"Solus only woke me when he was more than halfway to his peak. Surprisingly, I had a pleasant, uninterrupted sleep. Brazenly, I got up and looked around.Elise was sitting next to the ashes of the campfire, staring off into the distance. She didn't react when I got up, but I knew she was aware of my awakening.

"How did you sleep?"

She asked without turning.

"For the first time in a long time - well."

Yes, for the first time in a long time. After countless nights spent on tree branches. After countless sleepless nights spent on the run. This was the first night in the last three months that I didn't have to hide from them.

"When do we leave?"

Elise asked. She stood up and turned to me.

"Whenever you're ready,"

she smiled.

"I am ready, and my body hardly hurts anymore. Yesterday you mentioned heading for the mountains, and I agree with the general direction, but first I'd like to find at least one stream or river and follow it."Just because Elise doesn't need water doesn't mean I don't either. Besides, there's a better chance of meeting other animals that also need to drink.

Elise just nodded, and with a fearless smile, she lunged at me with her dagger.

Even though there were only a few metres between us, the dagger was close enough to strike in a fraction of a second. I managed to dodge it at the last moment. The dagger was thrown slightly to the right, so even if I hadn't reacted, nothing serious would have happened, especially considering that the dagger wasn't sharp to begin with.

Immediately after that, the blade of Elise's sword came at me, no longer blunt, and I could be sure that if I let it hit me, it would leave another scar. I swiftly dodged the swords and rapidly counter-attacked with my drawn army dagger. But my attack was easily blocked by the sword, mere centimetres from Elise's neck. The speed with which she changed the position of her weapon was superhuman, and the contact with the sword made my hand itch as if I had hit a solid wall. Before Elise could attack again, I made a quick half turn and launched a well-aimed kick at her kidney.

But it was blocked by Elise's leg, which flew out against mine. However, I had anticipated this; the kick was only to buy me enough time and momentum to draw in my exposed arm with the dagger. Now I moved quickly out of Elise's immediate reach.

Elise didn't wait; as soon as she regained her stance, she attacked again with her sword. I dodged the first thrust and the second. But on the third, I had to partially block with my dagger, as I couldn't dodge in time. The blades clashed, and Elise's sword passed harmlessly over my head in a wide arc.

When Elise regained full control of the sword, there was a window of opportunity for me. I quickly closed the distance ready to strike, but instead I kicked Elise in the shin. With her inhuman reflexes, she would undoubtedly block it. And at that moment, when she couldn't move, I struck with the dagger. In a rapid succession of stabs, slashes and blows with fists, elbows and knees, I went from being the defender to the attacker.

But it didn't last long. In an attempt to elbow her, Elise caught me in an iron grip and threw me over her shoulder.

Instead of landing on my back and probably ending the fight, I managed to partially land on my feet and perform a quick somersault.

Elise didn't hold back, of course, and immediately threw three throwing knives at me. The first narrowly missed my side, but the second and third were aimed squarely at my leg and shoulder.

I easily dodged the knife aimed at my leg, but was forced to catch the one aimed at my shoulder.

I'd been practising catching arrows, knives and other throwing weapons since I was a child, but even with years of experience I was still terribly anxious, and wouldn't succeed more than thirty percent of the time.

Fortunately, this wasn't one of those unlucky times. I managed to catch the flying knife between my thumb and forefinger just ten centimetres before it made contact.

But I didn't have the luxury of catching my breath; Elise was already standing in front of me with her sword at the ready.

The next moment I froze, Elise's sword a hair's breadth from my throat.

"I understand you're without magic now, but it's even more important to train at this time. So get ready... and let's continue," Elise said, her only remark before she attacked again.

The training lasted another two hours, after which I had a light breakfast consisting of the fish Elise had caught during the night. After breakfast we set off straight away. Our immediate direction was south, with the main aim of finding a water source.

The jungle was only partially passable. Progress was slowed considerably by the surrounding flora. At times it seemed like a sea of flowers, some even several feet high, covered with sharp thorns from roots to blooms. We didn't know if they were poisonous, and with my limited mana I couldn't even create a simple barrier against such dangers. So, we had to stay away from such places, and I had to stay alert for anything unknown around us.

