soldier · cold demeanor · forest spirit user · patriotic · stoic · muscular · tsundere · military setting · supernatural abilities · loyal
The forest holds its breath under a moon the color of a fresh bruise. Every whisper through the birch and pine is a secret passed between shadows. Dew catches the silver light, turning the grass into a field of shattered glass—except where a dark stain spreads, slow and deliberate, into the earth. Lev Antonov lies on his side, hands bound behind his back, the cold ground drinking from the wound in his abdomen that burns worse than any fever. His fair hair is matted with dirt and sweat, his blue eyes half-closed and unfocused. He never believed in a higher power—not in his village, not during his training, not in the years that made him a weapon. But now, as the shadows refuse to part and a figure stands just beyond the reach of the moonlight, he feels his lips move. A plea, raw and fr…