I yawn.
I lay on a plastic bag stuffed with clothes, my body wrapped in bandages. A single tear slides down my cheek, the sting of alcohol still fresh on my wounds. My gaze lingers on the crushed laptop I hold above me.
"I wonder what secrets are in here..."
A glint catches my eye at the laptop's edge. Curious, I reach over, tugging at it. and pulling it out...."AH! Oops..." I mutter, turning pale. But as I examine it closer, relief washes over me—it's just a busted USB, camouflaged against the laptop like a chameleon blending with a tree.
I pull it free and sit up straight, turning the small device in my hands. "The closest city to this place is Mornin City. If I hike, it should take me about six hours normally... but with these injuries..." I grimace. "Maybe seven or eight hours... and that's if I don't run into that weirdo."
Clenching my fist, I push the thought aside. I'll deal with it after a good rest... with Spera.
I place the USB on the laptop and set them on the nearest plastic bag before dropping my heavy body back down, feeling my muscles melt into the soft makeshift cushion.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Crrk-crrk.
My body jolts upright, fluid and frantic. My head whips around the room. "What the hell is going on?" I dart to one of the peepholes and peer outside.
A man stands there, stepping back from a tree with a machete in hand. He slumps to the ground, breathing heavily. Behind him, I notice a freshly cut tree.
"Did he cut that down by himself with just a machete?!" I gasp. "Impossible!"
The tree tilts, groaning under its own weight before starting to fall.
Panicked, I snatch up the USB drive and yell, "SPERA!"
A cobalt blue light bursts forth as Spera materializes, but my body freezes instantly. "What's going on?!"
"In the air, NOW!" I bark.
Without hesitation, Spera slips under me and expands, launching me skyward just as the tree crashes down.
Thwump!
In mid-air, Spera flies up to catch me, but a shadowy figure springs from the darkness, slamming into him.
"NOX!" Spera roars as he's dragged down, struggling against the shadow clamping onto him with its teeth.
My body plummets. Frozen and emotionless, I stare at the ground rushing toward me.
Oh... this is truly it. I-I... I couldn't even start the race, and it's already over...
I fall.
Spera, still wrestling with the shadow, expands his form, overpowering it. He breaks free and rockets toward me with incredible speed.
But...
THUD!
I hit the ground, flat on my back, from a height of fifty meters. Yet, somehow... I'm alive.
Spera vanishes in a shimmer of light.
Dazed, I sit up, moving my body cautiously. Pain shoots through me as I stretch, and I wince. My back is bruised from top to bottom, but it doesn't matter.
I... am... not... dead.
The man stiffens, no longer leaning against the tree. His eyes widen in disbelief. "Impossible! Borstills can't survive from that height! What are you?!"
He readies himself for battle.
I slip the USB into my pocket, standing unsteadily. My voice is low, seething with rage. "I don't know who you are... but I'll make sure you PAY."
Our eyes lock, and I prepare to fight.