?Put out the fire! “ Kiyeri spat out these words along with a mouthful of blood and hurried to cover over moss bed.

  Ashiya wasted no time. He waved his hand in direction of the campfire and it went out instantly. He gathered Kiyeri to his arms to run, before stopping for a second to pick something up from the ground.

  That whistle again. The second arrow went straight into Kiyeri’s back and he kneeled in pain, ?Ahhh, does she see me?!“.

  Gesturing Ashiya to help him sit down, Kiyeri gathered his mana energy in his eyes, trying to spot where those arrows coming from. In the far distance, he saw one little blue flame, then took out his dagger before pointing to that place ?There. It‘s too far away“.

  Ashiya didn't have this Master-level tracking sense, like Kiyeri, so he could only follow directions.

  ?How far? How did they do that with all these trees around??“

  Kiyeri did not let his eyes rest for a second, following that blue flame of a human, soon he saw another, but much smaller and flying rapidly in his direction, so he raised his dagger to deflect this third arrow, ?Not THEM, HER. It‘s Ruki“. Kiyeri almost cried out from pain while speaking and tension, but succeeded in defense, broke the third arrow in half. After spitting up more blood he turned to Ashiya and froze. The face he saw was so distorted from anger, that Kiyeri could hardly recognize him. Reacting quickly, he grabbed Ashiya's shoulder, pushing him down.

  ?Calm down“, Kiyeri said with difficulty. ?All arrows are following me, there's a chance she can‘t see you“.

  Ashiya, eyes bloodshot, was panting so heavily, Kiyeri thought a fire would erupt all around them, but after a few seconds, this hot-blooded one normalized this breathing, closed his eyes, and nodded. Only after he received this confirmation, did Kiyeri let him go and gave short instructions.

  ?Go there, 60 steps, light up the forest, and come back. DO. NOT. ENGAGE. Do you understand me?“

  ?Yes“, Ashiya replied and wanted to take of, but froze again, because Kiyeri has deflected yet another arrow.

  ?GOOO!” Kiyeri said through his clenched teeth, blood bubbles going down his lips, chin, and neck slowly.

  Another arrow. “When the hell did you became so fucking talented??”. This one was deflected with much difficulty, it almost got him. In the next second, hot flames erupted into the sky, “Forgive me, if I survive, I swear to replant it”.

  While Kiyeri pleaded with nature for forgiveness, as if summoned by that thought, Ashiya returned. That blue flame in the far distance became smaller and smaller. Kiyeri clenched his teeth, grabbing that arrow in his abdomen, and after a moment of focus ripped it out in one smooth pull. Behind his back, Ashiya did the same with the other. Blood flowed like a river, but with mana healing that wasn't a problem, blood could be stopped immediately, only it hurt like hell.

  A little ribbon was tied at the end of the first arrow. Having no time to investigate, Kiyeri just broke it and put it away behind his belt. Next to him, Ashiya was panicking, putting his hands on wounds and moving them away again repeatedly, with no way to help.

  ?You... Kiye said she was alone? How can that be? Maybe it wasn‘t Ruki?“

  ?All these arrows led between the trees. It has to be her“

  At the age of twenty-one, Kiyeri became a Master and, according to established rules, quickly received a group of recruits with whom he had to work during missions, sort by abilities, and train them. Being in a group led by a commoner was a kind of punishment for nobles, so it was not surprising, that such problematic young ones like Ashiya and Ruki‘s brother Dali were sent to work for him.

  Much later, the same group was joined by Princess Ruki herself. Both her and Dali were grandchildren of the King. Living faithfully to the principles of this land, the King had several dozen children and, naturally, even more grandchildren. People even joked that no one had taught them to count to the point of knowing the exact number of descendants. With so many heirs, it was not surprising that they were shoved left and right for every mistake at the table. Dissatisfied with his grandchildren, King gave them away for the commoner to correct. Ashiya, similarly, was sent to such a punishment camp by his own father.

