Note: This chapter is about before the creation of the Diamond Empire.
"In the time of shadows, when the sun is cloaked in darkness, a crimson star shall rise. Born of fire and grief, she will unearth the abyss, and the world will be consumed by her despair."
This was the oldest prophecy of Solara. It was something that all children knew. Red is evil, and you should avoid it if you wanted to live in peace.
In the old days, all red-haired children were killed right after they were born. But nowadays, the people of Solara don't take it seriously.
Technology had advanced to the point where most threats could be resolved, yet the prejudice against red-haired people always existed.
For decades, the people of Solara made one of the biggest mistakes regarding a prophecy: they tried to avoid it.
✦
"Get out of here, trash!" yelled the man furiously as he threw a small red-haired girl to the ground.
Her small body fell to the ground, covered in dirt. Her pretty face was marred with wounds, and her body was full of bruises.
However, her spirit remained as solid as a blazing flame.
"Fuck you, asshole!" shouted the girl fiercely. Her eyes were full of hatred, repelling most people.
"They hit you again today too?" asked a small, peculiar boy.
The boy and the girl had a long relationship. Both were orphans and extremely poor, having only each other to rely on.
"Stay still, I will disinfect it." said the boy, carrying an old emergency kit as if he had done it many times before.
The girl stayed still, silently accepting his skilled hands.
"You know, Rebecca, if you hadn't hit his balls, he would have let you eat some of the leftovers." said the boy with a calm face.
"This is none of your business!" snapped Rebecca fiercely, her face as red as her hair.
"Pfft-" laughed the boy, teasing her red face.
"You know that asshole is a total pervert! Who wants to eat food from a trash who cheats on his own wife?" she justified.
"Growl~" her face turned completely red at the embarrassing sound of her stomach.
"Ha... just let me handle the food." said the boy tiredly while taking an apple from his old bag. "Catch it."
Rebecca ate the red apple shamelessly. She hadn't eaten for days and was willing to accept anything.
"Don't worry, when I awaken my skills, I will repay all the food you gave me." said the girl proudly.
It was an old tradition in Solara: when you turned 12 years old, the powers of your soul would awaken.
Most orphans like them had completely changed their lives after awakening their skills. Celestian researchers would accept anyone with valuable skills, ignoring their past and sins, and even providing food and shelter.
Rebecca hoped she would be able to support herself and her brother once she awakened her soul power.
"Yes, yes~ If we survive until then, I will believe it." said the boy sarcastically.
Mavren was a curious and cunning boy, while Rebecca was hot-headed and stubborn. Together, they were the most troublesome pair in Sun City.
"I have a plan to get us out of here. Don't fight unnecessarily." said Mavren with a calculating eye.
"A plan?" Rebecca asked, but Mavren silently took her hand and led her to a dark place.
"What are we doing here?"
Rebecca was confused by Mavren's sudden actions. He always involved her in strange plans and talked like he knew everything about the world.
"Shh! Look there." he whispered.
A group of four Sun Keepers were guarding a mysterious caravan in front of the Dark Forest. Mavren had memorized all their habits and characteristics.
The Sun Keepers were directly associated with the Celeste Resource and usually carried valuable artifacts. This was his plan to retire early with Rebecca.
"It's 9 PM. The big one will leave for five minutes, and three minutes after that, the other three will disperse for two minutes and thirty seconds. That's our chance." he explained carefully.
"I will enter from the back and steal an artifact. You will watch for anyone approaching and signal me using this."
Mavren held a Talkie Sun, a device that could send small messages at a low range.
"Where did you get that?" asked Rebecca, confused by the device.
"It's not important. Will you do it?"
"I didn't say I wouldn't!"
"Then hold it." he said, tossing her the small device. "We have no time to waste."
With these words, the boy ran towards the small caravan and started searching for precious artifacts.
'Wow, there's a lot in here,' he thought, analyzing the caravan's contents.
He quickly opened the cover, revealing a shocking sight.
Instead of artifacts, he found bodies similar to his own. Some faces were very familiar.
"What?"
[Mavren, the big guy is coming!]
Without time to process his shock, Mavren ran with all his might. He had never run so fast; the adrenaline from seeing the corpses was fueling his entire body.
'What was that? Why are there corpses here?'
It wasn't the first time he had seen a corpse, but finding them in a caravan associated with the Celeste Research was shocking for anyone in Sun City.
"This is big..." he thought. A conspiracy he didn't want to be involved in, but maybe it was already too late to avoid.
"Hey, what are you doing there?!" shouted a huge man in light armor, blood on his body and sword.
"Fuck!"
Mavren jumped high, touching the top of the wall with his skilled hands. He had prepared a backup plan just in case, but he never thought he would need to use it so early.
"Wait there!"
The big Sun Keeper approached with a dangerous tone, but as he jumped the wall, a big pan hit his face, knocking him unconscious.
It had only been a few minutes.
"I almost got caught." Mavren said in a relieved tone.
"Almost?" A strange voice echoed behind him.
Three Sun Keepers were waiting for him.
✦
'Why is he taking so long?'
Rebecca was waiting to see if the three Sun Keepers would appear, but contrary to Mavren's plan, no one showed up.
'It's strange.' She knew Mavren could handle one Sun Keeper, but if more appeared...
She started to feel a dangerous sensation.
Rebecca hurriedly went to where Mavren had gone. Her eyes weren't interested in the "artifacts"; all she could think about was her brother.
'Where are you?'
She jumped high, her hands touching the top of the wall. There she saw the image of three unconscious Sun Keepers and a familiar arm lying on the ground.
"Mavren...?" said Rebecca, her pupils shaking with shock.
She approached the arm and touched it with her trembling hands. Blood was leaking from a clean cut.
Mavren must have fought to survive and hid himself. But the only place to hide in this small space was a dark and dense forest.
No one who entered came back alive.
"...Who?" her light red eyes became darker and her hands shook with rage.
Her eyes looked at the big man still unconscious and the sword covered with blood.
"It's you." her small hands held the sword. With her hands tightly on the sword's hilt, she directed the blade towards the man.
Seconds later a head rolled on the floor. Her hate hadn't stopped yet; instead, the three remaining Sun Keepers became new targets.
The night was covered in red, a dark and crimson red full of hatred and injustice.
It was the beginning of everything.