Weeks passed.
Winter tightened its grip on the land as Achilles's party—Achilles, Jules, Artorius, Hailey, and Cassia—made their northward march toward the Ruinia Mountains, where the 6th orthodox divinity was rumored to rest beneath frozen stone.
The cold bit at every breath. Food was scarce. Spirits, even scarcer.
When they finally reached a lonely stretch of shoreline, they decided to camp and ration what little they had left.
Cassia sat alone near the waves, knees pulled tight to her chest. The sea was gray, the sky bleaker. Every crash of the tide sounded like Cylrea's helmet snapping under Jules's fist. Every gust of wind felt like the tremor before the general's roar.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
I'm a child.
The thought hit her harder than it had before.
I'm just a child. Dragged into the war between gods and mortals. Used for her abilities. Thrown into battles she couldn't understand. Expected to help kill beings older than creation itself.
Her hands shook. She hid them in her sleeves.
Something inside her whispered—Run.
She rose quietly, heart pounding. No one noticed. Achilles and Artorius were arguing around the fire. Hailey was collecting driftwood. Jules was sharpening his staff.
Cassia slipped into one of the tents, gathered a bundle of food, a coat too large for her tiny frame, and a waterskin.
With a final glance back… she ran.
Snow crunched under her feet. The wind tugged at her silver hair as she sprinted through the white forest. She stumbled more than once, her small legs shaking, almost tripping over roots hidden beneath the snow.
But she kept going.
For the first time in her short life—
Maybe I can be okay.
Maybe she could be free. Maybe she could live without the sound of dying gods and screaming steel.
Her breath smoked in the air as she whispered her hope aloud.
"I can do this… I can—"
A shadow moved.
Cassia froze.
Three men stepped out from behind the trees—bandits, wrapped in furs and grinning through broken teeth.
"Well, look what we have here," one laughed. "A tiny snow-rat with supplies."
Cassia backed away, clutching the bundle to her chest.
"D-don't—"
They didn't listen.
One grabbed her arm.
Cassia screamed.
But the scream never finished.
A massive shape crashed through the trees behind the bandits—white fur glowing faintly, eyes like molten silver. A pair of antlers crowned its head, carved with runes older than human memory.
A celestial beast.
It tore through the bandits in seconds.
Blood sprayed across the snow.
Cassia staggered back, trembling, watching the creature lift one man in its jaws and snap him apart.
Then its glowing eyes turned toward her.
Cassia dropped everything and ran.
"HELP!" she screamed, voice cracking. "SOMEONE! PLEASE!"
Her legs burned. Her breath tore at her lungs. She could barely see from the tears freezing on her cheeks.
Too far. I went too far. I went too far—
Arrows suddenly whistled through the air, striking the beast's hide.
But they bounced off.
Still, it paused.
Cassia used the moment to scramble away, tripping back toward the direction she'd come.
Behind her, voices yelled—Achilles's battle cry, Artorius invoking a spell, Hailey shouting orders.
Her family—no matter how broken—it came for her.
The fight exploded across the snowy woods.
Achilles charged head-on, blade sparking against the beast's antler. Artorius unleashed pillars of fire and shards of ice. Jules struck with radiant bursts of energy meant to blind and stagger. Hailey darted between them, her dagger glowing with something sharp and desperate.
But the beast…
It barely slowed.
Cassia crawled through the snow, trying to reclaim the scattered food she'd dropped. Tears blurred her vision.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… I just wanted… I just—"
A heavy shadow loomed behind her.
Cassia turned.
The celestial beast stood over her.
Time froze.
Its massive paw pressed lightly against her hand—not crushing it, but pinning it. She gasped as glowing lines spread across her skin, forming a radiant pattern that pulsed like a heartbeat.
A divine mark.
Her breath hitched.
"Cassia!" Hailey screamed.
The beast raised its head—
—and Jules leaped from the side, driving his staff into the creature's neck with a burst of blinding sacred light.
The beast shuddered.
Slowly… it collapsed beside Cassia, steam rising from its wounds.
Snow fell in silence.
Achilles rushed forward, pulling Cassia close. Her small body shook violently, her hands clutching his coat.
Jules knelt beside them, breathing hard.
"It marked her," he said quietly.
Artorius frowned. "A divine symbol… but why her?"
Hailey's eyes widened as she watched the glowing mark slowly fade into Cassia's skin.
"Because," she whispered, "the gods aren't done with her."
Cassia looked at her hands.
They were still trembling.
The world, once again, refused to let her go.