The sky, lights, concrete, building—all of it flashing past in a stupid loop. One thing happened, then led to another, and the next thing I knew—I was falling. I wasn't even sure which way was up anymore. All I'm seeing was just colors and noise and the occasional realization that. Yes. This wasn't a nightmare. This was happening. One minute I was eating happily, peacefully, the next I was rushing to meet God.
I flailed my arms and legs around, grabbing unto nothing. I tried to scream, but my lungs swallowed it whole. Rather than waiting for the ground to come, I held the stone that burned cold in my palm. My only ticket to not becoming ground paste.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Work, damn you.
Come on!
Nothing.
"Come on!" I hissed at the rock in my hand.
"WORK! You piece of—" Something yanked me back, violent and sudden, like an invisible hand grabbed my collar and decided—nope, not today idiot. My neck snapped, vision exploded into white. Air punched back into my lungs. For a heartbeat, I genuinely thought I'd just died.
Did I… stop? But there was no impact.
Cautiously, I cracked one eye open. I was halfway through the ground. "Holy shit."
And saw the impossible. It actually worked.
"It worked!" I shouted, as relief spilled out through my manic laughter. "Yahahaha—!"
For one glorious second, I genuinely believed it. This is it. The stone's doing its thing! Oh my god—it worked. It did not.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
"...Huh?" I blinked, then looked up.
It wasn't the stone, especially not magic. My brain caught up just in time to realize that no, the stone didn't save me. It was a bird. A goddamn bird. I tilted my head, slow and unbelieving. But no—there it was. Wings flapping on pure panic, claws hooked through the back of my uniform, hauling my full-ass weight one pathetic inch at a time.
"... a bird?" I croaked.
And it wasn't even a big bird—quite the opposite, the size of an acorn. The little thing squawked an offended, high-pitched Chirp! like it read my mind. Then it flapped harder, hauling me skyward at the breathtaking speed of "barely."
And above me, leaning over the ledge, there she was—Lily Blanch. She simply observed. Then, just for a moment, she smirked.
Hanging there in the air, one slip away between death and the last scraps of my rapidly fraying sanity, all I could think was, loose screws. It took forever for this goddamn bird to haul me back up. Every few seconds, it flapped its wings harder, then squawking like it was complaining. This bird has an attitude. Serious attitude.
I tried to tell it to shut its beak, but the moment I opened my mouth, dust flew in. Perfect timing! "Puh! Akh! Cough! Cough! Mot—Cough!"
Chirp! Chirp!
By the time I managed to grab the ledge, my arms had turned into a jelly. I could feel my strength being siphoned out of my body. On second thought, my entire body had. And somehow, through sheer adrenaline and whatever that kept screaming at the back of my head, I hauled myself unto the roof. Once my knee finally caught the ledge, I rolled myself onto the roof. I sucked in a lungful of air. Another one. Then another. My whole body shook. I just collapsed on the ground, wheezing. My brain was gradually trying to reboot itself,
I grabbed my chest. My chest is on fire.
My vision wavered, the edges blurring for a second. Then I saw her. Lily stood at the short distance away, perfectly still, waiting, not a single hair out of place. She gave no response. Not a word, expression, not even the pretense of having considered helping. Not a single hint of remorse.
"Hm," Lily called down, "Did you soil yourself?"
I coughed and glared between breaths. "You—You—You—kicked—almost—a building—killed me!"
Lily tilted her head, completely unmoved. "I did save you. You are alive. You are breathing."
"Alive?!" Another cough ripped out of me. Dust, lungs, dignity—everything was exiting my body, "—Akh! Me!"
"Did you soil yourself?" Lily asked again, flat as a board. Her eyes were not on me, just sorta pointed toward my general direction, like acknowledging me was too much to ask her for.
I froze. For a moment, the world narrowed down to her faint rustle of her clothes in the breeze. Then she moved, swift and precise.
I barely had time to blink before she grabbed my hair at the roots. She yanked me back, so hard I thought my neck almost snapped. The pain intensified, accompanied by a nauseating mix of surprise and... Powerlessness, maybe.
Her grip stayed firm. Her hair smelled, soft and creamy, and it tickled my nose. My hands went for her wrist, pushing her away, but not even a budge. Moreover, her hand was cold like I was holding a block of ice.
She lifted my upper half with ease, and very muscle fiber in my body tensed up. Her face drew closer. The scent of her hit me with full intensity, almost hypnotic. Warm, sweet, soft... it was addictive. My chest tightened. My mind went foggy, every rational thoughts started slipping away.
She paused, inches away from my own face, and held me there. My eyes focused entirely on the taut line of her jaw. Neither of us spoke yet. She tilted her head slightly and sniffed me once. Then again. Do I really stank?
