Rafe reached the collapsed girl first.
She was trembling violently, her breaths shallow and uneven. Dirt covered her legs, her arms were scraped, and dried blood streaked down the side of her cheek. Someone her age shouldn't have had eyes like that—wide, scared, yet focused, as if she'd already seen too much.
Mara knelt on the other side, checking the girl's pulse with surprising precision.
"She's alive," Mara said. "Barely."
Children peeked from windows and behind door frames. Whispers grew louder.
"Where did she come from?""Was she attacked?""Is she dangerous?"
The orphanage buzzed with fear.
Rafe ignored all of them.
"Hey," he said quietly. "Can you hear me?"
The girl's lips parted.
Her voice was broken, breathless.
"…You have… to hide me…"
Mara tensed. "Hide you from who?"
The girl flinched at the question, her entire body tightening as if expecting something to strike her from behind.
Rafe leaned closer.
"What chased you?"
She swallowed with effort.
"…Men… in black coats… I ran…"
Mara looked at Rafe, alarm in her eyes.
"Black coats," she repeated. "That sounds like—"
"Bloodline scouts," Rafe finished.
He felt his stomach twist.
If scouts were after her, she wasn't a random lost child.
She was valuable.
Or dangerous.
Or both.
The girl tried to push herself up but collapsed again, dizzy. Rafe grabbed her shoulder to steady her.
"Don't move," he said softly. "You'll pass out."
Her fingers clutched his sleeve weakly.
"Please… don't let them find me…"
Rafe didn't answer immediately.
He was thinking.Calculating.
This girl wasn't part of the original orphanage arc.She wasn't supposed to appear until much later in the story.But the timeline had already begun to unravel the moment he intervened in events.
A new variable.A wild card.
And the System reacted instantly.
DING.System Alert: Unknown Entity DetectedThis individual is not part of the original flow.Risk Level: UncertainPotential Value: High
Mara's hand tightened into a fist.
"Rafe, what do we do?"
Before he could answer, a caretaker shoved through the crowd.
"What is going on out here— AAH!"
She stumbled backward when she saw the girl.
"W-Who is she?! Where did she come from?!"
Rafe stood up, placing himself subtly between the girl and the caretaker.
"She's hurt. She needs help."
"She's a stranger!" the caretaker snapped. "We can't just bring in dangerous children!"
Rafe's expression stayed calm.
"Then call the city guard. They handle missing children cases."
The caretaker hesitated—because calling the guard meant paperwork. Questions. Responsibility. Things she hated.
"I—I'll go get the head caretaker," she muttered before running off.
As soon as she disappeared, Rafe turned to Mara.
"We need her somewhere hidden before the head caretaker arrives."
Mara blinked.
"You want to hide her?"
"Yes."
"…Why?"
Rafe looked at the girl.
"Because anyone being hunted by scouts is someone the world considers valuable. And if the wrong people get her…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't have to.
Mara nodded immediately.
"Where do we take her?"
Rafe scanned the yard quickly, eyes sharp despite his small body.
"The storage shed behind the old garden. Nobody goes there."
Mara didn't question him. She slid her arm under the girl's shoulder. Rafe took the other side.
The girl winced but didn't resist.
Together, they half-carried, half-dragged her toward the back of the orphanage.
The moment they slipped behind the bushes, the girl tried to speak again.
"…Why… are you helping me…?"
Rafe glanced down at her.
"Because you asked."
Her eyes widened slightly.
Mara added quietly, "And because you're alone."
The girl's breath hitched—almost like those words hurt more than her injuries.
They reached the old wooden shed. Rafe pushed the rotten door open, the hinges groaning softly.
Inside, dust coated everything. Broken furniture, old crates, and a forgotten mattress lay abandoned.
They lowered the girl onto it as gently as possible.
Mara knelt in front of her.
"What's your name?"
The girl swallowed.
"…Lyn."
Rafe repeated softly, "Lyn."
Her eyes fluttered, exhausted.
Rafe placed a hand on her forehead. Fever. She was burning up.
"We'll bring water," he said. "And food."
"Don't… leave…" she whispered.
"We won't," Mara said, firm and steady.
Outside, they heard voices. Footsteps. The head caretaker shouting orders.
They were looking for her.
Rafe crouched beside Lyn.
"You're safe for now. But we need to know something."
She opened her eyes slowly.
Rafe asked:
"Why were they chasing you?"
Lyn's breathing quickened.
"I… awakened…"
Rafe and Mara froze.
"Awakened what?" Rafe asked gently.
Her fingers trembled.
"…My mana."
Rafe felt his heartbeat skip.
At her age, awakening mana was nearly impossible. Only a handful of prodigies in the entire country had ever done it.
Rafe and Mara exchanged a glance.
And Lyn whispered:
"The moment I awakened… they tried to take me."
A chill ran down Rafe's spine.
This girl wasn't just valuable.
She was critical to something big.
Mara reached out and held Lyn's hand.
"We won't let them take you."
Rafe stood, eyes sharp.
Outside, shadows moved. The caretakers were searching.
"Stay quiet," Rafe whispered. "We'll handle everything."
Lyn nodded weakly.
Mara looked at Rafe.
"What do we do now?"
Rafe didn't hesitate.
"We protect her. No matter what."
His Bloodline Instinct pulsed with intensity.
And the System whispered:
DING.A turning point has begun.Your choices from here will define the next arc.
Rafe exhaled.
He hadn't chosen this path.
But he would walk it.
Even if it split the timeline in half.