A Sister’s Pride

When his mouth betrayed his mind and spoke the truth, the dense forest fell silent.
A gentle breeze rustled the lush grass, bending it slightly.

Kant’s eyes widened in disbelief, while Felicia’s gaze shifted from shock to confirmation…

Elves’ sense for their kin was infallible, especially for this one, who bore the same blood as her sister.
This space was strange—even Felicia, an elf, felt it.

Yet this was her home; she had no reason to doubt it until the kiss revealed everything…

She’d been trapped here all along.
The reason she was her sister became clear.

She remembered, though time had dulled the memory.
Through the kiss, she glimpsed fragments of her sister’s forgotten past.

Thankfully, her blood-bound sister had awakened her, though her memories seemed sealed by a trial.

Understanding everything, Felicia rose from Kant’s body.
She placed a hand on his wounded abdomen, chanting softly.
Pale green light enveloped him, mending his ghastly wounds.

“You…”

Kant, still reeling from his mouth’s betrayal, was stunned by the princess’s sudden gentleness in healing him.

“Don’t speak yet, Selina.
Your injuries are too severe.
Let your sister handle them first.”

As Kant tried to question, Felicia’s tender gaze stopped him.
Her eyes radiated the selfless warmth of a sister caring for her sibling.

Her gaze was so soft that Kant couldn’t refuse.
He watched her heal him, uneasy, his mind grappling with the name “Selina.”

When Felicia called him that, he felt an instinctive urge to respond.
Yet, as the words formed, he stopped himself.

His name was Kant.
Selina was clearly a girl’s name.

He had no memories of a girl named Selina—why did it feel so familiar?

Questions piled up, too many to process.
Today’s events were surreal, like a chaotic movie from his past life, brimming with bizarre elements.

Felicia’s healing magic was remarkably effective.
In just ten minutes, Kant’s immobilized body regained enough strength to move.

Clenching his now-functional fingers, he felt lingering muscle pain but could act independently.

Felicia wiped sweat from her brow.
As Kant stood to thank her, the path they’d come from trembled.
The ground shook, and sharp, rustling sounds filled the air—bats flapping and screeching.

“Damn, that vampire’s catching up!”

Seeing the growing crimson hue at the path’s end, Kant’s weary eyes sharpened.
He stood, intending to shield Felicia, but she stepped in front of him first.

Kant was stunned.
Felicia turned back with a radiant, warm smile, pure and unwavering.
Under the sunlight, her delicate frame stood firm before him, her expression resolute.

“Don’t worry, Selina.
Go ahead—keep moving forward.
There’s a way out.
I’ll hold the enemy off until you escape.”

Felicia took on the role of rearguard before Kant could.
His immediate response was instinctive.

“What about you?
If I leave, what happens to you?”

His urgent voice carried an unnoticed tension and care—not mere pity or kindness, but the bond of family and blood.

Noticing his hidden concern, Felicia’s gaze softened further.
She reached out, affectionately ruffling his hair, then grasped his hand.

“Trust me, trust your sister.
I’ll be fine…
As long as you deliver this fragment, I’ll be safe.”

Kant looked at his hand, now holding a glowing, mysterious fragment, radiating a deeply familiar aura.

The ground’s tremors intensified.
Amid the air’s sounds, a sharp, sinister laugh echoed—Aemiya’s laugh, unmistakable to both.

Felicia pressed the fragment into Kant’s hand, pushing him urgently.

“Run, go forward, don’t look back.
The exit’s at the path’s end—reach it, and you’re safe.”

“But you…”

“No buts, Selina!
Won’t you listen to your sister?!”

Her gentle scolding froze Kant, a seasoned rogue, in place.
He didn’t know why, but her sternness sparked an instinctive awe, like being chastised by a family elder.

Gripping the fragment tightly, Kant nodded firmly.

“I understand.
I’ll take the fragment and escape.
You take care.”

In this life-or-death moment, rationality pulled him back.

Clad in tattered clothes, he turned and ran.
Behind him, Felicia stood, gazing at his retreating figure, her emerald eyes brimming with tender warmth.

“Selina, you must return to reality…”

Her gentle expression hardened as she turned to face the path.
The once-vibrant forest was now cloaked in black and crimson, a blood-red moon hanging high, countless dark bats blotting out the sky.
At their center, a petite figure stood out starkly.

“Aemiya, you’re here…”

Felicia’s voice turned icy.

“Hee hee, looks like I’m late.
I missed the full sisterly drama, but even the ending is a touching tearjerker~”

Aemiya spread her ghostly wings, her crimson eyes dripping with mockery.

“No need for words.
We’re both mere soul fragments lost in this space.
I’ve lost my way home, and you’re trapped here forever.”

Felicia’s eyes grew colder, her head high as she faced the ghostly figure in the sky, her soft yet resolute voice fearless.

Aemiya’s mocking smile vanished, replaced by disdain as she glared at the elf blocking her path.

“You think you alone can stop me?”

“One is enough.”

Facing the overwhelming pressure, Felicia didn’t retreat but stepped forward.

“Your actions are like a mantis blocking a cart, an egg against a stone.
Sacrificing yourself for a coward who won’t admit her true identity—is it worth it?”

Seeing Felicia’s fearlessness, Aemiya’s eyes shifted, employing psychological tactics.

“It’s worth it.
Fear is a mistake every elf makes in childhood, but elves grow, and mistakes can be mended.
In the face of danger, I know I’m her sister.
Like a mother in our mother’s absence, protecting my sister is my greatest duty.”

As her words fell, pure green light coalesced in Felicia’s hands, forming a fairy-tale bow forged of flowers and poetry.

Drawing the bow, she aimed a radiant arrow at Aemiya.

“If you mean to harm my sister, you’ll have to step over my body.
Until then, I’ll defend my pride as her sister with my blood!”

Felicia’s resolute words darkened Aemiya’s face.

Her psychological ploy had failed.
Fury drove her to swing her massive scythe at the elf.

Facing the Vampire Progenitor’s assault, Felicia stood unflinching.

She released the bowstring, the emerald arrow clashing with the sinister scythe, igniting a battle between elf and vampire.