"This is bad."

  Damon’s eyes darted around, frantically scanning the area.

  Without hesitation, he surged forward, his movements swift and precise.

  "Damon!" Gwen shouted from behind.

  A massive forcefield suddenly enveloped Ivy as she levitated into the air. An arrow materialized at her side, and before anyone could react, it shot forward, narrowly missing Damon. He barely dodged the projectile, but as it hit the ground, the area around it shifted, gravity vanishing completely.

  Damon's body was lifted, floating aimlessly as a blue glow shimmered around him. Instantly, he negated the effect, slamming back to the ground. But before he could steady himself, another arrow pierced his chest, and his body froze into an ice sculpture.

  With a violent shake, the ice shattered, and Damon was back on his feet in an instant.

  Zephyr and Gwen were by his side, ready for the next move.

  "I have no idea what’s going on," Gwen said, her breath steady despite the chaos, "But we’re doing it."

  Damon grinned, and with a flash of energy, the trio rocketed forward, moving at a blistering pace.

  An arrow flew past them, and a vortex suddenly ripped open behind them, its pull relentless. As if to add to their misery, a lightning bolt fell from above.

  The trio leaped, barely avoiding the deadly force. But the vortex sucked them in, its power like a vacuum pulling at their very souls. Damon conjured a mental wall to block the force, but before it could hold, a lightning bolt struck, shattering it completely.

  The vortex pulled them closer, Damon eyes snapped to Gwen being the closest to the vortex, he stretched his hand immediately, wrapping Gwen in a protective blue sphere, he shot her away from the pull.

  Doing that caused him to loose his balance, he was mere inches away from being swallowed whole when Zephyr kicked him away and teleported out just in time.

  The vortex erupted behind them, sending a shockwave that rattled the battlefield.

  Ivy appeared in front of Zephyr with terrifying speed, unleashing a brutal punch that sent him crashing through a nearby wall. In a blur, she was in front of Damon, grabbing his face and slamming him into the ground.

  Before he could recover, Ivy vanished again—now face-to-face with Gwen.

  Her fist came crashing forward, but Gwen deflected it just in time and countered with a swift strike of her own. Ivy caught Gwen’s punch mid-air, her palm unmoving like stone. With a sharp shove, she pushed Gwen backward and drove a punishing blow into her gut, knocking the air from her lungs.

  Before Gwen could react, Ivy followed up with a crushing uppercut.

  Grabbing Gwen by the hair, Ivy yanked her downward and drove a devastating knee into her chin. With a thunderous punch to the face, she sent Gwen hurtling backward, the impact leaving her dazed and reeling.

  Ivy’s eyes snapped up.

  Wind arrows tore through the air with deadly precision. She leapt back, weaving through them effortlessly—every motion fluid, untouchable.

  Zephyr smirked. “Guess I’ll give it a shot.”

  In a blink, he teleported into the fray. His wind blade slashed horizontally, but Ivy tilted her head back, narrowly dodging. Her fists lashed out—double to his gut, the next to his face. She went for another strike, but Zephyr crossed his arm blocking it, the force sending him sliding back.

  Mid-motion, he slashed the air, launching a flurry of crescent-shaped wind strikes. They howled toward Ivy.

  She dodged each one—but the last clipped strands of her hair.

  Zephyr reappeared in front of her, blade swinging—but Ivy was already mid-counter, as if anticipating his movements, her fist screamed towards him with full force.

  At the last second, Zephyr vanished.

  Ivy staggered forward, her punch meeting nothing but air.

  "Now."

  Zephyr reappeared above her, a spiraling wind sphere forming in his palm. The wind around them being drawn to him.

  With a shout, he slammed it down onto her back. The impact forced her into the ground, the wind sphere expanding with violent pressure. The surrounding area trembled as everything it touched was erased, the blast stretching out across a 20-meter radius.

  Zephyr leapt back to avoid the recoil.

  Just as he landed, three arrows, massive as a spear, hurtled toward him from behind.

  Damon appeared in an instant, kicking Zephyr aside. He raised a forcefield—but the arrows phased through it, piercing his chest.

  Blood burst from Damon’s mouth. “Knew that wouldn’t work,” he rasped.

