Yawning, Yukiko rolled out of bed and stretched like a kitten in the dawning sun. Despite being bedridden for days, she found herself strangely refreshed and energetic after she woke up. Her body was teeming with energy, and even without magic or Primal Dharma, she could sense the flow of Chi in her meridians with clarity.

Taking advantage of this, she went through her daily hour of practice and seemed to have made more progress now than she did in two years. Only when her stomach protested with a grumble did she snap out of her reverie.

The lavatories were bustling as healthy children rose one after the other to wash and line up for breakfast. Yet, the hall was locked even as they waited for half an hour.

“Maybe sis Bella is asleep. I’ll go take a look,” Yuki volunteered and sauntered off to the dorms.

Knocking twice, she waited patiently before pushing the room open, only to find it vacant.

Unable to find the nun elsewhere, she finally thought to enlist her big brother for help.

Coming to his room, she knocked and entered with less patience, only to freeze in the doorway.

Anabella was there, her head laid on the bedside as she was fast asleep on a chair. She gingerly held a pale bony arm in her hands. In Leonardo’s bed rested a gaunt man with sunken cheeks and discolored gray hair. His skin was cracked and pale, and was almost misaligned with the withered musculature beneath.

Covering her mouth in shock, Yuki just barely managed to stifle a scream. It took her a long time to realize this truly was Leonardo, despite the doubt and unwillingness to acknowledge it.

As she drew closer, she vaguely saw inky blotches of green slither like venomous serpents through his veins. She found the sight strangely reassuring, as it meant blood still pumped through the body. Not that it made the horrid sight any easier to take in.

Shaking Anabella awake, she questioned her impatiently even before the latter fully opened her eyes.

“Sis Bella! Brother Leo — what happened to him? What’s wrong with big brother?”

Despite her urgency, it took a while for the nun to regain clarity. She’d been busy all over the place these days, the fatigue clearly shown on her face.

“Oh. Yuki, you’re finally awake… Thank God.”

“I’m fine. What’s wrong with Leonardo?”

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

“I don’t know… I found him collapsed beside your bed last night. He was fine before, but all of a sudden he was in this state…”

Shaking her head with a sniffle, Anabella admitted with pain and resignation in her voice. “I don’t know what to do.”

Infected by Anabella’s weakness, Yukiko’s stifled emotions broke free. Soon, they found themselves hugging and crying over the body, their sobs befitting a funeral.

Their unconstrained wails resounded out the dorm and soon drew in the hungry crowd. They stood in the doorway then broke into soft sobs of their own.

Despite not being as close to Leonardo as the others, the orphans all benefited from his care over the years. He was everyone’s big brother, and seeing him in this state broke their hearts.

“ENOUGH!” A piercing shout broke through the infectious cries after no less than an hour.

“Enough of this!” Yukiko repeated herself, “He isn’t dead yet… I refuse to watch his last breath fade as we do nothing but weep.”

The children were startled out of their cries, and though confused by Yukiko’s random breakdown, they found some comfort in her confident words.

“He saved us. All of us… yet we do nothing when he is in need? I refuse!”

All eyes rested on her, and she fidgeted only for an instant before regaining confidence. As her mind regained clarity, she pondered things clearly before issuing a string of orders nobody had the heart to object to.

“Sis Bella, prepare enough food for everyone. At the third bell (10 AM), I want you all to disperse and look for medicinal herbs. Anything and everything, I want it within reach by sundown.”

“Bruno, put some nice clothes on and seek an audience at the estate. Warn the Baron about the plague and tell him the orphanage is safe. See if you can find anything new in town.”

“I’ll be back at noon. Take care of big brother in the meanwhile, sis Bella.”

Brushing past the sniffling children, Yukiko walked to her room with confident steps. Despite the urgency of the situation, she carried herself with dignified grace, calming the orphans and infecting them with her steely resolve.

Soon, they all got into action and the monastery was abuzz with activity. Within an hour, it was left vacant as groups of twos and threes spread throughout the forest.

Putting on the Manus Umbra white fox mask, Yukiko departed as well. Her previous dignity nowhere to be seen as she sprinted through the woods as if her own life depended on it.

Before long, she breezed past the lookouts at the guild.

“Tell Sana to gather all scouts and watchers immediately. It’s urgent.”

Briskly entering the meeting room, she sat down in Prometheus’ chair.

The wait was insufferable, and her eyes soon teared up as she gave in to worry and pain.

‘Big bro… please wait for me. I will save you!’

As the room opened and a stream of thieves and intel operatives walked in, she steeled her resolve and wordlessly wiped away her tears.

“I have a mission for you.”

“Nothing else matters until this is done, because everything is at stake.”

Sana was the last to enter, and though dissatisfied with Yukiko taking charge, she didn’t object. Given her Animus Dharma proficiency, she was inherently perceptive of emotions and clearly sensed the urgency of things.

“What happened that’s so urgent, White Fox?” a dissatisfied ring leader spoke out.

“Prometheus is dying,” she dropped the bombshell from the very start, causing a stir in the attendance.

Yukiko didn’t care in the least about Leonardo’s deified reputation. The character didn’t matter at all. If the truth could push the urchins into overdrive and save him, she would gladly sacrifice Prometheus’ image.

“Now that I have attention, heed my orders!”