Sil and Yig walked through the woods, scouring the ground in search of the familiar nut shape.

  “Pervoick does this already, right?” Yig asked.

  “Yeah, he does,” Sil replied. “He’s old enough to perform morning or evening surveillance with the senior warriors if he wants.”

  “I guess that’s what he was doing when he ran into me.”

  The trees rustled with a gentle breeze as they descended rocky hills. Bushes grew in patches around each turn. Every few minutes, they stopped to examine the earth, brushing aside dirt in search of the nut they needed.

  “You think we could spar again?” Yig asked.

  Sil had her head buried in a bush, pulling out twigs—only to find the shape she'd glimpsed was just a rock the size of a Slipper Nut. She tossed it aside, stood, and patted the dirt from her uniform.

  “Why would I spar you again?” she replied with a condescending chuckle. “If we have a rematch, you might win. If I let you leave Sharirun without another spar, then I’ll always be the better fighter.”

  Yig’s face lit up. “You think I could win?”

  “No. I said ‘might.’ You might win if we fought again.”

  “You’d really turn down the chance to beat me twice?” he said with a grin. “That would double your victories.”

  Sil kept walking, not even glancing back at him. But after a few minutes had passed, she asked, “Hey, why’d you even bother staying? You could’ve just ignored what the Chief said.”

  “I needed directions.”

  “Fine. I’ll give you directions.”

  “Really? Thanks.”

  “Are you staying now?”

  “Yep.”

  Sil stopped in her tracks, and Yig nearly stumbled as he pulled back a step.

  “What do you mean? Are you saying you’ve got nothing better to do?”

  Yig walked past her. “The training’s useful, and everyone here is really nice. This is what an adventure’s all about.”

  Sil stepped forward to keep pace. “So what about after we kill the bears? Are you staying then?”

  “No. Probably not.”

  “So then what? They said you were from Chestnut. Why’d you leave? That’s a peaceful place to live.”

  “You ever heard of paradise?”

  “Of course. We Stearna train to fight for Mechilpinna against the storm.”

  “Yeah, all that. With the five goddesses and the storm. Well, me and my friend said we’d open the gates to paradise—and you’ve gotta be a real strong hero to do that.”

  “Where’s your friend?”

  “The storm attacked Chestnut. Killed a lot of people.”

  Sil froze. “Chestnut was attacked? By darkness?”

  “No. By the forces of the storm.”

  “Same difference, idiot. Why would they attack you?”

  “I know, strange, right? And right before that, some men in uniforms came into our territory and attacked a boy.”

  “They were with the Storm too?”

  “Heh. No way. They weren’t anything to fear.”

  Sil looked thoughtful. “An adventure, huh?”

  “Yeah. It’s the best. I’m gonna be a hero—travel all over, helping people.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  “It has been. At least so far. I got to meet all of you, after all.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Yig smiled. Talking about it always lifted his spirits, even if the mention of Mona twisted something in his chest. But he’d ignore that for now—he had to forget.

  “Have you ever thought about it?”

  “About what?” Sil asked.

  “An adventure. Being a hero.”

  “Of course. That’s all I ever wanted to do when I was little.”

  “So why haven’t you?”

  Sil took a moment to answer. She still didn’t seem to trust Yig all that much.

  “Sharirun saved me. My friends… they took me in. I couldn’t leave them.”

  Yig thought that was a strange way to look at it. But then suddenly, his nose scrunched. He ducked low, sniffing the scent of a creature. Sil crouched beside him a moment later, though she didn’t seem to smell what he did.

  Through the bushes, they saw a deer, its head raised, alert—just like them.

  A deer? Yig thought. That’s what he smelled.

  But then, what had gotten the deer’s attention?

  It wasn’t them—the deer’s head was turned away.

  Yig’s heart dropped as a new scent hit him. He held his breath.

  A bear, massive and grotesque, burst out of the forest greenery, slashing through the deer’s torso before it could move. Blood sprayed across the ground and splattered the leaves and grass. The bear bit down into its prey, lifting it like a doll in its jaws, fresh flesh sizzling from its acidic saliva.

  Neither Sil nor Yig breathed.

  Sil gripped the grass. Even whispering felt like a risk, so she took a careful step backward. Yig raised a hand to stop her. She slid up beside him.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed, barely containing her panic. “We have to leave—now!”

  “No,” Yig whispered back. “I found one.”

  “…What?!”

  “I see a Nut. Over there.”

  He pointed, and although she very much didn’t want to look, Sil spotted it—behind the bear, under a tree—large, round, unmistakable: a Slipper Nut.

