The twin suns blazed overhead as my consciousness settled into this familiar yet foreign body. This ti, there was no disorientation, no mont of confusion.
I acted instantly as I rembered that there was an arrow incoming, my body twisted to the side before Maya could even reach for .
"Has fear addled your wits, To—" Maya's words cut off as she stared at , her hand still extended where she'd ant to pull to safety. "How did you..."
The arrow quivered in the wooden post behind , exactly where my head had been a mont ago. I could still feel the wind of its passage against my cheek.
"Maya," I said quietly, eting her eyes. The mory of her disappearing beneath that avalanche of ice-covered stone was still fresh, still raw. "I'm so sorry."
"Tomas?" Her brow furrowed in concern. "Are you—"
"Raiders!" Henrik's familiar shout cut through the mont. "They're breaking through the east gate!"
I watched him stride toward us, that sa determined expression on his face. In a few hours, he would charge the Skybound with an axe, dying in a futile attempt to buy others ti to escape. Just like last ti. Just like every ti.
Maya thrust the rusty sword toward – that sa damn sword. "Here. Try not to stab yourself with it."
I took it automatically, muscle mory from two previous loops making the motion smooth. "Maya, I..." The words caught in my throat. How do you say goodbye to soone who won't rember you, who's died in front of you twice already?
"The Seventh Band will try to flank through the south wall," I said instead, the warning automatic by now. "Get people there before—"
"How did you know that?" Her eyes narrowed. "Tomas, what's going on with you today?"
I turned away, unable to et her gaze. "I'm sorry," I said again, then sprinted toward the village outskirts.
"Tomas!" Maya's voice followed . "Where are you—" Her words cut off as the raiders' first wave hit the barricade, forcing her attention back to defense.
"Master," Azure's voice held a note of concern as I ran, "are you certain about this?"
"No," I admitted, vaulting over a fallen cart. "But we can't save them, Azure. Not yet. Not without more power." The words tasted bitter in my mouth, but they were true. "We've tried twice now. All we managed to do was slightly delay the inevitable."
"Your logic is sound," he agreed, "though I note significant emotional distress in your vital signs."
I laughed harshly, ducking through an alley I rembered from last ti. "Emotional distress? I'm abandoning people to die. People I know. People who trust ." I paused at a corner, checking for raiders. "Even if it's a ti loop, even if they'll be 'fine' next ti... it feels wrong."
"Can you sense the Skybound?" I asked, trying to focus on the practical aspects of survival.
"No significant spiritual signatures detected," Azure reported. "Though given its demonstrated ability to mask its presence..."
"Right." I picked up the pace as best I could with this body's limited stamina, heading for the tree line. "We just have to hope we can get clear before it arrives. Last ti it showed up right after the Sun-Touched started transforming."
I broke through the last line of buildings, my legs trembling with exhaustion. This mortal body wasn't made for running. Sweat soaked through my clothes as I forced myself onward, counting down the endless distance. The tree line seed to mock with its proximity - a hundred yards that felt like miles. Seventy. Fifty. Thirty. Ten.
"I did it?" I wheezed as I finally reached the forest edge, doubling over to catch my breath. My legs felt like water, and my heart was hamring so hard I worried it might burst. But sohow, impossibly, I'd made it.
I turned back toward the village, guilt warring with practicality in my chest. "I'll be back," I whispered to the distant figures still fighting at the walls. "I'll find a way to save you. Permanently. But I need to be stronger first."
"Master..." Azure's warning ca just as I turned back toward the forest.
My heart nearly stopped.
The Skybound floated before , its frost-covered robes rippling in a wind I couldn't feel. That sa ethereal cold radiated from its presence, making the air crystallize around us.
"You…you're afraid?" it said, studying with those burning eyes.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "Who wouldn't be terrified of seeing a frost-robed figure floating in front of them?"
The Skybound shook its head slowly. "You can drop the pretense. You've been caught, I sensed you the mont I arrived." Its voice carried that sa aristocratic disdain I rembered. "Though I must admit, you shouldn't be here at all."
My thoughts raced. Did it rember from the previous loops? I cursed myself for assuming I was the only one who retained mories between cycles. But then why hadn't it recognized the last two tis?
"It's quite impressive that you managed to escape the academy," it continued. "I'm curious – who is your master? Perhaps Elder Alric? Or maybe you're one of Elder Kaelin's disciples."
