Originally posted on Ao3 - 2022-02-19

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In the years I've been alive, I safely say that freedom has never been simply given but always earned and fought for in some way. Even the simplest of freedoms come at a steep price. It was only sheer blindness or willful ignorance for me to assume I had already paid the price for freedom back then, with all the traveling and fighting I did to rid the island of yoma and the awakened. But, I was mistaken and ignorant of it, and ultimately a time would come where I would be forced to pay the price.

I mentioned previously that I didn't quite recall what went on for several days after leaving the Holy City, but in reality, much of it was pushed out of my mind following a single incident that occurred while on the road to Urek. It was a moment that crushes me to think about to this day, a moment that I now know was caused by forces not only beyond my control but beyond my knowledge. At times, I wished for that moment to have never occurred. It was for a time what I considered to be the worst battle I ever partook in, and it was ultimately the moment my new journey began, not through careful planning or my own decision but through circumstance outside of my will.


Before the three of us even made it halfway to Urek, we encountered an awakened being, one that appeared in the form of a large, white-maned, wolf-like creature with the legs of a horse and with claws as long and as sharp as butcher's cleavers. It was faster and stronger than we initially anticipated then, forcing me to use my own technique to distract it enough to allow for the other two to land blows to it. The battle itself was long, lasting from sunset to the complete darkness of night, save for the light of the moon casting the shadows of trees and leaves everywhere. But, despite the difficulties, despite the injuries and growing exhaustion, we succeeded in defeating it, Nina landing the final few heavy blows and Noma cutting the body to pieces with her own technique in case it would regenerate or was feigning its death.

With its body now still and shredded, we finally had a chance to regroup. I took the time to check the body for movement or yoki, wanting to be sure it was truly dead, while Noma and Nina took a moment to catch their breath. One of the two placed her sword into the ground, though who it was I can't recall exactly, and sat down to rest her legs.

"Well," Noma began between breaths, "that was harder than expected."

Nina, whose eyes were focused on the remains before her, didn't speak, forced only to breath as if she were fighting the urge to pass out. I turned to them and nodded, also unable to respond due to being out of breath.

A short time later Nina finally spoke: "You think that's... the one we're after? From around Urek?"

"Good question," Noma replied. "Maybe."

"But, why was it headed northeast?" I asked. "Given the unrest in that area, surely it would still be there."

The whole situation seemed strange to me still, the fact that the awakened being was nowhere near that part of the region and yet heading in its direction. Not only this, there weren't many reports of disappearances in the region at that time, which puzzled me even more. It was as if it was running, trying to escape something. Perhaps this was the one from the south? I thought to myself, but still it didn't add up.

Around this time, one of the two stood up and stretched their back.

"You have a point," Nina said in response to my query. "Something's definitely off about this one."

"Perhaps it wasn't actually there the entire time?" Noma asked. Her question caused both of us to turn to her in confusion, though Nina was more outwardly expressive about it, furrowing her brow as she looked to her.

"What?" She asked.

"You know," Noma continued, "Maybe it attempted to head south only to turn back because of something."

"You're overthinking it," Nina responded. "If anything, it would have to be the one Galatea sensed from the south."

"Maybe. But think about it for a momen-"

It was then that I suddenly sensed a strong amount of yoki come from my right mere feet away from me, originating from the remains of the awakened being we had just defeated, indeed the worst possible outcome of the battle. I had no time to think then, so without wasting a single moment, I turned to them and exclaimed, "Get back!"

We all leapt away from the body, stopping at various distances away, and it was well-timed as I myself missed narrowly being hit by the swipe of a mass of tentacles directed all around. With our swords in hand, we watched intently as the swiping began to cease, and as soon as I was aware of what I was witnessing, I watched in horror as the awakened being began to regenerate itself from its remains, every piece being pulled together and merging with each other in a writhing mass of flesh, bone, and blood.

"Shit," one of them cursed, though I can never remember which.

"Miria? What should we do now?" the other asked. I couldn't say anything as I watched since I hadn't seen or even listened to something quite like this up close, the sights and sounds of bone and muscle attaching and being pulled together indescribable, enough so to cause even the most seasoned doctor to gag. The warrior asked again, "Miria?"

