"I've got her!" whispered Zhèngyi who had caused Kiyu's fall by opening the trapdoor under her feet and closing it right after she fell down. "Help me carry her."

Laki had rushed to him and gasped. "Kiki..." she sobbed, seeming to hold a hand in front of her mouth.

"I knew..." gasped Kiyu, trying to form words in her dry throat, "that you.... were there."

"Here, drink," Zhèngyi whispered, holding a water bag to her mouth, which Kiyu opened even though it wasn't easy. Her entire body was dry and even her lips burned at the touch of the bag, but the feeling the water left in her throat made her forget everything for a moment.

Who would have ever thought that something as mundane as drinking water could ever feel so good and liberating? But what was more important, she was alive...at least for now.

"I'm... sorry, guys," she coughed, trying to sit up. But her body wasn't obeying her at the moment, and she couldn't manage more than a few inches.

"Stay down," Laki called to her, turning to Zhèngyi. "We have to get out of here fast."

Kiyu doubted she could assist in the escape. Her entire body trembled, and she had to devote all her remaining spiritual energy to healing the burns Xianzhu had caused her. 'How shameful!

'Once again, I have to have my life saved. I guess I'm not capable of more, huh?' she scolded herself as she fought with all her might to stay conscious. She had put the entire group in danger and wanted to be awake in case there was another confrontation.

"Give me a hand, Laki," said Zhèngyi, who had lifted Kiyu. She was a girl, but still taller than the other two and too heavy for any of them alone to carry.

Kiyu clenched her teeth and bit on her lips as she felt the two of them lift her. Each touch hurt, but she tried not to let any of it show. 'I wonder how much time we have left?'

As fast as they could, they ran through one of the longer tunnels Kiyu had seen when they first met in the safe house. A smuggler's route, Toras had explained to her. There were several routes leading out of the city, so that one could get in and out unseen. Now one of those smuggler routes was their escape route out of the city.

'He maybe hasn't discovered it yet' Kiyu thought to herself and forced a smile. That Xianzhu was not in the smuggler's hideout could only mean that he had not discovered the entrance. But their opponent was anything but simple-minded and was perhaps already mobilizing the entire city guard to keep a lookout both inside and outside the city.

'How are we doing?' she asked Cheryu as she continued to focus on saving her body.

< He gave us a bad time. A little longer in the firestorm and it would have been over > Cheryu replied. They were both inside Kiyu's mind once again, which was why she only heard Laki's desperate calls of follow-through as a muffled sound in the distance.

< You would have more energy now had you been more frugal in the enemy's mansion > he added but not reproachfully.

'I know' She had given herself to the fight far too much, as if in a frenzy. It had been fun to watch her defend her friends against the city guards without so much as a scratch. 'It will never happen again.'

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That was the only promise she could make to Cheryu. If she survived this, there was nothing she could do but thank him for giving her another chance and learn from this mistake.

'Can I ask you something?' she interrupted the silence where the two of them were trying with all their strength to regenerate their bodies as best they could.

< You want to know if Xianzhu had anything to do with the attack on your home village, don't you? > Cheryu asked without hesitation and Kiyu confirmed nodding.

< Well, I think it's unlikely. You know.... A spiritformer's powers are not unique. It happens more often than you think abilities are similar, or even quite the same > he explained.

< In this world, there are quite a few who can create and control fire. Or water, air, poison, earth, the body, plants, smoke. The list of abilities is vast, but not limited to one person per ability. >

'I see' replied Kiyu. Since she had seen how masterfully Xianzhu controlled fire, she wasn't sure if he was the one responsible for the attack. But what reason would he have had?

'And has it ever happened before that someone gained multiple abilities after uniting with a spirit?' The fight with Xianzhu had made one thing clear to her: she knew far too little. Not just about her abilities, but in general about spiritual abilities.

< At least, I have not heard of such a case, > replied Cheryu.

All the stories of her tribe had been tales of what one could only imagine it must have looked like. But what it meant to release such powers and how to deal with them, only those who could use them knew.

Kiyu had become a Spiritformer, but until now she had never dealt with the question of what Spiritformers was. Where did the powers come from? Why did one receive those powers that one received? Were there criteria for them?

And were these powers all that was behind the spiritual energy? Before Toras told her about spiritual energy, she knew nothing about this energy that was formed through the connection with Cheryu.

These were all questions she would have to devote more time to in the future if she didn't want to be defeated by every opponent who came to grips with her own abilities. After all, the world was not just made up of arrogant women like Siwang or naïve children like Zhèngyi and herself.

'Being different doesn't mean being special, huh?' That was one lesson she would take away from this struggle for survival. There were more secrets behind her abilities than she could ever fathom, but if she didn't start, she would just be running in place.

How long the other two had carried her, Kiyu didn't even notice. What she noticed, however, was that they had taken several breaks during which Laki and Zhèngyi had stood over her with worried looks, gazing at her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to them. It had been pitch dark in the tunnel they were still in. "I'm just making you worry." Her throat still felt parched and Kiyu had to force the sounds out of her throat.

"Don't talk, you need to rest," Laki replied, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Please get well," she whispered before turning away. Kiyu was sure she heard Laki sobbing after she turned away from her.

Right after that, she felt her friends lift her again and carry her further through the long, dark tunnel that would take her far out of Jarifa. 'At least the pain has become more bearable.'

Thanks to the absolute darkness, she couldn't see her skin, and most of all, she was glad that Laki couldn't look any further at her injuries. She must have, judging by the smell, looked something like a fried pigrabbit.

Kiyu had once heard that other girls her age, girls who came from wealthier and larger towns than Harios, cared a lot about their physical appearance. Makeup and good-looking clothes were part of everyday life there.

'At least it's one worry I don't have to worry about anymore.' She had said goodbye to the idea of looking good since she had run into the burning house for Laki. Burns, sword blades.... she might heal the immediate wounds. But more and more scars would remain if it went on like this.

'I wonder if she'll still love me then?' Kiyu didn't even like to imagine what it must be like if Laki pushed her away one day, with all the scars Kiyu bore. But Laki would not be such a person. 'She isn't!'

Instead of her thoughts about Laki, Kiyu had preferred to focus on the wounds, but for now she had depleted her spiritual energy and therefore needed to regenerate. But at least she and Cheryu had put her body out of mortal danger.

Now there was nothing she could do to help them escape. For a moment she had felt ashamed to be so useless, but self-hatred could not help her at this point anyway, if it ever did. The only thing she could do now was to rely on Laki and Zhèngyi. On the fact that the two of them would get the group out of danger.

'I'll leave the rest to you.'