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Chapter 2: Amethyst
On Earth...
The beauties of the world are endless. Its rivers with abundant water, lush forests, blue seas, vast oceans, and colorful flowers... Among these beauties, the most stunning is the Crystal Forest. Green and vibrant, both in winter and summer, the Crystal Forest... But suddenly, it withered. It lost all its vitality. Hundreds of thousands of trees were destroyed...
-"Mother!! Father!! No!! Don't leave me!!"
In the center of the forest, there was a wooden house... A happy family lived inside. But that happiness vanished in a single night...
Behind the wooden house, there were two graves. One had the name Estella, the other Elio. A beautiful girl, with swollen eyes from crying, looked up at the sky, praying to the gods. Her name was Amethyst. A rare beauty in the world. Perhaps, there was no one as beautiful as her. Amethyst stood before the graves and shouted, her voice hoarse:
-"Mother! Father! I swear, I will take revenge for you! Do you hear me, you disgusting creatures?! I will bring your end!"
She stood up and entered the half-destroyed wooden house. Muttering to herself:
-"First, I must fix this house. Then, a long journey awaits me!"
Five days later...
Amethyst slung a black bag over her shoulder. She wore a black robe over her clothes and tied a black veil around her face. After adjusting her clothes, she looked at her face, which sparkled in the sunlight reflecting off the ring on her finger. This ring was the only memory she had left from her family...
Amethyst was still a 12-year-old girl. Her mother had always warned her not to go far alone. But now... Now, she had to travel miles alone. She began her journey from the center of the Crystal Forest, heading north. The northern region of the Crystal Forest belonged to the Northern Crystal Kingdom. This kingdom, due to its strict rules, housed very few people. Most of the inhabitants had left a year ago when the old king was dethroned. The others were living there under the new king's harsh rules. Last month, three people who tried to escape the kingdom were caught by the guards and executed in the city square. Because of this, Amethyst and her family had avoided stepping foot in the kingdom for the past year. Now, Amethyst wanted to quietly escape from here. She walked through the empty, narrow, and dark streets of the city. Just ahead, a soldier appeared. In fear, Amethyst didn't know what to do. Her face turned pale, and she began to tremble with excitement. But she quickly recovered and hid behind a nearby trash can. When the soldier passed, Amethyst took a deep breath of relief. Just at that moment, she felt someone's breath behind her. She was too scared to turn around. Her ears began to ring. Then the person spoke:
-"Who are you? What are you doing here? Can't you see there's someone?"
-"Shh! Stay quiet! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I was trying to escape from here."
Amethyst paused for a moment and studied the girl closely. Her hair was jet black, and her eyes were a very dark blue. She had freckles on her cheeks. She wore a navy blue dress and carried a large backpack.
-"Are you too?"
From the girl's words, Amethyst realized she was also trying to escape. She quietly approached her and whispered in her ear:
-"Yes, I'm also escaping. I know the way. Follow me!"
The girl looked at her suspiciously at first. Then, she decided to go with her.
-"Okay, I'm with you."
Amethyst carefully emerged from the trash heap and moved behind a nearby store wall. After checking her surroundings, she signaled for the girl to join her. As the girl approached, she accidentally dropped the trash can lid. The sound caught the attention of the guards. Seeing this, Amethyst grabbed the girl's wrist and ran. A few guards started chasing them. Amethyst ran quickly, causing her veil to fly off and revealing her face. She increased her speed, exited the city gates, and turned towards the eastern side of the Crystal Forest. The soldiers gave up on chasing them and returned to the palace to report to the king...
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