As the awakened being slowly took shape, I finally spit out whatever I could think of, that being one word: "Retreat!"

The awakened being was nearly complete in reconstructing itself when it suddenly lunged at Noma, using it's horse-like legs to approach her at great speed. Thankfully she foresaw something like this and leapt to the side, evading the swipe of its massive razor-sharp claws, but that was only the start of it; the awakened being had pinpointed who the weakest among us was, something I picked up on very quickly.

Nina and I were forced to jump in and assist, but given the circumstances of her plight, it was difficult to do so, the awakened being now following her every move and making an almost wild attempt to hit her each time. It was a dizzying display of swings and swipes from both it's claws and tendrils coming from its back, with each one that missed having enough power behind it to cut clean through a tree or turn a boulder into dust. It was indeed difficult for us to jump in given how fast the awakened being was moving, so for that time Nina and I could only watch as Noma desperately and narrowly avoided each attack. Although Noma managed for a time, even going as far as countering one or two of the oncoming strikes from the thing, given how tired she was to begin with it was only a matter of time until a strike from the beast would land.

Eventually that time came, and she was hit in the front from a single swing of the claw of the awakened being, slicing her gut and creating a mist of blood. In spite of this, she put her hand over the wound and continued to evade strike after strike, signifying the injury was likely superficial. This continued a bit more, many more evasions and a few more superficial injuries, until I saw the opening I needed to end this quickly.

"The arms, Nina!" I exclaimed to the warrior, and without even a response, she started using her technique, her blade a mere blur as she closed in quickly on the awakened being. I also started using my own to full effect, moving quickly around the awakened being, partially to distract it and partially to whittle away at it's legs. "Let's finish this!"

In a critical underestimation of the opponent, though, it saw right through us.

Suddenly, and without so much as a warning, it moved quickly away from Noma to focus on our attacks, dragging us around and forcing us into another game of cat and mouse though the use of its legs and tentacles. It was fluid in movement and quick witted, something that I knew from the previous battle, but much more so than I observed before. It was difficult to land even a single blow on the thing with how fast and erratic it was moving, but thankfully not impossible as we all managed to take off some tentacles and cut a bit at its legs and arms.

We made another error in judgement after this, attempting to close and deal greater damage to the thing. This resulted in the awakened being stopping and making a wide swiping motion with everything it had, managing to knock Nina and myself away, though Noma was thankfully spared from the strike. Looking back on it, the strike hurt like hell, but I can only imagine how much it hurt Nina as she hit the ground sliding and rolling around, whereas I landed on my feet and slid to a stop.

When I came to a stop, I witnessed the awakened being turned on Noma again, this time unleashing every remaining slender appendage onto her, each one stabbing her in various places aside from the head, which I thought at the time was a clear attempt to simply disable her. I immediately closed in on her with my technique, removing the tentacles and circling the awakened being numerous times to distract it, causing it to be left swinging wildly at all of my afterimages.

"Noma!" I heard Nina shout. "Leave her to distract it, but I need you to cover me!"

"Yeah," I heard the other's voice go. This immediately alarmed me as a bad idea.

"No!" I shouted to them, becoming winded again. I stopped circling the awakened being for a brief moment and stood behind it as it attempted to find where I was. "Regenerate your injuries and retreat while you still have the chance!"

"What?" Nina asked. She said something else, but I didn't hear it as I returned to distracting the beast before me, moving around it quickly. This clearly annoyed the awakened being enough to start crying out and swiping wildly again, and although I evaded each, it was slowly becoming more and more intense and thusly harder and harder to evade strikes. Just then, it did what I thought was impossible. After stopping for a brief moment as if to observe my movements, in a single swift motion, it swung with all its might at one of the afterimages.

It hit me, and hard.

I was knocked back at great speed, faster than I think I had ever moved before, the air whistling past me as I observed the awakened being get suddenly smaller in the distance. After what felt like an eternity in the air but was likely only a fraction of an instant, I slammed into something hard, causing me to come to a sudden stop and fall to the ground, my blade continuing on a short distance behind me on its own inertia. After waiting a moment on the ground for my head to stop spinning, I attempted to get to my feet, but this was in vain as my leg buckled beneath me, a tremendous pain shooting out from it as I hit the ground, causing me to cry out.

