The man reached the back of the boulder, tracing the trail of blood where it abruptly vanished behind the stone. His footsteps ceased. He leaned against the cold rock, his voice dropping into a low, chilling croon designed to fracture whatever resolve the child possessed.

"You know, being a slave isn’t the end of the world. It’s a career. You get a roof, you get scraps, and you finally have a purpose. In this world, some people are born to sit at the table, while others are born to be the legs holding it up. You’re just a leg, sweetie. A sturdy, orange haired little leg."

Maddy’s jaw tightened. The word ’slave’ hit her. She had witnessed monsters, vile humans, and death, yet the casual way this man spoke of owning another soul turned her blood into liquid nitrogen. A dark, heavy pressure leaked from her, unconsciously warping the air around the boulder.

"Slaves..."

Maddy breathed, the word a jagged shard of glass in her throat.

"They actually exist in this world... here in this hell."

The man suddenly stiffened. He caught a flicker of movement—a shadow shifting at the edge of the boulder. His grin widened into a line of yellow teeth. He stepped around the corner, his finger squeezing the trigger of his long barreled gun.

"Found you!"

BANG!

The muzzle flashed, the roar of the gunshot shattering the mountain’s silence. The heavy lead slug tore into the dark earth exactly where a foot should have been. Dust and gravel sprayed upward, but there was no scream. There was no blood.

The man blinked, his eyes widening as he looked at the empty patch of dirt. His target was gone.

"What the—?"

He pivoted, swinging the barrel of his gun in a wide arc, searching for a flash of orange hair or a rustle of fabric. He saw nothing. The blood trail simply ended at the base of the massive boulder as if the earth itself had swallowed his prize.

Maddy moved through the darkness like a ghost. She activated Silent Drift, her boots gliding over the gravel without disturbing a single pebble or displaced breath of air. She utilized Shadow Step, slipping from the jagged silhouette of one crag to the next in a seamless transition that defied the man’s vision.

To ensure total invisibility, she draped herself and the girl in Presence Concealment. Their magical signature, their physical weight, and their very intent vanished from the world. To the man’s senses, the clearing was empty.

She reached the girl behind the secondary ridge. The child’s eyes were wide, her mouth still open in a silent, terrified gasp. Maddy didn’t speak; she simply pressed a finger to her lips. She manifested a small, glowing orb of Soothing Slime from her palm.

The cool, minty essence flowed over the girl’s mangled foot. The entry wound closed, the torn skin knitting back together until only a faint, clean scar remained. The blood flow stopped instantly, leaving the trail cold and dead.

The gunman was beginning to unravel. He kicked at a loose stone, his face twisting into a mask of frantic rage.

"I don’t lose stock! That girl is worth three years of honest wages! Come out! Do you hear me? You’re a slave! You’re a thing! You don’t get to just disappear!"

He slammed the butt of his rifle against the ground, the rock splintering under his fury. He paced in tight, jagged circles, his eyes bloodshot and wandering.

"I’ll find you, and I’ll break every bone in your body until you’re just another squishy mess like the ones your village abused! I will strip every layer of skin you have before I make you wobble! Before I lock that collar around your neck, you’ll learn your place. You think you’re clever? You’re nothing! You’re just a pathetic, trash tier piece of junk!"

A short distance away, shielded by the deep shadows of an overhanging ledge, Maddy sat on the ground with the girl. She had maintained Presence Concealment so perfectly that the world around them seemed to go still.

The girl was shaking, her small hands balled into fists, her lips pressed together so hard. She was fighting with everything she had to stay silent, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Maddy looked at the child, and for a fleeting moment, the world vanished. She saw herself back then...

"It’s okay now... You don’t have to be brave anymore. He can’t hear you, and he certainly can’t get to you."

The girl looked up, her gaze searching Maddy’s maternal eyes for a truth she had forgotten how to believe. Maddy offered a soft, steadying smile.

"You are safe. He can scream until his lungs give out, but he will never lay a hand on you again."

The girl’s body remained rigid, her small frame trembling violently. She bit her lip until it blanched, her shoulders shaking, yet not a single sound escaped her. She had been conditioned to remain silent for the sake of survival.

Maddy noticed.. Of course she did. She had seen that kind of silence before. Lived it. Her gaze softened, just a little.

"You can let it out now. You don’t have to be quiet anymore."

The girl didn’t move at first. So Maddy added, quieter—gentler.

"I won’t let anyone hear you. I promise."

For a brief moment, the world held its breath. The dam broke. The girl collapsed against her, fingers clutching desperately at Maddy’s clothes as the sobs tore free—raw, loud, and uncontrollable. All the fear, the pain, and the helplessness she had swallowed spilled out in broken cries.

"I-I was so scared! Everyone was dead!"

Her voice cracked, dissolving into hiccuping sobs as she buried her face into Maddy’s chest. Maddy stood like a pillar of iron, offering no flinch and no rush. She simply held the child, firm and steady, immovable like a wall the world could not break through.

"I know... I know."

Her hand continued its steady, calming motion, grounding the child and guiding her breathing without a single word. The crying went on and on, until finally, it stopped. Bit by bit, the sobs weakened. The girl’s tight grip loosened, and her trembling faded into small, exhausted shivers.

She stayed there, clinging to Maddy—no longer in a state of panic, but simply holding on. Maddy let her stay for as long as she needed.