⚠️ Content Warning: This is a disturbing flashback exploring the past of a central character, including themes of manipulation, familial betrayal, and sexual abuse. Proceed with care.
(Tana's POV)
Ten Thousand Years Ago — Tana's Flashback
"Vetro is a problem."
"Yeah... he's starting to scare me. We have to do something about him."
I heard my siblings conspiring behind my brother's back.
They whispered about sedating him, restraining him.
I'd overheard them saying things before, such as accusations that he was unstable, cruel, even insane, but to me, he'd never been anything but kind.
I couldn't believe them.
What scared me wasn't Vetro; it was them.
They're misunderstanding my kindhearted brother because he's a bit antisocial, and if this continues, he might be endangered.
So instead of confronting them, I warned him.
"I'm appalled that... they would say that about me," he whispered, gently smiling as he ran his fingers through my hair.
"Thank you for telling me, Tana," he added sweetly.
I beamed with pride.
"I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding. If you talk to them, I know it'll be okay. You're not dangerous, you're—"
"You're looking more and more like Mother every day… so beautiful," he said, cutting me off.
I blushed at the compliment. It was a high one; to me, my mother was the very definition of beauty.
"Thank you. But don't brush me off! Promise me you'll talk to them," I pleaded.
He nodded and looked out the window.
"Oh, I will. I promise."
The next day, everything burned.
Fires choked the skies, painting the horizon red. Our home was in ruins.
I found my brothers' severed heads lying in the grass outside. The air reeked of ash and blood.
I ran away and found my sisters crying and screaming.
Vetro had gone mad, they said.
He'd murdered our father, killed two of our brothers.
He'd also destabilized the planet's core.
They claimed he was coming for our mother next.
"No!" I shouted. "You're wrong! V would never do that! And if he did, he must've had a good reason!"
They stared at me like I was possessed.
"He smiled, Tana," Larina shrieked. "He smiled when he killed Dad! I saw it!"
I couldn't breathe.
If it was true... then this was my fault. I warned him. I gave him time. My brothers, my father, maybe even Angel, our mother, died because of me.
My sisters, Larina and Cortav, turned on me, assuming I'd taken his side.
They attacked me so viciously that I had no choice but to fight back... I didn't want to die.
At this point, neither of them was willing to talk.
In the chaos of battle, I killed Cortav.
Larina shrieked, watching in horror as I ripped our sister apart.
I don't even know how I did it... my survival instincts surged, and an invisible force protected me. Unlike them, I hadn't chosen an element, but my innate telekinesis exploded.
Larina fought through her tears and rushed in to assault me. In my panic, I tore her body to shreds.
I hadn't even witnessed it happening because I had curled up on the ground, shivering in fear.
Both her arms were torn from her body and her face split down the middle, but even in that state, with her dying breath, Larina cursed me:
"May the wounds I gave you never heal, so you'll never forget how you betrayed your family."
As she took her last breath, my face split open.
No matter what I did, it refused to mend.
My body's natural recovery couldn't stop the bleeding, and invoking healing energy wasn't doing anything either.
That's when I got a crazy idea. If it's a curse affecting me, then maybe it'll let me heal with skin that's not my own.
With that desperate thought, I stitched her skin onto mine to stop the bleeding.
It worked; my face healed instantly, but I'll no longer be able to look at myself without seeing Larina... and her curse repeating in my head.
The final battle was lost, and I was exiled with him. Three of our siblings managed to overpower Vetro, and our mother sealed the planet from him with a divine barrier.
It gave us no choice but to go to Earth.
He built us a house on an empty plot of land.
I tried to adapt.
I wore bandages over Larina's skin.
Vetro was the one who suggested hiding the disfigurement. It helped me blend in.
I was the one who tended the fields, made clothes, and traded with humans.
I did whatever I could to make life on Earth easier.
Many weeks passed as we survived like this.
"Look what I made!" I said one day, holding up a robe embroidered with falling feathers.
It was based on my brother's lovely wings.
I was excited for his praise and felt sentimental.
Vetro stood by the window, brooding.
He only glanced at my work and sneered.
"Why are you wasting time trading with humans?"
His tone was cold and dismissive.
Nothing like the man I knew.
He didn't even bother to consider that the robe was for him...
"...Because we live here now..." I answered softly, while folding the clothes.
"So what? They should be bowing to us. Instead, you've become a humble seamstress begging for change, and perfected a useless hobby."
His frown deepened as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
The whole house shook, and my heart broke in that instant.
For the first time, I felt afraid of him.
But I pushed the feeling away. Perhaps I should take solace in the fact that he said I 'perfected' my craft.
He's just stressed. This whole situation is stressful. I bet I can cheer him up, at least for a moment.
I cooked his favorite meal, beef stew, and finished sewing the robe for him.
He built this house for us when we were banished, and Vetro is usually so kind.
This is the least I can do. I knocked on his door.
"Hey, sorry to bother you but—" I began, but paused when he flung it open.
He was sweaty, as if he had just exercised strenuously, wearing only an open robe and his underwear. I offered a timid smile.
