Snow screamed through the forest like a living thing.
A lone figure stumbled through the white chaos, breath tearing painfully from his lungs. Each step sank deep into the snow, his legs trembling as though they might give out at any moment. Blood stained the trail behind him—dark, uneven footprints marking his desperate escape.
"They killed Mira… Jade… Lemi too…"
His voice cracked as the names left his lips, swallowed almost instantly by the storm. Tears blurred his vision, freezing against his cheeks, but he didn't stop running. He couldn't. If he stopped, he would die.
The boy limped between towering, frost-covered trees, clutching his side where blood seeped freely through torn fabric. His ankle screamed with every step—broken, swollen, useless—but fear forced his body onward.
Then—
A presence.
The boy's steps faltered.
It wasn't a sound. It wasn't a smell. It was the sudden, crushing sensation that something was watching him. His heart slammed violently against his chest.
"Oh no…" he whispered, panic creeping into his voice. "They can sense me…"
He bit down on his lip and forced himself forward, ignoring the pain, pushing his shattered body faster through the snow.
A voice thundered from behind.
"HE IS NOT FAR FROM US—JUST AHEAD!"
The words echoed unnaturally, cutting through the storm like a blade.
The boy's eyes widened in terror.
They were close.
Too close.
He stumbled forward, lungs burning, then froze abruptly. His head snapped toward the distance.
Water.
He could hear it—faint, but unmistakable. A river.
"If I jump in… hide under the water…" he muttered desperately. "They might lose my trail…"
His teeth chattered violently as he looked down at his shaking body.
"But I'll freeze to death…"
Before he could decide—
The air changed.
Heat bloomed unnaturally fast, clashing violently against the freezing storm. Snow hissed as it evaporated. The boy barely had time to turn before the world exploded.
BOOOOOM!
A wave of searing force slammed into him from behind.
His body was flung through the air like a rag doll, spinning helplessly before crashing down into a shallow, abandoned pit hidden beneath the snow. Bone cracked. Flesh tore.
The world went black.
Blood pooled beneath his head as his body lay still, half-buried in snow and ash.
Silence followed.
Moments later, footsteps approached.
Two figures emerged from the smoke—men clad in dark brown armor etched with runes dulled by age. One was tall and broad, his breath heavy and uneven. The other moved calmly, eyes sharp and calculating.
"Where is that witch's son?" the taller man snarled, scanning the ruins of scorched trees. "Does he think he can hide from us?"
The calmer man raised a hand, signaling restraint. "Relax, Hazel."
He surveyed the destruction around them—the blackened ground, shattered trees, steam rising where snow had melted away.
"The spell ignited everything in the area," he continued coolly. "Even a Silver Knight would struggle to survive that."
He crouched and examined the blood trail, watching it disappear into the pit.
"His trail ends here," he said. "He's dead."
Hazel followed his gaze, grunting in approval. "You're right, Lyde. That brat was nothing special."
A twisted grin crept across his face. "Let's head back. We'll collect our reward in the morning."
They turned away, their footsteps fading into the storm.
The forest fell silent once more.
Then—
A faint crack echoed beneath the snow.
The boy's eyes snapped open.
His pupils glowed with an eerie pale white light, unnatural and ancient. Frost crawled outward from his body, then stopped—held in place by an unseen force.
His lips parted.
But the voice that spoke was not his own.
"The echo of a fallen god within you has awakened."
The wind howled violently, snow swirling upward as though pulled by an invisible hand.
"You have been burdened with a cursed fate."
The boy's body trembled, veins glowing faintly beneath his skin.
"Death shall walk beside you at every turn."
The glow intensified.
"The gods will reject you. The nether will hunt you."
A pause—heavy, deliberate.
"Yet… you will be given power."
The light flared once more.
"Power to deceive death."
"Power to survive."
The voice softened, becoming distant, fading like an echo lost to time.
"Your destiny has begun."
"Awaken."
"Survive a day… and live."
The glow vanished.
The boy's body collapsed back into the pit with a dull thud.
Snow fell silently once more, covering him completely—as though the forest itself sought to hide him from the world.
Unseen.
Unfound.
Alive.