The impact sent a sharp jolt through her bones.
One strike. Two strikes.
It wasn't as bad as she thought. His blows were wild but weak, fueled by hunger, anger, and desperation. There was no strength in them. Even so, Ellie knew better, anyone could crush bones if they swung enough times.
That was why Ellie tried to dodge the next attack but she failed due to her lack of fighting experience. And she was grabbed by the arm a second time. This time, however, Ellie was more aware of how much of a threat the starving man was to her.
She stepped forward, twisting her body with all the force she could muster. Rather than being yanked toward him, she dragged him toward her. Her elbow struck hard, sinking deep into his hollow stomach. A choked gasp escaped his lips as his body crumpled, knees giving out beneath him. The rock slipped from his grasp, landing with a dull thud in the dirt.
The elbow thrust was one of the tricks she had learned from self-defense class. It is a hard move to pull in a fight but very effective. Ellie had always enjoyed those lessons, far more than the dull etiquette lectures or the endless history recitations. Because in self-defense class, she could freely lay her hand on the other princes and princesses of House Gemma.
Thanks to her larger frame, it was not hard to send her cousins tumbling to the ground. She remembered the looks on their faces. The way they clenched their teeth, humiliated, as the instructors called for another round. But now, there were no instructors to call for a stop.
Ellie wasted no time. She dove for the baby, scooping it up with trembling hands and running as fast as possible.
The baby cooed happily as it felt the familiar warmth. Behind her, the pack descended upon the fallen man, clawing, biting, ripping into his flesh like wild animals. The moment his knees hit the ground, they no longer saw him as one of their own, just like in the real world.
When you fall, those who once stood closest to you will be the first to turn. The moment you stop being useful, the moment you become weak, they'll sink their teeth in without hesitation. In the face of one's interest, most will throw away their honor.
Would she have done the same? She did not know.
The screams behind her had already died down. The wind carried the faint smell of blood as it pushed against her back, urging her forward. She adjusted her grip on the baby.
"Feel that, baby? The wind is here to protect us." She murmured, forcing a smile. "It's going to be fine."
***
Ellie stumbled into the ruins of a building, her legs finally giving out beneath her.
"That should be far enough," Ellie said as she sat down, her back against a crumbling wall.
She pulled the baby close in one hand, shielding it from the cold. With her other hand, she rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes.
"What's in the Six Wind is going on?" Ellie took a deep breath, her heart was finally calming down.
'Let's try figuring out what is happening.' One moment, Ellie had been in the escape pod with her mother. The next, she was trapped in the body of a dead man, and not just any dead man but her past life. She dug through her mind, trying to recall anything that could explain what had happened.
The Promise. That's what the voices had called it. But no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't come up with anything. The shift had been abrupt. No, it had already begun the moment she saw the dying guard of House Gemma, or perhaps even before that.
Ellie recalled the golden flame, questioning why it tried to destroy The Promise.
'The lantern.'
The lantern had been there through every moment of her life. It was the lantern that had prolonged whatever this was. Every night, Ellie had slept bathed in its light, comforted by its warmth without ever questioning why her mother insisted on doing so.
'Which could only mean.' Considering how much Alea cared for Ellie's well-being if she had gone so far as to keep Ellie from The Promise, it could only mean a life-and-death situation.
'What else did mother make me do?' Ellie hit her head, searching through her memory. Her mother had never been the type to explain things outright, at least not to Ellie. There had to be something that her mother had taught that could have been useful for The Promise.
And then, it struck Ellie. The one thing that her mother had always forced Ellie to practice, communicating with her using it, even when she saw no use in doing so. The language of the Saints. Barely anyone spoke it outside of rituals, yet her mother had always been consistent in teaching her.
And what was the first world that she was taught?
'Status.'
As if responding to her thoughts, a screen hovered before her like a veil between reality and something far greater. Words of unknown origin etched themselves into her mind, each weaving its meaning under Ellie's gaze.
[Character] : Corpse Eater, Thief of the Divine Light.
Ellie focused on a line of text and the words expanded.
[Core Character] : Corpse Eater. [Promise of Strength] : A man lived beneath a dying sun. The world had been cruel, but he had made the mistake of loving anyway. Without strength, he could only watch helplessly as the world took her away. In his final moments, he wished for the power to have made the world a better place for his child. And Nothing answered his wish.
Having read the content of the promise for Corpse Eater, Ellie looked up. The roof of the building had long been blown away, doing little at keeping the cold wind and dying sun out.
'What does it mean to make the world a better place? Am I supposed to fix the damn sun? What were past me thinking?'
Ellie composed herself before focusing on the other Character.
[Character] : Thief of the Divine Light
[Legacy] : Deceiver [Tier] : Lesser [Origin] : Demon
[Virtues] :
[Sins] : Fear of the Sun
Ellie skimmed through the scene but none of it provided her with further information until her eyes met where it said 'Sins' on the scene.
