The Girl Who Knows Too Much
Leo and Max followed Lyra through the strange glowing forest of the Broken Realm.
Every step felt unreal. The ground pulsed like a heartbeat, the sky flickered like shattered glass, and the air hummed with whispers.
Max whispered, "Bro… this place breaks physics."
Leo sighed, "Yeah. Welcome to my life now."
Lyra walked ahead without looking back. Her silver hair glowed faintly, and the book in her hand floated on its own.
Leo finally asked, "Why did those masked things attack me? What's a 'fragmented soul'? And how do you know my name?"
Lyra didn't stop.
"Because you are not supposed to exist here."
Leo and Max froze.
"EXCUSE ME?!"
Lyra turned around slowly, her black eyes calm.
"You entered this realm because something inside you awakened early. Something ancient. Something dangerous."
Leo clenched his fists. "That doesn't explain why they want to erase me."
Lyra sighed. "They are the Hunters of Ruin. Their job is to erase anyone connected to the Unknown God."
Leo's heart jumped. "The Unknown God again… why does everything point to him?"
Lyra hesitated for the first time. "Because… he broke the rules of creation. He interfered where he shouldn't. And he left something behind."
Max narrowed his eyes. "Left what behind?"
Lyra pointed directly at Leo's chest.
"You."
Leo stepped back. "M–me?! What are you saying?!"
Lyra shook her head. "Not your body. Something inside you. A piece… a fragment of power not meant for any human."
Leo swallowed. His heartbeat grew faster.
Her words felt true. Too true.
The ground suddenly shook.
A deep roar echoed across the cracked sky.
Lyra immediately pulled them behind a floating boulder. "Stay quiet!"
Leo peeked over the edge.
Something massive walked across the realm.
It had six arms, a body made of floating rocks and black mist, and a single golden eye that scanned the area. Every step it took fractured the air, like breaking glass.
Max whispered, "WHAT. IS. THAT?!"
Lyra whispered back, "A Reality Breaker. If it sees you, you die."
Leo felt chills down his spine.
"Then why bring us here?"
Lyra smirked lightly.
"Because even Reality Breakers avoid me."
Leo blinked. "…Why?"
Lyra didn't answer.
Instead, she opened her glowing book. Strange symbols spun around her.
Max whispered, "Is she a mage or something?"
Lyra overheard. "No… I'm cursed."
Leo stared at her. "What kind of curse?"
Lyra gave a cold smile.
"The kind that makes every monster want to eat me."
Max flinched. "WHAT?! So we're walking with a monster magnet?!"
"Exactly."
The Reality Breaker paused.
Its golden eye turned toward them.
Leo froze. Max stopped breathing.
Lyra's hair lifted as her curse activated. The book glowed brighter.
"Get ready," she whispered. "If it comes here… we run."
The air trembled.
The Reality Breaker sniffed the air—
—then walked away.
Max collapsed. "Bro I'm gonna die at age 17."
Leo rolled his eyes. "You're 16."
"EVEN WORSE!"
Lyra snapped her book shut. "We need to move before others appear."
They followed her deeper into the realm.
Eventually, they reached a floating hill with a broken stone temple.
Inside, glowing runes lit the walls. Lyra placed her book on a pedestal.
Max asked, "So what's the plan? How do we go home?"
Lyra looked at Leo.
"You don't."
Leo blinked. "…What?"
Lyra stepped close.
"Leo, listen carefully. You think the Hunters of Ruin came for you because of an accident? No."
She tapped his chest.
"They came because your soul is waking up. Part of you is trying to break out."
Leo felt a cold shiver. "What part…?"
Lyra whispered as a symbol floated from her book.
"The Nothingness fragment."
Leo stepped back, clutching his chest.
Max shouted, "What does that mean? Is he gonna explode or something?!"
Lyra shook her head.
"No. But if the fragment fully awakens…"
She pointed at the cracked sky.
"The entire Broken Realm will collapse."
Leo felt his knees weaken. "Why… why is this happening to me?"
Lyra softened a little.
"Because the Unknown God chose you. And that choice put you in the middle of a war."
Leo's voice cracked. "What war?"
Lyra opened her hand.
A tiny black flame floated above her palm.
"The war between Nothingness and Ruin."
Max gulped. "Can we choose 'none of the above'?"
Lyra ignored him.
She looked straight at Leo.
"Leo… if you want to live… you need to learn to control that fragment."
Leo swallowed. "And if I can't?"
Lyra closed her book.
"Then the Hunters will find you. And the next time… you won't escape."
The ground trembled again.
Far away, three new portals opened in the sky.
More Hunters of Ruin stepped out.
Lyra's eyes widened. "They found us faster than I thought."
Leo whispered, "…They're after me."
Lyra grabbed his arm.
"Then run."
Max screamed, "BUT WHERE?!"
Lyra pointed at a swirling blue crack forming behind the temple.
"There. That path leads to the Core of the Realm. If Leo trains there… maybe he can awaken safely."
Leo looked at the approaching hunters.
He took a deep breath.
"…Let's go."
Lyra grabbed Max's wrist, and they sprinted.
Behind them, the Hunters whispered:
"The marked one… will not escape."
Leo ran faster.
His silver eyes sparked.
This time, he wouldn't run in fear.
This time…
He would fight.