By the evening, when we had chosen a small plateau in the middle of nowhere, our main plan had not yet been achieved. After a whole day of walking, concentrating and enduring the heat, I was exhausted and thirsty. I hadn't expected to find everything we needed right away, but I thought it wouldn't be too hard to find a stream or a pond. Well, I guess I was wrong.

On the bright side, there were plenty of dry sticks and twigs, so making a new campfire wasn't complicated.

Since we were in the wilderness, even if it seemed almost devoid of life, instead of sleeping I settled into a meditative state. At the moment, with the help of meditation, I could only go without sleep for up to eight days without experiencing a drop in awareness, while theoretically, I could go without sleep for about twenty.

The next morning we set off just before dawn. The journey was as arduous as yesterday's, perhaps with the exception that the jungle had cleared by the time Solus had passed its peak. Various undergrowth and dense thickets had all but disappeared, replaced by towering trees with crowns reaching dozens of metres above the ground.

As Solus began to set after a long day, and the sky changed to shades of red and orange, the rain began to fall. And though I was wet and cold with no solid shelter, I was grateful. I could finally drink. The water was cold and difficult to collect, but as I took the first sip from my palms and the cold water began to soothe my parched throat, energy began to return to my body.

There was another reason for my happiness, one I hadn't noticed before: the entire forest was practically saturated with mana. Mana, the essence of magic, is found almost everywhere, but in some places it is more concentrated than in others. As someone who can freely manipulate and be affected by mana, environments with higher concentrations of mana are better for my recovery.

Mana, in essence, can theoretically be manipulated by anyone with a soul, but the degree to which it can be controlled depends on the amount of mana in the body and the talent of the individual. Those who can create their own mana circulation in their bodies generally have better physical properties thanks to mana. They also recover faster from injuries. However, the downside is that in situations like the one I'm in now, where they are unable to use and circulate their mana. In such situations, they are more susceptible to illness, and injuries and even minor ones like cuts, can become major complications, which in extreme cases can lead to ones death.

Another problem is that for advanced mages who have their mana circulating, mana in the body is like blood circulating in the body. Blood, like mana in the body, circulates without conscious thought, and its use is like another sense that we take for granted. So if that circulation stops, it's like losing one of our senses. The whole body is then in chaos and weakened in other aspects. The way to get out of this state is usually to force mana circulation, but the problem arises when your mana doesn't listen to you.

Elise once explained to me that if I draw too much mana from my body in a short span of time and deplete my reserves, I may not be able to use any more mana. The reason for this is that mana in the body circulates such as blood in the veins. However, if I use too much mana, I deliberately push it out of my body, and the veins constrict and won't let any more mana back in. It's like squeezing all the juice out of a dandelion; you can't get it back in. She also said that it was only a temporary condition, and that they should expand again on their own over time, but that this varied from person to person ans extent to which they had been strained.

Thanks to the high concentration of mana in this forest, my body didn't have as many complications as it should have. But that doesn't mean that the state I was in was pleasant. After such a short time, a certain fear and weakness began to manifest in my body. So the journey became slower and slower.

When the rain stopped after about an hour, I was completely soaked and cold. Thanks to Elise I didn't freeze for too long as she managed to build a campfire much quicker than yesterday. However, the reality of sleeping on wet ground was far from pleasant. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I was so exhausted by this time that I completely ignored the unpleasant feeling of mud on my clothes and skin and drifted off into the endless darkness of sleep.

I woke up the next morning again without any recollection of dreams. My body also felt much lighter. This morning, unusually, I didn't train with Elise; instead, we set out on our journey earlier.

We eventually reached our goal sometime in the afternoon as we descended a series of cliffs and hills. Our find turned out to be a river with a steady flow, several meters wide. Fortunately, smaller and larger fish regularly swam in the river, which meant we were now provided not only with water but also with food. Since the river flowed from the mountains, we could follow it until we reached them.

