The moon shone bright, a blaring light that flared a crimson red amidst the bloody skies. The clouds remained a vibrant scarlet, floating in the realm as the land below was engulfed in flames.
Blood spilled, axes being buried into the backs of people, bodies falling limp with lost limbs, fatal wounds, severed bodies, dismembered heads- the sight was a gruesome tale to unfold.
But amongst the chaos, was a young girl. She, like the crimson moon, bore the same colour eyes, and hair of darkness. She looked on in horror, witnessing the village of people being mercilessly slaughtered. Not by monsters, not by creatures- but by people of the same kind. Her furry ears buried themselves into her hair, attempting to snuffle the noises out as tears escaped her eyes endlessly. Her body shook as though the she herself was being impaled by the cold steel of the village pitchforks and hatchets, and had lost all feeling in those small feet that were limp to the ground.
Her body jolted the moment a thud alerted her, her ears opening for a moment before hurrying back into her hair. But her eyes witnessed it all. A woman, who bore her face, amber eyes and black hair who had fallen to the ground- one of the many hundred hatchets that had cleaved her skull in half and stopping at her throat. As the woman fell, her eyes looked on in horror. Her crimson eyes matching the man who killed the woman, a man whose face was familiar- yet distorted beyond the point of humanity. He groaned, drool spilling from his mouth, his left arm dislocated and swinging around as his right hand never left that hatchet that fell towards the ground with her head.
The young girl's eyes lost all light, unable to process anything that was happening. The roaring fire that ate away at the village grew larger and larger, spilling to the crops and bounties that were engulfed.
"No..." The girl couldn't push anymore words out, as her feet were slowly drowning in the woman's blood. The man's jaw was unhinged, snapping about as he couldn't even form a sentence. His crimson red eyes glared at the young girl, what should have been a white sclera was nothing but a pitch black, and as the young girl looked up to this man's face, he casted a shadow over the girl's entire body, standing before her in front of that crimson moon. But for a moment, he paused. The axe he managed to yank out of the woman's body was raised firm into the air, but held in place. His eyes were washed, his face void of emotion as that jaw remained unhinged.
In that slight moment he paused, his jaw moved side to side. Clicking, his tongue tapping the top of his mouth before he swallowed the drool that kept escaping. " Aagh..." His voice escaped, losing breath, but his jaw that was unhinged began tightening- cracking as what should have been blue veins across his temple had flown a bright red. Those veins expanded, growing to take over that man's face, but eventually...
"Rina... Run." His voice was corrupted, his voice box internally destroyed- but that moment of hesitation allowed him to speak. The woman of black hair, Rina's mother, laid on the ground lifeless. A sight that tore the man apart as bloody tears ran from his eyes.
"Father..." The young girl responded, her lips quivering. Her tears knew no end, but her legs that once shook grabbed a firm hold of themselves. Her heart was pacing, her breath all over the place- but in that instance, she ran. She ran, and kept on running despite the distant screams and torment the village we're living through. As the screams grew distant, her father, taken over by some parasite, had ran the axe down through his own head.
Through bushes, over branches- tripping and grazing her body- those legs kept her going. She kept running, and running. The thick density of the forests was enough to shy anyone away from going in, stopping them from getting lost. It was a perfect place to run to, and those little legs kept her going.
The sky begun crying, beneath the crimson moon, even the water was dyed a deep red. The girl kept going, soon falling into a puddle. Looking at herself, she could only be reminded of what happened. Those crimson eyes, and deep black hair, the look of her parent's eyes as they had lost their lives. The moment that village was turned into a blood bath, burning by flames that felt as though they were created by the devil himself.
The scars bore deep, flashing images of her mother's carcass befallen by her own twisted father. The friends she'd play hide and seek with, forever would she have longed to seek them. The blood red moon that masked the flames that roared throughout the village, people burnt alive with many villagers running rampant.
She didn't understand it, she didn't understand any of it- yet, she found herself within that dark room once more. Her eyes, puff red from the tears and her throat choking on dread, she wished only one thing. The young girl, that small petite figure, was the now grown up Rina. She fell to her knees, keeping her body up with her hands as she whispered. "Please... Stop this..." She pleaded, her chest growing heavier with each passing moment.
Such a night was unforgettable. It was filled with regret, and a wave of despair that had always lingered. It never left, as though misery loved to keep her company. 'What happened with your past was tragic. You've lost the lives of many close to you.'
The wordless voice spoke, as though it was her own inner monologue- yet it wasn't a thought she had put into herself. She looked around, but darkness lingered still. Her eyes followed her arms that couldn't hold themselves together. Much like that night, she felt powerless to do anything other than cry.
'... You're not strong at all, are you?'
She sobbed. She wanted to answer back, but she already knew that this voice had pitied her. What was the point? She had no destination, she wandered aimlessly with no goals, so truly- why was it that she was the one left alive?
"I... I lost my family... My mom... My dad."
'Your siblings too. Your little sister, Anis, who had a bright future.'
Though she couldn't see properly, she looked up in the dark room, feeling a glow that reached for her. In just a small second, that familiar little girl was looking at her with a smile- only to fade into a blur of light. Just behind her were two taller blurs. She could tell who they were. No clues were necessary to recognize their presence.
Helplessly getting up on her feet, she attempted to pull them closer- yet, it was to no avail. They were afterall- just a figment of her own imagination. Whether or not she could touch them didn't change the fact that the true ones have long since passed away.
