Ethan ran until his lungs felt like they were full of knives.
Every step sent pain tearing through his side.
His hoodie stuck to his skin where the Thornback Boar had cut him. Warm blood soaked through the fabric, cooling whenever the wind hit it.
Lyra moved ahead of him like she had done this a hundred times.
Quiet.
Fast.
Focused.
Her blue lantern swung in her hand, casting pale light over the grass, rocks, and broken patches of dirt. She never looked fully behind her, but somehow she always knew when Ethan was falling too far back.
"Move faster," she snapped.
Ethan stumbled over a root and nearly went face-first into the ground.
"Oh, yeah, my bad. I forgot I was casually bleeding."
Lyra glanced back.
"If you can complain, you can run."
"That's not science."
"That's survival."
Another roar shook the hills behind them.
Ethan's mouth shut.
The sound was distant, but not distant enough.
Something huge was moving out there.
Bigger than the Thornback Boar.
Way bigger.
A red system message flashed in front of him.
[High-Level Entity Pursuit Range: Expanding]
Recommendation: Increase Distance
Ethan's eyes widened.
"It's following us?"
Lyra looked at him sharply.
"What did you see?"
"A message."
"What kind?"
"The kind that says we're about to get folded."
Lyra cursed under her breath.
Ethan almost tripped again.
"You know, for someone who has answers, you are giving me very few of them."
"Because talking makes noise."
"Running makes noise too."
"Yes. But running keeps us alive."
Ethan hated how often she was right.
They pushed through a line of crooked trees. Their branches were pale and twisted, with black leaves that shimmered like glass under the moonlight. Ethan caught one with his shoulder and it sliced through the fabric of his hoodie.
"Even the trees are trying to kill me," he muttered.
Lyra slowed for half a second and raised her lantern.
The blue flame inside grew brighter.
Symbols carved into the lantern's metal frame began to glow.
Ethan stared.
"Is that magic?"
Lyra didn't answer.
The light spread across the ground in a thin circle.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Too silent.
No wind.
No insects.
No distant roars.
Ethan's skin prickled.
Then something moved between the trees.
A shadow.
Long arms.
Bent back.
Too many fingers.
Ethan froze.
"What is that?"
Lyra's voice dropped.
"Don't look directly at it."
Ethan immediately looked directly at it.
The creature's head snapped toward him.
It had no face.
Just a smooth black shape where one should've been.
Then a smile tore open across it.
Too wide.
Too white.
Ethan's stomach dropped.
A system window appeared.
[Night Wretch Detected]
Level: ???
Status: Hostile
Recommendation: Avoid Combat
Ethan slowly raised the broken sword.
"Great. Love that. Very helpful."
Lyra grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back.
"Do not fight that."
"It's looking at me like I owe it money."
"It eats people."
"Okay, that's worse."
The Night Wretch stepped forward.
The blue light from Lyra's lantern hit its body and hissed like rain on hot metal. The creature recoiled, long fingers digging into the dirt.
Lyra lifted the lantern higher.
"Stay behind the light."
"For once, gladly."
They moved backward together.
Slow.
Careful.
Ethan kept his eyes low this time, watching its feet instead of its face. The creature paced outside the lantern's glow, twitching like it wanted to pounce but couldn't cross the light.
Lyra's hand tightened around the lantern.
Sweat slid down the side of her face.
Ethan noticed.
"You can't hold that forever, can you?"
"No."
"How long?"
"Less if you keep asking questions."
"Got it. Shutting up."
The trees began to thin ahead.
Beyond them, Ethan saw something.
Walls.
Not huge stone castle walls.
Wooden walls.
Rough.
Sharpened.
Built in a circle around a cluster of dim lights.
A village.
Lyra's pace quickened.
"There."
The Night Wretch hissed behind them.
Ethan risked one glance back.
Bad choice.
The creature dropped low to the ground.
Its body bent backward.
Then it launched.
Fast.
Too fast.
"Lyra!"
She spun, lifting the lantern.
The blue flame flared.
The Night Wretch slammed into the light and screamed.
The sound ripped through Ethan's skull.
He stumbled, dropping to one knee.
His vision blurred.
A message flashed.
