The System of Archana

White light fell from a bright moon hovering in the night sky, striking the falling water of a large waterfall in the middle of a dense and ancient forest. The glittering waterfall presented an almost hypnotizing image. However, no one appreciated the presence of the waterfall more than the woman behind it who could not even see its beauty.

Behind the waterfall, the cliff curved inwards into a small cavity. A small fire was lit on the jagged stone floor, burning bright white perfectly matching the color of the moonlight, disguising its presence behind the waterfall. The stone ceiling also dispersed the red smoke that rose from the flames, even further hiding the existence of the small flame from the outside world.

A woman, shivering and wet, scooted extremely close to the fire. Her clothes drying on the opposite side of the flame. Her eyes, restless as the wind, flickered the width of the falling water as if searching for something. More the once, her eyelids drooped before opening wide to the howl of wolves. Her bruised hand held a small silver dagger at the ready, while the other desperately held a small bag close to her chest. Her ragged breathing refusing to slow down. Yet her hands were still as a rock, ready to strike anyone that may appear before her.

Hours passed by, yet she refused to move. It was just before dawn, when her clothes had mostly dried, did she move to get dressed. An old black ranger's shirt and blue pants with brown jacket with many pockets. She got up, placing the rest of her stuff in the bag.

Just as she got ready to leave, a gust of wind blew, smothering the small flame, and suddenly five figures jumped from behind the waterfall.

"Well, we've finally caught up to you, little deer." The one in the middle spoke, while the other surrounded her, with the cave wall to her back. "No more running and hiding."

The woman backed up to the wall and held up her dagger ready to strike anyone that got closer, "You are a fool to chase me this long, in just a few minutes the sun will rise."

"Ah yes, you are right. But that is enough time for us." The man spoke and sent forward two of his subordinates.

The two rushed at her, extending sharp claws from their hands. One aiming to cut off her hands, the other aiming to cut off her legs. The female skillfully deflected the first blow, catching his hand and jumped over the second. She used the hand as leverage to pull the first one towards her before he could react, and the dagger was embedded into his heart, his body turning into a pile of ash a second later. She didn't give the second one anytime either, aiming her hand at his hand.

"Fiery Arrow!"

An arrow of white flame appeared in the palm of her hand before rushing towards the man and blowing off his head to piece, his body also turned into ash.

"Pathetic!" the leader spoke, "These bugs can't even withstand a low tier fire spell. Very well, let's get this over with. Blood Magic: Arrow Strike!"

Another arrow appeared, this time in the man's palm, but this one was glowing blood-red and was far more viscous than the first one. Just before it shot forward, the blood hardened, speeding at blinding speed towards the woman.

Even though she was far away, she couldn't dodge it. The arrow pierced through her shoulder, throwing her backwards. The red arrow continued as it struck the wall behind her, exploding in an even greater explosion. Had it exploded beside her, her whole torso would have been missing.

"Now, little deer, is that all." The leader spoke, motioning his subordinates to capture her, "I was honestly expecting more from you. They told me you were a second circle mage and a silver ranked adventurer."

Just as his two subordinates got close to her, a burst of ice erupted with her as the center, freezing their feet. Followed by a zap of lightning that fried their nerves. The leader easily avoided it by emitting a pulse of fire. She quickly got up and ran towards the wall that now had an opening into a tunnel that had been opened by the explosion of the blood arrow.

The leader fire another bright red arrow but she was able to avoid it and returned a fire arrow of her own. However, it was not aimed at him but the ceiling causing the passage behind her to collapse, buying her a few precious moments.

"It's useless, no matter how much you resist, this is the end of the line for you." She heard from the other side of the wall of debris. She quickly lit another flame to look for a path through the dark cave.

Luckily for her, there was a path, but it was a narrow one, making it hard for multiple people to follow her. She knew the two she hit with her spells were still alive. She hurried through the tunnel, using her flame to guide her along.

As she struggled through the narrow passage, she heard the rocks being moved and another light behind her, but she was far away, so they wouldn't have a line of sight to shoot her. She quickened her pace even more, causing her sides to scratch against the sharp rocks. She had consumed a low-tier health potion as soon as she had entered the cave. Even though it was the last of her stock, and it wouldn't completely heal her wounds, it had somewhat restored the functions of her arms.

