Dayanara clenched her fists tightly as she stared at the unmoving mother and the crying child. Her heart felt heavy, her throat tight.
She could not take it anymore. She fell to her knees, tears falling freely down her face as she looked up at the empty sky above the forest canopy.
"I'm begging you… My Goddess," she cried out with all her voice. "Please, save her. I will do anything, just save her. Take my life if you must, but don't let this boy lose his mother."
Her voice broke as she continued, trembling. "Don't make him live like I did. No family. No home. No one to call his own."
The air around her grew still. Then—
Ding!
A sharp, loud sound echoed through the forest, freezing everything in place. The water stopped moving, the wind went silent, and even Mist's sobs halted midair. The world turned eerily still.
Dayanara's eyes widened. Her instincts kicked in and she stood up, pulling her twin sticks into her hands, ready for a fight.