"I made stew... and I finished your surprise," I chimed, hoping my positivity would move him.
He stared at me blankly for a while.
"How thoughtful," he murmured. "Is there a reason?"
"Just you. I wanted to make you feel better," I answered.
Vetro ran his fingers down my arm, lingering on my skin for an uncomfortable time.
I flinched and retreated.
Then he grabbed my wrist, jerking me into his room.
"What are you—?" I began, but he dragged me, tossed me on the bed, and pinned my wrists with one hand.
"That hurts... I can't move—" I whined.
"Shut up," he demanded.
His voice was cold, so cold I got literal chills.
He lifted my dress.
As I felt his hand on my thighs, I squirmed and cried,
"I'm sorry... Why are you mad? What did I do—?"
No matter what I said, he didn't stop, ignoring the cries escaping my lips.
He wouldn't even look at my face.
He pushed my face down against the mattress so only my uninjured side showed.
I don't know if he even noticed how much I was crying, or if he would've cared.
He continued to satiate himself, and time blurred.
The stew spoiled without anyone getting to taste it.
He assaulted me for days on end.
When he finally gave me rest, he dropped me off in a bathtub to bathe alone.
I lay there and curled into myself, trembling.
My body was too ragged to move.
The brother who once encouraged me, protected me, loved me... had broken something inside me.
But the next day... he was smiling again. His bitter disposition was gone, and he treated me as if nothing had happened.
We left his room, and I followed him, still shaking.
"Is this my surprise?" he asked, seeing the robe laid across his chair.
"Y-yeah," I mumbled.
He sniffed it and smiled brightly.
"Blue. My favorite color."
He changed in front of me, then rushed over to kiss my forehead.
"I love it," he said sweetly.
Then his gaze slowly drifted down from my eyes... and he kissed my lips.
When I pulled away, he pinned me to the wall with a wicked grin.
"I love you more, though," he murmured. I was scared to move.
He pressed his lips to mine again. His kisses grew hungrier. Rougher.
He ground into me, and I realized how he'd always seen me, not as a sister.
As something he could use and possess.
"Thank you so much, Tana," he whispered before taking me again.
After that, it never stopped.
He touched me every day. If I resisted, he bruised me.
Broke bones.
Refused to let me eat or drink until he got what he wanted.
Because I healed quickly, he could be as rough as he pleased, and he took pleasure in being rough.
A year passed like this, and I stopped fighting. My body responded even when I didn't want it to. I even started craving his touch like a depraved fool. I hated myself for it.
I knew he'd conditioned me, twisted my instincts—but knowing didn't make it stop.
"Good morning, Tana," he said one day, groping me while I cooked.
"Morning," I replied, barely audible.
Then he bent me over the counter and took me from behind. I had to struggle to turn off the stove so our meal wouldn't burn.
After he finished, he left me on the floor and grabbed a juice carton from the fridge. He drank the whole thing, then discarded the empty carton at my feet.
I've tried running away before, but every time I did, I blacked out and woke up in his bed, covered in lashes. So I stopped trying.
This isn't the life I wanted. But maybe...this is love... maybe I love him. Maybe this is normal. Maybe he loves me too, and it's just hard for him to express feelings...
More days blurred past, and one day, as I gathered my items preparing to go to the market, Vetro stopped me and asked,
"Where are you going?"
He had a sharp glare that matched his tone.
"To sell our goods... a-and get groceries," I explained timidly.
"Why the fuck are you always mingling with those things?!"
"...We need to blend in. It's normal to earn money here."
"I'll kill every human in this town if I have to. Then there will be no need to blend in... You keep leaving me, do I need to cut off your legs to keep you home?"
It had been weeks since I left the house.
"I'm coming back," I whispered, already dead inside.
"I just hate being apart from you," he cooed, tilting my chin. "Fine. Let's go together," he conceded with a smile.
The pit in my stomach grew. But I smiled back anyway.
"Perfect solution," I lied.
We kissed in the doorway like nothing was wrong with it.
When we arrived at the market, a woman asked, "Is this your husband?"
"...Yes," I lied.
"He's very handsome. It's nice to meet you!" she said before walking away.
Vetro laughed—mocking, not amused.
Once she was far away, he whispered,
"Why are you lying?"
"It's easier than explaining... our relationship."
"So you want to conform to human morality? Just like Mother. Both of you—fools," he rambled on indignantly.
I tried to focus on customers, but he grew more possessive. Scaring away most interested buyers, especially the men. If a man came close to the shop, he touched me vulgarly, glaring at them the whole time.
That day, when we got home, he was more violent than usual. He was convinced I wanted other men. He tore at my clothes and pulled me by the hair, throwing me onto his bed. There, he shouted at me and berated me for hours as he had his way.
The ferocity increased when I apologized and begged for forgiveness. He made sure I never forgot who I belonged to.
Now, he won't let me go anywhere without him. And he refuses to let me wear bandages over my face outside the house. So the villagers could see the real me.
Whenever I went out to the Market after that, he came with me.
With my scars on full display...
Even the regulars wouldn't buy from me.