The sunlight piercing through the forest canopy was blinding to Lysara. She stopped exactly at the mouth of the cave, closing her eyes for a moment to inhale deeply. Her lungs felt a cooling sensation—a feeling she had forgotten since a millennium ago.
For a thousand years, she had been trapped in a damp, airless void. The seal had not only bound her physically but had halted her biological functions entirely. For ten centuries, she had known neither hunger, nor thirst, nor fatigue. She had been forced into an agonizing state of "stasis." Every second, every minute, she had counted in the darkness. She counted her own slowing heartbeat and the rhythm of water droplets falling from the cave roof, just to keep from slipping into madness. The humans of old were truly cruel—they hadn't killed her; they had simply paused her time in eternal darkness.
And now, the light of hope stood beside her: a fragile-looking human youth with rectangular glasses.
"We're out, Lysara," Eins's voice broke her reverie.
Lysara didn't answer. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed Eins's hand. Her large fingers and sharp claws enveloped his palm, which felt small and warm. Lysara's face remained flat, expressionless, as if her heart were still frozen inside the seal.
Eins flinched, his face slowly flushing red. "L-Lysara? Why are you holding my hand?"
"So you don't get lost," she replied shortly, her tone level. Her eyes stared straight ahead, but her grip was incredibly firm. To Lysara, Eins was the only tether she had in this new world.
They trekked through the dense forest, dry leaves crunching beneath their feet. The atmosphere grew awkward for Eins. As a researcher, he was used to silence during observations, but sharing silence with a woman from the ancient past whom he had just liberated felt different.
"Ahem," Eins cleared his throat, trying to break the ice. "So... Lysara. Since we'll be traveling together for a long time, I'd like to know more about you. I mean, like... what's your favorite food? Or what do you usually do to relax? Or... what do you like about this world?"
Lysara remained silent for a long while. She looked at her free hand, flexing her sharp claws. "Food? I've forgotten the sensation of chewing something real. Habits? My habit for a thousand years was staring into the void. Things I like?"
She turned slightly toward Eins with a hollow gaze. "I do not even know if I am still a living being or merely a corpse forced to move by the remnants of ancient magic. Feelings... joy... it all feels like a very distant dream."
Eins fell silent. He could feel the profound sorrow beneath her flat tone. This woman hadn't just lost her freedom; she had lost her identity as a living creature with desires.
"You'll find it again," Eins whispered softly. "The world might be different now, but the taste of sweet berries or the warmth of a campfire is still the same as it was a thousand years ago. I'll help you remember."
The mood turned profoundly melancholic. Eins wanted to say something more to comfort her, but the words caught in his throat as a high-pitched scream shattered the forest's peace.
"HEEEEELP!"
It was a woman's voice. It came from the west.
Eins and Lysara locked eyes. Without a word, they moved swiftly toward the source. Lysara deftly pulled Eins behind a thicket of bushes as they reached a wide clearing in the center of the forest.
There, a horrific scene unfolded. Several horse-drawn carriages with thick iron bars were parked in the clearing. Surrounding them was a group of men in grimy leather attire, their faces scarred and their eyes hungry for blood. They brandished whips and jagged blades, laughing coarsely.
"Who are they?" Lysara whispered, her eyes flashing with hostility.
Eins peered through the leaves, his face hardening. "Race-snatchers... or more accurately, slave traders. They kidnap people from various races to sell in the black markets of corrupt kingdoms."
Lysara furrowed her brow, her thick tail twitching restlessly. "Slaves? So... after a thousand years, humans still enjoy shackling one another?"
Eins let out a heavy sigh, shame etched on his features. "Evil knows no era, Lysara. As long as there is greed, filth like them will exist in this world."
"Disgusting," Lysara hissed. "The world turns, yet the stains remain."
