Nathalie stayed inside the shower until all the blood latching onto her body was gone; until her palm turned wrinkly and chafed. And once she was done, she just put on a towel — not even caring to dry herself as she immediately fixed the groceries she had on the table.
And as she always does, she started to cook — placing two sets of plates on the table… almost like she was pretending that everything was normal.
No, everything is normal.
Zac… should be returning soon. She just needed to wait and do her chores… he will return. But as the day passed, there was no sign of him — not even a shadow.
"..." And then, the morning came — Nathalie once again wore her jacket as she head outside. Of course, not before leaving another note on the fridge,
'Just outside, left your food on the table.'
Nathalie stepped out, returning hours again later with blood all over her body. This time, however, she immediately took off all of her clothes as soon as she closed the door behind her. Her eyes… not really filled with anything.
She looked at the table, only to see it unmoved.
"..."
"..."
She stared at her empty apartment for a few seconds, before taking a bath and throwing the food away… and once again preparing another meal.
She cooked and she cooked, just for no one to eat them.
Days.
Weeks.
An entire month.
Nathalie was just seated at the table — this time, just hints of blood on her face; wearing her dirty jacket inside the house. She… just sat there doing nothing.
Just staring at the food that was already being infested with flies and maggots.
"...They fired it up again."
She then whispered to herself as she saw a red flare from her window, reflecting on her already dead eyes. They have been doing that lately — it was the army, calling for any survivors. They were led by a man called Adam Lee, she had only met him once — but when she realized Zac was not there, she quickly left.
"..." Nathalie just continued to stare at this red flare. But soon, her eyes started to widen as color once again returned to them. And without even any breaths, she suddenly ran out of the apartment and made her way towards the roof.
And with a forced smile plastering her face… she raised her hand to the skies.
Zac should know — Zac should know that it was coming from her. He was the one to explain this to her, so it stands to reason that he would know… what this would mean.
"...Flare,"
And with a breath, Nathalie used up almost half of her entire mana as she bathed the entire horizon in a bright green light — a green flare that could be seen almost throughout the entire ruined city.
"Please… please Zac," Nathalie whispered,
"Please… find yourself home."
"..."
"..."
But Zac did not.
Nathalie once again waited and waited, but nobody came. What she did manage to attract, however, were monsters.
"..." Nathalie stared down at the silhouettes that were starting to gather around the apartment. And soon, her eyebrows began to tremble in anger.
"My baby… won't be able to go home if you're there."
And with those words, her entire body was suddenly wrapped in some sort of lightning; leaving a streak in the air as she just casually leaped from the roof…
…killing anything and everything that even dared to breathe badly near her home.
Nathalie… did not stop — even wounded; every night, when the night was at its darkest, Nathalie bathed the sky in green.
And over and over again, she obliterated every monster that came her way.
And soon, the silhouettes of people showed themselves in the shadows.
Nathalie was beyond thrilled. But the smile on her face did not last long when she realized that her son was not one of them. They… were just random people that found her flare, seeking refuge and safety.
And as they gathered, Nathalie just continued to ignore them. She just continued to summon the flare. Every day, she would brighten the night and kill all the monsters around her.
And soon, an entire year passed.
The people that sought refuge in the apartment started to leave as news of an Underground City was being built. The people begged and pleaded for Nathalie to come with them, but she just completely ignored them.
She just stayed in the apartment — her eyes, completely blank. A lot of things have been happening in the world around her, but Nathalie chose to not involve herself as her priority lay elsewhere.
Her son — he has always been the only reason.
And so, every night without fail, for years and years — Nathalie would return to the apartment to light up a green flare. She also started clearing any Curtain within a kilometer of her apartment as soon as they appeared.
Nathalie was approached by people, asking her to join some sort of Guild — a collection of System Holders like her that ventures out to clear the Curtains and find out their source.
Nathalie… didn't care. This happened several times, with different guilds approaching her. But Nathalie didn't care, and soon, no one disrupted her anymore.
It almost became a silent rule that Nathalie… owned a part of the city and that no one was to approach her.
Soon, however, a Curtain that was sought after by the so-called Guilds appeared in her territory — and she cleared it.
Unbeknownst to her, the people of the world have already been buying rights to clear the Curtains — Guilds, bidding for the chance to be able to clear certain Curtains.
And she cleared a Curtain that already had an owner on her own.
This garnered the anger of that particular guild — enough for them to lay an ambush against Nathalie…
…which resulted in them being wiped out.
And ever since, the people have given Nathalie a title—
The Witch of Carnage.
They don't know why, they don't know what for. But Nathalie just stays up there lighting up the night — and everyone has just learned to avoid her.
And after two decades, people have already forgotten Nathalie's face — they just know her by the Green Flare.
The Green Flare has become a symbol to the people. A symbol to never give up, no matter what.
Every night, without fail — the Green Flare rises… telling everyone that they have survived another day.
But Nathalie—Nathalie did not care about such things.
She only had one goal and one goal only. With each raise of her hand, she utters the same words over and over again without rest…
"Zac… please… please find yourself home."
And tonight was just like any of those nights.
Her eyes reflected the green cloud above her, slowly closing as she took in a deep breath. And with a nod, she took a seat on the dilapidated roof, before lighting up a fire in front of her to keep her warm.
And she just stared at this fire — waiting for something she knew that would never arrive.
And that… That is the Tale of the Witch of Carnage.
And tonight…
"Nathalie."
…as a familiar voice behind her whispered, her eyes widened. She did not even need to look back as tears immediately fell from her tired eyes.
"...Zac?"
"It's me...
...mother."
And tonight… her tale ends.
Tonight, the Witch of Carnage once again becomes a mother.