CHAPTER 237: STRENGTH

My fingers moved before I could second-guess the impulse, and I used [Swap].

In an instant, space bent around me, the world turning inside out for a breathless heartbeat.

And then a shift.

WHOOSH!

The beast now stood where I had been, mid-air, jaws wide open. And I was suddenly in front of Zivra.

She flinched, eyes going wide as she registered me, her breath catching in her throat.

She had braced for death. That much was obvious.

She hadn’t even tried to shield herself.

Just curled in on herself, waiting for the pain to come.

But it didn’t.

Instead, she looked up to see me, her father’s killer, standing where certain death was supposed to be.

Back where I once was, the orange leopard hit the ground, claws digging into the earth as her momentum skidded her sideways. Sparks shot out from her paws as she twisted mid-motion, realizing too late that something was wrong.

She landed in a different place.

The prey she was supposed to crush was no longer beneath her.

The orange-striped leopard spun in place, a crackle of disorientation flashing through its movements as it tried to piece together what had just happened. Its eyes darted wildly for a second—until they locked on me, standing where Zivra had been moments before.

"Another goblin," it growled, lightning rippling violently across its flanks, its aura flaring with raw hostility.

I didn’t waste time.

[Warp].

In an instant, I vanished from the ground, leaving Zivra behind as the world blurred. My body snapped into existence high above the treetops, suspended in the open sky. The wind whipped past my face, and below me, I could see the leopard still grounded, still charging.

Perfect.

Before gravity had the chance to drag me down, I triggered [Swap] again.

Space twisted. Energy surged.

In a blink, the leopard was where I had been—in midair, limbs spread, claws swiping at nothing.

And I was back on the ground.

Right where I needed to be.

High above, the beast had only a second to process the sudden change before gravity made its decision for it.

The leopard plummeted.

An orange blur streaked across the sky, its body wreathed in lightning as it fell uncontrollably, limbs flailing for balance that no longer existed.

And then—impact.

BOOM.

The ground ruptured beneath it. Earth exploded outward in a violent wave as dust and debris blasted into the air.

I stood still, watching the rising cloud of dirt where the leopard had landed, the ringing aftermath still echoing in the air like distant thunder.

Zivra shielded her face with one trembling hand, squinting through the haze of dust and light, clearly struggling to process what had just happened. Her breathing was uneven, her body still tense like she expected the ground to crack open again beneath her.

I stepped through the swirling debris, boots crunching softly against scattered leaves and loose stone. My eyes stayed on her the whole time. She hadn’t moved—not an inch—frozen in place with her hand still half-raised, her expression caught somewhere between confusion and fear.

When she spotted me, her eyes widened, and she instinctively flinched, her body recoiling ever so slightly. But she didn’t run. Didn’t crawl away either. Just sat there, staring at me like I was something she couldn’t quite figure out—like I didn’t fit into the equation her mind was trying to solve.

I came to a stop a few feet from her. I didn’t reach for her. Didn’t crouch. Just stood there, silent for a long beat, unsure what to even say.

The only words that finally came out were simple.

"Are you alright?"

She didn’t answer.

Not right away.

Her eyes, glassy with unshed tears, stayed locked on mine for a long moment. Then slowly, she turned her head toward the smoldering crater behind me where the leopard had landed—where it was now buried beneath a plume of upturned earth.

Then back to me.

Her lips parted, her voice barely audible.

"...Why?"

Her voice cracked on that one word. She blinked hard, then shook her head, as if trying to force herself to say the rest.

"Why would you save me? After everything? I don’t understand..."

Hmm... why indeed.

I stared down at her, her tear-filled eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, I didn’t have an answer.

"I couldn’t just let you die," I said finally, the words coming out more honestly than I expected.

"Why?" she asked again, her voice quiet but persistent, almost desperate.

Why...

Hell if I knew. Maybe I’m just an idiot.

"Because I’ve decided," I said, shrugging slightly, "you’ll be a member of my clan."

She blinked at me, confused—maybe even offended.

"Why?" she repeated, and this time there was a trace of bitterness under the question.

"You’re strong," I said simply.

She went still, as if those two words hit harder than anything I’d thrown at her physically. Her jaw clenched. Her throat bobbed.

"Isn’t that cruel?" she said finally, her voice cracking. "Telling me that after you destroyed everything I had? After you took my home?"

I didn’t dodge it. I nodded.

"It is."

I let the silence hang there, then added, "But that’s just the nature of things. The truth is, if the roles were reversed, your father would’ve done the same. Maybe even worse. And if he had, one of my own would be sitting where you are now, grieving what they’d lost, asking the same questions."

I knelt down slightly, meeting her gaze.

"But that’s not what happened. You were the one left behind. And the reason is simple—because I was stronger."

I didn’t say it with pride, just fact.

She didn’t argue.

She couldn’t.

Because deep down, she already knew.

I crouched down in front of her, my voice low, steady, each word deliberate.

"Strength is everything, Ziv. It’s the reason the leopard is dead instead of you. It’s the reason you’re still breathing."

Her lips pressed into a thin, bitter line.

Her eyes shimmered—not just from tears now, but from something else I couldn’t tell.

Resentment? Maybe even hate?

"Don’t you...