The gruesome scene before me rendered me speechless. Rolim's mangled corpse was a macabre testament to the destructive power that lay dormant within me. Whatever connection I may have had to this man had long since been severed—he was not my father, but a bitter adversary I was glad to be rid of.

  Yet, the sheer force I had unleashed terrified me. 'I had no idea I was capable of such devastation,' I mused, surveying the aftermath of my attack.

  The church's relentless pursuit of the veilborn began to make sense—such untamed power could not be left unchecked. The tranquility of the forest seemed to mock my inner turmoil as I floated towards Rolim's broken form. He had nearly obliterated two towering trees, their once-majestic branches now splintered and strewn across the ground.

  Reality set in as I took in my surroundings, the looming trees and unfamiliar terrain taunting my ignorance. ‘We were moving for nearly ten minutes,’ I recalled, ‘but I have no idea from which direction.’

  Wandering aimlessly would only lead me deeper into the wilderness, and as a mere infant, my chances of survival were slim. In a flash of inspiration, I channeled my powers, ascending rapidly towards the treetops. The air grew thinner as I breached the dense foliage, the faint rustle of leaves echoing in my ears.

  My gaze swept across the darkened landscape, desperate for a glimpse of the manor. At this height, the world seemed to stretch endlessly, a sea of shadows and swaying treetops obscuring any familiar landmarks. As the darkness threatened to swallow me whole, a mounting sense of dread gnawed at my insides. The unforgiving night blurred my vision, the indistinguishable terrain mocking my frailty.

  The prospect of navigating this treacherous wilderness as a defenseless baby loomed heavily in my mind. For the first time since my rebirth, I was truly afraid.

  I eventually floated back towards the ground to see if I could find any trace of a path my kidnappers had taken. Unfortunately, this proved fruitless as well. I had no wilderness tracking experience and had no idea what I should even be looking for, so I quickly gave up. Sighing, I floated towards the scene where the heated battle had taken place earlier.

  I spotted the corpse of the brother with the high-pitched voice. I grimaced as I remembered how he had been speared through the heart by a wooden tendril. Truthfully, it was quite disturbing to see the man's corpse bleeding into the soil of the forest. However, for some reason I wasn't too shaken up by everything I had witnessed.

  'Perhaps my experiences in my past life are to blame for this, or maybe I've already changed that much since then.' I pondered, not wanting to dwell on it too much.

  My train of thought was derailed as I noticed something shiny next to the man's corpse. I drifted closer to his body and realized that I was looking at the sword he had wielded. It was on fire earlier, but I figured that it was likely due to some strange magic he was using.

  The sword looked to be of European design, but was quite basic in its appearance. It had a leather hilt and an iron hand guard, and the sword itself was easily five times my body length. Interestingly, there seemed to be a long line of strange markings inscribed on the iron blade.

  Activating my powers, I watched as the sword wobbled slowly into the air before steadying itself. It took a little more concentration to make something so long and heavy float, but I was able to balance it after only a few short moments.

  The sword then began to zip through the air as I directed it in a series of zig-zagging patterns. I then abruptly yelped and ducked down in the air as the sword slashed directly above my head. It was easy to forget that this thing was a deadly weapon!

  'My powers make it easy to make this weapon fly, but my lack of control could easily lead to my own downfall.' I mused, resolving myself to use more caution in the future.

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  I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that floating my body and an object at the same time was relatively easy. This required a bit of multitasking, but it wasn't something that took too much conscious effort. The long iron sword floated behind me as I drifted towards the corpse of the man who had been carrying me.

  This man had some magical power that turned him into some sort of mud-creature. I didn't know what the benefits to such a transformation were, but they clearly didn't help him much against Rolim. Since he had nothing interesting on his body, I quickly put him out of my mind as I floated past him.

  I was now looking past the destroyed tree that Rolim had smashed through. His corpse lay only a few meters behind, but the state that it was in was grisly to see. Floating closer, I didn't see anything that particularly stood out to me. However, upon a closer inspection I did notice a small letter next to his body. The envelope was bloodied but still sealed closed.

  'It must've fallen from his body after he had impacted with the tree.' I figured, trying to bring the envelope towards me for a closer inspection.

  Suddenly, I felt a strong pang in my brain as my vision swam. Unable to hold the sword upright any longer it fell down, stabbing into the dirt below. I groaned as I stabilized myself in the air. Luckily, I was still able to keep myself floating, so I was able to avoid taking a painful tumble. It seemed that holding more than one object in the air at the same time was my limit, at least while I was also levitating myself.

  If I was going to take the mysterious letter and the sword back home it was going to take some creativity. An idea suddenly came to my mind, and I gingerly floated the envelope towards my position.

  It took a lot of concentration, but I eventually managed to slide the envelope into my cloth tunic where it fit snugly. I was only wearing a tiny shirt and a diaper, so I had no pockets to work with. This was the best I could do to keep it safe at the moment.

  I wanted to open the envelope to see its contents, but I didn't know if I could manage something so delicate with my powers yet. I didn't want to rip the letter up in my attempts to open it. With the envelope stored away securely, I picked the sword back up out of the dirt. It floated towards my side with a mere thought, hovering behind me as I thought out my next moves.

  There was a slight headache creeping up on me, but I put it out of my mind as I wondered how I should get home. In the worst case scenario, I would just have to wait until the day time when there was more light. With this in mind, I scanned the area for anywhere I could settle for the night. I knew that I couldn't stay near these bodies, as they would inevitably attract predators that would probably love to snack on a stray baby.

  A peculiar movement from Rolim's remains snatched my attention, my heart leaping into my throat at the sight. Vines crept ominously towards the corpse, slowly enveloping it within their tendrils.

  As if siphoning the very essence from Rolim's lifeless form, his body rapidly deflated, transforming into a ghoulish, paper-like husk. The only semblance of humanity remaining was the clothing that once adorned him. A sudden wave of dread washed over me as I observed the same horrifying process consuming the brothers' remains. Within moments, their bodies too were reduced to desiccated, unrecognizable shells, absorbed by the sinister vines.

  "Who's there?" I called out, my voice trembling, more like a frightened whimper than an assertive challenge. The forest answered with an unsettling silence, the air thick with an invisible menace.

  A brilliant green light erupted from the darkness below, illuminating the shadowy trees in an eerie, otherworldly glow. Wooden tendrils and vines sprouted from the earth, coalescing into the figure of a person bathed in luminescence. The being rapidly gained definition, transforming into the unmistakable silhouette of a woman.

  Her body exuded a verdant hue, her limbs crafted from delicate leaf-like structures. Her hair, an entrancing cascade of living vines, framed a face of indescribable beauty. Her eyes, two gleaming emeralds set within her captivating visage, locked onto mine with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine.

  My gaze travelled down her form, noting with surprise her complete lack of attire. Her body, a masterpiece of lithe curves and toned muscles, was unapologetically exposed. An air of raw, untamed power radiated from her, her unearthly beauty both mesmerizing and unsettling.

  "Greetings, little one," the woman's voice echoed within my mind, as if she spoke directly to my thoughts.

  "Um, hello," I stammered, my fear mingling with an inexplicable fascination.

  "There's no need to fear me, little one." she assured me with a dazzling smile. "In fact, I should be thanking you."

  "You're... welcome?" I replied uncertainly.

  Her laughter rang like the tinkling of bells, soothing my frayed nerves. "I haven't feasted this well in centuries." she mused. "Do you have any idea how scarce good vitae is in these woods?"

  "Who are you?" I dared to ask, curiosity overriding my apprehension.

  "My name is Picea." she answered, her voice resonating within me. "I suppose you elves would call me a dryad."