>>Rosie

I stood up and began to run again.

After my parents died, I was just barely living.

Being born poor, people don't even want to do anything with you. I did odd jobs to survive but one day my powers suddenly came.

Everyone was always worried about the world ending. When I was cleaning the floors of restaurants, I was hearing people constantly talk about it.

I thought maybe I could help. Maybe I did something about it, people won't look down on me. Maybe the restaurant owner would stop being so harsh and pay me the money he owned.

Maybe I'd get to eat properly too.

The city walls loomed ahead, the great shield that protected it shimmering faintly in the distance, but it was a blur through the tears clouding my vision. The ache in my chest wouldn't go away, no matter how fast I ran, no matter how far I tried to escape it.

I passed people on the streets, their faces blurring into one another, their indifferent stares searing into me. I couldn't take it anymore—the rejection, the humiliation. I wanted to be anywhere but here. Anywhere that wasn't filled with people who saw me as nothing.

The cold, biting air stung my face as I neared the edge of the city. My feet barely registered the pain from the rough cobblestones as I stumbled forward. There, just beyond the last set of buildings, the barrier shimmered faintly. The one thing that kept the city safe from the miasma-infested land outside. A place I never thought I'd dare go.

But it didn't matter anymore. I had nothing left here.

I reached the barrier, my breath ragged, my body trembling from more than just exhaustion. I stared at it for a moment, feeling the weight of my decision settle deep in my bones. Crossing it meant leaving everything behind. There would be no coming back.

But what was there to stay for?

I took a deep breath and stepped forward. As soon as I crossed the threshold, a strange sensation rushed through me—like an electric current jolting to life inside my veins. I expected to feel the sharp sting of the miasma in the air, the choking weight of its poison filling my lungs, but instead...

Nothing.

???

Why?

I looked down at myself

A soft glow surrounded me, golden and pure.

I gasped, stumbling to a halt, looking around in shock. A shield, shimmering like light woven from air itself, hovered around me. My heart pounded in my chest as I raised my trembling hands, seeing the soft glow emanating from them as well.

The barrier, my powers... they had protected me.

I stared, wide-eyed, at the holy shield that encased me, my breath coming in shallow gasps.

Why? I had barely any control over my abilities. I was useless—worthless. And yet, this shield had formed automatically, protecting me without a thought.

"Will my powers not let me die?" The question fell from my lips, barely a whisper. I turned my palms over, staring at them like they belonged to someone else. The glow flickered, gentle and persistent, as if answering my question.

But I didn't understand. Why would these powers—powers I could barely control—work to save someone like me? I was nothing. I was—

Useless.

The word echoed through my mind, bitter and sharp. My chest tightened, the sting of rejection still fresh and raw. No matter what this power was, no matter what it tried to tell me, I couldn't forget what the temple had shown me.

I wasn't worth saving.

I lowered my hands, and the glow dimmed slightly. The shield flickered but remained around me, as if it refused to abandon me, even when I wanted it to. A heavy silence settled in the air around me, broken only by the faint hum of the barrier behind me.

For a moment, I just stood there, on the edge of the city, lost in the vastness of the land beyond.

Then I felt something ominous.

?!?!?

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. The vibe grew stronger

Slowly, I lifted my gaze.

!!!

My eyes went wide with fear

And there it was.

A monstrous figure emerged from the swirling miasma, its form barely distinguishable from the haze around it. The creature stood nearly eight feet tall, its body cloaked in shadows, shifting and blending with the thick, poisonous air. But its eyes—those pale, hollow white eyes—pierced through the darkness, locking onto me.

My heart lurched, and a cold sweat broke out across my skin.

I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, as the monster took a step toward me. Its limbs were long, grotesquely elongated, barely visible as they melded with the miasma, giving it an almost ghostly appearance.

The monster's gaze bore down on me, and for a moment, all I could see were its eyes.

Empty.

Unfeeling.

It towered over me, its presence suffocating, oppressive. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to flee, but my legs felt like they were made of lead.

The glow of my shield brightened, but I could feel it flicker, as if the mere presence of the creature was enough to challenge it. My hands trembled as I slowly raised them, trying to call forth the power that had protected me moments ago.

But doubt clung to me, weighing me down.

I'm useless.

The words looped through my mind, drowning out any hope I had of summoning the strength to fight back.

The monster took another step, its massive form closing the distance between us. I could feel the miasma swirling around it, dark and thick, like it was alive, creeping closer with each passing second.

What do I do?

I stared at the creature, its hollow eyes burning into me, and for a brief, terrifying moment,

Am I going to die here?

But as the thought crossed my mind, the shield around me flared brighter, as if in defiance. It wouldn't let me go. Even if I wanted to give up, this power inside me refused to let me.

I clenched my fists, feeling the warm pulse of light surrounding me. I didn't know how long it would hold, didn't know if I had the strength to survive what was coming.

But I wasn't alone. My power, whatever it was, hadn't abandoned me yet.

But neither had this monster.

