The flames rise higher, licking at the night sky like starving beasts.
What remains of our small sanctuary is nothing but blackened bones, its warmth turned to ruin.
In my arms, my little sister shudders, her breaths thin and frail.
And before me, the one responsible stands — grinning.
It happened too fast. Too sudden.
No warnings, no omens, just destruction.
Everything I held close was almost wrenched from my grasp, and I was too weak to stop it.
Why? Why did this happen? Why couldn't I stop it? What should I have done?
The truth slams into me, cold and merciless.
I took everything for granted. I was too prideful. I have not enough power as I am now. No way to fight back.
And that is the moment I understand — knowledge is the only thing that can save me now.
I will claw for every last scrap of it.
(... ... ...)
"Gods, how dull..."
I sprawl across the grass, arms folded behind my head, staring at the lazy drift of clouds. The scent of damp earth mingles with the river's crisp breeze.
An empty bucket rests by the riverbank, its purpose momentarily forgotten.
Should I nap?
The thought flutters briefly through my mind before irritation drags me back.
"Tch. That damn 'teacher' actually timed me the other day... If he has that much free time, why not fetch the damn water himself? He does this just to get on my nerves. He knows I can just make water on the spot for them!"
I sigh, turning over onto my side.
"And I still have half a dozen books to finish... Ah, speaking of which, she was quiet today."
That's unusual.
Normally, my little sister trails after me, whining about wanting to come along. Today, not a single word.
Is she sulking? Or is she finally growing up?
Our youngest sister has been sick lately, so I haven't had time to spend with her.
"Alright, I'll make it up to her when I get back."
With that, I push to my feet and swing the bucket into the river, watching the water rush inside.
"Alright. Time to head—"
A thunderous explosion rips the air apart.
The ground trembles beneath me. Trees shudder. A flock of birds erupts from the canopy, screeching in terror.
My stomach knots.
"...No way."
I turn.
Smoke.
Thick, black columns billow from the direction of home.
"Is that— A fire!?"
The bucket crashes to the ground. I'm already running.
(...)
By the time I arrive, I am too late.
Panting, my chest heaving, I skid to a halt.
The church — our refuge, our sanctuary — collapses in on itself, swallowed by flames.
Ash rains from the sky like cursed snow.
The shock numbs me. It doesn't even occur to me to use magecraft to smother the fire.
My gaze darts wildly, searching — someone, anyone — until I see her.
My sister.
Her small body lies motionless on the scorched earth.
I sprint. Fall to my knees. Pull her into my arms.
"Hey! Are you alright!? Wake up!"
A small, pained whimper.
Relief floods me. She's alive.
But where are the others?
"Selene? Teacher? The old hag — she should've been here by now! What the hell is going on!?"
"Shelly..."
A third voice cuts through the smoke.
"Heh, heh, heh..."
A laugh.
A sick, twisted laugh.
I freeze.
That voice...
I turn—
"...Selene?"
I barely recognize her silhouette through the flickering inferno.
But something is wrong.
The moment I take a step forward, she lunges.
A flash of silver — too fast — claws tear through my arm.
"AAAAUUUUUUUUGHHHHH!"
Pain.
White-hot agony sears through me, like molten iron piercing my flesh.
Blood. My blood.
Dripping onto my sister.
"Oh my, does that hurt, Shelly?"
The voice is wrong.
The face — Selene's face — shifts, melts, reforms into someone else.
A tall man steps into view, grinning wide.
"Ahaha, wow, look at you! Bleeding all over your baby sister... You gonna die? You think you'll die?"
"...You... bastard..."
I stagger, the world tilting, vision blurring.
The pain is unbearable, but I grit my teeth.
"Where... are the others...?"
"Your little gang? Oh, they're gone."
His voice is a knife, twisting.
"That damn wraith managed to drag the brat into the woods, though, but honestly? They won't last long."
My heart pounds.
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
The man sighs, mockingly.
"Such a shame. I would've liked to play with you longer, but my time's up." He stretches, cracking his neck. "Oh well. At least killing that old blonde hag was fun."
Time stops.
"...Wait..."
I reach out—
He vanishes.
And I fall.
(...)
When I wake, the sky is black with storm clouds.
Rain lashes against my skin, cold and relentless.
I gasp.
"...I'm... alive?"
I try to move.
Pain surges through me. My arm — bandaged. Stitched.
Was it Gramps?
I push through the haze, forcing my eyes toward the ruins.
Something glimmers in the wreckage.
A small, half-buried object.
Sellen's music box.
My breath catches.
She's not in my arms anymore.
But if my wounds were treated, then—
(She must be safe.)
(Inside the Great Library.)
(But still...)
My hands clench into fists.
Everything is gone. Everything. The old hag... The church... The life I knew... Gone.
By some miracle, I survived. My sister survived. But I am useless.
All I can do is scream.
And so I do.
Until the storm swallows me whole.
Until I black out again.
(... ... ...)