In a small house tucked away in a forgotten corner of the city, a little girl lay sleeping peacefully. Thin rays of morning light filtered through the cracks of the window, barely illuminating the small room with a cold, dim glow.
But more than enough to wake her.
Emily slowly opened her eyes.
For a moment, she remained still, staring at the ceiling. Her body felt heavier than usual. Over the past few months, it had always been like this. Every morning, she woke up with the feeling that something inside her had been taken away during the night.
She was around ten years old, but despite that, her appearance was far from healthy for someone her age.
Slightly underweight, her body looked fragile, as if it could break at the slightest touch.
And yet, despite that, her face was full of vigor and determination, ready to face whatever the day had in store.
She made a small effort to sit up, suppressing a cough that had risen to her throat. She pressed a hand against her chest and breathed slowly until the pain subsided.
She turned her gaze toward the door of her room, left open as always. Through it, she could see her sister's bedroom, bed already made, the room empty.
Seeing it, she let out a soft sigh. It was clear that her older sister had woken up early again to head out, just like she always did.
Ever since their parents had passed away, the two sisters had taken care of each other.
But because of that, she couldn't help but feel that her older sister was always pushing herself too hard every time she went out to hunt.
Normally, becoming an awakened, even one of F-rank, would be considered a blessing by most people. But because of her fragile health, her sister was unable to truly benefit from that blessing.
Something Emily understood all too well, and that ate at her a little more every single day. Each time it did, darker thoughts would begin to drift through her mind, guilt for being born so weak, anger at being unable to do anything, helplessness against her entire situation, and sadness at how all of it seemed to weigh heavier and heavier on her sister's shoulders.
She tried to push those feelings down every day, but they never disappeared. They just stayed there, corroding her from the inside like a slow poison.
Emily began to move around the house, doing what little she could.
She straightened the blankets, swept the floor, put water on the fire.
Every movement cost her an enormous effort, as if her body were made of lead.
But she kept going anyway.
She had long since learned to hide the trembling in her hands, the sudden dizzy spells, the exhaustion that drained her legs without warning.
She had already noticed her condition worsening, but knowing there was no solution, she had decided to keep her sister in the dark, sparing her yet another unnecessary burden.
Beatrix had not been able to understand what was wrong with her. No one had. And seeking help from someone more experienced was simply beyond their means.
She watched her sister come home each day a little more worn down, a little more quiet.
And all of it was for her.
So she chose to ignore the deterioration of her body and continued with her usual routine.
It was the only thing she could do, so she tried to do it as best as she could, hoping to ease even a small portion of the burden her sister carried.
It was at that moment that something pulled her out of her thoughts.
A sharp knock echoed through the house, coming from the front door.
Emily blinked in surprise and, for a moment, wondered if it was Luna.
'Maybe she forgot something at home,' she thought, shaking her head as if this wasn't the first time something like that had happened.
She set aside what she was doing and made her way to the door, opening it without thinking too much about it, fully expecting to see her sister's hurried face on the other side.
Instead, her breath caught.
Standing in front of her were three men she had never seen before. Tall, broad shouldered, the kind of people who took up too much space just by standing still.
The man in the middle, who seemed to be their leader, looked at her for a moment with a slightly confused expression, as if he had been expecting someone else. Then a gentle smile spread across his face.
"Little miss, would you mind if we came in?"
His voice was soft. Almost too soft.
Emily did not answer right away. Something about that smile felt wrong. It was in all the right places, lips curved, teeth visible, but it didn't reach his eyes. Those eyes were cold, and they looked at her the way one would look at something that hadn't yet realized it was trapped.
A subtle shiver ran down her spine as her body instinctively moved to close the door, but before she could, the man had already placed a foot across the threshold.
"Now, now, that's not very polite, is it?"
***
Luna had been recovering for nearly three days and had finally gotten well enough to take on missions again.
Most of them weren't suited to her current condition, but plenty of the simpler ones were manageable, and she focused on those for the entire day, finishing them by evening.
"Ah, screw that mission. Fifty copper for those damn herbs."
"With all the time I spent looking for them, they should've given me at least two silver," she muttered, still bitter about the measly reward.
It was already evening, and the sky had begun to darken. She had spent the entire day on that mission, and now she was running slightly late.
A few days back, after that incident, she had gotten a thorough scolding from her little sister, who kept the silent treatment going for two whole days. Now, with this, she was already bracing herself for another one, though she couldn't really blame her.
She knew Emily wasn't angry with her, just worried about her safety.
She walked through the narrow alleys as she made her way back home.
In her hand, she held a small bag that was still slightly warm, a small gift she had decided to bring for Emily. Nothing special, but enough to ease her guilt for coming back late and making her sister worry again.
After taking several turns, she finally reached the secluded part of the city where they lived.
But when she turned the last corner, she slowed down.
There were people standing in front of her house.
Strangers.
'Who the hell are these guys, and why are they in front of my house?'
A cold knot formed in her stomach. It wasn't fear for herself, she didn't even think about that. It was something else. Something worse.
'Emily.'
Without hesitation, her steps quickened, soon turning into a sprint. The bag slipped from her hand, but she didn't spare it a single glance.
There were about six men standing in front of the door, lined up as if they were guarding the place. Their expressions were cold as they held their positions, but their eyes soon narrowed when they noticed a figure rushing toward them at high speed.
They immediately went on alert, and one of them, who seemed to recognize her, smirked and opened his mouth.
"There she is, get-"
He was about to give the order to his companions when he was abruptly cut off. Luna, fury burning in her eyes, had already reached him and struck him from the side, sending him crashing into another man behind him.
She had no intention of talking to them. She had no interest in doing so. The only thing she cared about was getting inside the house, so she didn't hold back and immediately struck the next man in front of her.
Pain flared through her body as her movements pulled at wounds that had yet to fully heal, but she ignored it and kept going.
The others, caught off guard at first, snapped out of their daze and, enraged, rushed at her all at once. But all six of them were subdued with absolute ease.
They were ordinary people. Against an F-rank awakened, such a result was inevitable, but even so, none of them had expected to be taken down so quickly.
She didn't spare them even a second glance. Instead, she grabbed the door handle, pushed it open, and stepped inside.
She stopped.
The place was in ruins. Furniture overturned, objects scattered everywhere, and on the floor, blood. Not much, but enough to make her thoughts stop working for a few seconds.
At the center of that chaos were four figures.
A man sat comfortably on the sofa, legs crossed, wearing the expression of someone who had all the time in the world. Two men stood at his sides, arms folded.
And in front of them, tied to a chair, was Emily.
Luna didn't move.
Her mind tried to process what she was seeing, but something inside her refused to do so, as if accepting it would make it real. The battered body of her little sister. The bruises on her face. The stains of blood on her clothes.
Emily's hands were bound behind her back, her head hanging slightly forward, her hair covering part of her face.
Then, as if she had sensed Luna's presence, Emily slowly lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
The little girl parted her lips. The voice that came out was barely a whisper, weak and broken, as if even speaking cost her more strength than she had left.
"Sis… sister… run."
For a moment, the world lost all sound.
Luna's mind went blank, as if someone had suddenly switched everything off.
The men's faces. The ruined room. Emily's breathing.
Gone.
Then her vision cracked.
Like glass. Like something that had been holding for too long and finally couldn't.
And through the cracks, something else bled in.
Darker.
Red.