"What do you mean by that?" I asked, still trying to make sense of her sudden change.
Kyla's eyes darted to my hand. "That mark… why do you have it? What does it mean?"
Before I could answer, Chris's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Kyla! Kill him! Why are you talking to that thing? He belongs to the same race that burned our sacred forest. I won't forgive any of them!"
The look in Chris's eyes sent a chill through me — a hatred so deep it almost felt alive.
Her body trembled, veins pulsing across her skin like writhing snakes.
"If you can't do it," she snarled, "I'll do it myself!"
In an instant, vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around my legs, then my chest, then my neck. They tightened fast — too fast. I couldn't even scream.
My breath caught. My ribs groaned under the pressure.
"Kyla—" I managed to choke out, "stop her!"
But Chris didn't hear. Her eyes had turned completely white, her rage burning hotter than reason.
The vines coiled tighter, biting into my skin. My vision blurred. My world shrank to the sound of my own strangled gasps. Strength slipped from my arms. My body went cold.
Darkness closed in.
And in that darkness — her face appeared. The same girl I saw under the moonlight just last night. Why, even now, when I'm about to die… why is it her face I see?
---
"Chris!" my voice cracked as I grabbed my sister's shoulders. "Stop! You're killing him!"
Chris didn't answer. The vines kept tightening, even after his body went limp.
"He's not the one who hurt us!" I shouted, voice trembling. "You're not seeing him — you're seeing them!"
But Chris's fury was blind, the old pain spilling out of her like poison.
My heart ached. I knew the reason behind that rage — everyone in the forest did.
The night of the calamity… the humans had taken Chris. They'd bound her with bloodline magic, twisting her will, forcing her small hands to slaughter her own kin. Friends, elders, the very forest she swore to protect — all destroyed through her body as her hands were covered in the blood of the people she hold dear, as the humans laughed and watched.
That memory never left her. It burned every time she heard the word human.
---
I moved without thinking. I stepped into the vines, ignoring the thorns that tore my skin, and threw my arms around Chris.
"Enough!" I cried, holding her tight. "He's gone, Chris. His heart's stopped. Please—don't make him suffer for sins he never committed."
For a moment, Chris's body stiffened — and then, slowly, the vines loosened.
They fell away from him , twitching like dying snakes on the ground.
I held my trembling sister as the forest grew silent again, except for the faint whisper of the wind — and the ghost of a breath that had already stopped.
The moment Chris calmed down, a cold breeze brushed past my neck.
A shiver ran through my spine.
The forest dimmed as if night itself had descended, and an ominous presence crept up behind me. My body refused to move. I couldn't even turn around—terror rooted me in place. The boy's body that had been lying still just seconds ago… was gone.
The soil beneath me began to crack and wither, the vibrant green fading to lifeless gray. The air thickened until every breath burned in my chest.
Slowly, I forced myself to turn—and froze.
He was standing right there.
The same boy we thought was dead… but something was different. His eyes were completely white, lifeless and unblinking. Darkness was spreading across his skin like liquid shadow, devouring his body inch by inch. He didn't move. He only stood there, silent and hollow.
Chris let out a terrified scream.
"What kind of monster are you?! Destroying our forest even after playing dead! I told you—humans are all the same!"
She raised her hand, summoning the vines again.
"Stop it, Chris! Don't!" I reached for her, but she was blinded by rage. "We need to call Elder Silk! This is too dangerous!"
The vines lashed toward him—but before they could even touch his skin, they withered away, crumbling to dust.
With every step he took, the forest around him died.
"Burning Ray!" Chris shouted, unleashing a blinding beam of light magic. The golden flare tore through the air, so bright I had to shield my eyes. But when it struck him—it vanished. The light was swallowed whole, erased into the void.
The darkness consumed his entire body now. He raised his head slowly, those pale eyes turning toward us.
And then—he disappeared.
A heartbeat later, he was behind us, walking past without a sound. I hadn't even felt him move. The forest wilted under his feet; every leaf turned to ash.
He turned back to face us. That glare—cold and endless—crushed the air around us. My stomach twisted, my heart pounded so hard it hurt.
"You're trying to take everything from me again…"
His voice wasn't loud, but it crawled inside my head, echoing through my skull. I screamed, clutching my temples as pain exploded behind my eyes. Beside me, Chris fell to her knees, crying out.
"Speak when I ask you something."
The weight in his tone made my whole body tremble. I wanted to answer, but my voice—my courage—were gone.
Chris roared in fury, "You monster! We'll end you here!"
Before I could stop her, the world split open in a flash of darkness—and the upper half of her body exploded.
Blood splattered across my face, warm and heavy.
My knees gave out. I collapsed, screaming.
I'm pathetic. My sister just died in front of me, and all I can think of is surviving.
Then—he spoke again.
"Rebirth."
His voice had changed—no longer hollow and angry, but soft. Gentle. Almost human. A white glow burst from the arrow mark on his hand, bright enough to blind me.
When I opened my eyes, she was there—Chris—alive, trembling beside me, staring at him in utter horror.
"You're helping them… even after being betrayed every time?" he murmured, though I didn't know who he was speaking to. His tone was calm but filled with sorrow.
I wanted to run. To call for help. If we stayed here, we'd both die.
He looked at me and smiled. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
A blinding white light engulfed the forest. Its warmth… it was the same magic I'd felt that night a hundred years ago—the magic of the one who saved me.
When the light faded, everything was restored—the trees, the flowers, even the grass. The destruction was gone, like none of it had ever happened.
The boy lay on the ground, normal again.
Chris was breathing, alive but fainted beside me.
I turned to check on him, but a firm voice echoed through the forest.
"Stop. Don't go near him."
It was Elder Silk. She emerged from the shadows, her eyes sharp.
"I'll examine him. Stay back."
"Elder—what's happening? What is he?" I asked, my voice shaking.
She didn't answer. She only knelt beside him, resting her palm over his chest.
After a long silence, she spoke softly.
"He's alive… just unconscious."
Somehow, hearing those words made me breathe again.
"I'll take him to the Temps Tower," she said, lifting him effortlessly. "Bring your sister there and explain everything that happened."
With that, she vanished in a swirl of white light.
I looked down at Chris, still sleeping peacefully, and whispered,
"Come on, sister… let's go see what's waiting for us."