Another piece of good news was that after another day of traveling along the river, I began to feel my ability to use mana returning.

It had been four days since we set out along the small river in the middle of nowhere. During that time, the river had turned into a mighty river, and thanks to the abundance of drinking water and food from the river, the course of our journey had drastically accelerated. Today, after training in the morning, we were supposed to continue as usual, unless something happened during breakfast.

I was just having breakfast when Elise suddenly turned abruptly into the jungle, her eyes flickering rapidly from side to side as she searched for something that had caught her attention.

"Is something happening?" I asked, but the response I got was only silence. Elise didn't even notice that I had asked something. So, I asked again, "Elise, what's going on?"

Elise turned to me, only now realizing that I had asked something. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Just, if something is happening, you suddenly stopped paying attention completely."

Elise turned back again, speaking with her back turned to me. "I suddenly felt a great power nearby..."

"What kind of power, Elise?"

"I don't know, it was like strong magic. It's possible that there was some kind of duel going on there, but it was just for a moment—I don't know what it was, it's possible I just made a mistake, or that the forest itself is playing with my senses."

"How are you with mana? Can you use it yet?" Elise asked immediately afterward.

"Not yet. I can feel mana, but I'm still unable to manipulate it," I replied with bitterness in my voice. It had been a week since we arrived at this place, and it was also the same amount of time since I've been without mana. I recently rejoiced in the return of the ability to feel mana, and I also hoped that the manipulation of it would return to me within the next few days. But the opposite was true, and in recent days, I've become even more inattentive, making many mistakes during morning training. Although Elise doesn't say anything, probably because she understands what I'm struggling with, the stress from my own mistakes, which I had long stopped making, is accumulating in me. And now, when Elise sensed some great mana movement and I didn't, I began to wonder if what I considered mana and its flow and the joy of its return were just my mind playing tricks on me.

"You said it's possible that something happened there. If so, it also means that there are people there, right? If that's the case, we could make first contact with them and find out where exactly we are."

I suggested to Elise, who smiled dangerously at me, appreciating her beautiful white fangs.

"Are you aware that they might not be particularly friendly? Even if they were, how do you intend to communicate with them? Surely you don't think they will speak the common tongue."

"So, we'll just see who they are first. We can deal with other things later, but they are currently the only lead we have on any civilization. And as for dangers, don't I have you?"

This time it was me who smirked, but Elise didn't reply, just nodded.

I quickly finished my breakfast, drank enough water, and within a few minutes, we set off in the direction where Elise sensed something happening.

The jungle towards the river only thickened, extending beyond countless treetops, whose names I didn't even know. Even Solus's midday light ceased to reach the ground almost completely, and with that, the surroundings noticeably cooled down. We walked quietly, stealthily, carefully making our way through dense vegetation and avoiding thorny undergrowth.

Suddenly, light appeared in the distance. While I continued to move steadily closer to the light with each step, Elise was several yards ahead of me, serving as a scout.

Meanwhile, my thoughts focused on the things that awaited us on the other side, and my anxiety only increased with each step toward the light.

Suddenly, I saw Elise standing at the edge of the transition between light and darkness, peering down below. Since she didn't hide in any way, I concluded that there was no danger even if I went alone. I approached her, and...

...my eyes widened in amazement at the scene before me. There, a vast canyon spread out before my eyes. Its towering walls, over a hundred feet high, composed of golden sandstone blocks, were full of holes and caves of various sizes.

There was one particular cave that stood out. It wasn't its extraordinary size, but the material that covered its entrance and interior—crystal ice. However, the ice that enveloped the cave's interior could not be of natural origin. If any ice appeared here somehow, it would immediately melt under Solus's heat. Yet, this ice maintained its structure even in this heat. Therefore, the only explanation was magic.

