Smoke filled the air, thick and suffocating. Screams and roars echoed from all directions as houses crumbled into ruins under the relentless assault of magic and steel. The sharp scent of blood clung to the wind, making Aeris shiver violently in her mother's embrace. She clutched tightly onto her mother's long black hair, as if it were a lifeline, offering the fragile comfort of a child's security.
Her father worked tirelessly, dragging furniture to barricade the door and windows, his breath ragged with desperation. If the shadows that had swept through every village found them, there would be no escape.
Aeris didn't understand.
Just days ago, the village had been celebrating a grand rain-calling ceremony. Her father had returned from the feast with delicious food, sharing it with her and her mother. Her mother had even woven her a new dress, promising she could wear it when the first raindrops fell. But now, the world had turned to chaos.
No, not just the village.
The entire world was collapsing.
It was the fifth day of the War.
The Dead Warriors had crawled silently from the Underworld, rising onto the land. They were nothing but shadows, impervious to blades. Even the desperate stones hurled by terrified villagers passed through them as if they weren't there at all. Aeris didn't know what had happened beyond their walls—only that when her father returned that day, his face had been drained of color.
"Mother... will we die?" Aeris whispered, the very thought of losing them making her eyes brim with tears.
"No, my love." Her mother wiped the tears away, holding her tightly. "I will always protect you."
But reality was merciless.
Aeris saw them—two shadows slipping effortlessly through the barricade, untouched by the obstacles her father had built. Though they were mere silhouettes, she could see them clearly—twin figures with sharp, narrow eyes and straight noses. One had a twisted smirk, the other bared eerie, gleaming teeth.
They spoke no words.
One reached into her father's chest, the other into her mother's. Their screams shattered the air as Aeris watched, frozen in horror. Bones, dripping with blood and tangled in torn flesh, were wrenched free with cruel precision. Her mother fell silent after the second bone. Her father endured until the fourth. When it was over, nothing remained but twisted heaps of flesh on the ground.
The shadows turned to her. They smiled. Then, they began to eat all the flesh.
They left her alive.
Aeris remained there, unmoving, trapped in a realm between consciousness and madness. Time lost meaning. Her trembling body ached with exhaustion, yet the gruesome scene played over and over in her mind. It wasn't until the door was kicked open that she stirred.
Terror gripped her anew.
Would it be the monsters again? Would they finally devour her?
But instead, armored men flooded in, wielding weapons. Humans. Just like her.
Five, six of them—stopping short when they saw the small girl huddled in the blood-stained corner. But instead of helping, they began to ransack the house. They took everything of value—coins, jewelry, food, even blankets. Then, one man approached Aeris, his fingers working at his belt buckle.
Aeris didn't understand.
She knelt there, confusion clouding her mind as survival instincts finally kicked in. "Save... save my mother..." The words barely made it past her lips. She had meant to beg for herself, but somehow, she had said that instead.
The man hesitated. Then, he grinned. A smile so familiar, so disturbingly similar to those shadows.
He reached down, grabbing her by the hair.
"Enough! Get out of here!" Another man yanked him back, dragging him away as he cursed under his breath.
Aeris didn't understand. Not any of it.
Days passed. With no food, she collapsed from hunger, her frail body unable to hold on any longer. When she woke, a new presence loomed over her.
A soldier.
Broad-shouldered, clad in armor, wielding a spear. His eyes lit up when they fell upon her. He set his weapon aside and approached. A sharp, searing pain shot through her, and she screamed. The weight of the monster above her crushed her small frame. She struggled, thrashed, fists pounding weakly against his chest.
He only grew more excited.
Then—
Everything faded.
A void swallowed her mind, dragging her down into darkness.
When she awoke again, the spear was in her hands.
The body was half-gone.
Her lips were wet.
She reached up, fingertips brushing the warm liquid smeared across her face. Blood.
Her chest felt empty. Even as she recalled the moment her parents died, she felt nothing. No sorrow. No anger. Just a vast, hollow abyss where her heart should be.
Memories began to slip away—her father carrying her on his shoulders through the village, her mother's gentle hands stroking her hair as she sang her to sleep. One by one, they faded, until she remembered nothing at all.
Nothing—
Until the day he appeared.
A hand, warm against her head. Warmer than her mother's had ever been.
Her empty heart stirred for the first time. She had a reason to exist again.
She would follow him. That was her only thought.
She would do anything for him.
She existed to please him.
And now, kneeling before Valroth, collar around her neck, Aeris had only one belief left in her heart.
I exist for him.