On an endless green field, under a clear sky shining with sunlight, stood a solitary tree. Its dense foliage seemed frozen, as if immersed in the absolute silence of this place.
Not far from it, in a state of strange, foggy consciousness, stood Delia.
The world faded into blurry mist, then snapped into sharp outlines; her thoughts drifted somewhere distant, and Delia had no clarity of where she was or what was happening to her.
As she tried to focus, two figures appeared under the tree: a bright silhouette, as if carved from ice, and a dense shadow absorbing the light. She tensed, straining to focus her gaze on them.
Gradually, the contours of the white figure became clear — it was QinXuan. But the black one remained a mystery; no matter how hard Delia tried, it stayed indistinguishable.
While she realized what they were doing there, the duo began speaking. Delia could hear their words, but the meaning slipped past her. Suddenly, a feeling came over her that she was losing her mind.
She rubbed her face — and realized with surprise that she could not feel her touch.
Ignoring it, Delia looked again at the silhouettes through her fingers and noticed some movement beginning between them.
The black silhouette seemed pleased. It pulled QinXuan into its arms, and their lips met in a kiss. A chill ran through Delia, and dark clouds suddenly gathered over the field.
A storm broke out; loud thunderclaps and rain seemed almost alive, as if nature itself protested what was happening.
Stunned, Delia froze in place, unable to move. But a sharp pain tore her out of stupor. The black silhouette, like a ghost, suddenly appeared before her and pierced her chest with its hand.
Before her consciousness plunged into darkness, she saw only the bright green eyes, full of cold light, which were the last thing she remembered.
—Aaaarghhh. — with a wild scream, she opened her eyes.
Attempting to move abruptly, Delia felt an incredible pain in her arm, which refused to stop and worsened with every small movement. Gritting her teeth and calming herself, she found herself lying in a dark cave, with a massive stone pinning her right arm, waking her from the strange dream.
Ignoring the blood flowing from her split forehead, Delia realized with horror that little remained of her arm, and to prevent bleeding out, she needed to act decisively.
Drawing a dagger from her backpack, which fortunately had not been lost, she bit down on the strap, gritted her teeth, and with all her strength, severed her arm in a single sharp motion.
«MMFFF!!!»
Immediately after, she applied an ointment to the stump and her face, stopping the bleeding instantly. Once again silently thanking Qinxuan, Delia, covered in cold sweat, collapsed weakly to the ground.
{This day keeps getting better and better… First, I get used as a living target, then that damn monkey breaks my bones. And my stupid curiosity makes me go check a noise, where, without even having time to run, I fall underground and lose my arm. And that disgusting dream. Ha-ha-ha! Just perfect.}
Lying there for a while, Delia felt somewhat better physically and mentally. Uncertainly rising, she looked around. The space was a narrow passage, blocked by debris on one side and leading into darkness on the other.
{Looks like I have no choice…}
Leaning against the wall, Delia slowly trudged in the only possible direction. Her instincts screamed danger, but she did not stop.
Ten minutes later, when the tunnel led nowhere, she heard noises and shouts ahead.
Quickening her pace, trying to make as little sound as possible, she continued. After another 200 meters, the tunnel opened into a spacious area, at the center of which a warrior in silver armor held an unknown man by the throat.
Around them lay several dead human bodies.
—O-o-oh… so another little mouse hides here,—he hissed, breaking the neck of his victim, then turned to Delia, raising a lens to his eye that sparkled in the light. —Third-rank insignificant… Will you come out yourself, or shall I come over?
From him, she felt a threat greater than a four-armed gorilla, but less than the lizard.
Taking a deep breath, Delia staggered forward.
{Seems like he's level nine. What do I do? In my state, I'm no match for him.}
— Well… not a small prey, but a big one beauty. Shame, a little battered.— While Delia panicked slightly, the man was sizing her up.
— Who are you? Don't come closer.— Seeing him step toward her, the girl stretched out her trembling hand with the dagger in defense.
He moved quickly, appearing before her, knocked the weapon from her hand, and pushed her to the ground. Sitting atop her, the man spoke in a lewd voice:
— If you don't resist and let me have a good time, I'll leave you alive.
— F-f-fine. Just don't kill me, — she whispered, resigned to her fate, closing her eyes and turning away. Tears slid down her face.
— Good girl, — the warrior exclaimed with delight. Removing his helmet, he leaned down and ran his tongue over her neck, savoring the moment. Relaxing, he released her hand and began to caress her body, slowly trying to undo her armor.
What he didn't know was that Delia had been waiting for this moment. Fear on her face gave way to disgust and hatred.
When the man leaned back slightly to handle the fastenings, she gathered all her strength and, in a swift motion, drove her fingers into his throat, tearing out his windpipe with a crack.
«FLSSHH!»
Hot blood sprayed her face, but she paid it no mind.
Delia kicked, knocking the man off her. Rolling to the nearest body, she grabbed a sword. Breathing heavily, she kept her eyes on the wounded warrior.
He writhed on the ground, clutching his throat. Hoarse gasps and muffled wheezes escaped from his chest.
— Hrr… hh… mmf… hh…
The air resisted his shallow breaths. Every movement was accompanied by a dull, ragged exhale.
— Fff… rrr… hmmf… rh…
His cries gradually turned into the crackle of ragged wheezes until his body finally went still, sprawling in a pool of its own blood.
Realizing the danger had temporarily passed, Delia, recalling the man's actions, tried to wipe the areas he had touched. Gradually, the trembling from rage and disgust subsided, giving way to calm.
Examining the silver warrior's body, something caught her attention. His armor — specifically, the spider on the chestplate — seemed strangely familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
The feeling gnawed at her. Delia tried to grasp the thought, but it slipped away like a slippery fish.
Like an itch you can't scratch.
Trying to distract herself from this deadlock, she focused on the warrior's sword.
At a glance, her mood improved slightly. Its smooth blade shone beautifully in the torchlight. The guard was decorated with a delicate web of lines, blending smoothly into the hilt, wrapped in something resembling thick leather, with faint, barely visible streaks.
It felt smooth to the touch, yet when gripped, the hilt was astonishingly comfortable, as if the sword had been made specifically for her hand, adapting perfectly to her grip.
At the pommel, a spider symbol was engraved, echoing the one on the warrior's armor. The spider was carved so meticulously it seemed real, each fine leg segment and sparkling eyes set with blue stone.
Weighing the sword in her hand, Delia channeled spiritual energy into it, causing the spider's eyes to glow with cold light.
She immediately sensed the blade's uniqueness.
This was no ordinary sword — it was an artifact. She wasn't sure of its rank, but even if it were the lowest Mortal Rank, it surpassed all her previous swords.
After dealing with the weapon, Delia picked up the strange lens. Made from an unknown material resembling yellow glass, impossible geometric figures were carved on both sides. Placing it to her eye, it glimmered slightly. Looking at the corpses triggered no reaction, but when she shifted her gaze to her own body, three green lines flared clearly.
{Interesting little thing, but not very useful to me. I guess I could sell it for a good price… if I even get out of here alive.}
Her thoughts were grim; not a single one of the countless identical tunnels around her, leading to unknown places, gave her a pleasant feeling.
One was more dangerous than the other. The one to her left gave off strange sensations worth investigating.
{…And I could already be at home right now, hugging QinXuan.}
For a moment, she allowed herself to remember Qinxuan.
Her friend, her small source of joy, was somewhere far away, perhaps completely unaware of the hell Delia was currently in.
Thinking of her brought a fleeting warmth that eased her anxiety.
This quiet memory gave her strength once again.