I had always thought I understood life's cruelty, but I never imagined it could surprise me like this.
I lay on the forest floor, the cold ground biting into my skin. A pool of blood spread beneath me, warm and wet, seeping into the earth. Three deep slashes carved into my body—my back, my stomach, my thigh—each one a reminder of my weakness. My right arm hung uselessly at my side, shattered, and every breath sent sharp pain shooting through my fractured ribs. Small cuts and bruises covered me like a map of my mistakes. My lungs still worked, though each gasp felt like swallowing fire. But the blood loss… it was too much. My eyelids grew heavy, the world blurring at the edges. Sleep called to me, a tempting escape.
I thought if I should cast some healing magic but my mana was almost depleted. Rather than trying to completely deplete it and falling unconscious, it was better to keep my senses and tough it out.
This wasn't the first time I'd danced with death, but it might be the last. My friends would be worried right now. Shortly, they'll be here and then I could rest.
"I just pray they stay safe and don't fall into danger."
I turned my head, the movement sending a fresh wave of agony through my neck. Around me lay the bodies of armored men, their polished breastplates gleaming in the dim light. They were skilled knights, the kind who belonged in the imperial army. But they weren't the reason I was here. No, it was someone else. He did this. I'd known better than to trust him, but I'd been naive. Arrogant. And now I was paying the price.
Betrayal comes when you least expect it. I'd like to think that I'd been on my guard but perhaps my feeling made me lower it. Now I also knew that he had a major role in how my life turned out the way it did.
"Surely, courtesy dictates that I pay him back for all the ways that he had taken care of me.", I thought that as I felt a sardonic smile curve on my lips.
But you don't know any of this, do you? You don't know who I am, or why I'm here, or why this moment matters. Let me take you back to the beginning, to the day my life shattered into pieces. The day I learned that life doesn't just surprise you—it destroys you, then dares you to rebuild.