Shadows flickered from the fires burning in the distance remnants of a struggle just moments before
Most of the battle was over. The others had handled their opponents swiftly, leaving behind battered bodies sprawled across the forest floor. But one remained.
Ariana moved through the trees, light on her feet, weaving between trunks and rocks, her breath steady. Behind her, the last woman—a bloodstained figure with wild eyes and tangled hair—chased her with a crazed laugh. Chains clinked in her hands, sharp iron edges stained with old blood.
"Keke…" the woman cackled, her voice twisted with cruelty. "What happened? Are you afraid?"
Ariana didn't respond.
She kept moving, ducking under a low branch, sliding past a moss-covered stump. Her s
golden eyes flicked around—calculating. The wind caught her dark cloak as she darted from one side of the clearing to the next, her boots silent against the soft ground.