  “We can get another!” she snapped.

  “It won’t be as big. And if we waste time searching, we might not finish first.”

  “Right. Well, I couldn’t care less about either of those reasons.”

  Sil crawled backward through the grass, each movement deliberate and silent, distancing herself from the bear.

  “Alright. See ya, partner.”

  She stopped.

  This is insane. This is so very insane.

  Slowly, she crawled back to Yig’s side.

  “You’re back?” Yig whispered, grinning.

  “Quiet. Just tell me your plan.”

  “Well, if you’re offering to help… I was thinking, I distract the bear, you grab the Nut, and then we both escape in style.”

  “Don’t distract the bear. Wait here. Only move if you have to.”

  “Oh yeah. That’s a bett—”

  She was already gone.

  Sil hopped from branch to branch, careful to step only on thick, sturdy wood that wouldn’t creak. Below, the bear tore apart the deer carcass ravenously. The stench was unbearable. Burned flesh sizzled, the scent climbing into the trees and coiling around her. The bear’s jaws never rested, tearing through the meal like it was starving for air.

  Light as a feather, Sil descended from the trees toward the Nut. She drew a knife and struck the dirt at its base—quick, clean, efficient—to loosen the soil.

  Then she pried the Slipper Nut free. The operation was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  A rabbit bolted from a nearby burrow, startled by the shift.

  Sil froze—motionless, breathless. Her ears strained so wide open it felt like the wind could whistle through her skull.

  The bear had stopped.

  On instinct, she leapt for the trees—abandoning stealth.

  Behind her, the bear slammed a claw into the earth where the Nut had been, shredding bark like dry crust.

  Mid-air, Sil reached for a branch—fingertips brushing bark—but missed. The Nut slipped from her grip. She landed hard but rolled into a controlled crouch, spreading the impact.

  The bear turned, slobber flinging from its gaping jaws.

  It charged—relentless.

  Yig was somewhere in the bushes behind her.

  Sil didn’t hesitate. She drew her second knife and braced for a clash.

  If it meant losing her life to save him, so be it.

  She would die a warrior—and be remembered.

  Crunch.

  It took a second to register what had happened—her stance locked, blades drawn. But now a body hurled itself between her and the beast.

  Yig stood defiant before the bear, letting its teeth sink into his left arm—an arm he’d raised to successfully stop its charge. The sound was like forks scraping against steak as the teeth drove deeper into his skin.

  “Don’t do it!” Sil screamed. “Let it take me! Just run!”

  “Yeah, right!” Yig shouted back, eyes locked on the bear.

  With grim resolve, Yig let out a full-throated roar—not of pain, but of sheer will. His aura ignited, surging through him, bulking his arm until the bear’s bite lost all power.

  “Neither of us are dying here!” he growled through clenched teeth.

  Still brimming with aura, Yig—straining visibly—raised his right fist and slammed it between the bear’s eyes. The force broke its jaw loose from his arm and sent the beast crashing to the ground.

  But the bear wasn’t done.

  Sil saw this instantly. She sprinted past Yig, hurling half a dozen strips of heavenly parchment from her hands. They wrapped tightly around the beast, binding its limbs. With those same strips still anchored to her palms, she launched herself toward it, both knives drawn.

  Her blades struck deep—one into the chest, the other into the belly. The bear howled and writhed, flailing wildly to break free. As it twisted, her knives carved longer, jagged wounds through its flesh. Hissing blood spewed from its body, spattering her hands and burning her skin.

  Above her, Yig flew in like a missile, arm cocked.

  With a second aura-charged punch, he crushed the front of the bear’s skull. Even as he passed over it, he kept his fist planted, dragging its head downward in a brutal arc. The blow ended with a devastating slam into the earth.

  Sil didn’t hesitate.

  She tightened her grip on her knives, skin scraping raw against the hilts, and pushed upward—slicing the bear open from belly to throat. Toxic blood gushed into the air.

  Before she could follow through, her own momentum threw her forward. She tumbled and rolled away as acid rained down on the battlefield.

  Yig landed beside her, unconscious. Acid had splashed across his body like a storm, and his bitten arm now hung in tatters, skin peeling like loose cloth from a wound drenched in blood.

  Sil acted fast.

  She used a strip of parchment to latch onto his good arm and dragged him beneath the cover of a nearby tree. Drops continued to fall, each one sizzling through their skin, leaving purple, blotched burns. But under the branches, they escaped most of it.

  And then, finally

  Once the blood stopped raining

  Sil exhaled.