The Skybound continued listing nas I'd never heard of, then paused, tilting its head. "Though I must say, your control is surprisingly... crude. Not bothering to hide your core's fluctuations? That's a basic mistake, especially for soone skilled enough to escape the academy's barriers."
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I stared at it in confusion, pieces clicking together. Then I understood - it could sense the red sun core inside , probably mistaking for so kind of junior disciple from whatever organization it belonged to.
The Skybound seed to take my silence as defiance. It shook its head. "It doesn't matter. I'll deal with this village, then escort you back to the academy. Your masters can sort out your punishnt."
I had a split second to make a decision. I could play along, but that would only delay the inevitable - I'd be exposed as an impostor the mont we reached their academy. On the other hand, the Skybound hadn't imdiately tried to kill this ti, probably because it sensed the red core. Maybe...
"I'm not from your academy," I said carefully, watching for any sign of attack. "I'm just a villager who... changed."
The Skybound went very still, those burning eyes studying with new intensity. The silence stretched for what felt like years, though Azure helpfully inford it was only 12.3 seconds.
Then it laughed. The sound was like ice cracking. "Interesting. You're telling the truth." It drifted closer, frost patterns spreading across the ground beneath it. "This is perfect, actually. I've been lacking in contribution points, and recruiting a natural awakening... yes, this will do nicely."
I barely held back a sigh of relief. Honesty had been a gamble, but apparently a successful one.
"Co," it said, already turning back toward the village. "We should save your people before it's too late."
I blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Save the village," it repeated, as if speaking to a particularly slow child. "If we don't hurry, there won't be anything left to save."
It lowered itself to just above ground level, clearly expecting to follow. I did, mind reeling from this unexpected turn of events. The sa being who had thodically slaughtered everyone twice before was now talking about saving them?
"You seem confused," it noted as we moved toward the sounds of combat. "I'm not doing this out of kindness, you understand. I'm sparing them because of you."
"?"
There was a smile in its voice as it replied, "When an initiate graduates, they're sent to sacrifice their village. It's a tradition created by the noble families."
My stomach lurched at the casual way it discussed mass murder. The Skybound laughed coldly at my reaction.
"That's natural," it assured . "All commoners react that way at first. Give it a few years – you'll find the thought quite...appealing."
I didn't bother arguing. The villagers would live today – that was what mattered. Whether I'd still be in this world in a few years was another question entirely.
"The raiders are nearly through the east gate," I said instead, focusing on imdiate concerns. "And the Seventh Band is trying to flank through the south wall."
"You know their movents well for soone who was fleeing," it observed.
"I've... seen them raid before," I said carefully. It wasn't even a lie, technically.
The Skybound nodded. "Good. Tactical awareness will serve you well at the academy."
The village was in chaos when we returned. Sun-touched warriors had broken through the eastern barricade, their crystalline forms glowing with crimson light as they tore through the defenders' lines. I could see Henrik trying to organize a retreat while Maya directed archers from the rooftops.
"Tomas?" One of the villagers spotted first, then his eyes went wide with terror as he saw who accompanied . "SKYBOUND!"
The warning spread like wildfire. Defenders abandoned their positions, fleeing from the frost-robed figure floating beside .
"Tomas, get away from it!" Maya shouted from her position, bow half-drawn. The fear in her voice cut deep – she thought she was watching walk to my death.
The Skybound seed amused by their reactions. "Show what you can do," it said, gesturing toward the nearest Sun-touched warrior.
I studied my opponent carefully. The transformation had twisted its human form into sothing monstrous – nearly eight feet tall, with crystalline growths jutting from its shoulders and arms. Crimson tattoos pulsed across its skin in ti with the red sun overhead, and its eyes burned with mindless hunger.
I reached into my inner world, touching the crimson sphere nestled within the Genesis Seed. Power flooded through instantly, red lines tracing themselves across my skin as they followed my ridians. The surge of strength was intoxicating after being trapped in a mortal body.
Status Update:
Soul Essence: 800/800
Spiritual Essence: 0/700
Physical Essence: 115/700 (Enhanced by Red Core)
Special Notes: Red Core active, enhancent duration 60 seconds
I frowned at the numbers.
My physical essence was barely at first-stage Qi Condensation levels. If I'd had ti to properly rebuild this body's foundation using the Tri-Essence Harmony thod before activating the red core... but there was no point dwelling on what-ifs.
It was ti to fight.
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