Ida

Panting echoed down the city streets as the young girl fled through the chaos of terror and flames.

The screams of torment and agony were being drowned out by the constant bells that rang all over the Hanxi Dynasty.

The young girl had a dirty and ripped-up red Hanfu with scarlet red hair that was indistinguishable from any living being.

Her eyes welled up with tears before she tightly shut them. Bitter memories continued to haunt her, replaying relentlessly in her mind as she raced for her very survival.

The bitter memories of her mother's last moments.

((FLASHBACK))

"It's over... the Suilan Province is done for—alongside the entire Hanxi Dynasty as well. Ida, my beautiful child, please run as far as you can before Gray arrives."

"Mother, didn't you say we were going to escape together?! "

Ida's mother held her tightly, her grip unyielding as she clung to her daughter, savoring every precious second of their embrace. 

Struggling to free herself from her mother's embrace, Ida suddenly felt something land on her head. Her gaze shifted to the origin of the unexpected sensation, revealing her mother, tears streaming down her anguished face.

"Run Ida, run very far okay? You must run to the very ends of the world if you have to in order to not get caught." her mother said, kissing Ida on the forehead. 

A loud blast is sent to the room's door, making multiple fragments flying everywhere. Ida's mother turned her head to the door. It was a man with a blackened-out mask with a grin. His eyes were bulging out of their eye sockets and his attire was a black business suit in mint condition. Right in front of him was an armored knight with a blue hood and cloth that folded around the armor. The helmet was just a dark void on the inside, appearing to be nothing within the helmet to begin with.

Ida's mother stood in front of Ida, pulling out her magic staff. "IDA, GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" she screamed.

The masked man had a devious smile on him. "Hmm, how intriguing, mortals trying to defy the higher beings as usual? You, fellas, must have a kink of dying or something!" he aimed his finger at Ida and her mother, beginning to do a deranged laughter. "Gray, kill the mom and take the child alive!" he ordered.

The knight soon dashed at Ida's mother with surprising speed, throwing a right hook at her before she could even react. A sudden right hook snapped her head around, and Ida found herself face-to-face with her mother. The expression on her mother's face left her utterly stunned. Her face was of complete horror and had made no other movement. Her mouth was gushing out blood as she continued to look into the eyes of her traumatized daughter.

Her mother then collapsed right in front of Ida.

"M-Mother...?"

A sinister void materialized directly in front of Ida's mother's lifeless body. It murmured something to both Gray and the masked man before engulfing her mother's remains. Ida witnessing this horrific act was shaken. She extended her arm, but it never found her mother's touch. Her mother vanished as if she had never existed in the first place. At that very moment, she couldn't decide on what to do so she followed her gut instincts. Her gut instincts were telling her to run out of there as fast as she could. So she did, she ran as fast as she could. The masked man grinned seeing Ida skedaddle away. "May the game begin."

((PRESENT TIME))

Ida got to the gates of her city, feeling some hope of surviving this attack. She wants to fulfill her mother's wishes of living till the very end, so she is determined to make it out. As she left the gates of the city, she was greeted with a terrible sight. It was thousands of shadow warriors, surrounding the city she resided in. Ida was left hopeless. "It's the end... there's no way I can escape." She fell to her knees.

Ida then heard footsteps approaching her from behind. It was them, the killers that took her mom away. The masked man laughed maniacally, seeing the hopeless expression on Ida's face. "That's right, you were in a rigged game to begin with!" He continued laughing, seeing tears fall upon Ida's face of defeat. "Now, Gray, TAKE HER TALENT, NOW!" he ordered once more. 

Ida suddenly recalled something. ("My talent...? Oh, I completely forgot about my Talent.") She examined herself, taking deep breaths. ("Mom warned me that using it again could permanently damage my mana core, but I have no other option now.")

She then closed her eyes and screamed a chant out loud. "My Talent, please heed my words and listen to my prayers-"

The masked man's laughter stopped. "She's using her god-forbidden Talent, Gray just take it now!" Gray attempted to approach Ida but began slowing down the closer he got to her at an incredible rate. He was so slow that it would take him at least an hour to take one full step.

Ida continued her chant, making the masked man anxious. "descend upon this word and violate my time-"

The masked man removed his mask. "I guess I'll have to use my Talent," he declared. Tentacles sprouted from his face and aimed at Ida. However, the same fate befell the tentacles as it did with Gray. They moved at an agonizingly slow pace as they inched closer to Ida while she did her incantation.

"bring me to a place from a distant past, devour the day and devour the night—CRONUS, I USE THEE!" Ida finished her chant and a bright light blinded everyone around her. As soon as the flash was gone, she was gone with it.

"She's gone, damn it she's gone!" the masked man screamed. "Right as we were about to get it, she's gone!" The masked man paused all actions for a moment as if he froze in time. He then coughed before composing himself. "Ah, I got carried away again." 

Giggling again, the masked man grinned. "Well, her mana core is practically useless by now after she used her Talent, we'll just have to find her again and this time, she won't be able to run."

