Mist-Shrouded Night — Northern Perimeter of the Autumn Village

  The leaves were silent.

  Too silent.

  Sarya was the first to notice.

  She, Leli, and two elven sentinels were patrolling the farthest boundary of the village, where the veil between the natural world and the other world began to thin. It was part of the training — learning to recognize changes in the environment.

  But that… was not natural.

  — Spears low. Ears sharp. — Sarya murmured, signaling with her hand.

  Leli nodded. The ceremonial spear she had received from the Patriarch was in her hands, vibrating in sync with Autumn.

  That was when the air smelled like rust.

  Not iron.

  Blood.

  ---

  The Monster That Should Not Be There

  Between twisted roots, something crawled.

  First came a dry crack. Then a muffled roar. And then, a shape emerged from the mist:

  A being that had once been pure — now corrupted. The size of a bear, scarred skin, eyes burning with a bright light.

  — Corrupted beast… — one of the elves growled.

  Sarya acted immediately, planting her spear in a low stance.

  — It is no longer of the forest.

  The corrupted bear lunged forward with brutal speed, breaking young trees in its path.

  Leli tried to hold her stance, throwing her spear into one of its paws to destabilize it.

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  The Scream

  The first elf was struck — thrown against a trunk. The second shouted something in Elvish, and faint crimson arrows were fired — but the monster resisted.

  — Leli! Stay back! — Sarya shouted, trying to draw the enemy’s attention.

  But then… the monster sensed something.

  And turned its deformed snout toward the black-haired girl with slightly curled locks.

  — It felt me… It feels my Autumn Anchor…

  Leli saw the beast charge. The speed. The weight. The roar.

  The world seemed to stop.

  And she remembered:

  “Listen with your feet…”

  “The spear sleeps in the earth…”

  “Be the silence.”

  She did not think.

  She dove. Rolled. And drove the spear into the creature’s flank.

  It was as if the forest reacted.

  The wooden shaft of the spear glowed.

  The beast screamed.

  And then Sarya appeared from behind, finishing the movement with a perfect spin of her own spear, striking the base of the neck — the artery.

  Instant death. No suffering.

  The monster fell.

  The earth fell silent.

  Leli breathed heavily.

  — What was that?

  Sarya stopped beside her, gripping her shoulder firmly.

  — You… heard it?

  Leli nodded, tears in her eyes.

  — Yes. It was suffering… What was that?

  — Dark magic, Leli. Do not blame yourself. It did not suffer in death. We will give it a proper burial to honor it.

  — Yes, Sarya.

  — Who could have done this?

  — I would like to know too…

  But deep down, she knew.

  She tightened her grip on the spear.

  — It seems some rats from the Clergy of Shadows survived. We thought we had killed all those traitors corrupted by dark magic.

  Did they return because of the recent attack?

  Why are they targeting Leli?

  Let them try. I will make sure to put every one of them seven feet under.

  Miserable insects.

  ---

  The Patriarch’s Whisper

  That night, Patriarch Aurelius Rowan appeared in Leli’s tent.

  He said nothing.

  He simply left a new spear on the table.

  Made from living wood. Adorned with Autumn leaves.

  And engraved with an elven inscription:

  “Now you may fall… and rise again like a root.”

  ---

  Spin-Off Epilogue — The Leaves That Guard Wounds

  Autumn Village — capital of the whispering leaves.

  The bonfire crackled at the center of the clearing. The elves gradually withdrew, leaving the air filled with a soft silence, carried by the rustling of crimson leaves.

  Leli sat near the fire, adjusting the leather straps of her outfit.

  Sarya, as always, stood looking toward the horizon, her spear resting against her back.

  — Do you always keep watch? — Leli asked, breaking the silence.

  — Whenever someone needs to sleep in peace. — Sarya replied simply.

  Leli hesitated, but insisted:

  — You were different once, weren’t you?

  Sarya closed her eyes for a moment.

  — I used to be… too kind. I believed that being fair, gentle, doing what was right — that would be enough.

  — And it wasn’t?

  Sarya turned, staring into the fire.

  — I was sold as a child. For a few coins, a plate of food, and the promise I would be trained in an elite troop. I ended up in a den, chained.

  Leli held her breath.

  — I escaped. With my face covered in blood, holding a spear, and hatred in my heart. And from that day on, I never lowered my guard again.

  Silence.

  — From that day forward, I never let anyone decide my fate again. Not those who protected me. Not those who hurt me.

  She looked at Leli firmly.

  — That is why I do not accept weakness. Because I once was nothing but weakness.

  Leli swallowed.

  — But you are not only strength. — she said softly. — You are shelter too. Even if you do not admit it.

  Sarya smiled, but looked at her seriously, cold.

  — Perhaps.

  The next morning, while Leli was training her mana comprehension, she sat atop a stone. Leaves fell as pink currents of mana flowed and condensed in her hands. She was trying to make the mana take spiritual form in the physical world.

  She wore the official uniform of the Autumn warriors, with the Autumn seal sewn onto her clothing.

  Sarya watched and felt the tone of the mana being compressed, as if filling a container beyond its limit.

  — Incredible, Leli.

  And for a brief moment… the woman who never cried blinked faster than the wind could hide.

  — You will be terrifying in the future, Leli. I am certain.

  Like Lukas will be when he returns.

  You are siblings, after all.

  End of the Epilogue and of Leli’s Spin-Off