I Chose This Path, Now the Universe Will Know My Name

After the fight the creature transformed into a human, it was a girl.

We didn't speak for a while after the fight.

The snow had stopped falling, and silence returned to the valley — a silence made heavier by the near-death still burning behind my ribs.

She sat a few paces away, her back resting against a stone, watching the wind shift. Her gaze wasn't soft. It wasn't curious. It was just… watching.

Lyssira whispered beside me, her voice cautious.

"She's dangerous."

"So was that thing," I replied.

"This is different."

I looked up at her again.

She'd saved me.

But something about her presence made the air feel colder than before.

After a long pause, she finally turned her head.

"You're not dead," she said flatly.

"Thanks to you," I managed.

She shrugged.

"Wasn't doing it for you. The thing was in my way."

Her voice was sharp, precise. Like every word was chosen only if it served a purpose.

"Still… thank you."

She didn't respond. Her eyes moved to Lyssira, then back to me.

"You're human."

"Yeah," I nodded.

"So am I."

"Zavier," I offered.

"Freya."

She stood slowly, brushing off ice. Her armor looked pieced together — scavenged from kills, reinforced with mana-infused hide. Every movement she made was efficient. No wasted motion.

"You just ranked up," she said.

"How'd you know?"

"I can smell the breakthrough." She paused. "It reeks."

That stung, but she wasn't wrong.

"Your buff…?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment.

"Primal Shifter."

"So you can turn into animals?"

"Not just animals," she said, voice low. "Anything living. Anything imagined."

My eyes widened.

"That's insane."

"It's unstable." Her tone went cold. "And deadly."

I didn't ask what she meant right away.Didn't need to.There was something in her eyes — something fractured.

After a long silence, she added:

"I entered with someone."

"Who?"

"My brother."

She didn't elaborate.She didn't need to.

I felt something heavy settle in my chest. She'd lost family, just like Lyssira. Just like me.

The tournament wasn't just about killing.It was about surviving the people it broke.

Freya moved toward the tree line, keeping her gaze distant.

"Don't follow me."

"I wasn't going to."

"Good. Most people slow me down."

"I'm not most people."

"No," she said. "You're still alive. That's rare for someone this green."

I stood.

My body still ached from the fight, my evolution fresh and unsteady.

But something in me wanted to understand her.

"You don't have to do this alone, you know."

Freya paused mid-step. Her head turned, just slightly.

"I do, actually."

Then she was gone — just like that — slipping into the forest, her footsteps leaving no trace.

Lyssira walked up beside me, wrapping her coat tighter.

"She's been through things you can't imagine."

"I can try."

"Then be careful," she warned. "Because people like her… they either harden around you — or break you open."

We stayed the night in the hollow of a cliff.I didn't sleep much.

The fire burned low, and I kept watching the trees — not in fear of another enemy…

…but hoping she'd come back.