It was a rainy night. The sky hung heavy with obsidian clouds, suffocating the moon's feeble attempts to pierce through the shroud. A torrent of rain fell down on the world, washing away the sorrows and cruelty it carried, and yet, at the same time, it colored the world in another shade of gloominess.

In an unknown place, somewhere in the world, on an island like many others in appearance, a woman was running through the forest with heavy steps. Her clothes were dirty and her appearance was a disheveled mess of dirt and blood… Her blood. With no shoes, her marathon through the forest had turned her feet into a bloody mess. Yet, she didn't stop, not even for a second.

Her body was riddled with injuries of all shapes and forms and her previously lustrous black hair dulled from arduous hardships and stress. Her face was sickly pale, completely devoid of any color.

"Hah… Hah… Hah…"

"Where is she? Get her!"

"She ran from here! That little slut!"

"Hurry up!!"

Voices echoed across the empty forest, shaking the woman's heart further. Her fearful eyes looked down. In her hands was a little baby, no more than a few months old. His face was pale and his body was shivering from the coldness of the night. However, even with that, the baby was oddly silent. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive either.

"Hold on, my baby. I will get you somewhere safe." Tucking him in close to her, she continued running as fast as she could. Even though her words were directed toward her child, she was subconsciously reassuring herself. That everything was going to be fine for her baby.

However, the reality was much harsher than that. These people that were running behind her weren't some normal people.

The more she ran deeper into the forest, the more their footsteps grew closer and closer. It was a matter of time before they caught up to her.

'Where should I go? Please, anyone… Help me…' Tears rolled down her face as she continued running aimlessly. In truth, she really had no plan in her mind except for running. As for where and for how long, well, she didn't know.

Her journey continued for a while as flashes of light started appearing behind her, penetrating the thick trees and the luscious vegetation.

*STOMP*

Suddenly, under the influence of exhaustion and dim vision, the woman stumbled on a protruding rock, breaking her finger as she fell down. Instinctively, she held her baby close to her as she covered him from the impact.

"Ugh!" A groan escaped her mouth from the sheer pain of the impact. But, she ignored that hellish pain and checked her child. Luckily, he seemed to be fine… Well, mostly.

'I need to move! They're getting closer!' Trying to move her body, the woman found that she was unable to budge.

"Huh…" Her eyes widened as she realized something. Blood was dripping from the back of her head.

"No… No, no, no, move. I need to… move…" Even though she was aware that she needed to stand up, her body refused to answer. It seemed the hit to her head had paralyzed her body temporarily.

"I can see something there!!"

"It's her! Hurry up!!"

Yells reached the woman's ears and made her face frown even harder. Her eyes wandered around her, trying to find something that she could do, anything. However, there was only so much she could do with a paralyzed body and a concussion.

That's when it dawned on her… It was over. There was nothing she could do. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she cried silently. In her hands, her quiet baby remained motionless, not understanding what was happening or perhaps not caring for his mother's sorrows.

'I'm sorry, dear. I'm really sorry. I couldn't do it.' She apologized in her head.

As the men grew closer and closer, her tears stopped and her sad look turned into a stoic, cold one.

"I found her!"

"Don't kill her yet! Is the baby with her?!"

"Yes! She's not moving!"

"If you dare to touch my child… I will kill you! I will kill all of you!! You hear me?!" She yelled loudly. 

The men, clad in what seemed to be formal clothes of some sort surrounded the woman quickly. However, even in her weakened state, her voice was strong and intimidating enough to make the men hesitate for a second. 

'What a powerful presence. She's truly that man's wife.' One of the men stepped forward who seemed to be the leader and looked at the woman.

"You have nowhere to run, Aliz. Did you really think you could escape justice? Your husband was a criminal and so were you. We have executed him… Which only leaves you and that wretched child of yours."

"My son has nothing to do with this! If you want to catch someone, catch me alone and let my child go!" Aliz yelled as she tightened her grip on her child.

The mysterious man shook his head with a disappointed click of his tongue. "I thought you were smarter than this. That child of yours has that man's blood running in his veins. Letting him go will only spill destruction upon this world."

Aliz felt her heart throb painfully when she heard those words. Her child was going to die no matter what. It really pained her.

"I won't let you! Over my dead corpse!"

The man nodded his head before he looked at his men. One of them stepped forward and pulled out a gun before he aimed it at the woman's head. Aliz didn't flinch when she saw the gun pointing at her. However, the next second, the man's gun shifted and aimed at her baby.

"No!!" She yelled as her body tried to move, to protect the child. However, the concussion she sustained was just too strong, and her body was completely unresponsive.

As the man was about to pull the trigger, suddenly, without any warning, a small sound of ringing echoed in the whole forest. A second later, the man's head started sliding down from his shoulders before it fell down to the ground under the shocked eyes of the other men present.