[Mental Pressure Detected]
Spirit Resistance: Low
Warning: Consciousness Unstable
Ethan clenched his teeth.
"No. Not now."
The creature clawed at the edge of the light, forcing one arm through. Its fingers stretched toward Lyra's face.
The lantern flickered.
Lyra's eyes widened.
Ethan moved before he had time to think.
He grabbed a stone from the ground and threw it as hard as he could.
The rock smacked into the creature's head.
It didn't do damage.
Not really.
But it turned.
Its empty face aimed at Ethan.
Ethan instantly regretted everything.
"Yeah, okay, bad idea."
The Night Wretch lunged toward him.
Lyra shoved the lantern forward.
"Run!"
Ethan didn't argue.
He bolted.
The village gate was close now.
Two figures stood above it on a wooden platform, each holding a crossbow aimed into the dark.
One of them shouted.
"Lyra?"
"Open the gate!" she yelled.
"Wretch behind us!"
The men on the wall moved fast.
One raised a horn and blew into it.
A deep note rolled across the village.
Torches sparked to life along the walls.
Not orange fire.
Blue.
The same color as Lyra's lantern.
The Night Wretch shrieked as the light spread.
Ethan threw himself through the opening gate with Lyra right behind him.
Wood slammed shut.
Heavy beams dropped into place.
Outside, the creature crashed against the wall.
Once.
Twice.
Then the blue torches burned brighter.
The screaming faded.
Ethan collapsed onto his back in the dirt.
For a few seconds, all he could do was stare at the sky.
The two moons looked down at him like they had seen this happen before.
Lyra stood over him, breathing hard.
"You looked at it."
Ethan lifted one hand weakly.
"In my defense, you said that after I already saw the faceless nightmare in the woods."
"You have no instincts."
"I dodged a murder pig ten minutes ago."
"And then almost got eaten by a Wretch."
"Growth is a process."
One of the guards jumped down from the wall and rushed over.
He was older, broad-shouldered, with a gray beard and a scar running across his left cheek. His armor looked homemade but well cared for.
His eyes landed on Ethan.
Then on Ethan's clothes.
Then on the blood.
Then on the broken sword.
"Who is this?"
Lyra hesitated.
Ethan noticed.
That was not a good sign.
"He fell from the sky," she said.
The guard's expression hardened immediately.
Ethan slowly sat up.
"Okay, that sounds bad when you say it like that."
The second guard came down from the wall. Younger. Nervous. His crossbow stayed pointed at Ethan.
"Skyfall?"
Lyra nodded once.
The younger guard swallowed.
The older one stepped closer.
"Name."
Ethan looked at the crossbow.
Then at the older guard.
"Ethan Vale."
"Clan?"
"Don't have one."
"Village?"
"Also don't have one."
"Kingdom?"
Ethan paused.
"Probably not yours."
The younger guard raised the crossbow higher.
Lyra shot Ethan a look.
He sighed.
"I'm not from here."
The older guard stared at him for a long moment.
Then he turned to Lyra.
"You brought him inside?"
"He was injured."
"He could be cursed."
"He killed a Thornback Boar alone."
Both guards went still.
The younger one lowered the crossbow slightly.
"With what?"
Lyra pointed at the broken sword in Ethan's hand.
The silence that followed was honestly kind of insulting.
Ethan looked at the blade.
"Again, it was longer earlier."
The older guard crouched in front of him.
His eyes sharpened.
"You killed a Thornback with a broken scavenger blade?"
Ethan shrugged, then winced because shrugging hurt.
"I got lucky."
The guard's gaze moved to Ethan's chest.
Not his wound.
Something else.
Ethan looked down.
A faint golden glow pulsed beneath his skin, just for a second.
The older guard saw it.
So did Lyra.
So did the younger guard.
The village went quiet around them.
The older guard's voice dropped.
"What did you absorb?"
Ethan's heart sank.
He tried to play dumb.
"What?"
The guard grabbed him by the collar and leaned close.
"I asked what you absorbed."
Lyra stepped forward.
"Garron."
The guard didn't look away from Ethan.
"This matters."
Ethan's hand tightened around the broken sword.
He was tired.
Bleeding.
Scared.
And very quickly getting sick of people grabbing him.