I was left sitting against this tree, my leg thoroughly broken, and my sword a distance away from me, close to the worst situation imaginable, but it only got worse from there. I was forced to watch as Nina and Noma continue on with the former's plan, much to my dismay.

I need to regenerate, and fast! I thought to myself, trying to focus on both my leg and the battle. If this goes on any further, they'll get themselves killed.

Nina immediately started using her technique again, her blade homing in on the awakened being before her, and with her was Noma moving alongside her providing cover. The blade moved like a phantom, having a mind of its own as it closed in on its target, and even when the beast moved out of the way or attempted to counter, the blade simply changed direction with little hesitation, almost like that of a hunting dog on its prey.

It was a stressful while of watching the two fight it alone, Nina nearly being cut down numerous times by the awakened being, but each time it would fail as Noma would come in and divert the strike. The two clearly worked well together despite being vastly different ranks, something I suspected in the past but never truly got to see until that moment, but part of me knew it wouldn't be enough as they clearly began to tire again.

After some more time watching, I looked down to my leg to see its progress. Come on. Halfway there.

I continued to watch as things unfolded, the two warriors having managed to remove the arm of the awakened being and most of its tentacles, leaving the thing to start frantically try to block or counter every strike thrown its way. This clearly did very little given Nina's technique, but after a short while of this frantic cat and mouse, the awakened being changed its methods, moving its focus away from Nina and back towards the Noma.

Noma, given the circumstances, was forced to change tactics, moving from purely blocking strikes for Nina to drawing away attention from her so her attacks could land more easily. I thought it was brilliant of a tactic at the time as it gave them a slight upper hand in the grand scheme of things, but there was a risk of Noma being cornered that I picked up on immediately. It was ultimately a delicate balance, one made more unstable with each moment that passed given their exhaustion.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

The awakened being stopped in its tracks, giving the opening Nina and Noma needed to defeat it, and as they closed in to land a combined blow, it simply reached out with its tentacles and its remaining arm, stopping the strike and grabbing hold of both Nina's blade with its remaining hand and Noma's arms which were then held down by the squirming appendages. After a stunned pause, the awakened being regenerated all of its missing tendrils, and in one swift motion, unleashed all of them into the chest of Noma, stabbing her completely through in a mist of blood.

"Got you," the thing said.

Nina and I were forced to watch as the awakened being ripped Noma apart, her body being shredded in an instant, and with two of the tentacles free, the now-dead warrior's blade was picked up before it even had a chance to hit the ground.

"Run, Nina!" I shouted as I watched the awakened being turn to her, a look of sheer terror in her eyes. It was perhaps the most vulnerable I had ever seen her, so it was no wonder that she didn't let go of her blade and escape. Everything went quiet after this as I can only assume my mind was attempting to process what I was witnessing.

Just then, the awakened being regenerated its missing arm in an instant, so quickly in fact that the blood that was dripping from it's previous stump was ejected at such great speed that it turned into a mist that glistened in the moonlight. After this, it turned to Nina, said something which I failed to hear, and violently ripped the blade from her hands, so much so as to separate her arms completely from her body. It then kicked her with one of it's horse legs, knocking her into a tree at such a great speed that the tree adopted a sudden tilt from the impact, leaves and loose branches being knocked out and onto the ground.

Before she had a chance to fall from the tree following her impact, the awakened being threw her own blade at her, stabbing her in the chest and into the tree trunk just behind her to the point that the cross of her blade was now touching her chest. This signified not the end of Nina's life but the end of her last battle.

In those moments, I was truly helpless, more than during the Northern Campaign, more than during the death of my friends, more than any other moment in my life. There was literally nothing I could do, and even to this day, it weighs heavy on my heart. I was forced to watch the conclusion of her life, slower than with Noma's who, in my mind today, suffered less than Nina would. As I watched speechless, the awakened being slowly approached the woman with Noma's blade in hand until it was standing just at eye-level with her, looking into her eyes for what I can only assume felt like an eternity for her. This moment of pause soon ended with one last act, the awakened being beheading her with Noma's blade and swiping at her with it's free claw, finally cutting the warrior in six.

