Chapter 35: THE STRIPPING OF SPIRIT
But beneath the supernatural fire, older memories stirred. Her fallen noble family, their estate seized by creditors and political enemies. Her father’s shame, her mother’s tears, her own desperate flight into the world of adventuring where bloodline mattered less than the strength of your sword arm. She had thought herself strong, had believed that skill and determination would be enough to reclaim her family’s honour.
How wrong she had been.
Every failure rose up to mock her, the contracts she couldn’t complete, the parties that cast her aside, the slow descent into working with people like Raiven who cared nothing for honor or justice. She had compromised herself piece by piece, telling herself it was temporary, that she would find her way back to the light eventually.
Yet something about Yomi’s presence, his quiet confidence, resonated with a part of her she had thought lost. When he spoke of rediscovering her sword’s true intent, it wasn’t just words, it was a promise that struck at the core of who she had once dreamed of being.
Rising unsteadily from the bed, Lirien retrieved her twin swords from where she had left them against the wall. The weapons felt different in her hands now, lighter somehow, as though they were eager to be used. She began moving through the forms her sword master had taught her years ago, the familiar patterns helping to center her chaotic thoughts.
But something was wrong, or perhaps, something was right for the first time in years. Her movements were faster, more precise than they had any right to be. The blades sang through the air with a clarity that made her breath catch, and when she completed a particularly complex combination, she found herself standing in perfect balance despite the tremor in her legs.
What have you done to me? she whispered to the empty room, though whether the question was directed at Yomi or at whatever force had changed her, she couldn’t say.
The practice helped somewhat, burning away some of the supernatural fire that coursed through her veins. But it couldn’t touch the deeper current of anticipation that thrummed beneath her skin, the knowledge that whatever Yomi wanted from her tonight would change everything yet again.
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