She didn't go far.
That was the first mistake.
---
By dusk, the sky dimmed into a dull gray.
Elsa stood at the edge of another settlement.
Smaller than the last.
Quieter.
Tired.
---
She told herself she was just passing through.
Not staying.
Not getting involved.
Not… hoping.
---
A cart lay broken near the entrance.
One wheel shattered.
Goods spilled across the dirt.
No one was fixing it.
No one was nearby.
---
That meant something was wrong.
---
Voices carried from deeper inside.
Raised.
Panicked.
---
Elsa stepped forward.
Not fast.
Not hesitant either.
Just… forward.
---
A group had gathered near the well.
Villagers.
Surrounding someone.
No—*something.*
---
She saw the child first.
Curled on the ground.
Skin pale.
Breathing uneven.
Dark veins creeping along her arm.
Corruption.
Not the forest kind.
Worse.
---
"She's infected!"
"Keep your distance!"
"We need to burn it out—"
The word hung heavy.
Burn.
---
Elsa froze.
Memory overlapped.
A child.
A hand on her chest.
Pain.
Control.
---
"You could fix this."
The whisper came back.
Not from outside.
From within.
---
She stepped forward.
"Move."
---
The villagers turned.
Fear hit immediately.
Horns.
Red.
---
"Stay back!"
"It's one of them—"
"Monster—"
---
She didn't react.
Didn't flare.
Didn't warn.
---
"I can help her."
---
Silence.
Then laughter.
Sharp.
Bitter.
---
"You?"
"She'll kill her faster—"
"Get away!"
---
The child coughed.
Weak.
Fading.
---
Elsa's hand trembled slightly.
Just once.
---
"You're choosing this," the thought came.
Cold.
Clear.
"They won't let you help."
---
Another voice.
Quieter.
Softer.
"You didn't kill me."
---
The old man.
---
She took another step.
The air warmed.
---
"Don't come closer!"
A man raised a torch.
Flame flickering.
Threatening.
---
Elsa stopped.
Looked at the fire.
Then at the child.
Then at the people.
---
"They'll burn her."
---
Her fingers curled.
---
"If you walk away… she dies."
---
Her chest tightened.
---
"If you step forward… they'll call you a monster anyway."
---
Silence.
Inside her.
Heavy.
Pressing.
---
"I didn't cry."
The words echoed faintly.
---
She exhaled slowly.
Stepped forward.
---
The man with the torch lunged.
Not brave.
Desperate.
---
Elsa moved.
Not fast.
Not violent.
She caught his wrist.
Stopped the flame inches from her face.
---
The villagers gasped.
Fear spiked.
---
"Let go!"
---
She didn't.
She lowered his hand.
Gently.
Too gently.
That made it worse.
---
"I'm not here to hurt you."
---
No one believed her.
---
She released him.
Walked past.
---
Toward the child.
---
No one stopped her.
Not because they trusted her.
Because they were afraid to get close.
---
Elsa knelt.
Placed her hand above the child's chest.
Not touching yet.
Feeling.
---
The corruption pulsed.
Alive.
Hungry.
---
"You could fix this."
The voice returned.
Stronger now.
---
She pressed her hand down.
Light.
Controlled.
---
The reaction was immediate.
The veins darkened.
The corruption resisted.
Fought.
---
Pain surged through Elsa's arm.
She didn't pull back.
---
"I'm not taking it."
Her voice was low.
Focused.
---
"I'm giving."
---
The warmth shifted.
Not burning.
Flowing.
---
The corruption screamed.
Not audibly.
But she felt it.
---
The child gasped.
Body arching.
Then—
Stillness.
---
The dark veins receded.
Slowly.
---
The air cooled.
---
Elsa pulled her hand back.
Breathing uneven.
---
The child's chest rose.
Fell.
Steady.
---
Alive.
---
Silence.
---
No cheers.
No relief.
---
Only fear.
---
"She touched it…"
"How did she—"
"That's not human—"
---
Elsa stood slowly.
Her arm trembled slightly.
The heat in her body unstable.
Unsettled.
---
"You could have taken it."
The whisper again.
---
"But you didn't."
---
That should have felt right.
It didn't.
---
A man stepped forward cautiously.
Checked the child.
Looked up.
Wide-eyed.
"She's… fine."
---
The crowd shifted.
Confusion.
Fear.
Uncertainty.
---
Elsa turned to leave.
That was enough.
She knew better.
---
Then—
"Wait."
---
She paused.
Didn't turn.
---
"…Thank you."
A woman's voice.
Quiet.
Shaking.
---
Elsa stood still.
---
"You don't belong here."
The thought came again.
---
But this time—
It hesitated.
---
She didn't answer.
Didn't turn.
---
She walked.
---
Behind her—
The village didn't celebrate.
Didn't relax.
Didn't trust.
---
But they didn't call her a monster either.
---
Not this time.
---
Far away—
In a quiet clearing—
An old man looked toward the distant horizon.
As if he had felt something shift.
---
"…Good."
He said it softly.
To no one.
---
Elsa walked into the dark again.
Her steps slower now.
Heavier.
---
Because now—
She had proof.
---
She could choose.
---
And that made everything harder.