It was then that the awakened being remembered I was still there, turning partially towards me, blade still in hand. My heart skipped a beat when our eyes met, and quickly this sudden surprise was swapped out with only pure and utter terror, holding my breath as I watched it slowly turn to face me, it's golden eyes and white mane glistening in the moonlight, as did the blade in hand covered in the blood of the others. I was completely frozen in fear.

After an eternity, it began to approach slowly, and with it came panic. I immediately looked down to my leg to see the progress on the breaks I sustained, and in finding them still not done, I pushed to finish it, rushing the healing so much so that the injury began to severely ache, making it harder to focus. I looked up from it briefly, and saw that it was closing in, stepping on pools of blood and warriors remains as it did. Suddenly, I sensed a tremendous burst of yoki that lasted for but an instant, and I immediately lost focus on regeneration, looking up to the awakened being, fully expecting it to be charging towards me.

But when I looked up, I saw something miraculous; the awakened being had stopped in its tracks, a look of fear in its eye. There was a tense silence just then, the sound of the breeze in the trees filling this just enough to not make it unbearable. It quickly turned its head south, almost as if it was double checking what it sensed, that or it was experiencing a moment of panic, but in either case, it was scared and looking for the source.

"No," I heard it say in a low and wrath-filled tone between its teeth. "Not now."

As soon as it said this, I sensed the burst of yoki again, this time stronger than before. It's getting closer, I thought as tension rose. Something strong. It's getting closer.

After the second burst disappeared, I turned to the awakened being, only to be met with a look of anger due to what I presumed was frustration for not finishing me off, and following this was the sound of Noma's blade hitting the ground as the awakened being dropped it. Then, with only slight hesitation, the awakened being leaped off.

I held my breath for some time, fully expecting something larger or stronger to come running by, but when nothing came, I breathed again.

There was a moment of pause for me as I attempted to catch my breath where I began to fully realize what had just occurred. I was filled with a churning mixture of emotions; rage, sadness, relief, joy, frustration, confusion, pain. It was a mixture similar to what I felt with the death of my first friend within the Organization, a warrior by the name of Hilda, but in this case, it was far stronger, far more turbulent, and far more confusing. I was left breathing heavily, letting go of my leg and leaning back onto the tree trunk, and without even noticing until shortly thereafter, I cried, something I hadn't done since the Battle in the North thirteen years prior.

Somehow I survived that night, just as I somehow survived the Battles of Pieta during the Northern Campaign, of Staff during the Rebellion, and of Rabona just after the Organization's collapse. To this day, I am left questioning how I managed to do so, whether it be from luck or misfortune.


It wasn't until a while later that I continued regeneration of my mostly-healed leg, being able to examine what remained of the injury and determine that it was likely broken clean in two places. It hurt like hell, the pain becoming apparent once all the adrenaline wore off, but the pain eventually subsided once the injury was as close to fully healed as I could possibly make it. When I thought it was done, I got to my feet, stumbling a bit as I struggled to find balance but good enough after to walk over to the scene of the end of the battle.

The moon was high in the sky at that point, shining through the leaves in the trees and lighting the ground in an ethereal glow that under normal circumstances would look gorgeous but in that current time was markedly out of place. I looked around at the remains, the blood, and marks on the ground and trees that reminded me of what had happened just a while before, causing me to sigh. After taking the time to briefly reflect on things, I finally got to work with the burial.

For many of those reading this with little knowledge into the life of the warriors during those days, the idea of us burying the dead might not have crossed your mind, and for those of you where it did, you may likely assume that we had some sort of ritual to perform during it or that we had tools of some kind to assist in the burial. Unfortunately, many of those thoughts and ideas are likely taken from rumors from those times, many of those rumors saying quite negative things about what rituals we did.

