In the heart of the night, under a sky scattered with stars, I sat by the campfire, soaking in the sight of the fireflies drifting around me. The wind whispered through the forest, slipping between the trees and brushing against the leaves, breaking the otherwise calm and peaceful silence of the woods.
Eli had already fallen asleep — I was the only one awake in the entire forest. Sitting across from the fire, I kept watch to make sure it didn't die out.
'That unpleasant rustle of leaves again,' I thought as I tossed a few dry branches into the flames.
After a while, the forest grew completely silent. Even the fireflies that had been flitting about moments ago were gone, and the wind had vanished.
Realizing this sent a ripple of unease through my chest. My grip on the dagger tightened.
Then, from the darkness of the forest, a voice called out.
"Rayan!"
It was a beautiful voice — that of a girl, perhaps eight or nine years old. In such a still moment, it sounded both familiar and pleasant to the ear. Yet the thought struck me: What would a young girl be doing here, in the middle of a forest where no one dares set foot at night? The answer came swiftly — this had to be a trap. I raised my dagger.
I hadn't even seen what it was yet, but I could feel the faint tremor in my weapon.
'Calm down. Nothing's happened yet,' I told myself, exhaling slowly.
The same voice came again.
"Rayan!"
It was closer this time. I wanted to find its source.
'Where is it?' My eyes scanned the darkness — and then landed on Eli. 'I need to wake her.'
Dagger still in hand, I ran over to where she slept, leaning against a tree with her cloak pulled over her. I gripped her shoulder and shook her lightly.
"Eli, hey, Eli, wake up. We have a problem."
She opened her eyes, still groggy, and asked,
"What happened?"
My voice wavered slightly.
"I think there's a creature nearby."
At my words, her eyes snapped open wide, and the last traces of sleep vanished. She stood quickly, holding the cloak in her right hand — and in the next instant, it was gone, vanished as if it had shattered.
Her gaze sharpened.
"What's going on?"
I stood as well.
"Just now, someone started calling my name."
Eli glanced around, her expression serious, then took the sword leaning against the tree.
"Did you see it?"
I shook my head.
"No. I didn't see anything."
That only made her more alert. She drew her sword from its sheath and said,
"Get ready. It's close."
I lifted my dagger, slipping my mask into my hand.
'Let's hope the mask's power hasn't run out.'
Then I noticed something about Eli — a moment ago, she had been wearing nothing but simple clothes, yet now she stood fully clad in armor, the same armor I'd once seen her wearing in a cave. A gleaming helm on her head, gauntlets on her arms, a bevor guarding her neck, and shining steel covering her body. But one detail struck me — this wasn't women's armor. It was the kind made for men.
Now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Whatever was out there knew my name — meaning it was intelligent or could use magic.
Knowing at least that much made me even more alert. I activated Forest Terror, one of my Sephir abilities' strengths, using its enhanced night vision and sharpened hearing to search for the creature. But there was nothing — no movement, no sign of it.
Eli, armored and ready, asked,
"Do you see it?"
Without hesitation, I replied,
"No. There's no one out there."
And then — the voice again, this time from behind us.
"Rayan!"
We both spun toward the sound, weapons raised. Eli lifted her sword higher; I tightened my sweaty grip on the dagger, feeling it threaten to slip from my hand.
We stood ready for the enemy to emerge… but what stepped out was nothing we had expected.
From behind the trees not far from us, a small head peeked out — a girl of perhaps eight or nine, with silver hair, blue eyes, and skin as pale as snow. Her lips were the only trace of color on her face, a vivid red against that ghostly white. She stared at us from behind the tree and called,
"Rayan!"
Hearing her voice, I sensed her fear and loneliness. Yet… something about her was wrong. Even so, there was an odd pull, drawing me toward her. I took a step in her direction.
Eli's hand shot out to the side, stopping me without breaking her battle stance.
"Don't. She's not human. She's just making herself look that way."
Deep down, I knew she was right — but the strange pull remained. I turned to Eli.
"What do we do?"
Eli stayed silent for a heartbeat, then leveled her sword at the girl and barked,
"Come out here!"
The girl flinched, hiding half her face behind the tree, and started crying at Eli's harsh tone.
"Ra-yan!"
Real tears rolled down her cheeks. She wept like a real child — so real that I had to fight the urge to run to her, to hold her and tell her not to cry.
Eli's voice rang out again.
"Show your true self!"
Fear spread across the girl's face. She froze where she stood. Eli shouted once more, her tone sharp as steel.
"Come out right now, or I'll kill you."
Shaking, the girl stepped out from behind the tree, revealing herself fully.
My heart shattered at the sight. She was draped in ragged scraps of cloth, her small frame little more than bones. From her neck down, she was nothing but a skeletal figure — save for something glowing faintly blue between her ribs.
The sight brought tears to my eyes, and any words I might have used to comfort her stuck in my throat. I had never seen anything so tragic in my life.
"What… what did they do to her?" I asked Eli, my voice thick with pity.
Eli didn't answer, just stared at the girl.
"Eli, are you alright?" I asked.
Her reply was calm, steady, and deadly serious.
"She must be killed!"