*

*

*

*

Ida awoke in the midst of a tranquil forest, her voice barely above a whisper, "Where am I..." The woods enveloped her in their serene beauty, and a gentle breeze brushed against her. Suddenly, a rustling emerged from the bushes behind her. She cautiously retreated, calling out, "Who's there?"

Plopping out of the bush were two goblins, both armed with sharpened bones as their weapons. Both figures laid their eyes on Ida, and a sinister anticipation danced in their gaze. Licking their lips in an unsettling manner, they advanced toward her. Ida crawled backward, saying something to the goblins with a trembling voice. "S-Stay back..." 

As she backed into a tree, she realized that the goblins were ready to pounce on her at any second. Her heart was pounding against her chest in fear and she was nearing her breaking point once again. Tears began forming in her eyes. "W-What, please leave me alone... I-I don't want to suffer any longer." Her frail and small body quivered at the sight of the goblins getting ready to attack her. As soon as she closed her eyes, she heard a strong thud in front of her.

She slowly lifted her eyelids to see one of the goblins on the floor, unconscious. Opening them wider, she sees a young boy, around her age, punching the other goblin, rendering it unconscious as well. "Hey, are you okay?" the young boy said.

He was cute with white hair, and a fancy suit that only nobles would have. Her mother had cautioned her about individuals of this sort, often spoiled brats who harbored disdain for those of lower classes. The mere thought of them disgusted Ida. "Y-Yes, I am fine..." she said, standing up. 

A small fuzzy creature then emerged from the trees above the boy. "Alright, this is four goblins by now, you're doing great!" he shouted at the boy. Ida pointed at the fuzzy animal. "What's that and why is it talking?" she asked. "Well, that's my pet. Now if you'd excuse me, I'm going to leave now." the boy told her. He then proceeded to walk off into the distance. 

Ida hesitated for a moment, her eyes tracking their departure. ("W-What...") Then, determination ignited within her, and she hurriedly followed after them. "Wait, come back!" she exclaimed. The young boy turned his head back to face her. "What do you want?" he said. His expression remained unamused, and his voice carried an unmistakable tone of annoyance.

"You saved me right, a beautiful princess like me, Isn't a noble like you trying to squeeze something out of me?" Ida stated. 

"No, I honestly don't care about you," he said in response.

Ida stood there in shock. This boy seemed to be the complete opposite of what her mother had described. Nobility was often portrayed as bratty, with a lack of morals and a facade to charm others. Yet, this kid was just blatantly honest! 

The bizarre fuzzy creature made its grin way brighter. "Ooooooh, I think she has a crush on youuuuu!" the creature said. 

Hearing his remark, Ida's face turned a deep shade of crimson. "W-What do you mean I have a crush on him? What kind of conclusion is that?!"

The bizarre fuzzy creature went up to Ida and kept nudging her with his elbow. "Hmm little missy, how old are you? You might be the perfect age to marry my student right there," he said, pointing at the young boy. The young boy had a very disgruntled face, staring directly at his pet.

"I'm five... wait, what do you mean by student?" she said, looking at the young boy. 

Refusing to evaluate the "student" question, he proceeded with the conversation. "You're five? You're the same age as my student right there! You're also very smart for your age as well."

The fuzzy creature didn't seem to be lying but also seemed unhinged when speaking. Ida was very confused but she still went along speaking with the fuzzy creature. "Well, I am the child prodigy of my province so I'm a bit smarter than others in my age group," Ida spoke. 

"And also, are you really being trained by this weird animal?!" she asked the boy, pointing at the animal at her leg. The boy nodded in agreement but also posed a question to her. "Yeah, well, you're from some province, right? Why are you here in the middle of the forest?" he asked. 

Ida looked away, fiddled with her fingers, and stood in an awkward pose as she nervously thought of an excuse. "Erm... well, I-I got lost," she said. 

The boy witnessed how blatant her lies were. ("She's horrible at lying!")

"Well, since you are my savior, once you take me back home, I'll get the people in my family to reward you for your heroic actions!" Ida said, trying to switch the topic. 

"Wait, who said I was bringing you home-"

"And also, can you please give me some food, I'm starving!" Ida said, cutting the boy off.

The boy sighed, tired of trying to reason with her. "Okay fine, but just tell me your name first and I'll try to talk to my parents about it." She seemed to be from some rich providence so he supposed he could try to fish something out of her.

"My name is Ida Suilan, and you?"

"My name is Gray, nice to meet you."

Ida's eyes widened in horror. Her body started to tremble, and she began to stutter.

"G-Gray...?" She uttered in disbelief. 

"Yeah, my name is Gray Swayar, nice to meet you," he said.

The visions started to come back to Ida and her world began spinning. The haunting image of her mother being attacked and struck by Gray, with her head twisting to stare at Ida. The relentless replay of the traumatic scene continued to torment her, and she clutched her head, unleashing an anguished scream that echoed through the surroundings. Then, the visions of Gray using the same punches to beat the goblins unconscious also flashed in her mind.

"N-No..." she said, starting to lose her footing. She then vomits. "I-It can't be coincidence, it can't!"

Gray approached her and gently attempted to support her. "Are you okay?" he asked, his expression filled with concern. However, the touch of Gray intensified Ida's distress, causing her to black out.