  “You moron!” Zephyr shouted, his eyes wide with panic.

  Ivy’s gaze wavered as she saw Damon. Her body shook as if two souls were tearing at her from within. She screamed in pain, her eyes flickering, glitching—then turning hazel.

  For a brief moment, she saw Ladrel in Damon. Her hands trembled. Her breathing fractured.

  Zephyr immediately appeared beside Damon, grabbed him, and leapt away to safety.

  Raising a hand charged with vibrating wind, Zephyr sliced off the sharp edge of the arrow that had impaled Damon. With steady hands, he pulled the arrow out, crimson blood flowing freely. Damon didn’t make a sound.

  He lay in Zephyr’s arms, eyes dim but focused.

  “She’s gonna snap,” Damon whispered. “We need to stop her. Now.”

  His eyes pulsed with a soft blue glow as he forced himself upright, staggering to his feet.

  From across the battlefield, Gwen emerged from the rubble left by Zephyr’s earlier attack. Wiping dust from her face, she muttered, “Guess I slept too long.”

  She sprinted over and rejoined them, catching sight of Ivy still thrashing in agony, clutching her head.

  “What’s going on?” Gwen asked, breathless.

  “She won’t last long,” Damon murmured.

  Without another word, he and Zephyr surged forward.

  “I have no idea what’s going on,” Gwen muttered—but she followed without hesitation.

  Arrows rained down from the sky, conjured wildly by Ivy as her body convulsed. She screamed, eyes wild, her mind fracturing. The arrows came in waves—some exploded on impact, others hissed with acid, crackled with electricity, or glittered with ice. The cave trembled as the barrage tore through its ceiling.

  One arrow slammed into the ground near Damon, detonating violently. The shockwave launched him back. Zephyr reacted instantly—teleporting behind Damon, swirling wind in his palm. With a powerful blast, he shot Damon forward like a cannonball through the air.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Just as Zephyr prepared to follow, his gaze snapped to Gwen—already flying backward, struck by a blast. He vanished and reappeared in time to catch her, both of them slamming into a stone wall.

  Damon streaked ahead, his body coated in a thick, glowing forcefield. Arrows ripped into him, piercing through, but with each tear, another layer of the shield regenerated. He pressed forward.

  As he neared Ivy, the arrows could no longer breach the barrier. They shattered, melted, or bounced off entirely.

  His glowing eyes locked onto hers—and in a sudden burst of speed, he was there, face-to-face.

  Her tear-filled eyes snapped up to meet his.

  Whoosh.

  The forcefield vanished. Damon raised his hand and, with a gentle touch, placed two fingers against her forehead.

  Her entire body froze. Her screams stopped.

  She calmed.

  But in that moment, all the remaining arrows homed in on Damon, stabbing into him from every angle imaginable.

  He smiled softly, his voice barely audible. “You’re free now.”

  Then he collapsed.

  Ivy’s eyes trembled. Slowly, she turned her head—and saw Ladrel, unconscious behind her.

  Her strength drained. She collapsed onto Ladrel’s body and passed out, her mind hazing.

  *I grew up in a place where cruelty ruled. Greedy, ruthless bastards sat at the top, and my family—just lowly trash to them—were treated like nothing more than ragdolls. They killed my father and brother. They raped my mother and older sister in our own home. I watched it all from inside the closet where my mom had hidden me.

  But it wasn’t just us. There were many families like mine, suffering in silence. It didn’t take long before my mother and sister ended their lives right in front of me. And the strange thing? I didn’t cry. Not a single tear. Not then. Not after.

  That night, I left the village. The so-called leaders just laughed when they found out—like it was some kind of game. I swore I’d get revenge, even if it cost me my life.

  I wandered, starving, broken… until I met Ladrel—another elf like me, from a different village. A fellow stray. We clicked instantly. Helped each other survive. We stole, we ran, we grew up in the shadows together. When I told him everything I've done is to go back for revenge, he didn’t try to stop me. He just smiled.

  Along the way, we took in other lost elves. Kids like us. Built something that almost felt like home. But one day, the very first time we left them alone to find food. When we came back… they were all gone. Killed. Our hideout ransacked.

  I’m sure someone betrayed us. We were too well hidden for it to be random.

