The night wind howled through the trees. Beneath the blood-red moon, the mist within the forest grew heavier, like a silent curtain drawn between the heavens and the earth.
Eli stood beneath a very old, withered tree, looking up with a faint trace of worry in his eyes. His young face was pale, and his lips moved slightly as if reciting sothing under his breath.
With a sudden ripple in the air, a figure in black appeared beside him.
The man was tall, his black coat fluttering like raven feathers. Though disheveled, his presence was oppressive, sharp like a blade hidden within a scabbard. His eyes were cold and piercing.
"You’ve co," Eli said in a low voice.
Atlas didn’t speak. He glanced once toward the depths of the forest, then placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Where is she?"
Without answering, Eli turned and led the way.
In the heart of the misty forest, where sunlight never reached and ti seed to twist unnaturally, Liora stood alone beneath the moon.
Her red hair danced in the cold wind. Around her, black shadows coiled and moved, alive like spirits.
She stood tall atop a stone pillar, overlooking the broken land, her expression unreadable.
Suddenly, her pupils narrowed. She had sensed it.
Without hesitation, a wave of inky darkness burst from her body, forming countless sharp claws that slashed toward the figure who had just stepped into her personal space.
But before they could reach him—
Whoosh—
Atlas raised his hand casually. A small light rippled out, and all the shadows shattered midair like fragile ice.
He stared at her, his eyes filled with cold disdain.
"These filthy things," he said. "Keep them away from ."
His words were light, yet each syllable was like a slap to the face.
Liora’s expression darkened instantly.
A thin line of smoke rose from the top of her head as her anger surged. The ground beneath her feet trembled faintly. Her shadows twisted and hissed, as if responding to her fury.
He dares.
He ca late—one month late. And now he looks down on her shadows?
Doesn’t he understand? These shadows were her companions. Her power. Her soul. To insult them was to insult her.
Before she could explode, a small hand reached toward the inky black shadow curling at her ankle.
Eli crouched beside her with wide, curious eyes. He poked at the shadow, then let it curl around his fingers, giggling as it danced up his wrist like a ta kitten
.
"Wow... it’s soft," he murmured.
Liora froze. Her boiling fury settled into a soft tremble.
Her shoulders slumped. She knelt down and pulled Eli into a tight embrace.
"I missed my baby so much," she whispered, burying her face into his neck.
Eli smiled, wrapping his arms around her excitedly. "I missed pretty sister too."
Atlas watched from the side, silent. He didn’t interrupt their reunion, though the expression on his face didn’t soften. "He really knows how to change face," he murmured with a dissatisfied tone.
"Why did you wait so long?" She muttered against Eli’s hair.
"I told him you’d be mad," Eli whispered back, loud enough for Atlas to hear.
"You have no idea," Liora muttered coldly.
After their usual bickering—Atlas insisting that Liora was scarier than any beast in the forest, and Liora swearing to bite him if he dared say that again—she finally pulled back, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Now that you’re here," she said, "remove the restraint."
Atlas frowned slightly. "How do you know?"
"Are you ntally disabled?" She said with an eye roll and continued, "I want full access to my system again. No more seals."
Atlas wanted to give her another crude remark but held himself. When he realized that he did not have much ti left at all, he could not afford to waste it on this blockhead.
So he simply removed the restraint on her system because the restraint had no use at all. His motive was already achieved. Even if she did not remind him, he would have done that. There was no need for her to make faces at him.
But what could he do? He would spoil her for now. As an older brother, he should be considerate...
If Liora heard his thoughts, she would puke blood in anger. Considerate and him... these words really did not match at all.
Her system chid softly in her mind.
[System communication: RESTORED]
Liora’s lips curved into a slow, satisfied smile. Her eyes glowed with power again, and when she was ready to discuss it with her system, she suddenly found him pulling another thing, which successfully diverted her attention.
Atlas reached into the inside of his coat and pulled out a small tal sphere, no bigger than a coin pouch. It glinted in the moonlight.
Without a word, he tossed it onto the ground.
The mont it hit the forest floor, a soft sound rippled outward. Glowing blue lines spread beneath their feet, drawing a familiar circular formation around them, one Liora rembered all too well.
It was the sa kind of ruin that had pulled her from the hospital into this cursed, misty forest.
The mont the glowing blue lines completed their circle, Liora’s eyes widened in alarm. "Wait—" she started, but it was already too late.
A sudden force wrapped around her body like invisible hands, yanking her off her feet. The ground vanished. The forest spun. Her stomach lurched as the world twisted violently—and just like that, she was gone. Flung through space like a ragdoll, without any warning or control.
When her feet slamd into familiar earth, she stumbled forward and barely managed to stay upright. Her hands shook. Her head pounded. Her breath ca fast and shallow.
"You absolute son of a cursed swamp demon!" she roared, whirling toward where Atlas would appear seconds later.
"You overgrown plague on humanity! Who gave you the right—no, the nerve—to fling across ti and space like I’m so kind of paper scrap! I wasn’t even ready! My system just ca back online! I was still thinking!" She didn’t stop for breath.
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