"I don't know your rules," Ethan said slowly. "I don't know your kingdoms, villages, monsters, curses, or whatever else is normal here. I woke up in a field less than an hour ago and got charged by a monster the size of a truck."
Garron frowned.
"A what?"
"Not important."
Ethan forced himself to stand.
It hurt so bad his vision went white for a second.
But he stayed up.
"I absorbed a Strength Fragment."
The younger guard took a step back.
Lyra's face went pale.
Garron let go of Ethan's collar.
No one spoke.
Ethan looked between them.
"What?"
Garron's voice was quiet.
"There are only three ways to gain attributes."
Ethan swallowed.
"Okay."
"Training. Blessings. Or system rewards."
He looked at Ethan's chest.
"People do not absorb attributes from the dead."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
The system appeared again, as if it had been waiting.
[Unique Ability: Attribution]
Status: Concealed from Standard Appraisal]
Warning: Ability Exposure May Result in Hostile Action
Ethan stared at the words.
Hostile action.
Cool.
Fantastic.
Exactly what he needed.
He looked at Lyra.
She had seen enough to understand.
But she didn't look afraid of him.
Not completely.
More like she was afraid for him.
Garron turned to the younger guard.
"Get Elder Merek."
The younger guard nodded and ran deeper into the village.
Ethan glanced toward the gate.
Bad idea.
Two more guards had moved in front of it.
Not aiming weapons.
Not yet.
But close enough.
Ethan let out a tired breath.
"So I'm guessing I'm not free to leave."
Garron's face didn't change.
"Not until we know what you are."
Ethan laughed once.
"What I am?"
The words hit harder than he expected.
An hour ago, he had been human.
Normal.
Bored.
Lonely.
Whatever.
Now people looked at him like he was something dangerous.
Something wrong.
Lyra stepped beside him.
"He needs a healer first."
Garron looked at her.
"He needs a cage."
Lyra's eyes sharpened.
"He saved me from the Wretch."
"You saved him from the Wretch."
"He distracted it when the lantern was failing."
Garron's jaw tightened.
Ethan looked at her.
She didn't look back.
For some reason, that bothered him more than he wanted it to.
Garron finally exhaled through his nose.
"Healer first. Then the elder."
He pointed at Ethan.
"But if that glow appears again, if your eyes change, if anything comes out of you that looks like corruption—"
Ethan raised his hand.
"Then what? You shoot me?"
Garron's silence answered.
Ethan lowered his hand.
"Right."
Lyra grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.
"Come on."
Ethan limped beside her as they moved through the village.
The place was smaller than he expected.
Maybe a few dozen homes.
Wooden walls.
Stone chimneys.
Narrow dirt paths.
Blue flame lanterns hung from posts at every corner. People stood in doorways, whispering as he passed.
Children peeked from behind their parents.
Ethan heard the word more than once.
Skyfall.
Skyfall.
Skyfall.
He hated it already.
Lyra led him toward a squat stone building near the center of the village. Warm yellow light spilled from the windows, different from the cold blue flames outside.
Inside, the air smelled like herbs, smoke, and bitter medicine.
An older woman turned from a shelf lined with jars.
Her hair was silver, braided down her back. Her eyes were sharp enough to cut.
She took one look at Ethan and sighed.
"Absolutely not."
Lyra blinked.
"Maera—"
"No."
"He's bleeding."
"He's also glowing."
Ethan glanced down at himself.
"I feel like everyone is being very dramatic about that."
The healer, Maera, pointed at a wooden chair.
"Sit down before you fall down."
Ethan sat.
Mostly because his legs gave out.
Maera moved closer and pulled his torn hoodie away from the wound.
Ethan hissed.
"Careful."
"I am being careful. If I wasn't, you'd be screaming."
"Comforting."
She ignored him and pressed two fingers near the cut.
Warm light gathered under her hand.
Not blue.
Gold.
Ethan felt the pain ease slightly.
His eyes widened.
"So healing magic is real."
Maera stopped.
Slowly, she looked at him.
"You really are a Skyfall."
Ethan rubbed a hand over his face.
"Please stop calling me that."
Maera looked at Lyra.
"Where did you find him?"
"West field."
"During moonrise?"
"Yes."
"With Wretches out?"
"Yes."
