? ─── ?? ? ?? ─── ?

  The forest was slowly falling still. Twilight swallowed the trees, and the wind muffled their footsteps, as if too cautious to disturb the silence surrounding the camp. Dry branches crackled in the fire; Brenn stirred the stew in the cauldron, tossing kindling into the flames. The embers reflected in his eyes, and his usual grin played on his lips—though his gaze never left Violetta.

  ?Tillo sat closer to the fire, notebook in hand. His quill trembled, leaving ink blots on the parchment—whether from exhaustion or fear, it was hard to tell. He had just seen, with his own eyes, Violetta heal a deep wound he’d received during the hunt. She had manifested a magic circle in mid-air and mended him in seconds. Now, her abilities seemed like something far beyond a mere "gift."

  ?Odd leaned back against a tree. His dark eyes were those of a wolf that hadn't yet decided whether to join the pack or vanish into the woods. He kept his eyes on the girl, though there was something protective in his posture.

  ?Irellis remained silent. Her gaze was taut as a wire. She had been watching Violetta’s movements for some time. Her manner of speech. Her eyes.

  ?The tension hung in the air like smoke—slow, but all-pervasive.

  ?“So, what the hell did you actually do?” Brenn broke the silence. “The Inquisition is hunting you, the Oculus, and… the Crown Prince himself.”

  ?Every eye fixed on Violetta. She remained silent, lips pressed into a thin line, staring into the flames.

  ?“Who are you really, kid?” the old dwarf asked, his voice softening.

  ?The silence lasted as long as a winter night. Finally, gathering her thoughts, Violetta lifted her head.

  ?“I...” her voice was barely audible over the crackling fire. “I was in a city where people weren't dying from war, but from hunger. A planned famine. The Empire… they just took the food. They said it was for the soldiers defending us from the 'scourge of the east.' But in reality…”

  ?She didn't cry, but something in her voice seemed to snap.

  ?“The priests… the 'merciful' ones… they lured the beast-kin, those bloated with hunger, with promises of bread.”

  ?“I followed them. At first, they fed us, but then, in the night… a priest came and took those who had fur, fangs, or ears. Beastmen and beast-kin. They said it was 'for protection.' I hid, and then I followed them in secret.”

  ?Her eyes went glassy as she looked up at the stars.

  ?The more Irellis listened, the colder her skin became. Feelings that were too familiar, too close. A girl with shadows in her eyes. Just as she had once been…

  ?Violetta continued her grim monologue:

  ?“They went underground. Beneath the temple, there were tables. Blood. Tools. Barrels. One filled with body parts. Another with tails. And there were files. Reports.”

  ?She pulled a parchment with the Oculus seal from her pack and handed it to Brenn.

  ?“Here. Read it aloud, so everyone hears.” His fingers shook slightly as he took it.

  ?[PURIFICATION SUBJECT №226. BEAST-KIN (HALF-FOX). GENDER: FEMALE. ADULT SPECIMEN. DURING TESTING FOR INTERACTION WITH THE CRYSTAL PLAGUE, SUBJECT EXHIBITED INCREASED RESISTANCE TO INFECTION. POSSIBLE CORRELATION WITH HEATHEN DEITIES. ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTATION REQUIRED. DEATH FROM INFECTION OCCURRED AFTER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS, SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER THAN ALL OTHER TEST SUBJECTS.]

  ?His fingers clenched; the cracking of his knuckles muffled the fire. Before his eyes rose the image of his little sister. She could have been…

  ?“They were… researching. Dissecting. Searching for a way to break us. To find what makes us 'different.' They took us apart as if we weren't living beings, but some kind of mechanism. And then—they burned the bodies,” Violetta almost whispered. Her eyes shimmered with moisture in the firelight, but no tear fell.

  ?Tillo couldn't believe what he had just heard. His world shattered. This wasn't in any book. No treatise spoke of how to heal such a thing.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  ?“I took one report. The rest—I burned. And then I ran.”

