Alex's Point of View -
Where… am I?
Just moments ago, I was in the forest.
There was a battle. The arrow… right the arrow.
I looked down at my right arm, expecting pain, blood, anything.
But the wound was gone.
Now, I was standing in some kind of endless white space.
There was no ground, no sky, just a strange emptiness that stretched in every direction.
What the hell is going on?
Am I… dead?
Then I heard it.
A voice, soft, yet filled with presence.
"The last descendant from the King of the Arctic…"
The words echoed like a whisper across a still lake.
My eyes widened.
From the distance, a figure began to form, glowing, serene.
A woman in a flowing white robe appeared, her body hovering gently in mid-air, radiant like moonlight. Her long blonde hair floated around her like silk underwater.
She drifted toward me without a sound.
And somehow… I knew she wasn't human.
"What… are you?" I asked, my voice barely steady.
The woman floated closer, her silver hair glowing softly in the white void. Her eyes, calm and ancient, held a weight I couldn't begin to understand.
She paused for a moment, then spoke.
"My name is Athena," she said gently.
"The goddess of wisdom… and the one who once guided the Arctic people. They carried my blood—my gift."
Her voice was like a breeze—calm, yet heavy with power.
I stared at her, stunned.
"Why am I here?!"
Athena's gaze didn't waver.
Her expression remained calm, yet there was a trace of sadness in her voice.
"Because you are unconscious… and because you are the last kin of the Arctic."
My breath caught.
"The last…?"
She gave a gentle nod.
"You carry the final thread of the last king's bloodline."
Her voice echoed through the endless space.
"When your life was in danger, your soul drifted here… to me. I would never expected to see the last arctic people"
My mind raced.
I didn't understand any of this—but the weight of her words, the truth behind them, crushed down on me like thunder.
Across from me, the goddess was smiling… and crying.
Tears glistened on her cheeks, falling silently even as her lips curled with joy.
"What does that even mean?" I asked, my voice cracking, tight with fear and confusion.
She reached up and gently wiped a tear from her face.
"My child…"
Her voice was warm and trembling.
"You are the last hope to save this world. The final flame of a divine bloodline meant to protect all life. I wish I could tell you more, truly… but there is no time."
"Oi—explain it to me!" I shouted, stepping forward. "What's happening to me?! What do I do?!"
She looked at me one last time, a bittersweet smile on her lips.
"You're almost awake."
And with that, the light shattered.
I woke up with a gasp.
I was back in Silverwood.
The forest air was damp and heavy.
The memory of the arrow, the poison, and that endless white space all came flooding back.
I looked down at my arm.
Healed completely.
Not even a scar.
The tent we had set up was now burnt to ash, blackened pieces of cloth and scorched wood scattered around me.
I slowly stood, the silence around me unnerving.
Then, a voice. Familiar. Sharp.
Cloe.
Without thinking, I ran toward the sound.
But when I reached the clearing, I froze.
My blood went cold.
What I saw was a nightmare.
On the ground lay the decapitated heads of Sir John and Mr. Hex.
Their bodies were in pieces, torn apart like ragdolls on a battlefield.
My knees nearly gave out.
I couldn't breathe.
There was a naked girl tied to a tree, arms and legs bound tightly, her body bloodied and covered in bruises and cuts. She was barely conscious, her head slumped forward. Her fur and ears marked her as a beastkin.
It was the first time I saw a beastkin but I didn't recognize her at all.
Lieutenant Cloe was nowhere in sight.
Surrounding the girl were four Dark Elves, grinning and muttering to each other .
Their eyes were twisted with cruel amusement.
"Should we toy with her now?" one of the elves sneered, pacing in front of the bound girl.
"Gross. At least wait until she's not covered in blood," another laughed darkly.
"I'm tired of waiting," the third muttered with a twisted grin. "Let's just get it over with. I'm not wasting the chance."
The largest of the group stepped forward, and undressed his pants and slowly walked to the girl.
