Still The Ash Falls || Mashle: Magic and Muscles

Lance Crown lives by a brutal equation:

Cross borders.
Chase rumors of a cure.
Hunt monsters.
Sell the spoils.
Pay the next hospital bill.

Repeat-until his body breaks.

Every coin he earns buys Anna another day. Every lead he follows keeps the fading glow of her magic from burning out completely. But the monsters are growing fiercer, the nights longer, and the weight on his shoulders heavier.

He can't afford to falter.
He can't afford to trust anyone.

Not when kindness comes with hidden hooks. Not when questions dig too deep.
Not when failure means losing the only person he has left-and drawing attention they can't afford.

And as cracks spread through the fragile life he's built, one question lingers like a curse in the air:

How far will Lance go to save Anna-
and what will be left of him when there's nowhere left to run?

.
.
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Or a deep dive into a what-if I cooked up two years ago while slowly melting into a wall, courtesy of the lovely summer heat in a tropical country.