I backed up against the wall, and the moment my back touched the cold surface, the chill seeped into me, sapping my warmth. I slid down to the carpeted floor.

  My eyes fell to my hands. Then, out of nowhere, memories struck me like a blow to the head.

  "You're not my daughter!"

  "You're a freak!"

  It was almost funny. For some reason, I felt betrayed. Deeply. But why? It had to be more than just thinking he would change.

  My mind drifted to all the good memories of him. Foolish.

  I clenched my fist and smacked my forehead. This was grief—like victims mourning the loss of an abuser, crying for someone who only showed them love for a year or less.

  But when I thought of Natasha, a swarm of emotions clawed at my heart, demanding to know why I hadn’t listened to her. Why did I get close to that damn temple?

  That temple... temple...

  My clenched fingers loosened as I turned my gaze back to the sky. The crescent moon hung above, shining brightly, while faded clouds struggled to block its light.

  I knew what I had to do.

  Before, we didn’t have the time. We had to rush Ulah to Sundawn. We couldn’t trust the temple members to tell the truth. But things were different now.

  I pressed my hands against the wall and pushed myself up. Then, stepping toward the window, I gently brushed the swaying curtains aside.

  I would return to the Balash temple at the Hill of Vaera.

  And I would kill them all after demanding answers.

  My eyes wandered over the estate—neatly kept, pristine. Beyond the structures, at the far edge, stood a massive iron gate. The distance between the house and the gate was about the length of a football field.

  I had never used Crusbull before, but Ferzan said it was perfect for travel. It was time to test that claim.

  I stretched out my clenched left hand. The bandage was ruined, so I had no choice but to keep it shut tight. As my fingers slowly unfurled, a sudden voice cut through the silence.

  "You have a flying monster?"

  I spun around.

  It was the black-haired girl—the one who looked exactly like me. My gaze was drawn to her... and to her right hand.

  She stood in the doorway, watching me.

  Then, assuming she had guessed wrong, she asked, "Suicide?"

  "Revenge." I responded.

  I briefly considered asking if she was my long-lost sister, if she knew Natasha. But it felt stupid. Maybe another time.

  "I see..." She tilted her head. "You want help?"

  I raised an eyebrow.

  She stepped forward. "I could help."

  "No... I'm good."

  I turned back toward the window and leapt. As I stretched my hand forward, I raised my internal thought, Crusbull!

  Sparks of black crackled around me. Again, the same thing!

  Then, suddenly, a soft hand grasped mine.

  My body jerked upward as I was pulled back inside.

  It was her. I sat awkwardly on the window ledge.

  "Why... couldn't I?" I asked, my breath uneven. "You're a Vlandos too."

  She took a step back. "Certain parts of this estate have a safety zone. Ahh... what you would call a sanctity area? Something like that."

  Relief washed over me. At least my powers hadn't abandoned me completely.

  "My name is Tarnisha, by the way," she said. "You're Vernisha, right? I heard your name, but I don’t know your last name."

  "Holinestone."

  She nodded slowly. "So, do you want my help? This place is crawling with guards. Escaping won’t be easy for you."

  I narrowed my eyes. "What do you want?" I asked, suspicious. "Is this a test?"

  "I want to help you because I heard what happened to you."

  "But you don’t know me."

  "Yes..." She stepped closer, her black pupils locking onto my brown ones. "But when I look at you, it feels like I’m staring at my reflection. So I want to know more about you. I wonder if you're some lost sister of mine. If my mother threw a twin away."

  I considered the thought—then dismissed it. Caren would never have raised another man’s child.

  "Maybe it happened the other way around," I said. "I grew up poor. Maybe my parents thought they couldn't care for another child."

  "My mother loved me too much for me to not be hers."

  "A parent can love an adopted child as if they were their own."

  She shook her head. "No... her love was different. Pure. True. I know, deep in my bones, that woman was my mother."

  "I see... Similar for me, I think. My mother's name was Natasha."

  "Mine was Asah."

  "How long has your mother been dead?"

  "I don’t know. Three years? Something like that... She was killed. Unjustly." Her expression twisted in anger. "Just like you, I want to kill the ones responsible. I understand revenge. Trust me—I do."

  "Fine," I said. "How do we get out of here?"

  She clutched the ledge of a lower window and gently leaped from ledge to ledge until she reached the ground.

  A fall from that height would have easily shattered someone's skull.

  I tried it next. My feet slipped on the second ledge, and I tumbled onto the stone ground.

  My body made a sick thud, my limbs sprawling as I groaned in pain.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Tarnisha winced as if she had taken the fall herself. Rushing over, she checked on me and remarked, "Oh, you're okay...?"