I was about to ask Elise if this was what she had sensed, but before I could, another thought struck me. Who, or what, did this, and why? Elise's assumption was that there had been some kind of duel here, but from what I saw, nothing of the sort had taken place. Elise, who began observing me without my noticing, probably guessed what I was thinking, so she spoke up.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"The magic I felt back then wasn't from here, but further away from this place. The thing is, according to everything, that place is located beneath the surface of the earth. At first, I thought there might be a hill around here, but our surroundings don't seem to indicate any significant downward slope. Therefore, I conclude that the place we are looking for is in one of these caves..." Elise paused and gestured lightly toward the ice-covered cave. "...and I guess we've even found the one to venture into."

I nodded in agreement and glanced back at the cave, while my mind began to create vivid images and scenes of what might await us there, formulating basic responses to potential situations. And I continued to do so until we stood before the entrance.

The entrance was entirely covered in ice, as could be seen from the spot where we had come. Crystal ice, resembling the structure of turbulent seas, reflected Solus's light in a dazzling manner like a mirror. This also made it difficult to see inside the cave, barely visible for about two horse lengths.

I took a deep breath to steel my resolve and oxygenate my brain, and with an exhale, I stepped into the heart of the icy cave, Elise half a step behind me.

Walking at a steady, confident pace on the frozen ground, my heart beat loudly in the echoing sound of cracking ice, which twisted under each step and announced my presence tens of yards ahead of us. With the thought in my head that there was nothing that could surprise me and boundless trust in Elise that even if something were to happen, she would be able to protect me, I continued to put one foot in front of the other, again and again.

Passing through a long corridor, appearing identical on each side and almost identical to the one we entered, time seemed to have frozen here along with the surroundings, and the only sign that we were still moving were the footprints left by my boots. A fleeting cold wind occasionally brushed against me, and I shivered slightly in its sudden gust.

Elise had already said at the entrance that the ice covering this cave was not created by magic but by something else, and it immediately became clear to me what that meant. Elise now walked beside me, watching out for any traces of life or magic. However, during the entire time we were here, there were no signs of either, and Elise began to grow restless. Restless with uncertainty and fear of the unknown. Fear of something lurking in these caves, which bore no trace of magic and yet were enveloped in ice. It was an unease mixed with fear of the creature that could create ice so chilling that not even Solus's light could melt it.

Finally, in the distance, a clear light appeared, warming the surrounding icy sculptures with its comforting rays and bringing a sense of warmth that only the glow of a fire can provide. And despite the fact that the cave did not actually warm up, the feeling of warmth from the light managed to thaw my stiff muscles and relieve my mind to the extent that even after another gust of icy wind, I barely shivered and almost ignored it.

When we stood before the opening, I had to close my eyes for a moment to adjust to the light. Upon opening them, I was stunned. As my vision improved in the sharp light, I saw the cave expanding even further than it already had—and as I looked at the entire room that suddenly unfolded before me, I was breathless. The image was like something out of bedtime stories for children. A gigantic spherical room, its walls covered in the same ice as the cave walls, with light reflecting off them, illuminating everything around and entering the cave through dozens of small and large openings in the ceiling. In the center stood a large tree, its height almost reaching the rocky overhang forming the ceiling structure of the room, with long branches seemingly reaching out towards Solus's light. Its bark, resembling poorly forged metal, was snow-white, and its leaves had the same color and texture as metal. Suddenly, I felt like I knew that tree, especially when I noticed what lay beside it. What inhabited these caves and undoubtedly created the ice surrounding everything.

There, next to the tree, with a body larger than any other creature, wings more massive and stronger than any bird, teeth larger than any predator's, lying in its majestic stillness, was a dragon. White scales, grading outward to icy blue, glistened on the motionless reptilian body. The most noticeable parts of its body were its enormous wings, stretching around the cave, occupying perhaps a third of the entire surface. And when I looked at its huge head with jaws full of teeth, before which no armor would protect you, a feeling of horror gripped my chest at the sight.

Just as I saw it, and my thoughts allowed me to think of something other than getting out of here immediately, I noticed that something was wrong. That something wasn't as it should be.

The dragon was not alive.

Yes, the dragon lying before me was not alive. Its entire body was scarred, and its wings were riddled with holes. If one weren't thinking about the fact that the creature lying here was a real dragon, one might even say that it looked emaciated.

