Strand Growth

I couldn't open my mouth, but I managed to reach out with my left hand. I attempted the right, but I had forgotten that nothing was there anymore. Both Carl and Ullr reached down in the ice in an attempt to save her.

What could I do? Why was I just lying here?! GET UP!

I yelled at myself and pushed my body up, jumping through Red's hole and grabbing Dani from underneath the water. My left arm wrapped around hers like a snake, I made sure not to let go, and I brought her back up to the surface.

It was hard to pull my heavy body out, especially while I lost all of my strength from blood loss and from the loss of my right hand and forearm, but I yelled with the last of my energy, to save everybody else at least.

"GET TO THE SURFACE NO MATTER WHAT!" I shouted. Everybody started running past the ice, forgetting our measures to see if it was stable, and they began running.

"Sky… I'm so sorry…" The final White Stone said.

Everything started to process in my mind. Red just died in front of me… and I couldn't do anything. I lost my right arm, and Dani was freezing to death… all because of these White Stones.

My vision shifted to red once more and I stared dead ahead.

My eye twitched.

Just as Zeal crossed into the forest line with Demos to retreat, I knew in my head that I let another one of my friends die. And Demos smiled.

That made me twitch. That made my whole body ache with a pain I had felt before, and a pain that made me feel sicker than fulfilled.

I grabbed my sword with my left hand. I couldn't aim this, I truly couldn't. This sword meant nothing to me now, and just as I cocked my left arm back and dislocated my shoulder from throwing it with such a force, I watched it slowly meet Demos's body...

And then I watched it drive straight through his head, splitting it in half and splattering brains all over the forest.

His smile faded away and he fell off of Zeal's shoulder.

[SYSTEM EMERGENCY! A WHITE STONE HAS BEEN KILLED IN ACTION!]

Zeal did nothing but drop the body and run forward. Meanwhile, Orion, Xian, Elo, and even Talion looked ahead of him, then back at me.

"No way… you killed one of us?" Xian said lightly. I panted heavily on the ground, pushing my body upwards.

"You left me no choice," I said, turning to the Final Stone beside me.

My friends all ran to the beach as I locked my focus on him.

I put my hand around his neck as he asked me why I just did that, and I held him up.

"Do you want to take something from me as well? Go ahead... I dare you." I told him. This wasn't autopilot, not like before.

This was me.

And he deserves this.

I had nothing on my mind but chasing Zeal down and dismembering him. Orion turned and left next, but Xian was stuck in place.

Blood… blood was all I could think about. I felt drool seep out of my mouth and against my bare chest, then finally down to the floor.

"Dani! She's far too cold, where are the blankets?!" Carl yelled out. I walked closer and closer, feeling the cold disappear once more.

"LIA! DON'T COME OUT!" Talion shouted from the ground and I instantly started to scan my surroundings.

Where was that little bitch?

I caught a glimpse of a shining blade in the forest and redirected, running towards that instead. Just as I was about to clear the ice sheet, I heard more yelling.

"NOW! XIAN!" The Final Stone shouted out. I turned my head towards him once more and every last bit of ice on the bay collapsed into shards.

Xian held the ground as if it was the only thing keeping him attached and I fell into the water. It was like he vibrated the ground!

"Run, he's not ready yet!" Both Talion and Xian ran into the forest near the direction of the blade, escaping from my grasp as I healed from the electrical shock.

I climbed up to the beach, feeling the three fingers on my left hand start to freeze. I wasn't looking too good…

"Who are you?!" Carl shouted out. He held out his sword while holding a blanket over Dani, talking to people right in front of them. I ran at my fastest speed and stopped in front of Carl, holding my weak body up with the last of my strength.

"This is him! If we kill him, all conflict will be solved, right?" I heard again.

…

…

…

As if my consciousness drifted off somewhere else, I woke up in a familiar place. The water all around me was pitch black, leading to nothing. This time, I couldn't even see my reflection.

"Is that you, Sky?" I heard a light, female voice. I turned my head, facing behind me and in perfect contrast to the pitch-black water, a girl with shining, bright-colored hair, piercing gray eyes, and a glowing body stood a good distance away from me.

"Who are you?" I asked, but she only smiled. Her face began to turn red.

"It upsets me to hear you ask that… I wish you knew me, but I guess that's what happens when you wake up here… I realize you're in a pretty bad condition, aren't you?" Here, when I stared at my arm, it was still there, and I had all my fingers on my left hand.

"I guess so. I protected my friends, and this situation I left, the one where I'm hunted again, that's where I'll die. My body is freezing cold, I'm bleeding, I don't have much life left." The white-haired girl shook her head.

"You can do something, you're just too afraid." My eyes opened wide after her familiar comment.

"You're that voice from earlier! You told me to corrupt my System… who are you?!" I went to draw my sword, but no such thing existed, at least not in my hands. When I looked back at her after looking at my hip, she was holding it.

"I'm giving you a way out; I'd prefer if you didn't hurt me. Now, Sky, prove to this Isle that they should fear you.

[System Corruption: Level Two]

[Strand Growth Found!]