  "I buffed my body recently, so I can take a few more hits," I replied. I remained on the ground for a moment before forcing myself up.

  I patted the back of my head in search of blood. I felt a little, but it wasn’t much, so I ignored it.

  "You're really okay, though?" she asked, double checking.

  "Yep," I answered.

  I followed her, choosing the grass over the road. We soon encountered a guard, but Tarnisha explained that she was taking me outside to show me something, and that was that.

  We ran, but I was faster than her. Curious, I checked her level and was surprised to see she was only level 13. In her environment, she should have had ample chances to level up, but I didn’t know her full circumstances—life is always more complex than it appears.

  We reached a massive iron gate. Tarnisha looked at the guard and said, "I'm stepping out."

  He nodded slowly and, glancing at me, asked, "Is this the new child?"

  "Yes," I replied.

  "I see." He turned back to Tarnisha. "Is something wrong? You're never out of the house…" he muttered, then looked behind us as if searching for someone. "And never without Miss Abella."

  "I just want to show my friend something."

  "...But at this time, Miss Abella wouldn’t be happy at all—she’d be furious. I can’t allow it."

  Tarnisha clicked her tongue and whistled with her fingers. The guard said worriedly, "If you don't stop, I'll report this immediately."

  "Do so, and I'll report all your slacking—and how often you stare at Miss Abella's bum—to Goldbon."

  Ha.

  I hadn’t really thought about it, but in less loose-fitting clothes, her figure might have looked quite nice.

  The guard tensed and bit his lip. "Okay..."

  Suddenly, something massive approached from the sky—a horse-sized, brown bird, a war hawk. It swooped down beside Tarnisha. She climbed atop it, settling onto the upper part of the leather saddle, and gestured for me to follow.

  I moved behind her and grasped a feather for extra grip. "How did you get one of these?"

  "I begged really hard," she replied.

  "Really? If I was you I would have begged for a powerful monster instead," I respond.

  She gripped the brown reins and said, "Why the hell would you do that?"

  "Because... monsters are powerful?" It felt like I was asked a stupid question.

  "Monsters should be killed and tortured, not kept." She tugged on the reins, and the bird began flapping its wings, ascending into the sky.

  Okay then...

  She continued, "You have to lead."

  Without a map, giving proper directions was challenging. I thought for a moment, then said, "Have you heard of the ruins of an ether battery factory—far from Sundawn, away from any cities or towns? It’s to the west."

  She hesitated before replying, "Yeah, but I’ve only heard of it."

  After another moment’s thought, I asked, "Can't we ask the guard?"

  That turned out to be the solution. I inquired if he had a map—and he did. Tarnisha then had her bird lower itself so I could retrieve it.

  The brown map was weathered, with several tears along its edges. Black lines delineated the cities, towns, and villages of Terrafall, each section marked by its name.

  It took a while to locate the Hill of Vaera, but when I finally spotted it, I pointed. "Here."

  She took a look at it and murmured, "That’s quite far, but okay."

  We simply had to head west—and that’s exactly what we did. The war hawk soared upward, pivoted, and then flew straight in that direction.

  It didn't take long for us to see Sundawn in the distance.

  We took occasional breaks for the bird to rest, but after about two hours we were flying over a hill with a solitary building—a golden temple. A balash temple.

  Tarnisha retrieved the map from me and unrolled it wide to examine the details. "This is the spot, righ—" she began.

  Before she could finish, I leaped off the bird. Realizing what I was doing, she panicked, "What the hell are you doing?!"

  The wind lifted my hair and dress, making them billow as if defying gravity.

  System, show me Crushbull skills.

  Hyper Chase

  Ground Tremble

  Pent Up

  Earth Armor

  Earth Armor...

  I clasped my hands, and a hidden black light emerged before the force from it compelled me to open my hands. Gradually, the massive, crustacean-shelled bull took shape.

  Use your [Earth Armor], now! On both of us.

  It mooed, swinging its head upward as shards of hardened, cracked rock began to cascade over us.

  Within seconds, the rocks spread over my body, interlocking into a protective shell that covered me from head to toe—except for my senses.

  We reached the hip concrete roof, which shattered beneath Crushbull’s force. A deep rumble echoed as debris rained down on everyone below.

  I landed on the ruined, dark, varnished wooden floor, coughing as I brushed dust from my eyes.

  Soon, panicked voices filled the air—though only a few could be heard. I scanned the area and noticed rows of long wooden benches, many bearing shattered ceiling fragments or crushed by the impact. Then I spotted a group of five men huddled together, fear written on their faces, except one.

  Four wore simple white religious garments—the Balash Enrichment Robe—with golden colored rings decorating the sleeves and collar. The fifth, dressed in typical Terrafallen attire—brown pants and shirt, a sleeveless jacket, and a head covering—stood apart.

