I saw my father, locked in a standoff with the bandit boss. A wind mage. It appeared he had the edge over my dad. His eyes glowed with rage, and before I could react, he unleashed a gust of wind that sent my father crashing into a tree. “Dad!” I shouted, panic rising.

The bandit leader didn’t even glance at me. His gaze was fixed behind me. “There’s the girl! Get her now!”

My heart slammed into my chest. I whirled around, but it was already too late. The fight had shifted. Now, I wasn’t just fighting for survival—I was fighting to protect my sister.

“GO!” my father’s voice rang out, bloodied but urgent. “Defend Freya. Now!”

I burst through the air toward my mother and sister. Walls of water surged around us, protecting them as the bandits spells tried to break through.

The battle raged on, but the numbers had shifted. The bandits were too focused on trying to kidnap my sister that they had let their guard down. One by one, the bandits fell, and now only their leader remained. The remaining militia members, along with my father, had the advantage. They circled the bandit boss, exhaustion and blood staining their clothes, but they were relentless.

"Not enough," the bandit leader scoffed. "You think this will stop me?" He pulled something from his belt—a vial filled with glowing purple liquid. My father’s face went white with fear. “Nikolai, RUN!”

I froze. What the hell was that vial? Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

I didn’t hesitate after that. I spun on my heel and sprinted down the path, pushing my family ahead of me, a steep cliff to my right.

I didn’t know what that potion would do, but I could feel the danger in the air. The bandit leader threw back his head and drank the liquid. His eyes burned purple, and the magic around him surged—he was a different beast. His aura crushed the space around him.

“You’re not getting away, pup!” he roared, his voice laced with fury. I turned just as he hurled a wrecking ball made of metal toward me. The chain tethered it to him, and it shot forward like a missile.

Evolution magic, I realized, heart sinking. The power surged. I’d never seen anything like it. The wrecking ball hurtled toward us, too fast to dodge. Even with my ki at full capacity, I couldn’t outrun it. There was no time.

I shoved my mom down, forcing her and Freya, who she was holding, out of the way just as the wrecking ball slammed into me. The impact shattered my ribcage, pain lancing through me, sharp and immediate.

The force of the strike sent me over the cliff’s edge, as the wrecking ball followed me. My vision blurred as the fog loomed beneath me.

“NIKOLAI!” My parents’ voices echoed in unison. The agony in their cries made my heart ache.

If I’m going down, I’ll go out fighting.

A roar ripped through my chest, primal and desperate. I let everything go—rage, fear, the pain. I shattered the barrier inside me, unleashing every ounce of ki I had to enhance my body.

I shattered the metaphorical dam.

The world around me split open. A deafening BOOM rang out, followed by a surge of wind so intense it created a small avalanche. My body crackled with power, white light morphing into a deep red aura as the blood from my body evaporated in the heat of my energy. The air around me felt like it was about to tear apart. The pain was unbearable, but the power—it was overwhelming. Addictive.

Killing intent surged through me, my eyes narrowing to dangerous slits as the air itself thickened with my gaze locked onto the bandit boss. I gripped the wrecking ball’s chain, ki flooding my muscles with raw power, and with a single motion, I pulled it towards me. The bandit soared helplessly past me as I sent the chain of the wrecking ball hurtling past me in the blink of an eye.

I grinned, “You’re coming along with me!” The bandit leader’s expression was that of pure shock as we both plummeted towards the earth below.

At least I saved my family. Thank you... for reminding me what love feels like. I won’t forget you.

But then, I heard it—the sound of bursting winds. The bandit leader wasn’t falling. He was hovering. Slowing his descent.

No you don’t.

I raised my arm, my hand trembling from exhaustion. The hum of mana responded to my call, sluggish and weak, my body like a dying ember.

Focus.

I visualized the spear, every detail etched into my mind. The jagged edges of the ice, the gleaming tip sharp enough to pierce steel, the cold radiating from its surface. My mana obeyed, forming the weapon in an instant, crystalline and deadly.

The spear hovered for a split second, suspended between us. His eyes widened as he saw it, realization dawning too late.

With a guttural scream, I thrust my arm forward, pouring everything I had left into the attack. The spear shot through the air with a boom filling the mountainside.

It found its mark.

The ice drove deep into his chest, the impact halting his momentum mid-fall. His body jerked violently, his head snapping back as the spear tore through muscle and bone. Blood sprayed into the air, vivid against the foggy abyss below us.

His eyes locked onto mine, wide with shock, his mouth opening as if to speak. But no words came out, only a choked gurgle as the life drained from him.

I grinned, even with my power and focus slipping “Didn’t I tell you? You’re coming along with me.”

His wild, desperate aura flickered once more, then vanished entirely.

I let out a bitter laugh, half-wheezing from the wind and the ache in my chest. "So this is what it takes," I muttered to the void, my voice almost lost in the rush of air. "Another monster to stop a monster.”

The bandit started plummeting into the fog, his body tumbling uncontrollably, the distance between us growing as the fall deepened. My vision blurred as I followed suit, my own descent following the same deadly path. The air rushed around me, and everything else faded as I descended into the darkness below.