Regarding rituals, we only had a single yet simple on; whenever a warrior died in the presence of others, they were buried like any other person, with the only exception being it was nearby where they died and never in their hometown like you see with soldiers, guards, and heroes. Not only this, their grave was always marked with their sword, a symbol of their fighting spirit and a testament to their bravery. Following this was a period of silent reflection, many of the warriors at the time having no ties and little sense of religion or superstition.

This brings about the other question of how we bury them, though. It's a question that many rumors and stories have attempted to answer, with some attempts being wild and fantastical like the use of a technique taught to all warriors and others being simple and pragmatic such as one where we always carried some sort of small shovel to help in these circumstances or that we would use our swords to dig. In truth, many of these were completely off the mark, with only a handful being close to reality.

In actuality, we were forced to dig the graves with both our swords and our hands.

It was indeed a brutal, painful, and oftentimes exhausting task, but moreso in many other ways than just simply physical. Many warriors were unlucky to die alone, some deaths quickly following their stumbling onto an awakened being or hoard of yoma, but to those who died in company, we often found ourselves becoming friends to some degree. So, it was soul crushing to not only witness their death but to be forced to bury them, ones for which you so cared for. It was something that always sticks with you, and I was no different.

In my situation, it took ages to do, using a combination of my sword and my hands, crying at many points during this. It wasn't until the moon had moved much lower in the west that I finally finished, being sure the graves were a decent depth. Despite how long it took I actually worked quite fast as I had great experience with the whole process, a skill both somber and most unfortunate to have. Once the remains were placed and the graves filled, I simply placed the warriors' swords into the ground, marking their graves for as long as the swords remained there.

With it all completed, I dusted off my hands and outfit of dirt and dust, and following a moment of reflection and some more tears, I finally left, though I was unsure of where I was headed.

The next day is mostly a fog to me sadly, likely much of it traveling or at least figuring out where to head next. Much of what I do remember is mainly the knowledge that I spent a great deal of that time in quiet reflection of those lost. It was hard for me honestly, as it is most of the time when you lose a friend or loved one. Those two warriors, Nina and Noma, I sparred against and worked with for years before. They were friends by that point, and just like that, they were gone. Even as I walked then, memories just seemed to flash by in mind, every motion or object seen or word spoken brings back a subtle hint of a memory, even ninety years later. So, it was no wonder I was in a haze then.

I remember what a friend told me a year after that moment, saying something along the lines of "It's like looking into a clear, slow moving stream. You can see what lies beneath it, but if you look quick you can also see the reflections." Or something like that... But back then, I didn't know that. All I knew was that there was a powerful awakened being on the lose and that I had just lost two friends to it.


The next night was startlingly quiet despite the presence of the usual sounds of crickets chirping and the occasional frog or owl, and I knew it to be due to the sudden lack of companions I was so used to after how many years of travel. I had gotten used to there being others during my journeying, the evening discussions, the planning, but most importantly the laughs and stories told were something that I greatly missed. Those days, even as I look back on them, are warmer to my heart than I knew back then. They were something I put little thought into, took for granted, but when they disappeared, it weighed heavy on my soul. For all of the deaths and the quiet, the absence of friends to talk to was the most difficult then.

I had trouble sleeping that night, dreaming of those two and others that had died fighting alongside me and waking to the feeling that I was about to be attacked in the night by some unknown enemy only to find that it was my overactive nerves. I can't recall how many times I cycled through those states, sleeping, waking suddenly, then being left to sit and reflect before sleeping again, but after some time I was left to sit there partially awake to continue my reflection, trying to make sense of what went wrong during that battle.

But, the universe would grant me little reprieve to do so.

As I sat there for a bit, I remember hearing what sounded like a struggle or shouts from far off in the woods. I wasn't sure what it was when I first heard it, but as it continued, I realized that something was definitely afoot.

Bandits? I thought to myself. It was definitely a possibility that bandits had begun to appear following my previous journeys throughout the west and south, that or they were simply moving around to avoid the warriors, but it puzzled me why they would be so far north, seeing as the highest concentration was in the south following a period of slow destruction by the awakened beings there just before the collapse. Slavers?