"This guy really turned on by that ?" the other laughed.
He then groped the girl harshly and began to lick her face.
"Stop it !!" The girl shouted again and resisted him powerlessly.
"..don't worry, it hurts a bit, soon you will enjoy it" he said and went on to her again.
"Hahahaha… even a beastkin… this guy is no joke.."
"Oi .. who is that ?"
Finally, they finally noticed my presence.
That voice, It was Cloe.
She wasn't just Lieutenant Cloe.
She was a woman, and I had never realized it until now.
The rage in my chest exploded.
My blood boiled.
My vision turned gold.
"A... Alex..."
Her voice was so faint… but filled with shock.
One of the elves glanced my way.
"Wait… huh? That guy's still alive?!"
The biggest one groaned, annoyed.
"Just kill him already. I'm busy with the girl."
And then, Everything went blank.
In a blink of an eye, my mind went blank and the moment I'm back to sense, I was holding 2 dark elve's heads on both heads.
When I came back to my senses, I was standing in the middle of a blood-soaked clearing, hands trembling.
In my grip, two severed heads of dark elves.
"..what ?"
I gasped and dropped them to the dirt. Nearby, the third elf was lying crushed, his body caved in as if something had slammed him into the ground with inhuman force.
And finally, the big one.
He was crawling, dragging himself across the dirt, blood pouring from his torn legs. One arm hung limp, bent at a wrong angle.
His eyes—once filled with arrogance—were now wide with terror.
"P-please..." he choked out, voice trembling. "Please… don't kill me..." before passing out and lying flat on the ground.
I stepped forward, toward Lieutenant Cloe.
"Step away !!" She shouted.
She was still tied to the tree, bloodied and trembling.
As I approached, she flinched.
"S-Step away!!" she cried out, her voice sharp and panicked.
I froze.
Her eyes locked onto mine—wide, filled with terror.
She was shaking uncontrollably, her back pressed against the bark.
She was sitting in a pool of her own urine.
I didn't know what she had seen…
But whatever it was, I was the cause.
"...Are you even human?" she whispered, barely audible.
Then her head slumped forward.
She had passed out.
I slowly walked over to her.
Her breathing was shallow.
Her body, broken.
As I untied the ropes binding her arms and legs, I finally saw just how bad it was.
Her right hand was fractured, twisted unnaturally.
Cuts and bruises covered her arms, shoulders, and sides.
She was barely hanging on.
I gently lowered her to the ground, making sure her head rested safely on a patch of grass.
Then I rushed to the burned remains of our camp, digging through the wreckage.
Miraculously, I found a half-burnt satchel with a few healing potions and some bandages tucked inside.
I wrapped her hand and shoulders as best I could, then pulled off my outer coat and laid it over her battered frame.
She didn't stir.
But at least now… she looked like she was sleeping, not dying.
I sat there for a moment, catching my breath.
But then I realized that Maric and Ms. Sophia was nowhere to be seen.
My fists clenched.
I stood up and turned toward the bodies of Mr. Hex and Sir John.
Or what was left of them.
Their heads were nearby.
Their bodies... torn apart, broken, scattered on the ground like shattered pieces of what they once were.
I couldn't say anything.
No words came out.
The only thing I could do for them now…
was to bury them.
I took my time gathering what remained of Mr. Hex and Sir John.
There was a large tree nearby. Its roots were thick, the ground soft.
I dug with my hands. No tools, just dirt and aching fingers.
I laid them side by side and placed their weapons beside them.
Covered them gently, this was all I could give.
I didn't know what time it was, but the sun still hadn't risen.
The forest remained dark and cold.
'I have to find Marci and Sophia.'
And the noble girl… whoever she was.
I walked back to where Cloe lay unconscious.
She was still breathing, faint, but steady.
Carefully, I lifted her and tied her to my back with a strip of cloth torn from what was left of the tent.
She didn't stir.
Holding a torch in one hand, I stepped into the forest.