"Joshua, wait—!" I shouted, my voice cracking, but he didn't stop. He didn't even look back.
Panic surged in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I pushed harder, trying to catch up, but each step felt heavier. The cavern walls seemed to stretch, and my footsteps echoed in the silence.
Then, figures emerged from the shadows—bandits. Their cruel grins sent a chill down my spine.
One of them sneered, "Hah, was it really this easy to split them up?"
My heart sank. Joshua was surrounded. Fear clenched my chest. If this was their plan, he wouldn't survive.
I forced myself to stay calm. I had to act.
Before I could move, one of the bandits barked, "CHARGE! KILL HIM! HE'S JUST A WEAK BOY!"
The word stung, fueling my anger. I couldn't hesitate anymore. These people needed to pay for the lives they'd ruined. For all the innocents they had kidnapped, robbed, and slaughtered. They deserved nothing less than death.
I summoned mana, forming a barrier around me. When one of the bandits attacked, his sword struck nothing but the barrier, shattering on impact.
Without waiting, I drove my hand forward, breaking through his guard and plunging it into his chest. He cried out in agony, but I was determined to follow through.
Time seemed to slow as I focused, compressing the oxygen in his bloodstream. Before he could react, there was a violent explosion—his body torn apart from the inside out.
The others froze, their eyes wide in disbelief.
"H-he can't be human... no human... can cast that type of magic, let alone cast magic without chants!" one of them stammered.
I stood there, chest rising and falling, mana swirling around me. This wasn't the time for mercy.
"You're the only one here who's not human," I said, my voice low and furious. "You kidnapped innocent children. You stole families—sons, daughters, wives—and you dare call me non-human?" My rage was unstoppable now.
I charged forward, mana hardening around my fists. I struck again, shattering another bandit's guard and sending him flying. His body crashed into another, and both exploded on impact, spraying blood across the cave pathway.
The remaining bandits stood paralyzed, eyes wide in terror. They knew they were facing something beyond their comprehension.
I didn't give them a chance to recover. They wouldn't get another move.
I ran at the remaining bandits, enhancing my speed with mana, but then—pain. A sharp, agonizing pain surged through my chest, and I dropped to the ground.
"Shit, my mana reserves are low... I need to finish this fast," I thought, panic rising.
The bandits saw me fall, and one of them rushed at me with his sword. I tried to block, but my barrier shattered from the lack of mana, and his sword chopped through my arm.
White-hot pain exploded through my body.
"AGHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, the agony threatening to overwhelm me.
With the last bit of mana I had left, I screamed as loud as I could, forcing my power onto the earth. The cave trembled violently. A section of the ceiling collapsed, and rocks rained down, smashing the remaining bandits to the ground. Only one remained—the one who had chopped part of my arm off. I was clutching my arm, desperately trying to stop the bleeding, but I was defenseless.
The bandit glared at me with pure rage. "I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!" His voice cracked, sounding like a madman. "No! I won't die! I CAN'T DIE!"
Ignoring me, he charged at full speed, his sword raised high. In my final moments, I thought back to the times Joshua and I shared—those nights playing video games, laughing, simply enjoying life without a care in the world. The memories flashed through my mind in a blur.
"We should've never accepted that offer from 'God,'" I thought bitterly. But even that regret felt meaningless in the face of death.
Then, I thought of my parents. What were they thinking? Where were they? What had happened since we disappeared? The regrets twisted in my chest.
I braced for death, certain it was the end. But then, everything stopped.
The bandit froze mid-step, as if time itself had paused. I blinked, confused, and looked around, trying to understand what was happening.
"What's going on...?" I muttered. Before I could finish the thought, a booming voice echoed through the cavern, shaking me to my core.
"You two are foolish," the voice said, filled with both authority and disappointment. "Entering a bandit camp without a plan... and not fully understanding the powers you possess."
"Uh… we—" I stuttered, knowing we had no excuses for our carelessness.
The voice continued, but it wasn't angry—there was something almost compassionate in its tone. "But your noble actions have caught my attention. I have sent many to other worlds, and most sought power for the sake of power. But you two—" the voice paused, as if considering its next words. "—you risked your lives for the sake of others. For that reason, I will not let you die."
"Wha...?" I tried to speak, but the voice cut me off, as if it couldn't be argued with.
"You will understand everything in time. Just keep living."
With that, the overwhelming presence of the voice faded, leaving me breathless. Time resumed.
Suddenly, Joshua appeared in front of me, moving faster than I had ever seen. He blocked the bandit's strike just in time, his sword meeting the enemy's with a deafening clash.
"Glad I arrived fast enough," Joshua said, his voice filled with relief, though his eyes still held a hint of concern.
A wave of relief washed over me too. For a moment, I had feared I would never see him again after we got separated.
"Thanks for saving me," I whispered, my voice barely audible, the weight of everything catching up to me.
I didn't have the strength to say anything more, nor did I need to.
With those final words, the darkness took me. My body, already on the edge, finally gave in to the mana loss and the blood draining from my arm. And I passed out, the world slipping away from my grasp.