Blood splurted from his severed neck like a fountain before the dead body fell to the ground. Aliz stared at the dead body as she inhaled and exhaled audibly.

The first to react was the leader of this group as he pulled out his sword.

"Who is it?! Show yourself!!"

"AGH!!"

However, the moment he spoke, another one of his men got stabbed in the heart, falling dead. Looking there, the leader rushed to check. 

Right behind him, another man fell, coating the ground in his blood. Then, another one and one after that. The sheer speed and stealth this mysterious attacker possessed were monstrous. He was able to easily pluck the group of men one after the other without allowing the leader to feel his presence.

Seeing that everyone was killed, the leader turned into a panicked mess. He kept turning around, looking carefully for any sign of the attacker.

"Show yourself, coward! Fight me like a man instead of this lowly backstabbing!" He yelled loudly. His voice wavering.

'I need to kill that woman and her child! It's our priority!'

*Swish*

However, before he could even finish his thought, an overwhelming sense of coldness filled his body. His shocked eyes looked down only to see a blade protruding from his chest. His blood dripped from the tip of the sword slowly.

Then, the weapon was pulled out, leaving the man to stumble forward. His eyes quickly turned around and stared at his killer. Instantly, his eyes widened to the extreme. He couldn't believe it.

"You… You bastard…" Leaving those last few words behind, the man fell to the ground dead. His blood spilled everywhere.

During all of this, Aliz watched silently from her place. She would be lying if she said she wasn't scared. But, her body and mind were too exhausted to care anymore. All she could think of was how to make sure her baby would survive.

The man didn't move for a few seconds as he stared at the dead corpses he left behind. Then, he swung his sword in the air, ridding it of all the blood stuck on it and then sheathing it again. After that, he walked toward Aliz.

"Thank you… For saving us… My baby… He's dying…" Aliz spoke in a weak tone.

"You won't make it past this night, lady." The man replied in a stoic tone.

"I don't care… My baby, help him… I beg you…" Tears rolled down her eyes as she begged for her child's life. This mysterious man was her only chance at preserving the boy's life and she was ready to sacrifice anything, even her pride to save him.

As the two stared at each other, suddenly, the baby's closed eyes opened slowly before he started crying. His loud cries echoed in the forest.

"Shh, Shhh, sweetheart… You will be ok... Mommy is here." Aliz gently spoke to her child before she looked up at the man. "Please… He's everything to me… If you help him, I will be eternally grateful…"

However, the baby kept on crying non-stop as if he understood that his mother would die soon.

After a while, the man sighed before responding. "I will take him."

Aliz's worried face relaxed a little bit. Even though she didn't know who this man was or what his intentions for saving her and her child were, she could only rely on him to keep her child safe. It was a gamble indeed. But, it was a gamble she was ready to make.

Finally, her eyes rested on her crying baby. "Shh, don't cry, Redd. I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you for longer. Your mother couldn't protect you any longer. Will you forgive me?" She asked. However, her question was directed toward herself rather than her child. Will she be able to forgive herself for putting her child through this hell? 

The answer was most likely no. However, if there is one thing Aliz didn't regret, it's that she gave birth to this child. It was a selfish thought of hers that she couldn't get rid of.

"Redd, can you hear me? The future will be hard for you. I know that. But, I know that as long as you're alive, you will find a way to face everything that wants to pull you down. You're his son after all… I'm sorry, Redd. And I… love… you…" The woman's voice slowly weakened until it completely died down as her eyes closed. A small smile appeared on her face.

The man watched Aliz breathe her last breath, his eyes were filled with a myriad of emotions, incomprehensible at first glance. Nobody knew what he was thinking of but it was sure not a cold, emotionless thought. Eventually, he sighed and finally shifted to look at the baby. The latter kept crying for a while, mourning his mother's death.

The man shook his head and then approached the kid to pick him up. However, the latter shockingly fidgeted around before he rolled down his mother's dead corpse.

Then, the boy crawled through the mud with an extremely focused look, staring at something not that far away from his mother's dead corpse. It was a puddle of blood that accumulated after the massacre that happened.

The man watched the boy's actions with a surprised look. He was curious to see what this child was going to do. He was cold, sick, and extremely tired from the arduous journey he went through with his mom. However, he ignored all of that and simply moved toward that puddle of blood.

When he reached it, he looked at the puddle with his big eyes for a while as if inspecting it. Then, he stepped forward into the puddle before he laid down.

"Yaaaaa…" A cute voice escaped the child's mouth as if he found an enjoyable place to rest in. Then, a small, cute smile appeared on his face as he started fidgeting around in the puddle of blood. His giggles echoed in the whole forest while the man watched with a complicated expression.

The man kept staring at the boy with a complicated gaze.