  After that, we swore: no more strays. No more risking our hearts. But then we found Kieran, a golem, and Tharn, a Minotaur—both barely breathing under the rain. They we're the same age as us, maybe even older. They weren’t elves… so we used used that as a loop hole, we broke our rule. And in time, we became something we hadn’t had in years.

  A family.

  We wandered, finally found a cave, we housed in more strays, shattering our rule completely.

  We took whatever jobs we could to eat, until one day we ended up in the wrong village. They welcomed us, claimed they'd heard stories—about my crossbow that fired elemental arrows, about Ladrel’s swordcraft. We didn’t think much of it, they treated us kindly… gave us work, even insisted for us to stay the night.

  That night, everything shattered.

  Bandits—an army of them—attacked. Ladrel and I ran out to defend the village.

  We fought, protecting the village, though trying our best not to kill them was hard.

  When suddenly I heard a gasped behind me and when I turned around.

  Three giant arrows tore through Ladrel. He turned his head and smiled at me before collapsing.

  I turned to him, dropped to my knees—then the bandits close in and took off their masks. They were the villagers.

  My eyes trembled because I was unsure of what we had done for them to result to this.

  Turns out they were desperate, starving… and they’d planned to eat us all along. Said we were just “food.”

  They stepped closer. I threw myself over Ladrel’s body, screamed—and then… silence. I opened my eyes, and they were all dead. Every single one—killed by arrows.

  My arrows.

  Kieran and Tharn arrived to the aftermath. They saw what I had done. Saw Ladrel's body. But they didn’t question me. Kieran broke the arrowhead from Ladrel’s back but never pulled it out. They carried us—Tharn with Ladrel, Kieran with me.

  "He’s not dead," Kieran told me.

  But I knew. I knew he was lying.

  Kieran brought me to a mountain and taught me a ritual—the same one he had used on Tharn. I didn’t hesitate. I would have done anything. And I’ll always be grateful to him for that.

  When we finally returned to our cave, most of our people were gone. Some killed. Some fled. From that moment on, we made a vow:

  No more giving. Only taking.

  Because we were tired—tired of losing everything to a world that only knows how to take.*

  Ivy blinked awake, tears in her eyes.

  “Of all times... I choose now to have that stupid dream,” she muttered.

  She sat up slowly, only to find everyone in the cave staring at her like they had been waiting for her to wake up.

  They cried out in relief the moment her eyes opened.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, confused.

  Suddenly, a sharp, loud ringing echoed in her head. She winced, growling in pain. Ladrel was instantly at her side, lifting her up like she weighed nothing.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  Her gaze shifted, and she froze.

  Zephyr and Gwen sat quietly beside a shirtless Damon, lying still.

  His body looked frail—yet beautiful. Cold, yet warm. It was like he was blessed by both the sun and the moon. Moonlight poured through the cave’s mouth, glowing across his skin, though unconscious, his body radiated a strange, quiet kindness.

  Ivy’s heart sank. Her mind flashed to the last thing she remembered—Damon stopping her.

  She rushed to his side.

  “Is he going to be okay?” she asked desperately.

  “It’ll take a billion years to kill this moron,” Gwen said with a small smile, but her eyes betrayed her worry.

  Suddenly, Damon stirred.

  “Yo,” he said casually, like he hadn’t just escaped death itself.

  Gwen laughed in relief, "Told ya." her stress vanishing in an instant. From across the room, a tiny flick of wind snapped against Damon’s forehead.

  He turned toward the source.

  It was Zephyr—but he looked away, refusing to make eye contact.

  Ivy threw herself onto Damon, hugging him warmly.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Ladrel, clearly jealous, pulled Ivy back into his arms and wrapped an arm around her waist possessively, saying nothing.

  The trio rested until morning.

  Damon, now fully awake, turned to Ivy and whispered, “I saw your memories and... uhmm—”

  Then, without warning, he dropped to his knees and bowed his head to the floor with a loud thud, unintentionally drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Please… don’t stop taking in more people,” he said, his voice shaking. “I—I know that... uhmm, I... I just—”

  He struggled to find the right words, heart heavy, voice trembling.

