"Let go! Please, let go of my leg now!"
Lysandra screamed in panic and violently kicked backward until the young man's grip came loose. The blue-black-haired young man groaned again, rolling weakly across the moss-covered ground as his breathing grew more ragged.
Lysandra crawled backward, putting as much distance between them as possible until her back slammed into the trunk of a massive tree. Her breathing came in short, hurried gasps. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. She stared at her own foot, half expecting to see her skin blister or hear the young man's death scream. But nothing happened. Maybe it was because he had only touched the tip of her boot, which was made of thick dragon leather, rather than her skin directly.
"Are you insane...?!" Lysandra cursed, her voice trembling violently. "Do you even realize what you just touched?! If your hand had touched even a little of my skin, you'd be ash right now!"
The young man didn't answer. His golden-red eyes were now squeezed tightly shut. His face had grown deathly pale, stark against the black blood staining his jaw.
Lysandra swallowed. Her fear slowly faded, replaced by deep curiosity. She narrowed her eyes, focusing the remnants of her divine energy to 'read' the aura of the helpless young man lying before her.
At once, an intensely dense chill struck her magical senses. The aura radiating from the young man's body was thick, dark, and suffocating. It was completely opposite to the aura of life possessed by Lysandra and the other gods in the palace.
"No way," Lysandra whispered in disbelief. Her eyes widened. "This aura... this isn't just ordinary dark magic. You... you're from the dark race? The sworn enemy of the Divine Realm?"
She shook her head over and over, trying to deny reality.
"Great job, Lysandra," she began speaking to herself again, cursing her fate in a bitterly sarcastic tone. "Your first escape from Dad's golden cage, and you immediately run into a demon. Someone your family has spent your entire life indoctrinating you to believe is a heartless monster that must be killed."
As if it were a broken recording, the deep, intimidating voice of her father, Aetherion, suddenly echoed in her ears. It was so clear, as though the Great Sky God himself were standing right beside her.
"They're vermin, Lysandra. Filthy creatures that know nothing but destruction. If you see them, don't ever hesitate. Turn around and leave, or kill them if you can."
Lysandra covered both ears with her palms and shook her head hard. "Stop. Stop talking in my head, Dad."
But the imaginary voice refused to fall silent. Guilt and years of indoctrination had a powerful grip on her psyche.
"You're my daughter. You're a goddess. Don't disgrace the family by sympathizing with dark filth. Especially with the curse you carry, you'll only make everything more complicated!"
"I said shut up!" Lysandra shouted in the middle of the silent forest. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she realized how tightly her father still held her mind, even while he was thousands of miles away.
She looked at the young man in front of her again. Her conscience churned violently. On one hand, her family's doctrine told her to leave, to let the natural enemy of her race bleed to death in the Forbidden Forest. It was the logical thing to do. The safe thing to do. The thing her father would approve of.
But on the other hand, her essence as the Goddess of Life screamed. How could she call herself the Goddess of Life if she allowed a life to end right before her eyes when she had the power to prevent it?
"You're only an enemy in Dad's eyes, not mine," Lysandra sobbed softly. "I don't even know who you are. To me... you're just someone who's in pain. Just like me."
Lysandra steeled her resolve. She wiped away her tears and crawled forward, stopping exactly half a meter from the young man.
"Okay. I'm going to heal you. But I can't touch you. You have to understand that," she said, whether to the half-conscious young man or to herself, she didn't know.
Lysandra raised both hands in front of her. She closed her eyes, concentrated the remaining pure energy in her chest, and began reciting a long-distance healing spell.
"Light of life, flow beyond physical boundaries. Bind the open wounds, calm the raging blood..."