The passage got narrower and narrower, until she had had to crawl her way through. The sound of the people following her was enough encouragement to crawl faster.

"I can smell your blood, little deer." She heard behind her. "Run, little deer, run."

A few seconds of crawling later, the passage suddenly opened up, causing her to fall to the new floor. She noticed the floor was not rocky but flat and lined with granite tiles in perfect squares. She stood up in the wide corridor, flaring her fire to have a better look. Freya found herself in the corridor of an ancient ruin, but she had no time to investigate. The mage quickly ran forward, trying to increase the distance from her pursuers.

She ran, and ran, but the sounds continued to haunt her. And a moment later, her hopes of escape were completely dashed as she came upon a huge stone door carved with letters of a forgotten tongue. It would take a giant to move it, and none of her spells were powerful enough to blast through.

She slumped against the door trying to think of a way, looking back she saw rays of light coming from the corner she came from. Unintentionally, she channelled a bit of her mana into the door.

'OPEN!'

She heard a raspy old voice and the door moved slowly. She rejoiced and squeezed through the gap and ran forward into an even bigger space. Her hopes were smashed once more as she realized she had entered an octagonal room that had no other way out. She knew trying to close the door was useless. She walked towards the center of the room, trying to see better with her flames.

Suddenly, the flamed zoomed out of her hand by its own will, lighting a brazier in the corner. It continued until multiple braziers were lit, illuminating the room.

She was confused and scared when the fire went out of her control. The newly visible room had a large stone sarcophagus in the middle, but it was bound in huge chains of shining black metal that extended to all eight sides of the room. Where great statues of eight knights stood, holding the chains tightly. Moss grew along the wall and even the statues and the sarcophagus were also partially covered, but the glistening chains were as good as new, even better. There was also a small crack in the sarcophagus.

She desperately looked for a way out, but her time expired.

"Finally, no more holes to hide the little rat." The leader spoke, "And look at this, you've even found us an ancient tomb. The loot from this, along with the price on your head, will set me up for at least a century."

The woman looked at him with a cold look, taking out her small dagger and using the injured hand to cast a spell. "Come, little bat, and see for yourself if I am a rat or a wolf."

Her words were enough to encourage the men, as this time all three of them stepped forward with extended claws and prepared to attack. She sidestepped a lunge from the eager assailant, only to be pierced through the shoulder by the other, but it did little to dissuade her as she used the hand as leverage to pull him into the path of the leader's attack.

A slash to the shoulder dismembered him, followed by a dagger to the heart, turning him into a pile of ash. The woman quickly retreated with a fireball sent to the leader's face. The potion's effect still accelerating her regeneration.

She had only retreated a few steps when she was tackled to the ground by the other attacker. He quickly got on her and lunged towards her neck, his elongated fangs searching for her jugular. She resisted his ferocious attack by blast an ice spell in his stomach.

"Icy Grave!"

His torso froze for a moment and causing his movements to stop. She bashed her dagger against his chest, shattering it into pieces, but not before his claws pierced her abdomen. The fourth one died as well, with heart in frozen bits.

"Enough of this!" the leader roared as he leapt with blinding speed, grabbed her by the neck and throwing her against the roof of the room. The wind knocked out of her lungs and her abdomen bled profusely, she used the last of her mana to cast another spell as she descended towards the last one.

'Lightning boost!'

Lightning coursed through the dagger that she desperately held and with the last of her willpower she aimed it towards his heart. The leader was likely as proficient mage and more powerful than her, but with the speed added by the lightning spell, he was only able to slightly tilt his body before the impact.

The falling dagger pierced through his shoulder, driven further into his flesh by the accompanying weight of the body of his target. The silver dagger seared his flesh causing him extreme pain, but it had avoided his heart and he was still alive.

"Aaaahh" he screamed in rage and agony as he lifted his opponent once more by the shoulder and smashed her on top of the sarcophagus. The impact shattered her ribs and cracked her spine. He proceeded to shatter her wrists and got on top of her.

"I don't know why the lord wants you alive, but I guess he will have to make do your body." He spoke as he took the dagger from his shoulder and pierced her heart, destroying any hope of survival. As her eyes closed for the last time, none of them noticed her blood passing into a crack in the sarcophagus.