Fate (4)

In the heart of the Valdivian forest, home to dangerous creatures in the kingdom, there was a magnificent building reflecting the moonlight with its pure white color, shining through the leaves of large trees in the darkness of the night.

The execution area was known in the Kingdom of Agnes as a place where traitors were judged in the name of the goddesses, but in reality, it was a political arena where tens of thousands of people were brutally murdered and the crimes of the nobility were ignored. 

A woman stood in front of this magnificent and mysterious building, silently staring at the gate of the execution area. The woman had come here immediately after the empress left, and the reason she still hadn't gone inside was that this usually quiet place was filled with the painful cries of a child. 

Pain, fear, self loathing, anger, and loneliness…

The scream held such deep emotions that even if she wanted to go inside, she couldn't.. so she silently waited for the screams to end.

Hours later, the final scream was finally let out, and the forest fell into silence once again.

The woman began walking toward the door as the screams came to an end. When she reached it, she opened the door with anticipation and stepped inside. Once the door opened, the lights of the pitch-dark hall began turning on one by one. Her blood-red eyes scanned the room with curiosity.

After the final light in the hall turned on, everything was revealed the white marble covered hall was stained with blood. At the center of the room lay the headless corpse of a woman, and the blood flowing from her neck continued to paint the hall red. Despite witnessing this savage scene, the woman remained expressionless.

As her red eyes searched for the woman's head, she finally saw it. a small child, covered in blood, was leaning against the wall, holding the severed head in their lap. There was so much blood on the child that even the color of their hair was no longer visible.

The child's eyes were closed, as if unaware of the woman's presence, or perhaps simply indifferent to it. With no emotion on her face, the woman approached the child with heavy steps and stopped right in front of them. At last, the child opened their eyes, and blood-red and ocean-blue eyes met. 

 The child's expressionless eyes met the woman's curious gaze.

 She didn't know — what kind of crime could a child this small have possibly committed to end up like this?

But those screams from earlier…

How could a child's scream carry so many emotions?

And how could eyes as blue and endless as the ocean look so utterly lifeless?

She wondered what this child had experienced and, if they survived, what he might do in the future. 

"Everyone abandoned me," the child said, turning their gaze to the head resting in their lap. Contrary to the screams, the child's voice held no emotion. it was dry and hollow.

"If you give up now, no one will save you," the woman said with a blank expression as she looked at the child on the ground.

 "Listen, child, if you think you've lost everything, remember that trees shed their leaves every year and yet still stand tall." She slowly knelt down and wiped the bloody tears from the child's face.

"But I've made so many mistakes, I should never have been born. How can I stand tall despite everything?"

"With every mistake you make, your roots grow stronger." As they spoke, they continued to look into each other's eyes. The child searched for hope in the woman's red eyes, while the woman sought the future in the child's blue eyes.

 "What if I can't do anything?"

"If you think like that, you'll never become more than you are now."

 "I don't think I can endure this journey." The child shook their head slowly and spoke hopelessly.

"Instead of thinking about how hard your journey will be, think about how amazing your story will become." The woman gently took the child's bloodstained cheeks and pulled them closer to herself.

"No one is left by my side; I can't do it alone."

"No... you can."

"What if everyone thinks this is foolish?"

"Do others' opinions about you really matter? Accept yourself, believe in yourself, and keep moving forward." The woman released the child's face, stood up, took a few steps back, and extended her hand toward the child.

The child first looked at the hand extended to them, then at the woman's face. He placed mother's head on the ground and grasped the woman's hand.

The woman's hand was very different from his mother's; his mother's hand was rough and always cold, while this woman's hands were soft and warm—a warmth he had never felt before.

"Shall we leave this forest now?" the woman's voice pulled the child from their thoughts— it was time to go.

"I can't leave my mother like this..."

"Hmm... I have a solution for that." The woman spoke by looking at the severed head standing on the floor. The woman raised her free hand and snapped her fingers.

 At that moment, the body and severed head on the ground burst into flames. The child watched in shock, then quickly turned to the woman beside them. only to see her smiling at him. When the child looked into the woman's red eyes, an indescribable emotion rose within him. He turned back to his mother's body and watched it burn.

 As he looked closely at the fire burning his mother, he felt an indescribable warmth—just like the warmth he had felt when he held the woman's hand. Before his mother vanished from the world completely, he wanted her to feel that same warmth—the warmth they had never been able to give each other while she was alive.

"Zion... Zion Agnes, that's my name." He spoke while watching his mother burn.

"I know, actually I realized when I saw your eyes—your diamond-shaped eyes are very striking."

Until now, Zion had seen these eyes more as a curse than a blessing—one of the many reasons for his suffering.

"Shall we go now?"

After seeing the woman's smile, he smiled weakly.

"Let's go." Maybe it's not that bad after all.

Zion took a step forward but noticed that the woman beside him didn't move. He turned to her with questioning eyes. 

"It might make your stomach a little queasy."

"What—?" Before Zion could even understand what was happening, the woman grabbed his shoulder and snapped her fingers.

"Wh-what are you—waaa!" Before Zion could finish his question, they vanished into thin air.