The night stretched quietly across the hills as Vyvian, Faye, and Rem stood facing the distant figure.
The wind brushed against the tall grass, carrying a faint chill with it. The stars above shimmered dimly, barely lighting the land. Yet even in that darkness, the figure ahead was unmistakable.
Still. Watching.
Faye narrowed her eyes. "Why does that feel so familiar…?"
Rem's expression hardened. "Stay alert."
Vyvian didn't speak. His gaze remained locked on the silhouette.
Then suddenly,
The figure moved.
In a single instant, its form blurred and shifted. A faint shimmer passed through the air, like glass cracking under pressure.
And then, a deer stood in its place.
Its body was sleek yet powerful, its presence overwhelming. Strange, reflective fragments began forming around it, like shards of broken mirrors suspended midair.
Faye's eyes widened. "…That's—"
Rem finished the sentence quietly. "Sterling."
The deer didn't respond.
Instead, the shards expanded outward.
Then exploded.
Hundreds of mirror fragments scattered across the battlefield, hovering in the air at every angle.
"Move!" Rem shouted.
Too late.
The shards slashed across them.
Thin cuts opened along their arms and legs. Not deep, but sharp enough to sting. Blood traced faint lines across their skin.
Faye clenched her teeth. "He's not here to talk…"
Vyvian's eyes darkened slightly. "…No."
The deer moved.
It vanished.
Then reappeared instantly from another shard.
Then another.
And another.
Its speed was absurd, teleporting between reflections like it was moving through space itself.
"Transform," Rem said calmly.
In the next moment, all three shifted into their forms. Power surged through them, Qi flaring outward.
Rem moved first.
"Sanction Wave."
Golden energy erupted from his body as he thrust his arm forward. A massive shockwave burst outward, sweeping across the battlefield.
The mirror shards shattered instantly and stunned Sterling for a while, but sterling got back again.
For a brief second, the area cleared.
Then, more appeared.
Dozens. Hundreds.
Reforming instantly around them.
Rem clicked his tongue. "…No use."
Faye exhaled slowly. "So we break them, and he just makes more?"
"Exactly."
The deer reappeared again.
This time, closer.
"Together," Rem said.
All three moved at once.
They dashed forward, their attacks perfectly synchronized. Faye's flames surged, Vyvian's frost condensed, Rem's Qi pulsed violently.
They struck.
But,
Nothing.
The deer vanished just before impact.
Then it appeared behind them.
Too fast.
A violent force slammed into all three at once.
They were thrown into the air.
Before they could recover, the deer was already moving again.
It dashed through them repeatedly.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Each impact landed clean.
Their bodies were struck midair, unable to stabilize.
Faye gritted her teeth as she flipped and landed roughly. "Damn it…!"
Rem steadied himself, breathing heavier now. "…We can't track him."
Vyvian's eyes scanned the shards.
Not him.
The mirrors.
He stepped forward slightly.
"…It's not him we need to follow."
Faye looked at him. "Then what?"
"The reflections."
Before she could respond,
The deer attacked again.
This time, Rem reacted instantly.
Qi surged around him.
A compressed golden burst exploded outward, not just as an attack, but as propulsion.
Rem dashed forward using the recoil, closing distance instantly.
For a moment,
He caught it.
His hand nearly reached the deer,
But the creature slipped away again.
Teleporting.
Still faster.
Faye stepped forward next.
Her aura flared violently.
"Marvelous Inferno."
Blue flames erupted around her, spreading outward in a wide radius.
But these flames were different.
They didn't just burn.
They cut.
Thousands of tiny blade-like edges filled the air, slicing through everything in range.
The mirror shards were struck.
Scratched.
Distorted.
Some shattered.
But again
More formed.
The deer moved freely through them, untouched.
Vyvian watched.
His hand slowly rose.
Divine frost…
For a moment, pure cold gathered.
Then,
It shifted.
Darkened.
"…Void Frost."
Black ice formed above him, condensing into a massive crystal.
The air itself seemed to freeze unnaturally.
The deer paused for the first time.
Then it moved.
Too late.
"Shoot."
The crystal collapsed into a beam.
A black, freezing ray shot forward, tearing through the battlefield.
It struck.
The deer was caught mid-teleport.
Ice spread instantly.
Dark frost crawled across its body, freezing and burning at the same time.
For a moment,
It worked.
The deer was locked in place.
Faye reacted instantly.
"Now!"
She launched forward, flames surging.
Rem followed, golden Qi exploding beneath his feet.
All three attacks converged.
Impact.
The ground shattered.
The ice cracked.
The flames exploded.
The shockwave rippled outward violently.
For a moment,
it was silence.
Then, the ice broke.
The deer stepped out.
Unharmed.
All three froze.
"…What?" Faye whispered.
Inside Sterling's mind,
A child sat peacefully in an endless grassland.
Soft wind passed through the tall green blades.
The sky stretched infinitely above.
The child yawned slightly.
"I wonder how long brother will take…"
He lay back, staring upward lazily.
"If he needs help… he should just call Mommy deer…"
Back to reality,
The deer stood still.
Then it exhaled.
"…I might need help from Mother."
Its body shifted.
Twisted.
Changed.
Its form grew larger.
More humanoid.
Muscles formed beneath its frame.
Massive antlers extended outward, glowing faintly.
A single silver eye opened.
The air trembled.
Inside the mind,
The child fell asleep.
The deer closed its eyes.
And something else woke up.
The new form looked at them.
"…So these are the ones."
Its voice was deep.
Masculine.
Heavy.
Before they could react,
It disappeared.
And reappeared.
At the same time.
Everywhere.
A single instant passed.
Then,
Darkness.
An hour later.
Vyvian's eyes slowly opened.
His vision blurred before stabilizing.
The night sky was still there.
The hills unchanged.
Faye groaned nearby. "…My head…"
Rem sat up slowly, holding his side.
"…What happened?"
Silence.
They looked around.
No shards, no deer, no Sterling.
Gone.
Completely.
Faye blinked. "…Did we win?"
Rem shook his head slowly. "…No."
Vyvian looked down.
His bag.
He froze.
"…Our food."
Faye checked immediately.
"…Gone."
Rem checked his pouch.
"…Money's still here."
They all paused.
Confusion settled heavily.
Faye frowned. "Why would he take food… but not money?"
Rem didn't answer.
Vyvian stood up slowly.
His body still ached.
"…We don't even remember how we lost."
Silence.
The wind passed through the hills again.
Cold.
Uncertain.
Faye crossed her arms. "…This is messed up."
Rem exhaled. "We were completely overwhelmed."
"…Yeah," Vyvian muttered.
He looked toward the darkness ahead.
"…And he didn't even try to kill us."
That made it worse.
They stood there for a moment longer.
Then they started walking again.
Toward Valenor.
With more questions than answers.