  Who could have predicted that Kiyeri will correct them so well, that all three young men were soon recognized as candidates for Sigil, and later even chosen to receive it along with Kiyeri himself. Ashiya received the fire mark, Dali received the life mark, and Ruki the water mark.

  Kiyeri knew from the very beginning that it was not young ones, who had problems, but the system, so he began the training by showing the simplest human understanding, and the talents began to develop on their own. In Kiyeri's eyes, they were people who had everything from birth and losing that wealth or status was unreasonable.

  The youngest Ruki was especially talented, quickly grasping the theory and easily applying it in practice. The arrow guidance using water was a theory that Kiyeri himself came up with and passed on to the princess. Although it was impossible to verify at the time, it seems she applied it perfectly on her own, even without Kiyeri's help.

  ?But she can‘t be alone, someone has to accompany her“, Ashiya's voice brought Kiyeri back.

  ?I know. We need to go “.

  ?No, Kiye needs to heal first “, Ashiya pushed down on Kiyeri’s shoulders gently. Kiyeri could feel those hands shaking minutely, but he did not let his eyes down from that burning horizon, because this time, there were three blue flames behind it.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ?There‘s no time, they are coming. Three of them. o light up a bit more of the forest, Ruki should put it out anyway “.

  Not taking his eyes off the three flames moving towards the campsite, but at the same time concentrating most of his abilities on healing, Kiyeri slowly limped through the forest. Even for him, it was a difficult task.

  Any warrior in the kingdom could direct energy in one direction. Only a few hundred could use two directions, many of whom were noble. Among them, were even rarer talents, able to concentrate mana in three directions and recognized as Masters regardless of their status. The kingdom could not afford to lose talents, even if those talents came from the slums. But just because it was allowed, did not mean it was approved.

  Kiyeri got distracted by memories of the hardships and humiliations he had experienced in the past, even after receiving the title. He heard snickers all around him, accusations that he didn't belong there, and vile treatment. If before he only remembered them occasionally, now after meeting "old friends" for several days in a row, all the emotions began to rush out again. It seemed he didn't even notice, how with each step he gritted his teeth and frowned more and more, and the flow of energy became unstable. The wounds not only stopped healing, but opened up again, and little by little blood began to fill his boots to the brim.

  Suddenly, a hand pressed on his shoulder and slowed his pace. From behind his back came a trembling scared voice, ?If Kiye will allow, I can help “.

  Ashiya looked at the blood, slowly flowing to the ground and Kiyeri instantly felt caught and embarrassed, he shook his head, ?It‘s not that bad, I just lost my focus a little...“

  Ashiya looked away slightly, but this gesture angered Kiyeri for some reason.

  ?Are you trying to protect my dignity here??“, he could not hold back that comment, ?Moreover, to heal oneself is one thing, to help – is another. How on earth you can help me??“

  Ashiya startled, eyes round.

  ?There‘s no time to waste, just go“. Kiyeri focused again to stop his bleeding and moved on slowly. Behind him Ahiya followed, cold sharp eyes glued to that wound on Kiyeri’s back, not even blinking, then moved on to look at those three flames. That stare was so intense, it made Kiyeri shudder, but he concluded Ashiya would not leave him here alone in this condition, to follow those bastards, it should be safe.

  After a few minutes, the three blue flames stopped and did not move for a while. Ashiya and Kiyeri had already reached the path towards the town. Taking the opportunity, Kiyeri gathered all his energy to treat his injuries, but then realized something and, lowering his hands, began to talk.

  "Ashi, the arrows are poisonous, my reserves are almost empty. After all those fireballs, you probably don't have any more either. There‘s only one way left".

  Ashiya looked at him in confusion for a bit, then his face changed rapidly. ?No! “

  ?Stop being so difficult “, Kiyeri felt annoyed.

  ?I said, NO.“, Ashiya jumped from where he was crouching, ?I will fucking END THEM. RIGHT NOW!“

  Kiyeri grabbed his wrist, ?And then what? There are three of them, you will not be allowed to hold back, when what? Do you intend to lose more of Sigils? You don‘t even have mana left, THEY will end YOU, you moron.“

  Ahiya was silent, but his eyes were persistent, so Kiyeri tried talking again in a gentler tone.