I was left thinking what it could be for a bit as it continued, even contemplating moving closer to investigate, and after listening, I determined it was likely bandits raiding a group of their things at a campsite. Against better judgement, I got to my feet and took off towards the source of the sounds, ready to investigate further. Eventually the sounds died down, signaling they were leaving whomever they were harassing, though I continued forward towards the source, knowing that I was perhaps somewhat close.

Suddenly and with no warning, I heard very loud, blood-curdling scream, a sound that only signaled that a terrible scenario was unfolding. I stopped for a moment, startled and disturbed, and I held my breath listening to the quiet sounds of the forest. It felt like an age that I stood there watching into the moonlit woods waiting to sense or hear or see something, but nothing came. That was, of course, until I sensed a faint source of yoki coming from the general direction of the scream. Piecing together things, I realized it was likely an awakened being, very likely the same one I fought the night before, and without a second thought, I took off running as I knew then there was no time to waste.

I moved quickly through the forest, closing in on my destination while keeping track of the faint yoki source before me, it slowly getting stronger as I closed in. The thought of more people suffering because of the thing pushed me forward, blindly driving me directly towards it. This blind, maybe even maddened, run was something I now think to as incredibly stupid of me; indeed, there was no doubt I wouldn't stand a chance, but in that instant, I only thought of the remote possibility of saving even one person from that thing, hoping to prevent more lives lost.

After a time, the yoki source began to fade, eventually disappearing from my senses completely, and once I came to a stop, I looked around almost madly trying to figure out where it could have gone. With it nowhere in sight, I huffed frustratedly, knowing that I had lost it and was likely too late, possibly being scared off.

Damn it, I thought to myself, sighing. I stood there looking around for a moment, wondering which direction it had gone, but I soon picked up on what looked like hoofprints and footprints underfoot, signaling the path the group of bandits and likely the awakened being had taken. After standing there for a moment to see if I could sense the beast again, I chose to follow the prints, knowing that I'd likely find something.

I moved at a slower pace than I did before to take care in looking for further signs of the awakened being, traveling with the tracks for what felt like ages, and although this seemed to yield nothing for a time, I soon enough stumbled upon what looked like a campsite, the fire having been put out, save for some smoldering embers, and the site being completely ransacked with clothing and belongings strewn about. After looking around, I continued forth with the tracks.

In only a short distance, I would evidence of the gruesome scene that had ultimately unfolded that caused me to arrive here.

"What... in the..." I couldn't even finish the sentence.

Strewn across the ground were body parts, arms and legs and pieces of bone and flesh all around, and on the ground and trees before me was a smattering of red, coating the surfaces in such a horrid way to highlight the violent act that took place. Mixed in with the cadavers were bits of cloth, leather, and even the spilled contents of a bag of coin, the moonlight sparkling off of the currency and the pools of blood here. It looked like some sort of grotesque attempt at art, the scenery around being the canvas, the blood the paint, and the bodies the used brushes.

I was left standing there, my mouth hung open at the scene before me as I was so gobsmacked with the amount of blood that I couldn't even pull myself away from looking on. I must admit I had seen my fair share of gory scenes in my day, many of which being enough to make any seasoned soldier faint, but this was on a completely different level. In fact, I hazard to say it was the most gruesome scene I had ever laid eyes on, a statement I stand by to this very day.

After some time watching on, I heard what sounded like a subtle cough near one of the mangled torsos, catching my immediate attention, and as I turned to look I noticed a mass of clothing move. Someone survived? How could someone possibly survive this? I thought to myself as I practically ran over. As I got closer, I realized that it wasn't simply a person but a child, her head facedown in the pool of blood she was situated in, though I was too rushed then to pick up on any other details.

I knelt down and removed a blood soaked cloak that was partially covering her face and chest, revealing her to be covered in blood. She was clearly alive from the looks of it, situated on her back within the blood and muck, but only just as she clearly struggled to move let alone speak or cry. I was forced onto my knees as she reached out and grabbed hold of me, my hand hitting the soaked ground to stop my fall.

"Hey, hey," I said as she was reaching. Now on my knees and with blood on me, I grabbed hold of her and held her in my arms. I continued, though a little more frantically given the whole situation: "What happened to you? Who did this to you?"