Eins observed the carriages. Inside, he saw a heart-wrenching sight. Elf girls with drooping ears, Beastfolk children huddling in fear, battered Dwarves, and even ordinary humans who looked as though they had lost all hope. They were all crammed into the same cages like livestock.
"We have to help them," Eins said firmly. He looked at Lysara. "I have a plan. I'll sneak around the back of the carriages. I have lockpicking tools in my research bag. I'll try to open the cages quietly."
"And me?" Lysara asked.
"You..." Eins swallowed hard, glancing at the raw power in Lysara's arms. "You are our distraction. Go out there and deal with those men. I've only known you briefly, but I know you are strong. I am trusting my safety to you."
At the word 'trust,' Lysara's gray eyes wavered slightly. "Trust me, do you? Very well. I shall tear them all apart."
Lysara discarded her tattered cloak, leaving her in her worn garments that allowed for better movement. She stepped out from the bushes with a calm but lethal stride. Meanwhile, Eins circled around, crawling through the shadows of the trees to reach the rear of the caravan.
"Oi! Who goes there?!" shouted one of the guards who spotted the gray-haired woman approaching.
Lysara didn't answer. She simply pulled back her hood, revealing her magnificent curved horns and intimidating predator eyes.
"A rare Beastfolk girl! Catch her! She'll fetch thousands of gold coins!" screamed the leader, a man wielding a giant greataxe.
Four men charged at Lysara. With movements almost invisible to the human eye, Lysara swung her hand. Her sharp claws sliced through the air—and through flesh.
Sreeet!
Blood sprayed into the air. Two men collapsed instantly, their chests shredded. Lysara moved like a dance of death. She leapt, kicking one man until his ribs audibly shattered, then grabbed another by the head and slammed him into the ground with crushing force.
"Monster!" the leader roared. He swung his massive axe with full force at Lysara's head.
Lysara didn't even blink. She raised a single hand.
Clang!
The axe blade, as large as a small child, stopped dead in Lysara's palm. The metal of the axe vibrated violently as it met her steel-like skin and muscle. With a casual motion, Lysara gripped the blade and...
Krak!
The metal shattered into fragments from the mere squeeze of her hand. The leader's face turned pale. He saw death standing right in front of him. Lysara swung her claws once more, and the man's head was severed from his shoulders. The clearing was now awash in blood. Lysara killed with brutal efficiency, without hesitation, unleashing a thousand years of repressed rage upon this "filth."
On the other side, Eins was already at the main cage. His hands shook as he inserted two small wires into the keyhole. "Come on... just a little more... click!" he panicked.
Click!
The cage door swung open. "Quick, get out! Run to the east!" Eins whispered to the terrified captives.
However, in the midst of the chaos, a thug who had been hiding under a carriage crawled out. He was the last survivor, a cunning coward. As Eins was busy helping a Beastfolk child out, the man lunged.
"EINS, LOOK OUT!" Lysara screamed from a distance.
But it was too late. The man had Eins in a chokehold from behind, his arm wrapped tight, while his right hand pressed a serrated knife directly against the jugular vein of Eins's neck.
"STOP, YOU MONSTER WOMAN!" the thug screamed, his voice trembling violently. "Stop moving or I'll butcher this researcher right now!"
Lysara, who had been poised to pounce, froze. Her body went rigid. Her eyes, red with bloodlust, now fixed sharply on Eins.
Eins felt the cold bite of the metal against his skin. He looked at Lysara, his eyes filled with guilt for becoming a burden.
"Don't... don't worry about me, Lysara..." Eins whispered hoarsely.
"Shut up!" The thug pressed the knife harder until a bead of blood trickled down Eins's pale neck. "Back off, Monster! Back off or he dies!"
Lysara stood still. Her hands clenched so hard that her claws drew blood from her own palms. For a thousand years, she had never cared for the life of another—but now, seeing the human who had just given her a spark of hope on the brink of death, her heart ached terribly. It hurt far more than any ancient seal ever had.
To be continued...