  ?A deep silence followed—a vacuum in which the crackle of the fire sounded like hammer blows.

  ?Odd took the parchment from Brenn. His hand slid toward his knife hilt. Not because of Violetta. Because of those who had done this. And worse, those who were still alive.

  ?“Then it’s true…” the dwarf said, watching Odd’s reaction. “I’d heard of these catacombs. Thought they were tall tales… ghost stories for recruits.”

  ?“They aren't fables. It’s a built system,” Violetta said. “They call it 'purification from sin.' Sins none of us committed. To them, we are just filth. Test subjects no different from animals… no… parasites! A cursed splinter in their eye!”

  ?The fire popped, sending sparks into the air.

  ?“And the Prince?” Tillo asked. “Why does he want to catch you?”

  ?Violetta hesitated. Finally, she sighed, her voice soft, almost apologetic:

  ?“I don't know exactly what they are looking for in me… but I am… different.”

  ?Silence. Tillo’s quill hovered in the air. Brenn frowned.

  ?“What do you mean by that?” Brenn asked.

  ?Her fingers brushed against the Sphere she held in her hands.

  ?“Have you ever looked at those… things… the ones flying in the sky?”

  ?Tillo looked surprised. “You mean the Star Wardens? Everyone knows about them!”

  ?“Gods,” Odd added dryly.

  ?“Some say demons,” Brenn joked weakly.

  ?Irellis suddenly froze. Her fingers trembled, though she tried to hide it.

  ?“I heard the stories of the elders. But no… this… it simply cannot be…” she whispered.

  ?Violetta looked at the elf. She had never seen Irellis like this. Odd leaned forward slightly. Tillo covered his mouth with his hand. Brenn tensed, fingers tightening on his axe.

  ?“Irellis? What’s wrong?” Violetta asked, bewildered.

  ?“Answer me.” The elf spoke softly, but there was a tremor of fear in her tone. “How old are you, Violetta?”

  ?“I...” the girl blinked. “Fifteen years and a few months. I was born… three days before the Night of the Ancestors, I think. My father said he found me when the first snow had already fallen.”

  ?Irellis took a slow breath. Then another. Her face went pale as bleached linen, as a shroud. Her lips quivered.

  ?“It can’t be a coincidence…”

  ?She stood up and began to pace around the campfire. Her movements were erratic, unlike her. She was always composed, precise, but now she seemed to have forgotten who she was. Her gaze searched for an exit, like a trapped animal.

  ?“Fifteen years… three days before the Festival of Lights… on that very night…”

  ?Everyone went still, barely breathing.

  ?“…one of the gods fell.”

  ?“Where are you going with this?” Tillo asked cautiously.

  ?“One of the Three descended to earth. In the legends—it was a punishment. Fire from the sky, thunder that lasted a week. Entire valleys were turned into a void. People vanished as if washed from the face of the earth. But at that very moment...” Irellis suddenly stared at Violetta. “You appeared. No one saw where you came from. No one knows where these abilities come from. Even you—you don't know.”

  ?Tillo looked at Violetta, stunned.

  ?Odd clenched his jaw but said nothing; he had suspected this for a long time. But he couldn't say for sure. Perhaps he simply didn't want to know.

  ?Brenn laughed. Loudly. Sharply. As if chasing away a thought he didn't like.

  ?“So… you’re telling me our little one is a goddess? Like the ones who came from the heavens?”

  ?“No,” Irellis replied. She was wavering, her voice trembling. “I mean… I don't know.”

  ?Violetta took a step back, as if shrinking from her own shadow.

  ?“Irellis… I… I don't understand…”

  ?“And I—I don't want to understand…” the elf whispered.

  ?Tears welled in her eyes. Not from fear. From the realization. That the being she had been drawn to, as if to a fragile, tortured soul… might not just be another creature. But a fragment of something that was never meant to appear in this world. And perhaps, she would become its last hope… or its curse.