The snow began to fall in thin, biting grains, like mosquito bites on Reishi and Chlorella. Reishi ran with short breaths, his clothes torn, his cloak whipping against his legs as if trying to knock him down. Chlorella ran ahead of him—not because she was faster, but because her brother insisted on putting himself between her and their pursuers.
The night forest was a maze of black trunks and broken branches; the cold, mixed with the snow, bit at their skin like a warning.
Clutched to Reishi's chest was a small sphere wrapped in luminous filaments. Every so often it pulsed, as if it were breathing.
About thirty meters behind them, hooded figures advanced with steady steps. One of them, with a flick of his hands, released waves of energy that sliced the air with a hiss and slammed into the trees. Bark split open like fresh wounds, sending glowing splinters into the air.
A hoarse voice echoed among the trunks.
"Stop it now, Ximo, or you'll hit the sphere!"
"I don't get it… they look like kids, how can they be this fast?" came the gruff reply.
"They must have some artifact that boosts speed. Maybe they were hired to rob us. We were tricked."
Ximo, his face a mix of disgust and fear, reached out to send another wave of energy, then held back.
"What do we do now, Rolac? My ability only destroys things…"
"I'll handle it. We'll trap them soon." Another voice cut in, and the speaker made a small sign to his companion.
After those attacks, Reishi felt his blood run cold. Chlorella grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the right, where the ground looked less treacherous.
"Don't stop!" She whispered, panting.
One of the hooded men knelt and pressed his hand to the ground. A dark green glow spread from his fingers, running like an oil stain across the earth. In seconds the ground in front of the two siblings turned into a stretch of viscous mud at least thirty meters wide.
Reishi and Chlorella had no time to brake. Their feet sank and slipped, and the world tilted before their eyes.
A muffled cry, then complete silence.
The hooded figures arrived moments later. Their silhouettes stood out against the milky sky, motionless as statues. They slid down the slope of the ravine with fluid, almost unnatural movements.
At the bottom they made a bitter discovery: there was no sign of the two kids. Only disturbed snow and the hush of the forest.
One of them bent down and touched the ground.
"They're not dead. I sense magical traces… they must have used an artifact."
Rolac lifted his gaze toward the darkness between the trees, where the snow fell thicker.
"No matter. We have their accomplice. We'll make him talk and then we'll get them."
The figures dispersed into the woods like shadows dissolving into the night.
***
In the silence, beneath a fresh layer of snow, something moved faintly.
Reishi and Chlorella pushed themselves up from the ground, covered in snow. During the fall Reishi had activated a necklace-shaped artifact: a flash had shifted them a few dozen meters—enough to save them from the chasm, but not far enough to put the pursuers completely behind them. The artifact's energy had pulled his sister along with him.
Reishi's eyes snapped open as he spat out a mix of dirt and snow. For a moment he remembered nothing: only cold, darkness, and a dull pain along his back.
"Chlo…" he croaked, voice strangled.
He hauled himself up with effort, plunging his hands into the snow up to his wrists. He looked around, searching for her, afraid he might have lost her.
"Chlorella!" he shouted, louder.
No answer. Only the wind whistling through the branches.
Then a movement: a small mound of snow a few meters away trembled, split open, and a trembling hand emerged. Reishi lunged toward her, digging with his arms like a desperate animal.
"Chlo! Chlo, are you alive?!"
He pulled her out of the snow and held her to his chest. She didn't seem injured, only dazed.
"Rei…" she whispered. "I'm… I'm here."
Reishi squeezed her hard, almost angrily. "I'm not leaving you. I'm not leaving you."
In that instant both of them felt relief: it seemed they had managed to shake off their pursuers.
"Rhodio…" Chlorella murmured in a faint voice.
Reishi lowered his gaze; his heart was still racing.
"I'll get him back." He said, his voice hard but betraying no fear.
"It's all the sphere's fault. If I hadn't seen it… I never would have asked you to steal it with me." She added, thoughtful.
She eased away from her brother and put her hands in her pockets, searching for something. In the dark she couldn't see much.
"The sphere? Where's the sphere?" He asked, tense, afraid they'd lost it after risking their lives.
Chlorella looked at him and, hands shaking, handed it to him.
"Rei… here. I grabbed it while we were falling."
Reishi took it slowly and noticed immediately that it no longer glowed. It had once given off a faint light—not enough to illuminate, but enough to recognize it—now it was completely dark.
"Are you sure it's not just a rock? It was brighter before." Reishi said, shaking it slightly in the air.
"After I grabbed it I shoved it into my pants… it stayed there until now. Maybe… it broke," she panted.
"All right, Chlo, it doesn't matter now. We have to get home, then I'll figure out how to save Rhodio." Reishi replied, putting the sphere into a pouch.
Chlorella nodded, took her brother's hand, and together they walked toward their refuge, leaving behind the forest that seemed to watch them—silent and suspicious.