Maera's eyes narrowed.
"And you brought him here?"
Lyra crossed her arms.
"He would've died."
"People die outside the walls every night."
Lyra's voice hardened.
"He didn't."
Maera stared at her for a long moment.
Then she went back to healing Ethan's wound.
The warmth sank deeper.
Ethan felt skin pulling itself together.
It didn't feel good.
It felt like someone was stitching him up from the inside with hot thread.
He clenched his teeth.
A system window opened.
[External Healing Detected]
Health Stabilizing
Bleeding Stopped
Minor Tissue Damage Repairing
Ethan stared at the screen.
Maera noticed.
"You're reading something."
Ethan froze.
Lyra turned toward him too.
Ethan looked between them.
"Can you not?"
Maera's expression changed.
"Not what?"
"See it."
Maera slowly removed her hand from his side.
Lyra stepped closer.
"What does it say?"
Ethan hesitated.
The warning from the system flashed through his mind.
Ability Exposure May Result in Hostile Action.
But they already knew something was weird.
Lying badly would probably make it worse.
"It says external healing detected," Ethan said. "Health stabilizing. Bleeding stopped."
Maera's face went very still.
Lyra looked unsettled.
"What?" Ethan asked.
Maera turned and grabbed a small metal disk from a drawer.
It was about the size of a coin, carved with tiny symbols.
She held it near Ethan's forehead.
The disk flashed white.
Then cracked straight down the middle.
Everyone froze.
Ethan stared at it.
"I'm guessing that's bad."
Maera whispered something under her breath.
Lyra's voice lowered.
"What did it show?"
Maera looked at Ethan like he had become a puzzle she didn't want to solve.
"Nothing."
Ethan frowned.
"Nothing?"
"The appraisal stone couldn't read him."
The door opened behind them.
Garron stepped in.
Beside him walked an old man in dark robes, leaning on a wooden staff.
He was thin, but not weak.
His eyes were pale gray, almost silver, and when they landed on Ethan, the room felt colder.
Lyra straightened.
"Elder Merek."
The old man didn't answer her.
He looked only at Ethan.
"So."
His voice was quiet.
"You are the one the system is hiding."
Ethan slowly stood.
Maera snapped, "Sit down."
Ethan sat back down.
Elder Merek stepped closer.
The system flickered.
Then a message appeared.
[Unknown Authority Detected]
Interference Attempt Blocked
Elder Merek's eyes narrowed.
"Oh."
Ethan's heartbeat quickened.
"You saw that?"
"No," Merek said. "But I felt it refuse me."
Garron's hand moved toward his weapon.
Lyra noticed and shifted slightly in front of Ethan.
Merek lifted one hand.
"Enough."
The room went silent.
The elder leaned on his staff, studying Ethan like he was reading invisible words carved into his skin.
"What is your ability?"
Ethan didn't answer right away.
Merek's gaze sharpened.
"Boy, whatever you are hiding, this village is already in danger because of you."
Ethan looked up.
"What does that mean?"
Merek's expression darkened.
"Because the moment a hidden system user appears, something always follows."
As if waiting for those exact words, a bell rang outside.
Once.
Then again.
Then again.
Fast.
Panicked.
Garron turned toward the door.
Lyra's face went pale.
Ethan stood too quickly and grabbed the table for balance.
"What is that?"
No one answered.
A guard shouted outside.
"Red flame on the western ridge!"
Maera covered her mouth.
Garron cursed.
Merek closed his eyes.
Lyra whispered, "No…"
Ethan looked between them.
"What? What does that mean?"
The system opened in front of him.
Red text burned across the air.
[Administrator Signal Detected]
Entity Classification: Pursuer
Objective: Recover Anomaly
Ethan's stomach dropped.
Outside, something screamed across the night sky.
Not a monster.
Not a Wretch.
Something worse.
Something intelligent.
Elder Merek looked at Ethan.
His voice was calm, but his eyes were not.
"Now would be the time to tell us exactly what you brought to our doorstep."
Ethan stared at the red warning.
Then at Lyra.
Then at the door.
For the first time since arriving in this world, the system didn't give him a recommendation.
No dodge.
No fight.
No flee.
Just one word blinking in the corner of his vision.
[SURVIVE]