(~765 words — part 9)
The forest of Caldris was quiet.
Not the peaceful kind—the wrong kind.
No birds. No insects. No wind.
Just silence.
Nyari crouched on a moss-covered branch, golden eyes scanning the clearing below. Her breath was slow, even. But her instincts screamed.
She was close.
She could feel it—the pulse.
That strange echo she now recognized in herself and others like her. It wasn't magic. It wasn't aura.
It was divine presence.
This one was raw. Wild. Twisted.
"I'm late," Nyari murmured.
She dropped soundlessly from the tree and began to move.
🧍 The Girl
She found her in the ruins of an old watchtower.
A girl—maybe fifteen—standing barefoot in a circle of withered flowers. Her dress was torn. Her hair hung in clumps. Her arms bled black smoke.
Not shadow.
Not blood.
But something in between.
Nyari stepped forward slowly.
"Hey…"
The girl didn't move.
Nyari took another step.
"My name's Nyari. I think you're like me."
Still, no response.
"I know what's happening. You feel things you don't understand. Like something's inside you."
The girl raised her head.
And Nyari saw it.
Her eyes glowed pitch-black—ringed with golden stars.
A scream tore from her lips—not of pain, but rage.
The black smoke around her body surged outward.
⚔️ Divine vs. Corrupted
Nyari barely dodged the first wave.
A blast of corrupted starlight shattered the ground where she stood.
She sprinted sideways, trailing afterimages as she weaved through trees and rubble. The girl leapt after her—fast, erratic, inhumanly fluid.
Nyari summoned her dagger—white light streaking into her palm.
"She's not in control."
She didn't want to hurt her. Couldn't.
"But she'll kill someone."
Nyari zig-zagged toward her, feinting, flipping over a swing of corrupt energy, and landed behind her mid-spin.
She touched the girl's shoulder—sigil placed.
Pulse.
The girl flinched, staggering.
Nyari rushed in—
But the sigil twisted. It bled black instead of white.
"She's rejecting my light."
A shriek tore through the air as a second wave of corrupted energy surged outward, flinging Nyari back into a tree. She hit hard—barked snapped. Her ears rang.
She stood up, shaking.
Blood on her lip. But she didn't stop.
🌀 Denial of Nothingness
She exhaled.
Time to risk it.
Nyari raised her hand—and the air rippled.
From the void, she summoned a concept.
"A thread that unravels corruption."
A glowing silver ribbon appeared between her fingers, pulsing like a heartbeat. She ran forward again, weaving it through the air as she danced.
The corrupted girl screamed, attacking wildly.
Nyari spun—fast, graceful, inevitable—and wrapped the ribbon around the girl's chest.
"Please," she whispered.
"Don't let it take you."
Snap.
The ribbon pulsed.
The darkness buckled.
The girl collapsed.
🥀 Aftermath
Nyari stood over her, panting.
The smoke was gone.
The girl's eyes were closed now—still glowing faintly, but normal. Golden. Like Nyari's.
A soft voice escaped her lips.
"…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
Nyari knelt beside her.
"I know. It wasn't your fault."
The girl began to cry—quietly, broken sobs as the weight of it all crashed down.
Nyari wrapped her arms around her gently.
"You're safe now," she said softly. "I'm here. I won't let them take you again."
🛡️ A New Reality
That night, they camped beneath the stars.
The girl's name was Elen. She was from a small village. Had no family left. She didn't remember when the darkness started—only that she woke up one day with a fever in her bones and a scream in her throat.
Nyari gave her the last bread from her pouch. Let her borrow her cloak.
Elen curled close to the fire, trembling.
Nyari sat beside her, watching the flames.
She held the signal crystal Seralyth gave her.
Didn't press it.
"She's not a threat," she whispered.
"She's just like me."
Then she looked to the stars.
"…How many more are out there?"
🌙 A Quiet Moment
Later, as Elen slept, Nyari walked into the woods alone.
The moonlight bathed her in silver.
She touched her crest through her shirt—feeling the slow, warm thrum of her power.
She was changing.
Not just in strength.
In responsibility.
"I thought I just had to fight."
"But this… it's more."
"I have to find them. Before the shadows do."
She clenched her fists.
And beneath her breath, she whispered:
"I won't lose anyone.
Not like this.
Not again."
To be continued in Chapter Eleven: "Ashes of the Third"
(As Nyari travels with Elen to find the next awakened, she discovers a burnt village and signs that the third star was found… too late. But someone is waiting—for her. And they aren't alone.)