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PursuitElaine ran.Branches tore at her dress. Thorns bit into her legs. Blood streamed down her calves, weaving into the silver strands of her hair.Why did I come here?She already knew. That voice. The one that haunted her sleep for months.“Come to the Black Forest… my daughter.”Madness.She should have dismissed it. Locked her door. Told no one.But now—she was here. Alone. Out of the castle. Running into hell.A roar shattered the silence.It wasn’t human. Not even close.Baroque.A beast dredged from nightmares—twice the height of a man, cloaked in blackened spikes, tusks curved like scimitars. And it was coming.The earth trembled with its gait.Rotten breath surged against her back like a furnace from the grave.She didn’t look. She didn’t need to.“Please... someone—”No one answered.No one came to the Black Forest.The trees broke open ahead.A cliff.Below—raging water.Behind—death on hooves.Baroque emerged from the dark.Red eyes glinted. It didn’t charge.It didn’t have to.Elaine turned, frozen.No weapon. No magic. No strength.Just fear. Raw and choking.And then—There is one who will protect you. Accept it.A voice—deep, calm, ancient—rippled through her skull like thunder under the sea.Her lips moved. “How? What do I...?”Silence.Only hooves scraping the dirt behind her.She shut her eyes.“I accept. Better this... than nothing.”And the fire came.Not flame, but something deeper.A heat—wild and furious—rushed through her veins like lightning tearing open her bones.Her mind cracked.And something—someone—stepped in.Baroque roared—and charged.Elaine opened her eyes.They weren’t hers anymore.They were a warrior’s.Her body moved. Smooth. Sharp. Unfaltering.She sidestepped. The beast couldn’t turn in time.It plunged off the cliff.A scream. A splash. Then—silence.Elaine—no, Leon—stood still.Steady breath. Feet planted like a seasoned blade dancer.Then, a voice escaped her lips.“…My name is Leon.”And somewhere deep within, a girl whispered:Why… why can’t I move…?Two souls. One body.