The forest was deathly silent as Hima's body hit the ground. The once vibrant and confident magician now lay motionless, her legs severed just below the knees. Blood stained the dirt beneath her, pooling around her as her golden hair spread in a halo around her pale face. The magical barrier she had been maintaining flickered out of existence as soon as she fell, leaving Julia, Rina, and Olive exposed to the open air. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze.
"Hima!" Julia's voice cracked as she dropped to her knees beside her fallen comrade. Her hands hovered over the stump where Hima's legs had once been, shaking. "No, no, no... this can't be happening." She glanced at Rina and Olive, desperation in her eyes. "She's... she's lost her legs."