The scars that covered the dragon from head to toe had one thing in common—all of them were long and deep wounds, sometimes stretching over more than half of its body.

But perhaps the most striking thing was the fact that there were no traces of a battle here. There was no blood on the ground, not even from the dragon, which should rightly have left an entire lake of it. There were no other bodies, but mainly, there were no traces of magic or any weapons. It almost looked like the dragon had been dead for weeks, and nature had already taken care of all traces.

With uncertainty, I looked at Elise. However, she only watched the lifeless white body, paying no attention to anything else. She watched it as if the dragon were about to come back to life any moment, and she couldn't miss that moment.

Suddenly, Elise stepped towards the dragon's body.

My only thought at that moment was, "What are you doing?"—not fully realizing yet that even a beast like a dragon couldn't do anything once it's dead. So I quickly grabbed Elise's hand and turned her towards me.

Elise turned to me with an irritated look.

"What are you doing?"

I blurted out thoughtlessly.

"What do you think? I'm going to take a closer look at the 'dead' dragon."

She declared, emphasizing 'dead'. Then she quickly wriggled out of my grip and stepped forward again.

For a while, I just watched her, but eventually, I couldn't resist and followed Elise to the dragon, repeating like a prayer that it's already dead.

As we approached the dragon's body, it was indeed visible that it wasn't breathing and showed no other signs of life. Its body, now from close proximity, seemed even more colossal than from a distance. Only my head was the size of its eye, and its teeth were as big as my entire leg.

Being in such close proximity made all the hairs on my body stand on end, and my heart raced as if in a race, beating so strongly that it could be felt in my head. My head was completely empty, and I couldn't think of anything other than putting my left foot in front of my right.

My head hurt, and I felt beads of sweat running down my back. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to get away from the dragon as far as possible.

Elise, seeing that huge body, probably found it interesting, but in me, even after its death, it only aroused restlessness and fear. Despite realizing that it was already dead and that it would never move again and that it was actually harmless...

...my body, my heart, still couldn't accept it as a certainty and expected some trap, a trick, or something like that. As if the dragon were about to come back to life at any moment...

...and then what? What if something like that happened? Even Elise couldn't fight a dragon and protect me at the same time. And if something were to happen, I would be completely powerless. Without mana and without a weapon, I would be just dead weight. There's no chance of fighting a dragon with only human strength. What then...

...being so close when anything could actually happen is just asking for trouble.

While these thoughts raced through my mind, Elise evidently positioned herself in my way. I didn't notice her for logical reasons, because imagining what if was more important than paying attention to what was actually happening. Inevitably, I bumped into Elise.

The impact was so sudden that I reacted instinctively. My right hand quickly slid to my dagger, while my left attempted to conjure an ice spear. My mistake dawned on me almost immediately. I lifted my head and saw Elise in front of me. More precisely, her beautiful ice-blue eyes, which were so much like mine, except that her pupils were oval and elongated, like a cat's.

To many people, her eyes seemed dangerous, frightening, and even disgusting. But to me, they had always seemed only beautiful, perfectly complementing her otherwise superhumanly charming figure. And now, those eyes were staring directly into mine. Elise didn't say anything; she just looked at me, into my eyes. Without saying a word, she took two steps towards me, stretched her arms under mine, and hugged me.

"Cass, that dragon is already dead."

Suddenly, I froze.

"..."

"This one won't do anything; it's dead, harmless. You have nothing to fear from it. Do you hear me? Nothing, absolutely nothing."

Elise's monotone voice calmed me down. And the muscle stiffness that I had been feeling until now suddenly subsided as well.

"I know why you're so afraid of them, but this one won't harm you."

"..."

"If you're not feeling well, come sit down for a moment..."

Elise led me to the trunk of the white tree and leaned me against it.

"...here, lean against the trunk and rest."

I realized that I was stiff—but I didn't realize to what extent until now. As soon as Elise settled me against the trunk, my legs gave out. I found such great satisfaction in such a trivial matter as sitting down and leaning against something. And with the stiffness gone, some of the stress left me, and my mind cleared.