It loomed over me, the miasma swirling violently now, as if it was preparing for something—something that would tear me apart.

No, no, no! I can't... I can't fight this!

It was going to kill me. I was sure of it.

The creature's muscles tensed again, and I felt the shift in the air—a subtle, terrifying sign that it was about to strike. My heart slammed against my chest as panic surged through me. I was out of time.

Before I could stop myself, instinct took over. My hands shot up, trembling, toward the monster. I didn't know what I was doing, didn't think—I just acted. Desperation and fear guided me.

"No!" I screamed, a strangled cry torn from my throat as I threw my hands forward.

And then it happened.

A searing ball of light burst from my palms, crackling with power I didn't know I had. The holy ball shot forward with a brilliant, blinding light, cutting through the thick miasma like a blade. The swirling darkness dissolved, obliterated in the path of the light as it surged straight toward the monster's neck.

I watched in stunned disbelief as the glowing sphere pierced through the cloud of miasma, erasing everything in its way. It moved faster than I could comprehend, streaking toward the creature's throat with deadly precision.

The monster didn't even have time to react. The holy ball collided with its neck, and for a split second, the world seemed to stop.

Then, in an explosion of light, the holy ball detonated against its throat, bursting into a blinding, radiant glow. The force of it knocked the creature back, its hollow, white eyes widening as it stumbled, the miasma around it recoiling from the holy power.

I gasped, my chest heaving as I stared at what I'd done. The air around me felt lighter, the oppressive weight of the miasma momentarily lifted. The shield that had formed around me earlier still shimmered, but it was the holy light that filled the air now.

I couldn't believe it. My hands shook violently as I lowered them, my heart racing out of control. I had attacked—I had attacked that thing.

The creature staggered, its body barely visible in the remaining haze, but I could see the damage I had done. Its neck, where the holy ball had struck.

Something caught my eye amidst the chaos. There, just beneath where my holy ball had exploded, was a faint, glimmering object partially exposed through the torn bones

Is that a core?

But it's all shattered now

The monster's movement slowed to a crawl, its once menacing pace reduced to a sluggish, labored shuffle. The miasma around it seemed to thicken and writhe, as if trying to compensate for the damage inflicted. I could feel a mixture of relief and terror gripping me. My powers had done something—something significant

But I couldn't stand the sight any longer.

Fear clawed at me, urging me to flee. Without a second thought, I turned and ran back toward the city. My legs felt like lead, but I forced them to move, pushing through the suffocating weight of my despair.

I reached the barrier, its protective shimmer enveloping me as I crossed back into the city. The shield around me faded, but the weight of what I'd done still hung heavily on my shoulders.

***

I walked aimlessly, my steps dragging as I tried to push away the storm of negative thoughts swirling in my mind.

How had it come to this? The monster, the bonewraith, was the very thing people talked about—the very thing everyone had feared.

It was discovered only recently by a neighboring country.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips, the chill in the air seeping through my clothes and numbing my bones. I had tried to escape the city, to end everything, but my powers had stopped me. And now, as I wandered through the streets, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was still trapped—trapped by my own inadequacies.

How could I ever be the saint?

The thought was like a dull knife in my heart. I couldn't even fight off a bonewraith—a creature that had come with the miasma.

If this was all I could do, how could I hope to fulfill any grand destiny? The priest that treated me like garbage was right...

Snow began to fall again, soft flakes drifting down and settling on the ground around me. The cold touched my skin, but it was the chill in my soul that was most unbearable. The world seemed to blur around me, the white of the snow blending with the gray of my thoughts.

I wandered without purpose, my mind a tumult of self-loathing and despair. The city seemed to stretch endlessly, each step feeling heavier than the last. My heart felt as if it was sinking with every step I took.

That's when I came across a ruined mansion, its skeletal frame standing stark against the snowy landscape. The building was a little more than a shell of its former self. I walked around it, my steps crunching softly in the snow as I found a back entrance.

And then I heard them—voices

It seemed like two people talking

I stopped, my ears straining to catch the words.

"What do you plan on doing about the miasma? The world will fall." It was a man's voice.

"We still have the shielded cities." A woman answered

"You really think the cities won't fall?"

!!?

What is he talking about? I peeked at them.

"What are you saying...?"

"The only person that can actually do something about our world failing is the saint." He folded his arms

Oh,

There's someone who believes in a saint?

"But the Saint is dead..."

"Exactly," He sighed as he looked away, "And in case you haven't realized, there is something else in the miasma." He looked to his right, towards the distant forest outside the city, "Something far bigger. Something only a real saint could have handled."

Real saint?

Wait, did this man know that Saint Illaris wasn't the real saint?

I know there was no reason for me to believe anything, or feel happy about.

But I did

"Umm," I don't know why I did it but I just went ahead and exposed myself.

Maybe I was simply looking for validation.

Maybe I just wanted someone to acknowledge me. They both looked at me as I walked towards them with my right hand raised up next to my chest, "I'm the real saint."