The forest did not mourn him.
The leaves rustled with the same indifferent whisper, and the moon cast the same cold, silver light. But for me, the world had been drained of its color.
I sat there for hours, clutching the silver necklace until the metal bit into my palm.
He is gone.
The thought was a physical weight, pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.
I wanted to scream, to tear the trees from their roots, to unleash the boundless ocean of mana he had gifted me and burn the forest to ash.
But I didn't.
I remembered his words.
"Wear it. It won't just keep you safe; it will help you remember what you truly are."
I stood up. My legs were steady. My eyes were clear.
I was no longer the crippled child who hid in the river. I was Ravina. And I would find him.
Time, I soon learned, was a cruel joke.
I left the forest and walked into a world that was moving too fast. I traveled from village to town, from kingdom to empire, searching for a man named Jacob.