When I looked at Elise, I saw her examining the dragon carcass, completely oblivious to what was so interesting about it.

With this sudden relaxation, fatigue caught up with me, of which I hadn't even been aware. Despite the aversion to sleeping next to something like a dragon, even a dead one, my eyes closed more and more. I blamed the unexpected encounter rather than attributing it to something else. Slowly, I began to feel my mind stop perceiving things happening around me, and despite my reluctance, my eyes slowly but surely closed. Then, there was only silence before I finally plunged into endless darkness.

----------------------------------------

"Your hand a bit higher."

"Don't keep closing that eye, and slightly relax your fingers on your right hand."

"If I relax them any more, I won't be able to hold the bowstring, and how am I supposed to aim if I have my other eye closed—I won't hit anything properly that way." I opened my left eye, and the whole bow with the arrow completely blurred for me.

"How am I supposed to aim like this when I can't even see the arrow properly?" I thought, and then closed my left eye again. It seemed like something moved to my left, but I told myself it was probably just a leaf.

The bow and arrow were clear again. I aimed at the target, took a breath, and released the bowstring with my exhale. The arrow flew with such speed that it was almost impossible to follow. Not even a second passed, and the arrowhead was lodged in the head of the dummy, resembling a soldier serving as a training target. I was so happy that I almost started jumping for joy—but I held back. Elise always says I should temper my emotions, so the only evidence of my joy was my smile, which must have stretched from ear to ear.

"For someone who's dead, you seem overly enthusiastic,"

Elise coldly shattered my joy with a long knife right next to my throat. I raised my head to see Elise's face, peeking out from behind her long hair, which was being blown into her face by the omnipresent wind. Elise was never angry, at least not with me; she only frowned or seemed annoyed, but she never got angry. Even when I once climbed the castle walls, waking up the entire eastern wing of the castle because someone from the night watch noticed me and thought I was a spy or even a murderer, Elise just frowned at me, and her eyes showed a kind of resignation. Of course, that didn't mean father never got angry.

Now, Elise was looking at me with a frown again, and after a pitiful moment, when I couldn't bear her motionless gaze anymore and lowered my eyes, she opened her mouth and spoke.

"If you had both eyes open, you'd see my attack; how many times do I have to repeat that? Even as you concentrate on hitting your target , you must also be aware of your surroundings in case someone attacks you."

Her eyes glanced at the dagger at my throat, with a look that said 'like right now.'

"But I have you for that, don't I?"

I replied with a broad grin, knowing that my objections would either be shattered or completely ignored.

"What would you do then if someone managed to get past me, what then?"

"In that case, I wouldn't stand a chance against someone who managed to get past you anyway."

With each word, I dug myself deeper and deeper into my grave.

"After whom do you have..."

...she probably intended to say: such a sharp tongue, before she was suddenly interrupted by someone who had just entered the training ground.

My eyes lit up at the sight of that person. He was like a prince on a white horse, coming to rescue the damsel in distress from the terrible dragon. Well, if I were a damsel, Elise a dragon, and the person who entered a prince. Reality, however, was often cruel. So who was the person who had just entered?

I had no idea who the man in front of me was. He was dressed like a member of the night watch—a black cloak covering most of his body, a scarf wrapped around his face, and a classic wide-brimmed hat on his head, with the brim curving slightly upwards from the center. A typical night watch sword swayed at his waist, and a small crossbow hung at his other side. He looked like every other member of the night watch I ever saw, but the problem was that no member of the watch had the authority to enter this place, except for the captain. Could he be a new recruit who got lost?

Elise, who had been looking at me until now, now directed her gaze at the man.

"Who dares to enter these premises without an invitation?!"

Irritation and hostility practically oozed from Elise. The man's eyes, which were initially surprised, were now sharp and focused. What was his goal? Were my thoughts—before the man swiftly reached for his mini-crossbow, aimed it at me, and pulled the trigger.

All my thoughts vanished at once. I was so shocked by the scene unfolding before me that I couldn't even move. I was able to avoid the flying projectile at the last moment, which only grazed my cheek. The arrow flew past me until it hit the hard stone wall of the training ground.