  ?Ashi, listen. You know I will heal faster dead. Look at me, those arrows were soaked in her mana, I can‘t even move now. How long can you carry me? I can die here and now and return half an hour later, while you carry me, or I can die at their hands and it‘s over. We need to do this. “

  Ashiya closed his eyes, head bowed and still silent.

  ?Or, you can just leave me and go, that‘s an option“, Kiyeri smiled

  This made Ashiya smack his tongue, but he still did not say a word, only looked at Kiyeri desperate. Kiyeri pulled him closer, ?Come on, it‘s not a first time. Who knows, it may not be that bad, maybe I will get a calm desert sand again “. He put his hand on Ashiya’s chest, where Sigil resigned and poured last specs of his mana, it would scatter anyway after death. Then took out his dagger and stabbed himself in the heart in one quick move.

  Before his eyes have closed, Kiyeri could see Ashiyas face, twisted with hatred.

  The next second, he opened his eyes in the white boundless void.

  "Lies..."

  Black, tall creatures began to crawl towards him from all sides, screeching in deafening voices, "What peaceful place? Why am I lying again?"

  Those creatures kept getting closer, saliva running down their slimy bodies from their jaws.

  "I could let him go ahead, let him slaughter everyone like sheep, let him burn them like sticks, why am I lying to him?"

  Kiyer grabbed his daggers and as their claws approached, he began to chop, his face emotionless.

  "I didn't do anything, I didn't ask for this, why do I have to be here?"

  He started counting kills, "One...Two...Three...Four...Five...SIX...SEV-E-N-"

  They cut off his leg, he heard something screaming, but still didn't stop, "E-I-G-H-T...N-I-N-E.......T.T..T-E-N,"

  They tore off his arm, and that scream he heard was mixed with laughter. "E-L-E-V-E-N..."

  The eleventh one grabbed Kiyeri by the head and dug his claws into his skull, the screams stopped, and the laughter was replaced by giggles, "Hmt, I didn't even set a record..."

  Kiyeri stared into nowhere with a calm face until the claws sank all the way to his brain, but suddenly in the corner of his eye, he saw something like silver, shining in the distance. Then there was a "crack" and his soul scattered into pieces.

  In the Beyond, one can enter having the same gear as they had while living. If he was carrying daggers, they were with him, if he had a bun, he could still eat it, once he even lost a few silver coins from his pouch, but when he woke up, he found them in their place, in the physical world, and the bun he had eaten didn't disappear either when he woke up it was in his hand.

  The soul tearing here was repeated like a cycle, so immediately after the skull-crushing, his soul gathered from the particles and took shape in the same place again. This "body", which was only a soul, did not bled from being torn or bitten, but the pain was as real as it could be. This time, having formed again, he immediately turned his eyes towards the light

  "Can it be something I lost here before...?" Deciding to immediately test the theory, he drew both daggers and threw them on the ground, then ran towards the nearest Voidborne and let himself be torn again.

  The next second, he was standing in the same place, but there were no daggers on the ground, they were in their sheaths. "Everything is falling apart and coming back with me, there must be something else there." Deciding to look around, Kiyeri tried to break through again, but after killing fifteen, he fell and started the cycle again. "Too far, I can't get there this way... But on the other hand, what else can I do? Read the book?"

  Deciding that there was nothing left to do but try, and psychologically it was easier with a goal, he didn't give up. Each time he moved closer and closer, repeating the cycle. Before he woke up, he had already neutralized more than twenty Voidborne, thus breaking the record and realizing several important facts.

  First - the number of creatures is limited. When he found himself there for the first time, there were so many of them that he couldn't even take a step.

  Second - their concentration was highest near that glowing block as if it was their job to protect it.

  Third - although he couldn't see the object clearly, the silver light was not emitted by the object itself, but by a circle drawn on it, the same shape he had on his chest.