Prologue
[Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a monster was born.]
A woman’s calm voice, tinged with sadness, echoed deeply in the cold cave.
She appeared to be in her mid to late thirties. She had long auburn hair that fell to the ground and her red eyes wore a strange tint of gold.
[The creature was said to be cursed by fire.]
“A curse?”
Beside her, a boy of about thirteen, leaning heavily against the cave wall, looked up at her with the same red eyes.
They both looked like they’d been on the run for a long time. Their clothes were tattered, their arms and legs were covered in cuts and bruises, and their faces were covered in blood as if they had just gotten away from a beating.
Yet there was an air of mystery about her that was unmistakable. Whenever she opened her mouth, the silent cave seemed to echo with a melodic charm of fairies.
[Yes. People were afraid of that monster.]
“Like they’re afraid of us?”
[Perhaps.]
The woman stroked the boy’s dark hair affectionately. The boy leaned his head against her shoulder. His tiny head burrowed into hers as if seeking the last of her warmth.
“What happened to...the monster?”
The boy wondered as his shoulders shook uneasily.
In the distance, dozens of soldiers could be heard entering the cave with torches.
[That monster...]
The woman squeezed the boy’s shoulder as if to protect him.
“I’m sure I saw her sneak in here, search her!”
“As soon as we find her, we’ll drag that witch to the stake!”
The clash of angry soldiers’ spears could be heard in the distance.
“...Mommy, I’m scared.”
[shh....]
“Mom, will you stay by my side until the end?”
The boy clutched her hand tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes in transparent terror.
[My dear boy...]
The woman locked eyes with the boy one last time, a deep sadness in her ethereal eyes.
[Listen carefully to what I’m about to say now.]
Her calloused hands wrapped around the boy’s clear eyes, creating an everlasting darkness hoping to protect him from all evil and horror.
[On the count of one, two, three, run for the other entrance.]
“But, Mom...”
[Don’t look back, just run until you can’t hear sounds anymore, okay?]
“Mom, I...”
“There she is!”
“It’s the witch, get her!”
They could hear angry footsteps rapidly approaching, accompanied by shouting.
[Go. Now!]
The woman shoved the boy hard on his back.
[Run! Run far, far away! And don’t look back!]
As if under a spell, the boy squeezed his eyes shut and began to run desperately.
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he ran.
The harsh wind outside the cave greeted him as he kept running.
[Run. Run. Run. Run.]
His mother’s voice echoed in his ears.
He sprinted until his breath was in his throat.
Just when he thought he couldn’t run anymore, the boy finally stopped. All sound seemed to stop.
“...Mom?”
He opened his eyes silently to the eerie silence around him.
He had run and run, and now he was in a dark forest, far away from the caves.
He was truly alone.
A wistful breeze blew past him, and for the first time, he looked back.
“Mommy!!!!”
His fearful red eyes were filled with terror and....agony.
From a distance, he could see the horror that was going on. Down the hills, a bit further from the cave they had been hiding, his mother was tied to a barren tree - surrounded by proud soldiers for catching their prey, angry villagers shouting for the death of the cursed creature, and even young children chanting a haunting death.
He had run so far away that he couldn’t even make what they were chanting, but he could clearly read the lips of the high priest in a dark cloak, regally stepping forward and handing a torch to the soldier next to him.
“Light the fire.”
“No!!!”
The boy silently screamed-his scream, too far away that it couldn’t be heard. The wood to which his mother was tied roared in flames.
“The witch’s sentence is now to be carried out.”
“Mommy!!!”
The boy’s nails dug deep into his palms as he watched his mother burn helplessly on a stake.
[My dear son.]
At that moment, the red eye of golden light, staring straight up into the sky like a being that transcended all things, looked straight at him.
The boy flinched in surprise. Could she hear him? That even made him more desperate to crawl back there, fight, and take revenge. He had to save his mother. But...
[No, son. Do not step further. Stay.]
His mother seemed to say as her eyes glowed brighter in the fire.
“But mom, I...I....I need you...”
The boy’s sobs grew louder.
“Witch, die!”
“Burn to death!”
“Disgusting monster, die!”
The flames surrounding the woman burned more fiercely as the people chanted.
And just that moment, the woman’s red eyes went completely bloodshot; A dark look of madness appeared on her face as she flicked her head down at the humans cursing her.
CRASH!
In an instant, a thunderbolt struck the barren sky.
“Argh, a true witch!”
“Get away from her!”
The shocking blaze sent people scurrying back in fear.
“Hear me, you cowardly and weak!”
The woman’s low voice thundered eerily across the whole sky.
“Your terror will soon be your curse, and your death will be someone else’s life.”
Boom!
Another clap of thunder and the flames intensified.
The woman’s entire body was on fire.
“My flesh may burn, but my heart will beat even in death, and it will survive through any flames, bringing true chaos to the world!”
The form of the woman started to slowly disintegrate as she roared her last curse.
[And my beloved son...]
As she gradually disappeared into the flames, the woman locked eyes with her tearful child one last time and whispered gently-her voice once again, a beautiful melody.
[You must keep running forward, don’t look back, keep going, and remember this tale whenever you grow tired.]
“Mommy, please don’t leave me....I’m so sorry...Mommy...I’m so sorry that I couldn’t save you.”
[Goodbye, my son.]
Boom!
AHHHH!!!
HELP!!!
The flames that surrounded her burst into flames with an explosion. Along with it, everything around her was engulfed in flames, turning to ashes in a flash and without a sound.
“Aghhh!!!!”
The sound and the force of the blast made the boy wrap his hands around his head and sob.
As he knelt on the ground with pain that was. perhaps both physical and internal, the shapeless woman’s voice echoed in his ears like a haunting melody.
[Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a monster was born.]
Thump, thump.
The boy’s pulse raced as if it was going to burst.
[The creature was said to be cursed by fire.]
Thump, thump.
The blood in his body seemed to be regurgitating.
[People were afraid of that monster.]
Thump, thump, thump.
[But this tale is just beginning.]
“Aghhh!!!”
The boy wrapped his head in agony. Suddenly, a pure white light seemed to pierce through his head.
And then, a tiny....thump, thump.
In the silence of the pile of ashes where the witch once lived, a tiny heartbeat could be heard.
