I was eight when it happened.
I was training at night in the forest beyond Kameya territory. Sera's lessons are echoing in my skull.
Move first. Think later. Trust your body.
I moved through forms. Two wooden swords. Shadow and shadow.
Then—
I Heard Footsteps.
Not animals, they were Humans, Multiple of them.
I melted into the darkness to take a peek.
There were five men in rough clothes holding weapons and torches.
Bandits.
They hadn't seen me. They were arguing about robbing a nearby village and splitting the profits.
Bandits. In Kameya territory. Bold.
I should run. Tell Father, and let the guards handle it.
...
Or.
Test myself.
I followed them.
Lemme follow them for now.
They had made camp in a clearing, they were Drunk, loud and... Stupid.
I had watched for an hour and learned their patterns.
Four of them were exactly what they looked like. Well, I'll say scum and easy prey.
But the fifth...
He sat apart from the others. He didn't drink, he didn't laugh, he just sharpened his blade in slow, practised movements.
His eyes scanned the treeline every few minutes.
Veteran. Ex-military maybe. Retired knight?
He's dangerous.
The others aren't.
I made a decision.
I'll kill the four and avoid the fifth.
I'll escape before he reacts.
Simple and Clean.
With my Plan set in motion, Its time I took action.
I dashed towards the first target; he was drunk, so he probably wouldn't notice me. I drove my wooden sword across his throat, and he dropped without a sound.
The second one was close to the fire he was asleep. But thatwouldn'tt stop me. I sent my sword straight down his head. Two heavy strikes to the head, ad and he was done.
The Third one woke up. He opened his mouth to scream, but my blade found his throat first.
The Fourth one, half-rose, he reached for his weapon, but I was always faster. His body hit the ground.
Four down, I'm sure maybe thirty seconds passed.
It was my first time killing, but for some reason,n I felt nothing. As their blood splattered on the dress I wore, there was no shred of emotion in me. Was that Normal?
Well, let me escape before—
"You killed my men."
The voice came from behind me.
It was old and deadly.
I turned.
The fifth bandit stood ten feet away from me with his sword drawn and his eyes locked on me.
He wasn't drunk, he wasn't scared, a nd he wasn't even surprised.
He'd been waiting.
"I heard you coming five minutes ago," he said. "Watched you circle the camp. Watched you plan. Watched you kill them."
He stepped forward.
"You're good and fast for a child."
He took another step forward.
"But you're still a child."
He attacked.
I'd never moved so fast in my life.
But Didn't matter.
His first strike sent both my wooden swords flying. His second caught me across the chest. He struck again, and this time the force threw me backwards.
I hit the ground hard and rolled.
Run. I need to run.
I turned—
And he was already there.
His blade pressed against my throat.
"Fast," he said. "But predictable. You move in straight lines and think in straight lines. You've never fought someone who actually knows how to kill."
His eyes were grey and empty. Like he'd already killed a thousand people and stopped counting.
"I was a knight for twenty years, but they threw me out for taking bribes. Now I'm here. Killing children who think they're warriors."
The blade pressed harder; this time, it drew blood.
"Any last words?"
This is it.
This is where I die.
Eight years old. By a bandit. I thought I was ready.
I wasn't.
I was arrogant.
I was stupid.
I was—
No.
Something stirred within me.
Deep, Ancient and Absolute...
My vision went red.
The man's eyes widened.
"Your eyes—"
Something snapped within me.
I could tell it wasn't magic. No, this was Something deeper.
My body moved without my permission.
I grabbed his blade with my bare hand and felt it cut through my flesh, scrape against bone.
But for some strange reason, I didn't seem to care.
All I could think of was to annihilate this pawn in front of me.
My other hand shot forward,d and my fingers curled around his throat.
He tried to pull back.
But hcouldn't't.
I was stronger and faster, but this was not by any means possible. But true.
"You're a knight?" My voice didn't sound like mine; it was deeper and colder. "You were trained to kill?"
His face went purple. Struggling.
"Then kill me."
I squeezed.
He dropped his sword and clawed at my arm. His strikes landed, fist against my ribs, my face, my chest.
I heard something crack. My Ribs, Probably.
But Ididn'tt care.
"You had one job," I whispered. "Kill the child. It was Simple yet you failed."
His eyes bulged.
"Now you die instead."
I squeezed harder.
After a few minutes, he stopped moving.
I held on for another minute. Just to be sure.
Then I let go.
His body crumpled.
I stood there, breathing heavily. My ribs were screaming, my hands were shredded, and Blood everywhere, was it his or mine, well, ll it didn't matter.
I won.
I shouldn't have won.
But I did.
How?
I looked at my hands.
Crimson eyes stared back from the reflection in a puddle of blood.
My eyes. They're... glowing?
Then the exhaustion hit me.
My knees buckled, and the world tilted
No. Not here. Ican'tt collapse here. Need to move. Need to—
Darkness.
I woke up to voices.
"—here! I found him! FATHER! LUNA! I FOUND HIM!"
That was Lilia's voice.
I tried to move. But the Pain exploded through my chest.
Right. Broken ribs. I forgot
—Zero! Zero, can you hear me?!"
I forced my eyes open.
Lilia's face hovered above me. There were tears on her cheeks. Something I'd never seen before.
"You're alive. You're alive. Okay. Okay. Don't move. Father's coming. Don't move."
She's crying. For me.
Why?
I'm fine.
...Mostly.
Then I heard Luna's voice
"ZERO! ZERO! ZERO!"
She crashed into view and dropped to her knees beside me. Her hands reached for my face, my chest, my arms, touching everywhere, checking everything.
"You're hurt. You're hurt. Who did this? WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!"
Her eyes were wild and Feral. Her hands sparked with uncontrolled fire.
She's going to burn the forest down.
"Luna." My voice was weak. "Stop."
She froze.
"Don't... burn things. Arrh, my head."
She stared at me. Then impossibly laughed through her tears.
"You're an idiot. You're such an idiot. I'm going to kill you myself for scaring me."
That's... not how that works.
But I was too tired to argue.
Father arrived with his strong hands, lifting me. He was shouting orders. Servants running.
I let them take me.
As they carried me back to the estate, I caught Luna's face one last time.
She was walking behind the stretcher. She was Silent. And her Purple eyes were locked on me.
But her hands were still sparking.
And her expression...
That's not a concern.
That's possession.
That's rage.
That's "whoever did this is already dead, and I'll find their family too."
...
I'll deal with that later.
Fuck, don't tell me my elder sister is what I think she is.
THE END.