood below.
Its fur was white—unnaturally pale—and its blue eyes burned as they locked onto mine. Thick claws dug into the bark with a harsh scraping sound.
SCRRKK—
Splinters snapped as it began to climb.
"Dan…?"
The tree shuddered under its weight. Bark cracked. Leaves shook violently.
The wolf launched.
The trunk split as its body surged upward, tearing through the space I occupied a moment before.
I kicked off the branch just in time.
Wood snapped behind me as I dropped, the wolf's jaws slamming shut where I had been.
I hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the air from my lungs as pain rattled through my ribs. Dirt and leaves scraped against my skin as I rolled to the side.
The wolf crashed down a second later.
The ground shook beneath the impact.
It growled, a deep and feral sound that seemed to vibrate through my chest.
"Dan…"
I stepped forward carefully, boots sinking slightly into the damp soil.
"Don't… don't kill her."
The bowstring snapped.
An arrow screamed through the air, aimed directly at the wolf's eye.
"Shit—"
The wolf roared, the sound deafening as it thrashed violently. Claws tore through bark and soil, scattering debris in every direction.
Then it moved.
Too fast to follow.
It caught her mid-motion and slammed her into a tree.
The impact echoed with a sickening crack, the trunk shuddering as her body hit.
"UAGH—!"
Her scream cut through the forest.
The wolf crouched, muscles tightening as it prepared to lunge again.
"No!"
I forced my body forward, ignoring the burning in my shoulder and the numbness spreading down my arm. My legs felt heavy but I moved anyway.
I jumped and drove the sapphire into its head.
Please work...
Blue light erupted.
A violent surge of energy burst outward, the air warping as a shockwave blasted through the trees. Leaves tore free from branches, spinning wildly in the sudden gust.
A sharp, high-pitched whine filled my ears.
Electricity surged through my arm.
"AGHHH—!"
Pain exploded in my hand, white-hot and blinding. It felt like my bones were being burned from the inside out, every nerve screaming at once.
My grip failed.
I collapsed to my knees, the smell of burnt flesh hitting me as my fingers twitched uncontrollably.
The wolf dropped.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
I sucked in a shaky breath and looked down at my hand. The skin was charred, blackened in places, trembling despite my effort to steady it.
Something cold touched my palm.
A snowflake.
It melted instantly against the heat of my skin.
Another followed.
Then another.
I slowly lifted my gaze.
Snow began to fall—soft, silent, completely out of place in the lingering warmth of summer. The air shifted, turning sharp and cold with each breath.
"…Snow…?"
My voice barely came out.
I reached for Dan, pulling his body with the help of my teeth, both of my arms surged with pain.
His body was heavy, completely limp as I pulled him toward me.
My mana was gone.
There was nothing left to heal with.
I dragged him across the ground, boots scraping against the dirt with each step, my strength fading faster than I liked.
Behind me, her voice broke through the silence.
"…Why…?"
I stopped.
Snow gathered on the ground, settling over blood, over broken earth, over everything.
"Why didn't you… judge me…?"
My grip tightened.
I didn't turn around.
I couldn't.
My throat felt tight as I tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
For a moment, there was only the sound of my breathing—and the soft hiss of snow touching the ground.
"…Shut…"
The word came out rough, barely holding together.
"Shut up…"