Page 137 of The Last Guardian

I glanced around the place, where people were far too busy with their own business, drinking and playing games, to help us. “I’m not arguing with that,” I murmured under my breath. “Still, the guy is pretty big!”

“So what are you going to do now, smartass?” Lyra joked, her hand grabbing mine.

I assessed the big guy still walking, almost reaching us, his large hands curling in fists at his sides. “Probably kick him in the balls.”

It was one of the first moves my older brother had taught me when I was only five. “If a man’s bothering you, you kick him in the balls and knock his head with your elbow. Then you run!” Arthur had said.

Lyra nodded and said, “Smart move.”

The asshole finally reached us, his big mouth curled in a snarl, and with all my might and strength, my foot flew in the air, kicking him in the groin.

The man, taken by surprise, stilled. His blood rushed to his neck and spread across his face as it turned scarlet. His hands on his groin, he bent over in pain, groaning.

At full speed, I knocked him down with my elbow, his nose taking the impact, cracking against my bones.

Fuck, it hurt.

Once the man was down, I yelled at Lyra, “Run!”

THE MEMORY SHIFTED into the void as i fell.

Come.

Come.

Come.

Come.

Whispered a voice, urging me to follow its track, echoing in the emptiness of my mind. A light burst, fighting against the darkness.

It bent, tearing me apart from the inside more violently than any darkness—it was burning me alive.

SOIL, MOSS, AND damp mingled in soft air, tickling my senses and settling on my skin.

My feet moved on their own, wet grass brushing against my skin. Songbirds buzzed in the sky, the soft thud of falling leaves flying in the wind before falling on the ground.

A silence, rich in sound—not the utterly whole silence of the Void. A silence never complete, nor empty—it was the silence of life.

A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, the faint melody of wildlife and fish leaping from the stream. Even the roar of a waterfall echoed off the stones of a pond.

Every note resonated within my spine, hearing the soil’s heartbeat.

My lids parted slowly, and the sunlight enveloped my senses. I lifted my gaze, facing the towering trunks. The lush trees, the hot air—I was in the middle of a jungle, surrounded by trees and exotic plants.

My feet moved on their own, following the waterfall’s sound from afar, but⁠—

“Come,” a whisper lured.

Turning my head, I searched for where the sound came from.

“May your destiny be fulfilled at last, Lady of Darkness,” the whisper called again.

The world turned pitch-black; the light died out in mere seconds, as the scenery shifted. Turning and turning, until I faced⁠—

A cave.

The darkness shifted, breaking the hard contrast of the place I had come from. As my eyes strained to adjust to the blackness, my hand found the cold, smooth stone of a wall that helped me navigate my way forward.