The jungle seemed to have closed in even more since they left the ruins. Only small, thin rays of light filtered through the dense canopy.

  The group moved in single file, with Kai leading the way. Right behind him walked Dren, the prisoner, his wrists bound by reinforced ice ropes created by Roshia’s magic. Every time he tried to lag behind or trip on purpose, the ice would contract a bit more, drawing a muffled groan from him.

  "Don't play games with me," Roshia said in a low voice, walking right behind him. "If you lead us astray by even a single kilometer, I’ll freeze your legs and leave you here for the animals to leave you so disfigured that no one will recognize you."

  Dren swallowed nervously. "We’re close. Two more days, maybe less if it doesn't rain."

  Allice let out a cold laugh. "Then you’d better pray for clear skies."

  Lyla walked beside Kai, her calm presence contrasting sharply with the tension vibrating in the air. Every now and then, she would place a light hand on his forearm, a silent gesture of support and affection.

  The first day was grueling. At dusk, they stopped in a relatively dry clearing surrounded by trees with reddish, thorny bark. Allice and Roshia took charge of setting up a defensive perimeter using tensioned vine traps and fragments of fragile ice that would shatter at any careless step, alerting them to intruders.

  While they worked, Kai and Lyla tied Dren to a tree and then moved a few meters away to gather dry firewood. The silence between them was comfortable. Kai leaned down to pick up some branches when he felt Lyla’s eyes fixed on him.

  "What is it?" he asked without turning around.

  "Nothing… I’m just watching you. You’re changing."

  Kai straightened up, branches in his arms. "Changing in what way?" he asked, confused.

  "Before, you were like someone walking through a world where you didn't belong. Now… you react. You feel real anger when you see someone suffer. You feel satisfaction when you save someone. You’re starting to truly be here."

  Kai dropped the wood and took a step closer. "Watching Roshia break down like that at the ruins…" He paused, searching for the right words. "It awakened something. It’s not just loose memories anymore. It’s as if my body knows what to do before my mind does. As if I’ve already seen too much pain to stay still."

  Lyla smiled with that softness that always seemed to know more than she let on. "Your soul never forgot, sweetheart. It’s just your head that’s catching up."

  Kai reached out and, without thinking too much, brushed his fingers against hers. It wasn't an exaggerated romantic gesture, just a brief contact, but it was enough for a warm current to travel up his arm and settle in his chest.

  "I don't know how long it will take to remember everything," he murmured. "But being near you… it feels right. Like it’s always been this way."

  Lyla intertwined her fingers with his for just a second, a gentle squeeze before letting go. "Step by step, Kai. We have time."

  They returned to the camp in silence, but with a new closeness between them, invisible yet palpable.

  By dawn on the second day, the terrain changed. The ground became rockier and the vegetation less dense.

  "The Mase River," Dren announced with a trembling voice. "The entrance is behind that small waterfall."

  Allice pushed the prisoner forward. "Show us. And pray you aren't lying to us."

  Dren, sweating cold, pushed aside the vines covering a crack in the rock wall. Behind them was a thin waterfall cascading from about ten meters high. The entrance was narrow, barely enough for one person at a time.

  Kai was the first to enter, followed by the rest. The natural tunnel sloped gently downward, the air smelling of dampness and moss. After about fifteen minutes, the passage opened into a massive cavern illuminated by torches.

  There were large cages lined up against the stone walls, and in the center, an improvised camp with tents, tables stained with maps, piled weapons, and many people. Dozens of prisoners, elves, gaunt humans, demihumans, and dwarves. Some stared at the entrance with hollow eyes, while others cringed at their arrival.

  Roshia let out a gasping cry. "Elara!"

  A girl of about eight years old, with silver hair identical to her mother’s, was sitting in a corner of a small cage, hugging her knees. Upon hearing her name, she lifted her head. "Mommy!"

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Roshia ran forward, but several guards emerged from the shadows, weapons raised.

  [ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]

  ENEMY DETECTED

  Type: Human.

  Threat Level: Rank B.

  Distance: 35 meters.

  Kai drew both daggers, reacting with great efficiency. The battle erupted like a storm. These traffickers were better organized than the ones at the ruins, Lyla even noticed powerful mages among them.

  Kai moved like lightning. An ice spear shot out from a spell cast by one of the mages. Instead of using his absorption ability, Kai shifted his posture mid run and caught the spear in the air. His hand bled so much that the ice spear turned red, but Kai simply kept running toward the mage, skewering him and another enemy at the same time.

  For her part, Allice moved in a way that made it look like she was dancing among the attackers. A trafficker tried to stab her in the back, but she spun and drove one of her daggers directly into his jugular, killing him instantly and without hesitation.

  Roshia, consumed by the joy of finding her daughter and by pure rage, raised both hands. "Frozen Storm!" she recited with a breaking voice.