[Description] : Long ago, when the heavens still wept for the forsaken, a lowly demon, with its cunning tongue, tricked a divine into surrendering a piece of its sacred light. The divine, blinded by its own radiance, did not see the truth of the transaction until it was too late. And the demon was no fool. It knew the heavens would hunt it, that the sun's burning gaze would scour every corner of existence to reclaim what had been stolen. So the demon buried the light in its own blood, veiling it in crimson red.
Suddenly, the baby cried and Ellie tried to calm him down. Ellie could tell he was hungry because he wouldn't stop crying, no matter how hard she rocked him back and forth.
'Me too, kid.'
The adrenaline had finally worm off, leaving Ellie an aching body and a hollow pit in her stomach. But it could wait. Right now, she needed to calm the baby first. The cannibals might still be searching for the two of them, and if he kept on crying, they'd both be dead.
'What am I gonna do?'
Her eyes flicked back to the hovering screen, scanning the text again. One particular line stood out, giving her a dumb idea.
[Effect] : Your blood has healing properties, and it will burn brightly in a golden hue when exposed to the sun. The divinity in your blood can nurture life.
'Miss Opoler would be so mad.'
Opoler had been Ellie's teacher in newborn care class, a woman who loved children dearly, maybe just a little too much.
'If she knew what I am about to do, she'd cave my head in.'
Ellie closed the screen with a wipe of her hand. Then she put that same hand in her mouth, applying force on it with her teeth.
She hesitated. Opened and closed her jaw many times. She clenched her fist, shutting her eyes tight.
'Just do it.'
Then, finally, bit down.
Hard.
Her teeth sank into the thin flesh, nerves screaming in protest.
'Fuck, it hurts.'
But she failed to draw any blood.
"Haizz." Ellie sighed.
***
It took Ellie three tries to finally make herself bleed.
'That was harder than I thought.'
She thought as the sharp tang of iron spread across her tongue.
Apparently, the divinity in her blood also had an effect on Ellie. She felt the gnawing hunger slowly fading, replaced by a strange sense of happiness and fulfillment.
'It's just a little, I can stop anytime.'
Such rich flavors. Sweet. Bitter. Salty.
It was unlike anything she had ever known. No dishes at House Gemma could compared to this. And the more she drank, the more it consumed her.
Her lips pressed harder against the wound. Teeth dug deeper, reopening flesh that had begun to clot. A wave of pleasure crashed over her, shattering every thought except for one.
'I want more. Give me more.'
A wolf lapping at the edge of a blade, tasting blood but unable to stop. The more it licked the deeper the wound. The deeper the wound, the more blood spilled. And the more blood spilled—The hungrier it became.
Lost in haze, Ellie heard an irritating sound.
She did not want to look.
'I don't want to.'
Tears welled in her eyes, blurring the crimson-stained world around her.
'I really don't want to look at it.'
A deep, primal feeling clawed at her. Mother instinct? Father instinct? Or was it both?
Her gaze dropped. His tiny hands clutched at her finger.
'How could I forget about you?'
She turned around, using her body to shield her wounded hand and the baby who was still crying from the sun. Ellie slowly released her bloodied hand from her mouth.
'He pulled me back.'
The pain in her broken nose and her arms after her fight with the starved man had disappeared. The blood had healed them. Meaning if the baby didn't bring her back, she would have been trapped in an endless cycle of consuming herself. The weight of that realization settled deep in her chest.
'It's too risky to feed my boy something like this.'
She looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms.
'But what choice do I have?'
Her hand trembled as she brought it closer to the baby's lips. She bit the inside of her cheek, worrying about the effect her blood might have on him.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, he latched on.
A few droplets. That was all.
The moment he was full, he pulled away, his tiny mouth parting with a soft sign.
Ellie stared at his satisfied face.
'So a baby won't go crazy for divinity.'
Slowly, his big red eyes fluttered, struggling to stay open.
The self-inflicted wound on her hand had already healed and Ellie fixed the cloth covering the baby. His skin, pale and dry from the cold, felt fragile beneath Ellie's touch. His little fingers twitched once, then curled inward, tucking close to his chest.
Then, his crimson eyes closed, and he drifted into sleep.
'Cute.' Ellie thought, stroking the thin strands of white hair on his head before remembering something crucial.
'I need to burp him.'
But the baby was already deep asleep, and Ellie was hesitant to wake him up.
'Sorry, Miss Opoler. Who knows how long would it take to make him fall asleep again? Besides it isn't like he drank liters of milk, it's probably fine.'
Supporting the baby with both hands, she slowly lay down on the cold floor. Faraway, the lonely dim sun in the starless sky blurred as Ellie closed her eyes.
A sudden whisper broke the silence in her head. That same unfamiliar language that Ellie somehow felt had its meaning. This time it was telling her.
"Attempting to leave the Promise during its trial isn't allowed."