A small, thoughtful hum escaped her
Lily snapped her fingers. Out of nowhere, a crystallized ice shivered into existence—long as a needle, thin as a pencil, aimed conveniently a few feet from my chest. The edges caught the light, glinting, and practically screaming at me. My eyes stayed locked on the shard. Beautiful... in the cruelest way possible.
"H—H-H-Hang on! T-That's pointed at me!" I tried to move, my body refused to listen.
Next thing I knew, it pierced through my chest. "Ah!" I gasped for air.
The cold started spreading throughout my body, slithering along the veins, and sinking into my muscles. And for a moment, weirdly enough, it felt like a weight on my chest was lifted. I drew another breath. The heat inside my chest started to easy, little by little, until it finally disappeared. I glanced down. Not a trace of blood, nor tear. Nothing.
Lily finally released my head.
I slumped forward. My elbow hit the ground hard before I could even catch it. Everything else disappeared. Even Lily herself became a blur. All I could hear was the rasp of my own breathing. Each inhale rattled my chest, even exhaling trembled through my shoulders.
Step by step, I pulled myself up. My hands gripped the ground, fingers trembling. Then, without warning, it hit me the burning sensation pain in my chest had vanished. Then my gaze fell to Lily, she didn't look my way.
"What did you do?" I asked, low and rough.
Lily stepped past me, boots clicking on the rooftop like she wasn't just responsible for nearly murdering me five seconds ago. The overworked hero of the day flapped down and puffed its chest beside her, looking way too pleased with itself.
"Shall we?" Lily crouched, one gloved finger stroking the bird's head. The bird preened, smug as hell. I swear it was mocking me.
Then the bird hopped on Lily's shoulder. Looking like some smug little snowball with wings. Tiny. Round. White. Snow soft feathers. Wings tucked neatly. Big icy-blue eyes boring straight into my soul. Crystal beak is sharp enough to lop off fingers without a second thought. Every time it fluttered its wings, tiny frost shards jingled.
Her gaze settled on me, "I thought, maybe your mana was simply weak," She said, tilting her head, "But... you don't even have one. None at all."
My eyebrows furrowed. "What of it?"
"If anything," She said calmly, "The outcome was unfortunate... A misjudgment of circumstances."
"Unbelievable..." I said. shaking my head. "You think that makes up for what you did earlier?"
The bird chirped sharply, as if it was the one responding for her.
"Humans are so fragile," She added, as she glanced at me, "An existence of wretched, meaningless struggles... barely clinging to the edge of what they call morals."
Huh?
She straightened slowly, "And yet," She said, "They think they matter the most. That their choices changes anything."
The bird didn't just sit there. No. It copied Lily's entire attitude. Same tilt of the head. Same silent judgment. Then it puffed up, eyes glowing blue, like it was gearing up to throw claws. For one terrifying second, I was staring down a tiny, fluffy hitman. Lily's personal frost‑coated executioner. A perfect match, cute on the outside, cold inside.
Is she trying to throw me off? Because it was working. I met her gaze. "Funny. Doesn't that apply to elves too, or do you think you're all exempted off it? How are you different from humans?"
Lily glanced at me coldly, enough of a reminder that this was Lily I'm talking to.
Yet my mouth won't stop, I added, "You simply dress up arrogance as wisdom."
Her gaze lingered, sharpened and unreadable. The bird copied that look too. I didn't know whether to feel threatened or bullied by a snowball with feet.
Then she laughed. "Hahahaha!" It was loud, mocking, like I'd said something genuinely entertaining.
Then she stepped back toward the ledge. "Oh?" Lily said, eyes narrowing with interest. "And yet, you dress defiance as insight."
The bird chirped at me, loud and sharp.
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
No, that wasn't a chirp. That little thing was laughing at me.
I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. I tried again. Still nothing.
Perfect. Not just one, but two beings in this world dedicating their precious time to bullying me. One tall, icy menace who could throw me off a building without blinking. And one palm‑sized feather chirping.
With an easy, laidback motion, Lily turned and smiled. And then she jumped. Before my brain could catch up... shout, argue, or say anything really—she jumped. A strange relief washed over me. She was gone. Finally. The breeze hit me, though comforting. It's quite rude. The rooftop stayed silent.
I knew how she was in the game, how intolerable she was, but there were glimpses of her cute side here and there. However, meeting her face-to-face... She was the most insufferable person I'd ever encountered with.
I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "You got a bad taste in women, you otaku of a brother."
Nevertheless... even through all the aggravation, I hate to admit it. There was something magnetic about her. Infuriating. I hated it. Hated it, but I hated that I hated it. What? Her glance, her face, her neck, her body, her eyes, her voice, every part of her domineering side... a commanding presence, like she could pin me dow—
I slapped myself, loud enough.
What was I thinking?
I groaned, "Narcissistic bitch."
Welcome to the new world, I guess.
I dropped my head into my hands.