Pillar of Yita

The silver moonlight, penetrating the forest, revealed pairs of bright eyes lurking beneath the ancient trees. The eyes gleamed like ghost fire, and from the depths of the beasts’ throats came a low growl, as they warily watched the uninvited guests entering the forest.

In a clearing, the girl’s sharp silver ears twitched slightly as she turned her head. Her dark silver eyes met those of the forest’s master. Suddenly, she bared her snow-white canine teeth. The lurking terror wolves yelped softly, their fur bristling, as they scrambled out of the bushes with their tails between their legs.

Close by, the ground was covered with bodies—giant wolves with manes from the region of Alcas, large hunting dogs, and humans.

Two men lay with their throats slashed open, blood gurgling out, their eyes lifelessly staring at the night sky, filled with stars and tree canopies like glass void of light. A raven perched on a tree branch above, tilting its head as it preened its black feathers, its glossy eyes reflecting the feast in the forest.

They seldom tasted human flesh, but deep within their ancient memories, such scenes lingered—perhaps on some battlefield, their ancestors had circled above the blood-and-fire-covered sky.

As far as the eye could see, there were layers upon layers of corpses, human limbs entwined with one another.

But now, back in the mountain forests among the messy corpses, stood a woman covered in blood, the sole survivor among these people.

She looked with terrified eyes at the wolf-like girl who was approaching ever closer.

”Wait, the matter of Mount Holy Pact... no, it has nothing to do with me.”

”I have hunted you down four times in the last three months,” the girl began, ”You’ve hidden and dodged, but you still couldn’t escape death. Knowing what you know today, do you regret your initial decision?”

”Miya... please listen to my explanation.”

”Both of them are dead,” the girl glanced at the two men, then turned back, ”Do you still want to live alone?”

”Please tell me, Senior,” her voice was gentle, soft like a low nocturne, ”who was the one who betrayed us originally?”

The woman broke into tears, sobbing, ”I don’t know, I don’t know... you can’t kill me, Miya, you know we had our reasons. Everything was a last resort, the real manipulator behind it all––”

She suddenly realized she’d said something wrong, opened her mouth wide, her face paled, and she began trembling.

The wolf-like girl’s silver gaze unmoved, she asked, ”Who is it?”

”It’s... no, I can’t say, Miya, please, don’t push me...”

”I’m not pushing you,” the girl shook her head, ”Senior, it was your own choice.”

”Wait, but—”

Miya stood up straight, her gaze growing disappointed in the other, stepped back slightly, sighed softly, and raised her hand, the wrist blade glinting with a cold arc. She swept it downward, a spray of blood followed.

The woman, with a look of disbelief, clutched her bloodied neck with both hands and fell down with a thud.

Miya watched silently, only a flicker in her silver eyes, but then she suddenly turned her head, retrieving the communication crystal in her hand. Under the moonlight, a pale blue screen unfolded gradually, displaying a new message:

”Where are you?”

”A secret,” the girl typed back.

”...”

”Do you need something?” she asked.

”Want to meet? Set a place?”

”No way.”

The person on the other end seemed to have anticipated this response and sighed, ”...You’ve been going against the Silver Forest Spear again, have they offended you?”

Miya was taken aback, then with a light swipe of her hand:

”They killed my little boyfriend.”

”!?”

The person on the other end seemed choked, growing somewhat frenzied, and immediately shot back another message, ”Wait, who’s the rotten kid?”

”Qin Zhi.”

”You know, I don’t mean this unfortunate guy... ”

”That’s none of your business,” the wolf-like girl paused, a smirk forming, ”Actually, I don’t even know where he is, I’ve been looking for him too.”

”You’re not joking with me, are you?”

”If you don’t start talking seriously, I’ll hang up.”

”Wait,” the person on the other side seemed well aware of her temperament, hurriedly spoke, ”I do have serious news, have you been investigating Mount Holy Pact lately? I must warn you, you have drawn the attention of the Descendants of Flor.”

”They can’t stop me.”

”What about the Super Competitive League?”

Miya paused her hand on the screen, then wrote deliberately, ”Is it indeed related to them?”

”...Take care of yourself.”

The light screen flickered slightly, then folded into a line and disappeared.

Miya paused for a moment, silently observed the three corpses; the woman’s body was becoming stiff, cold like a stone statue, but underneath the blood, not a single starlight spilled.

They were like three pieces of deadwood.

She turned, slowly walking into the forest, the communication crystal beside her lit up again.

She casually picked up the crystal, glanced at it, her eyes filled with surprise. Holding the crystal to her ear, she tilted her head casually, letting her silver hair cascade down through her fingertips, her voice soft, ”Little White, missed your sister?”

”...”

”I don’t go by Little White.” A cold voice transmitted from the communication crystal.

”Well, it’s close enough, isn’t it?”

”Got something for you.”

”A video?”

”Yes, and a picture.”

Miya looked at the image sent over, a silver imprint of half a crown. She suddenly froze in place, as if spellbound. After a long while, she gripped the crystal tightly and asked, ”Little White, where are you now? How did you find this, whose hands is it in?”