  I pointed at them with my left hand and demanded, “Who is responsible for the bread rolls?”

  The men looked both confused. One, in particular, had a sword scabbard on his back and bore swirling tattoos of dragons, lions, plants, and stones. I struggled to recall what he was called… something Balash...

  Temple Defenders, perhaps.

  They were merely vlandos who had sworn to serve the Balash temples—to protect educators, scholars, the knowledge of balash, and of course, balash temples.

  He glanced at my palm before locking eyes with me; his face twisted in anger and disgust. I understood his thoughts, and strangely, I welcomed them—we both desired the same outcome.

  I would kill him first.

  I moved forward.

  Yet he was swifter. With a single, mighty stomp—as if the weight of the world surged behind him—he charged, intent on crushing me on the spot. “Filthy cultist, I will send you to your master!” he roared.

  A brilliant flash of light erupted from his hand, hurtling straight toward me. He was trying to force me onto the defensive.

  I did not fall for it.

  “Go!” I commanded. [Hyper Chase!]

  In response, Crushbull emitted a dull, earthy glow as hazy, flickering duplicates of light danced around it. With a burst of raw power, it surged forward.

  The Temple Defender’s light projection transformed into a colossal green rock, its limbs morphing into massive trunks armed with spear-like protrusions.

  I checked its level—22. Damn.

  It released a thunderous growl, spinning its floating limbs like a drill before swinging them at me.

  I dashed aside, but I was too slow. One limb struck me, hurling me against a concrete wall with a resounding thud. The impact was excruciating—my entire [Earth Armor] shattered, and my ribs ached, though I managed to stay conscious.

  It attempted another attack, but suddenly, it spewed blood and staggered mid-air, struggling to regain balance.

  I turned to see the Temple Defender suspended in the air, impaled atop Crushbull’s horns.

  His arms trembled, but his eyes still burned with defiance. There was fire in him still.

  So, I did what any considerate person would.

  I smothered that fire with cold, snuffing it out completely—like a flood drowning the last embers of a dying campfire.

  “Put him out of his misery,” I ordered.

  Crushbull hurled the man to the ground and stomped on his head until its foot sank deep into his skull.

  Personal Level: 19

  Crushbull Level: 15

  His strange monster collapsed to the ground, lifeless. White sparks crackled from his limp hand, filling the air with sharp, unnatural chirps—until they dimmed, flickering out into a dull, ashen gray.

  Crushbull had gained over six levels. Also the other monsters in my seal leveled up too, though the system wouldn't inform me if I didn't have them out.

  I wondered why I gained so much levels... since it would have to split between 5.

  I soon understood why: by killing him, I had also killed all the monsters in his seal.

  Crushbull gained two new skills:

  Rock Clone Charge

  Sight Adjustment

  I glanced back at the corpse—I'd deliberately killed a man. A strange, unsettling feeling washed over me.

  The remaining men panicked, screaming, “What have you done?!”

  “What the hell do you want?!”

  I pushed myself off the wall, my back throbbing. “Bread rolls! I stole bread rolls from here a few days ago. They turned my family into cannibalistic, mutated freaks! Who knows about it?!”

  Silence fell. Then I threatened, “Tell me now, or I’ll kill every damn person here!”

  One of them stepped forward—a man whose robe bore richer gold accents. He stuttered, “I... was told to do so—”

  I moved with blinding speed. He barely had time to flinch before I hoisted him off the ground as if he weighed nothing more than a coconut.

  Hatred flared in my eyes as I demanded, “Why did you do it? And who?”

  He trembled, his teeth chattering as he replied, “I don’t know. It just felt like I had to obey.”

  “That makes no sense!” I pressed him against the wall. “What do you mean—you felt compelled to do it?”

  “I just did! I couldn’t stop myself,” he stammered.

  Despite my anger, his words sounded absurd—and yet, perhaps there was truth in them. I pressed further, “Who was it? Describe them.”

  “A woman. Brown hair—like yours. Incredibly beautiful. I initially thought she was a vlandos, but even they aren’t that stunning… she was like a mountain fairy.”

  “Mountain fairy…?” I repeated, my voice hoarse.

  “I know it sounds like a Julioes folktale, but if you had seen her—the way she moved, the way she spoke—you’d swear she belonged in a myth.”

  I didn’t like where my thoughts were drifting. “Did she say her name?”

  “No…”

  “Did she give you the bread? When did she appear? Did she offer any explanation—anything at all?”

  “She conjured the bread out of thin air… and it happened a few days ago—three, maybe. Um, she mentioned something about destiny, that this child has been sheltered long enough—something about… Natasha,” he finally murmured.