She was already covered in wounds.
And for a human mind, the pain was unbearable — adrenaline or not.
She would eventually break.
It wasn't what she had wanted. Not like this.
But that was reality.
She was weakening.
Her strikes were less devastating.
Her movements, less precise.
Her reflexes, slowed.
And the beasts, vicious as ever, sensed their chance.
They swarmed the breach.
One of them leapt at her from behind.
Maggie didn't have time to react.
She fell.
And the weight of the hyena on her...
It was immense.
Heavier than anything she had ever known.
She tried to get back up — in vain.
Her body no longer responded.
Her breath caught.
Her arms trembled, weak, almost foreign.
Then came the claws.
Dozens.
Hundreds?
She no longer knew. She no longer counted.
They tore at her skin, relentless.
And this time, she screamed.
A hoarse cry. Shattered.
Like a sail ripped by the wind.
An inhuman wail.
The pain was too sharp.
Too brutal to ignore.
Too violent to tame.
She couldn't see anymore.
Her consciousness wavered, drowning in suffering.
Her limbs faded one by one, like lights being snuffed out.
She was losing.
And then...
A burst.
Sharp, violent, precise shots.
They tore through the air, drowned out the cries, pierced through the mass of beasts.
Maggie felt the vibrations.
The bullets.
The shock of falling bodies.
But she saw nothing.
Everything became blurry.
Her eyelids, heavy as lead.
Her world, swallowed by shadow.
And darkness took her, without resistance.
---
The world was a boiling blur, silence reigned, only the rustling of leaves and cries of distant birds broke it. Maggie's mind returned to clarity with the tingling in her body as it woke up. She felt the world moving — and realized she was leaning against something soft… and hard? Somehow both.
Her vision fully returned, and sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, briefly blinding her. But it passed quickly.
She really was in motion — but it wasn't her walking.
She noticed the braids and dark skin of the man carrying her on his back.
It was Dylan. He was shorter than her, yet he carried her without much difficulty. His eyes were fixed forward as he weaved through the forest, like he knew the path.
Maggie held her breath, trying not to make it obvious she was awake, especially as he readjusted her, her long legs around his waist.
She didn't exactly feel comfortable. It wasn't that Dylan smelled bad, but being carried by him made her feel... off.
He was a young man, younger than her in the army.
She didn't want to look weak in front of her junior. Her subordinate.
She tried to force herself to get down, but her strength seemed to have flown away earlier, leaving her limp. And Dylan's grip wasn't to be underestimated.
He was a man, after all.
"You're awake, Commander," Dylan said softly, continuing his pace without stopping.
Maggie bit her lip and replied right away:
"Sorry if I moved too much."
Dylan stayed stone-faced and said:
"It's not that. I just noticed you stopped drooling on my shoulder."
Even Maggie hadn't realized it until she hastily bit his neck from behind.
He winced softly at the bite — more surprised than hurt — but didn't say anything right away.
Silence settled between them, suspended among the leaves and rustling wind.
Maggie clung to him, arms around his shoulders, unable to decide if she should apologize or faint from embarrassment.
Her breath brushed the back of his neck, and she could feel his steady heartbeat, like an insistent metronome refusing to slow.
Her eyes scanned the forest — the same forest she had left in a whirlwind of claws and blood.
Now, everything felt… different.
Slower.
As if the world were in slow motion.
Her body, aching and numb, protested every movement.
Sharp burns on her ribs, tingling in her fingers, damp heat against her temple — yet despite all of it, she was alive.
And that was a strange, almost unreal feeling.
Dylan finally spoke, still calm, as if he wasn't carrying a mountain on his back.
"I thought you were dead for a second."
It was said plainly.
No dramatic emotion.
Just a truth he had likely carried with her the whole way.
She lowered her eyes slightly, her cheek brushing against his thick dreadlocks.
She hated this kind of silence… the kind that spoke louder than words.
So she said, a little too quickly, a little too softly:
"I thought the same… for a moment."
He didn't respond right away.
Then, in a neutral tone, like he was talking about a recon mission:
"You survived. That's already something."
A pause. Then, with a hint of barely-hidden mischief:
"Though, I think we should have a proper talk with Élisa about the anima gems. She said they boost strength, but I didn't really believe it until..."
Maggie rolled her eyes, then closed them. She sighed softly.
"Until after watching me fight those hyenas?"
He nodded, his gaze still cold and fixed ahead.
"Last night, I managed to absorb just one, and I already feel somewhat stronger. But for you, who absorbed more than me, it makes sense that you could fight that hard."
She hesitated… then ended up murmuring, almost laughing, but without any amusement in her voice:
"I think for the first time, I'm having the same thoughts as you."
Dylan's voice came again, Maggie felt the vibrations of his words as her head rested against his back.
"Yeah... I think that to get out of this forest, we'll have to reach that awakening she mentioned earlier."
Maggie sighed, but stopped halfway when she realized her breath had hit Dylan's neck a bit too hard, unintentionally.
"It's not just about getting out of this forest. I thought about it last night while I was on watch.
When we're in human civilization, we'll need to be strong not to get trampled — and cautious about our origin so we're not treated like... heresy? I don't know.
But it's more likely in a world with societies and collective consciousness built on primitive rights like this one."
Dylan nodded, his grey eyes still fixed ahead, cold.
"What happened to Élisa made me think about that.
This world… might not be so different from the one we knew.
It's deceptive with its calm appearance."