  As she spoke, the air turned frigid in seconds. Sharp snowflakes, like blades, began to fall in a twelve meter radius, slicing through skin and cloth. Several traffickers screamed as they felt the blood freeze in their wounds. Lyla, with great precision, created air currents that deflected arrows and pushed enemies toward areas where Kai and Allice could reach them more easily.

  Another mage tried a powerful spell, a dark sphere began to form in his hands without him uttering a single word. He had refined his magic and mana to the point of not needing an incantation. Lyla watched him and realized the immense danger, not only was he not chanting, but the sphere itself wasn't a basic element, it was darkness.

  Kai prepared to absorb it, but Lyla stopped him with a shout. "Kai, no!" she cried out in desperation.

  Hearing Lyla’s tone, Kai quickly connected the dots and realized the situation. He tried to attack in close quarters, but several traffickers defended the mage while he charged the spell.

  "Allice, help me here!"

  Allice turned and saw the situation. Without hesitation, she moved with Kai, attacking the traffickers to try and reach the mage. No one could get close, and the sphere was already the size of a soccer ball.

  Kai looked at Roshia. "If you can replicate what the ice mage threw earlier, launch it at me when I give the signal!" he shouted while still fighting a burly trafficker.

  Roshia nodded and continued supporting the fight alongside Lyla. Kai managed to kill the trafficker and tried to approach the mage again, but two others blocked his path.

  "Now!"

  Roshia launched the same ice spear the previous mage had used. Kai held out his right hand. "Absorption."

  He looked at Lyla, who understood his intention and created a gust of air to propel Kai forward. He extended his left arm. "Expulsion!"

  The ice spear surged forth again, piercing the mage's head. The dark sphere vanished instantly. With the threat of the mage gone, they were able to focus on the rest. When the last trafficker fell to his knees, pleading, the silence was deafening.

  Roshia ran to Elara’s cage. With a wave of her hand, she froze the bars until they became brittle and shattered them with a sharp blow. Elara threw herself into her mother's arms, sobbing loudly.

  "Mommy… I thought you weren't coming… I thought you’d forgotten me…"

  "Never, my love. I would never forget you. I would never abandon you."

  Kai watched the scene, and something shifted inside him. It was a profound, almost painful recognition. This was the kind of thing he had fought for before. The reason he had died.

  Lyla approached and rested her forehead against his shoulder for a moment. "Do you feel it?"

  Kai nodded slowly. "Yes. I’m starting to understand why everyone looks at me like I’m… someone important."

  Allice walked over, cleaning her daggers. "You’re not just someone important. You’re the hero. And you’re becoming him again, even if you don't fully remember it yet."

  The prisoners began to emerge from the broken cages, some limping, others helping the weakest. Kai and the group quickly organized the evacuation, those who could walk assisted those who couldn't, and the traffickers' weapons were gathered for defense in case of more ambushes.

  Dren, still tied up, watched everything with wide eyes. "What… what are you going to do with me?"

  Kai stared at him. "We’ll take you back to the nearest village. They’ll decide what to do with you there. But I’ll give you some free advice, if you ever work for people like this again… there won't be a second chance."

  Dren nodded frantically, tears mixing with sweat.

  Back on the surface, the group led an improvised caravan of nearly forty liberated people. Roshia walked with her arm around Elara, who didn't let go of her hand for a single second. The girl looked at Kai every now and then with large, curious eyes.

  When they reached the clearing where they had camped the night before, the sun was already setting, tintling the sky in orange and purple. Kai looked toward the horizon.

  "This doesn't end here," he said softly. "There are more camps. More people trapped."

  Lyla stood by his side, her voice soft but firm. "I know. But today we saved many, including a girl who now knows her mother would never abandon her."

  Kai smiled for the first time all day, a small but genuine smile. "And that… that’s enough for today."

  Elara, who had been listening, timidly approached Kai. "Are you the one who helped Mommy?"

  Kai knelt down to her level. "Your mommy is very strong. We only helped her a little bit."

  Elara suddenly hugged him, surprising him. "Thank you."

  Kai froze for a second and then carefully returned the hug. "You’re welcome, little one."

  When he looked up, he saw Roshia, Lyla, and Allice watching him with similar expressions of pride and affection. But in the eyes of Lyla and Allice, there was something more, an absolute certainty that, little by little, the hero they all remembered was awakening again.

  And this time, they wouldn't leave him alone.

  [ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]

  You have defeated all enemies.

  LEVEL UP!

  Level: 17 (0/100)

  You have 4 points in total to distribute among your stats!

  Your skill: Absorption has leveled up to 2/5.

  Kai remembered that he hadn't used the two points he earned from leveling up at the ruins. So, with a small smile as he watched everyone chatting peacefully and freely, he decided how to spend his points.