"Put me down, you idiot!" Gayatri yelled, her face pressed hard against his shoulder as the wind whipped her matted black hair across his face. "Are you trying to get us both killed?""Hey, a little gratitude would be nice!" Aristha panted, his legs churning as he leaped over a shattered wooden cart. "I literally just saved our heads from rolling into a wicker basket!""By blowing up the royal scaffold?" Gayatri’s voice shook, her fingers clutching his torn collar. "How did you even do that? You don't have a single drop of spiritual energy!""Let's just say I got a sudden promotion!" Aristha ducked as a stray stone thrown by a panicked citizen whistled past his ear. `[System: Warning. Host's muscular structure is undergoing rapid adaptation to the 'Spiritual Apprentice' realm. Physical stamina depleting. Current Prana: 4,000.]`"Not now, System!" Aristha muttered, his chest burning like hot coals. "Give me a navigation map or something!"`[System: Mapping Kalinga city layout... Blind

"Is it finally gone?" Gayatri's voice was barely a whisper.Aristha lowered his half-burnt, smoking branch, his chest heaving. The low growl of the Shadow Fang Wolf had finally faded into the damp forest."Yeah. The fire kept it back," Aristha gasped, tossing the branch onto the dying embers. "But we can't stay here. The sun's coming up."Gayatri sat up, clutching her arms against the chill. "We're in the middle of nowhere. Where do we go?""The Terunyan Dead Woods."She froze, her eyes widening. "Are you insane? That's a forbidden zone! The corruption there kills anyone who enters!""Exactly," Aristha said, offering her a hand. "Which is why Prince Rama's golden boys won't dare follow us. They have scout dogs, Gayatri. They'll sniff us out of this shrine in an hour."She reluctantly took his hand. "But the spiritual beasts... we won't survive.""We will. Because you have me." Aristha gave her a quick wink. "Now up. We have a long walk.""I still think you've lost your mind," she mutt

"Burn?" Gayatri whispered, her voice cracking as she leaned back against the rough, rotting wood of the Banyan tree. "How? With what army, Aristha?""We don't need an army yet," Aristha said, brushing a layer of damp bark off his knees. "We just need ourselves.""Look at me!" she suddenly cried, holding up her trembling hands. "Look at my hands! They're covered in mud and dried blood. My face... I can feel the dirt caked into my skin. I must look like a monster.""You look like someone who survived a fifty-foot drop into a raging river," Aristha said dryly. "Stop drama-queening.""I am not 'drama-queening'!" she snapped, tears finally spilling over her cheeks, cutting clean lines through the grime on her face. "I am a lady of the royal court of Kalinga! My appearance, my grace... it was everything. Now I'm a fugitive hiding in a hollow tree like a sewer rat!""A living rat is better than a dead princess in a wicker basket," Aristha muttered, crossing his arms. "At least the rat gets t

"Halt! Traitors of Kalinga!" a harsh voice boomed through the freezing mist.Six figures in silver-and-gold armor stepped out from behind the moss-covered stone graves, swords already drawn and gleaming with cold light."Well, that didn't take long," Aristha muttered, skidding to a halt."I told you!" Gayatri hissed, her fingers digging tightly into his arm. "That giant golden laser beam wasn't exactly subtle, Aristha!""Hey, blame the System, not the driver," Aristha said, rolling his shoulders."Who are you talking to?!""Doesn't matter. Look at the guy in the middle. Is it just me, or does his armor look way too expensive for a regular scout?"The man in the center stepped forward, his heavy iron boots crushing a moss-covered skull. A nasty, jagged scar ran from his ear down to his collarbone. "I am General Soka of the Royal Vanguard. Surrender, fallen princess, and your execution will be swift. Resist, and I will personally drag you back in chains.""Soka," Gayatri whispered, her

The cavern ceiling shrieked, shearing apart under the violent impact of the blast. Massive slabs of limestone dropped like falling guillotines, pulverizing the stone floor."Move, move, move!" Aristha roared, lunging forward to tackle Gayatri by the waist."Ah! Let go of—""Not a chance!"They rolled together into a narrow, shadowed crevice just as a three-ton boulder crashed exactly where they had been standing, showering them in sharp stone shrapnel."Are you trying to kill me before they do?" Gayatri gasped, coughing heavily through the thick, suffocating white dust."I just saved your head," Aristha muttered, shaking debris from his hair. "Again. You're welcome.""You threw me like a sack of grain!""And you landed on something soft. Namely, me. Now keep your voice down.""The ceiling is still collapsing, Aristha!" she whispered frantically, her hands instantly gripping his wet tunic. "We are going to be buried alive!""We aren't dying here," Aristha grunted, dragging her deeper i