It's a fact remains unchanged no matter how much she desired to go back to those times to make things different. Or better yet, she questioned if she even had the power to do so. For someone like her who's always steps behind others, how could she compare to the likes of someone as fearless as Aster or as ingenuitive like Isabella? Even her close friend Celine was intelligent. She didn't possess a unique quality that set her apart from her friends. If Aster and the others had felt powerless when Ayrandel and Senadina were taking action, then how would Rina feel knowing she felt powerless to them all?
There was a defined gap between one and the others. An insecurity that coursed deep through her veins. One that wouldn't change the past even if the opportunity arisen.
'You seem so lost. But who was it that found you?'
The blurs of light that were before her began to merge together and in a flash of blue- a single hand reached for her. This one- she could touch, and as she looked up towards the blue aura, the face of a tall male, amber eyes and a single katana stood. He had canine ears much like Rina, but featured brun hair with a white highlight.
"... Uncle Tsuku..."
'Raijinto, of the Seven Wonders. Do you truly believe him to be bad?'
Rina's expression grew worst. Her face was growing pale as the gentle man's eyes kept staring at her. The edge of her lips tried reaching for her chin as the very thought of him killing others for his own gain wanted to make her vomit.
The pale girl shook her head. She knew what her answer was. Rina's mind expanded, the void being filled with a lovely wooden cabin with nature springing beyond the glass windows. Outside the porch was that same man, the so called living weapon, Raijinto. But, Rina, whose appearance remained the same, knew him as Uncle Tsuku. He was a harmless person and taught her to wield a bow and arrow. In fact, there were other weapons he was able to teach to her such as polearms, swords and even knives.
With the door already open towards the porch, she decided to take that step forward. There, Raijinto's focus remained unchanged. He continued looking off at the distance, lost in thought to himself.
By this point, Rina was unsure if this was reality or not. If it weren't for the fact of a serious sense of deja vu- she wouldn't have been able to tell this illusion apart from reality. "It's beautiful..."
He spoke. His voice was deep, and enticing. As those two simple words escaped his mouth, there was an alluring danger to his voice. Like he was convincing you to walk to him. Rina wasn't effected, rather- she didn't see that threatening aura he always radiated. Perhaps, she was simply numb to it. But it was something that didn't bother her regardless.
Rumours had always circulated around the famous Raijinto. He was a man to be feared, to the point that every enemy that has stood in his way could never escape death's scythe.
But death was a simple man in his 40's with a Katana to his side- but it wasn't like he was doing anything special. Through Rina's eyes, he was just a man appreciating the beauty in front of him. "This world is beautiful. Right Rina?"
He asked, looking straight at her. Her eyes were still as red as an apple, but she nodded and soon enough decided to sit down next to him. The man's focus didn't turn to her once. Instead, he kept on looking. There was an appreciation of the silence. For once, Rina could appreciate that there wasn't much going on other than he and her sitting down and taking in the experience.
"Uncle Tsuku..?"
"Yes little Riri?"
Rina shuffled a little, slowly resting her head against his arm. Instead of phasing through him, she felt the physical touch, and continue to rest. Upon reflex, Raijinto raised his opposing arm to reach for hair. Fixing it slightly due to it being a little messy, he only gave a smile as he finally disrupted where he was looking to look at the young girl before him.
"If the world... One day turns against you... What would you do..?" She asked.
The question itself was a double entendre. The world was after Raijinto's head, along with the other of the seven. But truly, she wanted to understand not only where Raijinto could have gone- but to understand herself what gives him the strength to continue. The world on many occasions had turned its back on Rina. She lost everything and gained almost nothing out of it. With the world pushing her back to the ground, she was nothing more than a helpless girl.
Raijinto didn't reply immediately. He kept stroking the girl's hair. The brief moment of silence waiting for the answer felt much longer than what it was. But he came with an answer anyway. "If the world was against me, then I'll keep fighting my way to survive... Sure, the world might hate me, but I know there are those that don't... Shouldn't I keep fighting for them?"
Rina looked up at him. He chuckled, only to continue with a sentence that really kept her quiet. "I know this is an illusion. I might just be a figment of your imagination right now. But I'll always be around to support you, Riri." Her eyes grew watery once more. She clutched at his chest, as a flux of emotions rushed at her.
'You may not be strong. You may not have a future... Much like Raijinto however, you both have people they you must fight for. For him, that's you. For you, it's your friends on this journey with you.'
Raijinto's hands began glowing, and as the scenery began to shift and distort around her- another light approached her. Behind the smile of her master, was the smile of her other friends who were waiting for her.
"Your new friends are waiting for you, aren't they little Riri?" Raijinto's voice began vanishing as everyone's image fizzled out. Leaving nothing but that same darkness and a light beyond her reach.
'Walk Rina.'
'That's right... I have to make it out to Aster and the others. Even if things don't look good for me, I have to keep fighting. For everyone... For Uncle Tsuku. As they too are fighting for me!'
Her feet began carrying themselves towards that light, the ever approaching light at the end of the tunnel. She may not have a bright future, but it didn't mean that she couldn't keep striving for one. How unfair could life be to rob her those chances? Yet- on the alternate spectrum, Uncle Tsuku was the one who gave her a chance. A chance to reclaim that which she once lost.