I ran through the streets, panicking, trying to find the person I had just lost.
The lights had already become a blur due to my moving pace. My heart was beating so fast I could feel it even when I was in the middle of the crowd.
My body slammed into some people, but they didn't care. Everyone was busy laughing, taking care of their own business.
None of them cared.
"Sister!" I shouted again, my voice starting to crack. There was no reply. Just the music that was playing when we danced.
The timer behind my eyelids ticked like a bomb.
Fuck. Fuck.
Time didn't stop for anyone. It was supposed to be me who died, not her. I knew this was just a novel, and I wasn't supposed to take it seriously.
But.
This body. This guy's heart was worried. I had to stop this pain.
Back home, no one cared if I went AWOL. They wouldn't spend a minute noticing my disappearance. But it was different here.
I looked around, but she had just vanished. Disappeared into the air like smoke.
My eyes started landing on every person, elves with twitching pointed ears laughing, beastmen eating meat, but there was no red-braided girl.
How did this happen?
'Where the fuck are the guards?'
'Aren't they supposed to protect this noble family?'
I lost all my cool and grabbed the merchant from the nearest shop, my eyes locking onto his. "Did you see a girl? Red hair, green dress?"
He looked at me in confusion, shaking the drink in his hand, but his eyes quickly brightened.
"The pretty one? One like a noble? Yeah, I think I saw someone like that towards the west..."
I shoved him to the side; my mind was not in the right place to either apologise or see where he fell.
My body moved at an incredible speed. Although this guy was a corpse for so long, his stamina was no joke.
I needed to die.
[4 hours 38 minutes]
But I had to find her first.
I reached the stalls in the west pretty quickly; they were spice vendors and some potion sellers. No sign of my sister. I investigated all of them.
One said they saw a girl matching her description being pulled into an alley. Another said they saw nothing. The third just shrugged and walked away.
The alleyway was dark, reeking of piss and old wine. Shadows lingered on all sides; her ribbon was there on the ground. I moved to pick it up.
There were rebels in this novel, sure, but they wouldn't go as far as to kidnap the family.
I grew tired as my head stared at the ground. I felt both frustrated and helpless.
What was happening? This wasn't how I envisioned my journey into the novel to be.
Then, a sudden flash.
In the centre of the market, right in the sky, something brightened.
An illusion of a figure so bright.
A giant version of me, red hair, sharp features, and the same clothes I was wearing, now in the air, forty feet up, its arms stretched out, calling for help.
The crowd was stunned by the sight, then laughed, thinking it was an event in the show.
But I knew what it was.
A signal.
I became a blur.
[Sister's POV]
They'd grabbed her the second she let go of Brother's hand.
One moment, she was clapping, laughing, happier than she'd been in years. The next, a hand was over her mouth, cold metal at her throat, and the world vanished.
Not vanished. She was hidden by a cloak.
An invisible cloak wrapped around her and the three men carrying her. She couldn't scream. Couldn't move. The spell muffled everything.
Tears formed in her eyes.
Brother.
She'd just gotten him back.
The men moved fast, weaving through the crowd. No one saw them. No one heard her silent cries.
One whispered, his voice like gravel. "The Riven girl. The seer said she'd be bait."
Bait? For what?
She struggled, but the cloak tightened. Illusion magic was her gift. Father said she had the strongest in generations. If she could just focus...
She closed her eyes. Trying to push past the fear.
She wanted to create an illusion. A big one, so she could inform her brother.
What should I create? Then a thought occurred.
Him. Make him see himself.
She poured everything into it, mana, fear, love. A giant version of Brother in the sky. Calling for help.
The men cursed. One slapped the back of her head.
"Stop that, witch." He was hitting her now, trying to stop the spell.
But it was too late. The illusion bloomed high above the festival.
She prayed.
And he saw it.
MC's POV
My body moved towards the direction of the illusion. Its magic was slowly diluting, but I was fast. I reached the centre to see people going on about their lives, not my sister.
'Where is she?'
My mind was a mess, but I focused. The sound of people murmuring, their laughter, and munching on the food. I listened deeper, hearing the sound of people's feet, then I heard a cry.
I opened my eyes and ran to a side. To the left of me was a spice shop. I picked some of it up and threw it into the empty alleyway, solely relying on my gut instinct.
Nothing.
Then a sneeze.
Then the figures became visible to my naked eye. A bald thug was holding my sister's mouth; her cheeks were bruised. Two other people were standing beside them, and a cloak fell into the muddy water.
"Oh, big brother is here." The thug sneered, taking a knife out.
Shit, shit.
I couldn't fight them in my current state.
One of the men ran to my side, trying to land a punch.
But he was slow. My father was way faster. I moved to my right, crouched, and punched him in his groin.
Pride won't matter if I die.
I need to save her before it's too late.
He stumbled down, and I moved faster and kicked his face.
But the other guy didn't wait. He moved faster and caught me from behind, locking my arms tight so I couldn't move.
Then I slammed my head back to land a hit on his face, making his nose bleed.
They are thugs for these precise reasons. These bastards cannot handle mana.
But at this point, I was no different from them.
What about noble powers? Why didn't I awaken something?
"No, brother!" She screamed, but it was to no avail.
She tried to make the spell again, to inform people outside the alley or alert the guards. He quickly noticed it.
The bald guy threw my sister to the side, knocking her out, then came near me, licking the knife.
"Too bad you woke up from the coma. It should've been you."
He let out a creepy laugh as he came near me.
Wait, I couldn't die before saving her.
I tried to move to one side, dodging one knife, but he already stabbed me with the one in his other hand, then dragged it across my stomach to leave a deep gash.
Shit.
Blood dripped from the wound.
My body fell as I saw the thugs carrying my sister into a portal.
No. No. System, do something. Please let me save her.
I slowly lost my mind as a tear streamed from my eye.
I didn't even get to learn her name. My body started feeling cold, then...
Beep
[EVENT COMPLETED]
[SYSTEM IS ACTIVATING]
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[DO YOU WANT TO STOP THE BLEEDING]
[YES/NO]
What the fuck kind of question is this?
I clicked yes.