I felt a trickle of blood slowly making its way down my cheek, seeking the shortest path to the ground. Eventually, it stopped under my chin, and I felt the unpleasant sensation of a droplet forming before it grew large enough to break free, like overripe fruit at the end of the tenth month.

Elise wasted no time, by the time the arrow hit the ground she was already on top of the shooter with the sword, its entire blade covered in white flame. The assailant didn't even have time to draw his sword before his head was separated from the rest of his body—white flames instantly engulfed his entire body and head. And before his knees could touch the floor, only his clothes and weapons remained, as his bones, muscles and skin turned to white dust.

However, there was no time to relax, three more armed men burst into the door, weapons in hand and without a single hesitation, they attacked Elise. As the three swords approached, Elise took a half step back so fast that her opponents had no time to react. As a result, one missed completely and his body followed his sword hands, Elise didn't wait to immediately use the moment to counterattack - a sword with a white flame flew through the air, a short scream was heard.

The second one also missed his first blow, but was able to react much faster than the first one. He managed to block the blow that Elise threw at him with her sword and was even able to counterattack.

The third seemed to have expected something like this, so instead of trying to hit Elise with the sword in the common way, he feigned an attack, letting go of the sword and grabbing the mini-crossbow at his waist instead.

I saw how the man took the crossbow in his hand and how Elise fought with the other two assassins. Without thinking, I picked up my bow, arrow still ready, and aimed. Forgetting to close my other eye. I couldn't aim properly, everything outside the fight before me was blurry. Despite this, my mind was only on the man with the crossbow. My hand was shaking slightly, yet my mind was not in a panic. I released my fingers and the arrow darted out. It found its target the next moment. The tip of the arrow struck the man in the neck, and at that moment he pulled the trigger on the crossbow and grabbed his neck with his other hand, from where blood was already flowing like a waterfall. Although it was only a practice arrow, its tip was just as sharp and, while it didn't cause as much harm as others, if it hit a place like a neck, the result wasn't much different. The man fell to his knees and took his final breath with his hand gripping the arrow.

In that moment, I saw something moving on top of the roof - it was another shooter. His night watch cloak fluttering in the wind like a flag, his face unrecognisable except for his eyes. which I would recognise anywhere. Those cold, emotionless eyes. The eyes of a murderer, a man who had killed before, and more than once, a man for whom the essence of life lay in taking it from others.

An arrow suddenly appeared in his right hand, and with the skill of an experienced archer, he placed the arrow on the bowstring and pulled. I didn't have time to draw, aim, and fire again, and there was nowhere nearby to hide. I could only watch as his arrow left the bow and headed straight for me. The arrow arrived earlier than I expected. I thought that if I saw the shooter, I would be able to dodge the arrow flying towards me, but its speed was too great and I didn't have time. My attempt to dodge ended when the arrow struck my right shoulder.

But I was lucky, the arrow only pierced the muscles and missed the bone, as it moved on before hitting the ground. With all my strength, I tried to draw my bowstring. My shoulder hurt like nothing I've ever experienced, but if I let him, he'll shoot again and I might not be so lucky next time.

"Hss"

With a loud hiss of pain that I tried in vain to suppress, I stretched the string with the arrow and shot without delay. My pain immediately eased as I relaxed the muscles in my hand, which gave me a moment of comfort, but that was only until it came back stronger than before. Unfortunately for me, the shooter also managed to dodge the arrow and was preparing another one… ...unless, out of nowhere, a dagger in white fire hit him in the side of the head and ended his life. The man let go of his bow and fell in a fiery glow to the roof, where he was left with only his clothes, the bow and arrows that had spilled from the quiver as he fell.

----------------------------------------

That day, despite everything that happened, became nothing but a good memory. Because it was the day I stopped turning a blind eye whilst shooting and also started taking training with Elise seriously, rather than as an annoying chore. Little things, such as the fact that I got my first scar, made me give up on wearing off-the-shoulder dresses in public, and the fact that it was also the day I took another person's life for the first time, were no longer important.