She looked up to me with a look so mixed with emotions that it burned itself almost instantly into my mind; the fear, the weakness, the relief and confusion, they were all something I had never seen before in the face of a child, an sight I would never wish upon anyone.

"M-Miri..." She attempted to speak to me between breaths. "Miria? Are you the real Miria?"

"Who did thi-" I stopped myself as I looked down, noticing she was holding her gut, or rather where her gut would be.

She had been clearly gutted alive, the only things remaining were a few key organs like her lungs and heart, and with blood pouring out of her, I quickly realized that this was definitely the signs of an awakened being feeding on her. Not only this, I also was beholden to the terrible injury that was he legs being completely mangled, likely to prevent her from running away. This poor girl, this innocent child, so young and full of life, was preyed upon and marred by this beast, and was now on her deathbed.

"Wh... Oh my..." I couldn't find words to say, stunned with what I was witnessing.

"It hurts," she said weakly. "It hurts all over."

"H-hey," I said, trying to keep her calm. "Don't worry, I'll get some help, alright? I'll get-"

"I saw it," she said, her eyes widening as she said it. "The Beast."

"The what? What are you-" I didn't know at the time what she was referring to, if it was just the awakened being she was attacked by or something else, but it wasn't until later that I found out what she spoke of.

She continued, "The beast of the story mommy told me. The one... the spirits beat for hurting people. I saw it. The one... with the white mane."

Her description immediately brought back my memories of the awakened being from yesterday, her description, albeit simple, matching what I saw then. Of all the things she said that I didn't know or was confused about, the story she heard from her mother included, this simple description of a beast with a white mane was no doubt a match. For an instant, I felt a hint of rage grow within me as I held her but this was quickly dashed away as my focus was now on the fact that she was clearly fading now, her breathing becoming shallower and softer.

"Hey. Hey!" I said to her, desperation setting in. "Stay with me. Come on, stay with me." Without thinking, I shouted into the forest, exclaiming, "Hey! Someone! Someone help!"

"Can you..." I heard her small voice go, causing me to turn back to her. "Can you... keep a promise?"

"Yeah," I replied, realizing that this was it for her. "Yeah, anything."

"If you ever meet the spirit... tell them... that we haven't.. forgotten... about them," she said finally. I nodded instinctually, watching her fade from consciousness, her body becoming completely limp within my arms as I sat there.

"Hey!" A voice exclaimed from a distance. Looking up to see who had just spoken, I realized it was a man armed with a sword, likely either a passing journeyman or a bandit. "No sudden mo-"

Upon our eyes meeting, the look on his face shifted to complete shock, something that I honestly should've been expecting, but unfortunately for me, his reaction would be perhaps the worst kind for my then-present situation.

"Wh..." he stopped for a moment to look at the horrific scene before him, reminding me of its overall appearance. I quickly looked around, then down to the now-dead girl, then back to him, piecing together the same thoughts as he was likely forming then. "What the hell?!"

"Wait! No!" The words rushed out of my mouth as soon as they came to me. "You've got the wrong idea!"

"Y-y-you monster!" He stammered, as he repositioned himself into a defensive stance. "You silver-eyed witch!"

"No! You've got to listen to me! You've got it wrong!"

During this brief interaction, I failed to notice the sounds of hooves approach from the distance, coming to a stop at multiple positions around me, but when I did notice, I knew immediately that the time for explanations was over. I needed to find a way out, and fast.

"What in the hell happened here?" one rider asked in disbelief.

"Who is that?" asked another.

"Wait!" The sudden exclamation caused me to make eye contact with another of these riders. As our eyes met, I knew instantly what he was going to say. "You're Miria, the one leading the other claymores!"

With the sounds of weapons being drawn, my heart sunk right down into my gut as soon as he said this. Without thinking or hesitation, I pushed myself to move, instinctually grabbing the blood-soaked cloak beside the girl's body while setting her down quickly. With my legs free of her weight, I jumped up, and using my technique, I ran, refusing to stop as I knew they would be short behind.