The trees finally thinned, and for the first time in days, Lif felt fresh air that didn't stink of blood or smoke. He stumbled forward, his breath ragged, arms limp, and clothes in tatters. His skin was scraped raw from running through forest and stone, and mana clung to him in ragged pulses — too little to use, too much to feel normal.
Then he heard it. Water.
Lif's eyes snapped up as he saw a narrow stream glittering in the sunlight ahead. Without hesitation, he broke into a run, tripping over a root but catching himself with one hand as he slid toward the edge. He fell to his knees, dipped both hands into the cool, clear river, and drank desperately. He hadn't had a proper drink in months, it felt like centuries.
Cold water streamed down his face, mixing with dried blood and dirt. For a moment, he just stayed there, hunched over, letting the droplets soak into his clothes. His chest rose and fell rapidly.
Then, he tried to rise.
But his legs gave out. A sharp stab of pain shot through both thighs, and he dropped back to his knees with a choked grunt.
"Shit…" he muttered, clenching his fists. "Should've used less mana against the guards…"
He had forced too much. His escape from the capital, fighting off elite elven soldiers, it was a miracle he was alive.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand, legs wobbling. He started walking again, his steps slow and shaky, like a newborn deer. Every muscle screamed. His arms were barely responding. His body ached like it had been crushed and stitched back together without anesthesia.
That's when he heard it.
Steps.
More than one.
He froze.
Then instinct kicked in — he dove behind the nearest tree, breathing shallowly. Carefully, he turned to peek.
A small group emerged from the woods ahead — four people. A tall man with an intense stare, a woman with soft brown hair, and two girls — one maybe fifteen, the other younger than him.
They were just a family. Ordinary-looking. No armor, no weapons drawn. Lif's breath caught in his throat, and he let out a soft, relieved sigh. He stood up slowly—
—only for his arm to suddenly jolt in pain.
"Agh!"
He yelped, clutching it. Nothing had touched him. No wound, no injury — but it felt like something inside it had just snapped.
"What the hell…?"
The pain vanished as fast as it came, but—
The footsteps had stopped.
"No no no…" Lif thought, trying to sink behind the tree again. "Please just keep walking… I can't fight now… please…"
Then—
CRACK!
A blinding flash. A bolt of lightning exploded against the tree he was hiding behind, snapping the trunk clean in two. The wood splintered and shattered as Lif barely leapt away, rolling awkwardly to his feet and wincing as his legs buckled again. He turned his eyes to the family.
The man stepped forward. Blue sparks danced across his fingertips. "You're running from the kingdom's guards," he said flatly. "You're a criminal. Who knows what you've done — or who you've killed."
Lif's expression hardened, but he said nothing. He was too drained for bravado. Too broken to play the monster they wanted him to be.
The woman beside the man looked at Lif for a long moment. There was no malice in her eyes — only something harder to place. Empathy, maybe. Pity.
The two girls stood close together. The older one seemed curious. Her gaze lingered on Lif longer than it should've. The younger hid behind her mother.
Lif ran his hand through his wild hair to push it out of his face. His face, usually hidden beneath messy locks, was suddenly visible — cut, bruised, tired, but… still him.
The older girl tilted her head. A faint, almost imperceptible smile crossed her lips.
The father didn't wait. Another bolt surged toward Lif.
BOOM.
Lif barely raised his arm. A wall of ice sprang up from the earth, half-formed, weak, but it caught the brunt of the blast before shattering violently. The explosion sent him flying backward again, tumbling through leaves and branches before crashing hard into a tree.
His arms screamed. It felt like both of them had been torn from the socket. He couldn't even lift his right hand.
The man approached, his steps slow and heavy.
"I saw what you did," he said, eyes crackling with light. "I've seen humans pretend to be victims before. You'll rot like the rest of them."
Lif could barely sit up. His vision blurred. "i havent killed one elf.," he muttered.
The man either didn't hear — or didn't care. Lightning surged again.
"Can't move. Can't block another hit.No mana left.
Arms… dead weight. Why is it always like this…?"
He looked up, blood dripping from his lips
Another barrage. Three bolts, all aimed at his chest.
"…Shit."
With the last thread of mana he had, Lif forced it into his core. His inner body flared, barely hardening in time as the bolts crashed against his ribs.
The pain didn't even register. Everything was numb now.
The man stepped closer, shaking his head. "People like you are the worst. You take power and turn it on innocents. Especially human males — you hit adulthood and think the world belongs to you."
Lif laughed.
A weak, cracked sound. "A-adult…?" he echoed, dragging himself up onto one elbow. His voice was hoarse.
"Man, I'm thirteen…" lif says giggling
The silence after that was deafening.
The man's face twisted.His wife's eyes widened. The two girls stared, the older's smile now gone.
Then Lif passed out, his body slumping into the dirt.
—
The woman walked slowly to her husband. "He's… he's just a boy," she said.
"I don't care," the man growled. "He was chased by elite elven guards, He's dangerous. I dont want someone like that around my family!"
"He didn't attack," she replied softly. "You did."
The man didn't answer. He just stared at Lif, sparks flickering in his clenched fist.
The older girl walked up beside them, her voice quiet. "Can we take him in…? Just until he wakes up?"
Her father turned sharply to her.
"Absolutely not."
She didn't flinch. "he was playing defensive.."
Her mother spoke again, gently. "he didnt even fight back."
The younger girl finally peeked out. "He looked… really tired."
The man clenched his jaw. "…Fine. A day. One day. If he wakes up and tries anything—"
"He won't," his wife cut in softly.
As they turned back to Lif's unconscious body, slumped beneath a tree, the sun dipped low over the horizon.