  Ivy’s eyes widened, a soft smile forming on her lips. She rushed to his side, knelt beside him, and gently lifted his head.

  “I won’t,” she said, brushing a strand of hair from his face. “I promise.”

  Ladrel stepped forward. “Please don’t do that,” he whispered firmly.

  Ivy looked up at him, confused.

  But before she could say anything, Ladrel pulled her back into his embrace.

  “please don't go touching people randomly,” he said, his voice quiet but sharp, his cheeks all red.

  Damon smiled and stood. “We need to head out. It’s already nightfall. I don’t want the villagers to worry.”

  “It’s been three days,” Gwen muttered.

  “What?” Damon blinked in shock.

  “You’ve been out for three days. You, the noisy queen over there, and clanky-kins. Though clanky woke up a day ago,” Gwen said, gesturing lazily.

  Damon's eyes widened, "oh." Then just immediately, his smile faded as if remembering something,

  “Oh… and…” his voice dropped.

  They stood in a quiet corner, burning incense for Tharn and Kieran. Ivy stepped forward, holding a small rune—the one she had taken from Kieran’s crumbled body—and gently placed it beside the incense.

  The smoke curled upward, rising like a spirit, and for a moment, it shimmered—forming the vague shapes of Tharn’s roaring laughter and Kieran’s warm grin, just as they had been before the end.

  Damon smiled faintly, his eyes distant.

  But no one else saw it. Only he witnessed that final goodbye.

  The trio arrived at the village the next morning. When they stepped through the mist, Velira, Myrren, and Lori came rushing forward.

  "They're here, They're here, they're here." They yelled.

  They embraced Damon and Gwen tightly, relief pouring out in sobs and laughter.

  Zephyr stood nearby. No one reached for him. His expression remained skeptical as always, but there was quiet contentment in his eyes.

  From the shadows, Selune watched with a warm, knowing smile.

  But just then, everyone’s faces shifted as more figures stepped through the mist.

  Ivy and Ladrel emerged, followed by the others from the cave.

  The villagers who had gathered upon hearing the trio’s return began to step back cautiously.

  Velira and her sisters tightened their grip on Damon and Gwen.

  “What’s going on?” their voices trembled.

  Damon, Ivy, Ladrel, and the village elder soon retreated into a house to talk in private. Meanwhile, Gwen stayed behind, explaining everything to Selune and the others.

  Selune studied her curiously. “Your voice is different. More open.Were you always like this?” she asked, smiling gently.

  “I... Have no idea what you're talking about ?” Gwen blinked, half-laughing.

  Selune took her hand slowly, almost reverently. “I can read people's flux—energy signatures,” she said. “And yours feels like the eye of a storm. Calm at the center, but just a push, and it spins into something overwhelming. It’s deep, like the sun’s core. You used to feel guarded. But now… you feel protected.”

  Gwen tilted her head, unsure how to respond. “Oh, you don’t say,” she finally replied with a grin. Then she pointed at Zephyr, who was lounging nearby. “What about him? What does his flux say?”

  Together, they walked over. Selune gently reached for Zephyr’s palm. He cracked an eye open.

  “Wha—”

  “Shut up, you moron,” Gwen cut him off before he could finish, smirking.

  They walked away, and Gwen asked, “Well? What did it say?”

  Selune’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “He’s soft-spoken, chill... a bit dry. Like someone who's lost—like the moon trying to find its way.”

  Gwen raised an eyebrow.

  “But that was before,” Selune continued. “Based on what I felt, he met someone who shifted that. You really changed him.”

  Gwen looked confused. “Me?”

  “I can tell he’s been around you for a while,” Selune nodded. “He wasn’t like this before. I’m guessing the change started with you.”

  Gwen looked out the window, seeing Damon and the others coming out, her voice softening. “As much as I’d love to take the credit… that belongs to someone else.”

  She smiled faintly. “If I changed Zephyr by a hundred percent, Damon changed him by a thousand.”

  With that, Gwen turned and headed toward Damon.

  Selune watched her go, then turned her gaze to Damon and smiled again.

  “His voice,” she murmured to herself, “is calm and smooth… like it’s been bathed in sunlight, then steeped in moonlight. Like an oasis of absolute resonance—wise, and yet still untold.”