NOVPUBKana looked around, desperately wanting everything to be a dream. Nobody had told her any of this would happen, yet here she was as the villain of everything. Her entire world was flipped upside down, and tears kept flooding down her cheeks.
"As you can see, Elder Osman has not returned. All of the connection to him was severed. The only thing we can do to make things right is kill the devil child." The elder looked at the tied up Mother Theresa and sighed. "We were wrong to trust you."
Theresa's eyes filled with tears. "What are all of you doing!? Can't you see she's only a child!? Do you have any idea what Lady Hikari might think of something like this!? Do you know what you're doing!?"
For but a moment, the archers on the trees recoiled. They looked down in shame.
"Do not listen to this woman's words! She speaks lies. You will all see."
The elder readied her staff and launched vines towards the little girl. Sharp tendrils shot out from the ground in an attempt to cage the little girl.
Kana's beating heart was relentless, and the stares of all of the villagers was like a knife pointed at her. She could hear their whispers. She could feel their hatred. Despair began boiling inside of her. Each second that passed, she could feel something within breaking. The vines seemed to move slowly.
A dark cloud swirled down from the sky like a tornado, centering on Kana. Power flowed into the little girl's body, and the vines were ripped to shreds. It took a while for the purple magic to settle around the little girl, but when it did, an even larger purple aura surrounded her. It was so thick that it was no visible to the surroundings.
The elder watched in horror as her vines were ripped to pieces. "What did I tell you? Archers!"
Hundreds of archers readied their bows at the same time, no longer hesitating. They let loose a sky full of enchanted arrows. From each of them dangled an evil resisting talisman.
Kana held out her small hand, and a large purple sphere formed. It sucked in all of the arrows from the sky, and they became nothing inside of the void. The little dark elf shook her head. She could no longer hold back all of the Despair inside of her heart. The parents that she'd never known left her here. What was the point? Was there any meaning to leave her in a place that would eventually try to kill her?
However, Kana did not want to die. Her will to live was stronger than her feelings for the villagers around her. She closed off her heart, and the storm inside of her body burst out in one moment.
Purple tendrils shot out in all directions. They were fast like bolts of lightning, and the people around had no time to react to them. They skewered every single person who dared to point a weapon at Kana, going through their bodies completely, and even destroying the trees behind them.
Trees tumbled to the ground, and the world around Kana shook. Blood sprayed from the surrounding elves. Their hearts were crushed and their souls vacated from their bodies.
The only thing that stopped the little dark elf's rampage was a voice that barely managed to reach her ears.
"Kana?"
The little girl searched for the voice in bewilderment. Light finally made its way back to her eyes from the endless sea of darkness. However, the sight that greeted her made Kana wretch.
A falling branch impaled Mother Theresa's chest.
Kana dropped to her knees her eyes filled with horror. Life was quickly fading from Mother Theresa's eyes.
"Mama…"
"It seems...I managed to get you back, my dear Kana." Mother Theresa held her bloody hand to Kana's face, parting the little girl's hair. She used her thumb to wipe Kana's tears away. "I'm so sorry…"
Kana shook her head, a lump forming in her throat. She reached deep inside of herself, struggling to find that golden light. That healing light would surely answer her call, yet all she found was an endless storm of purple. No matter how deep she dug within herself, she could not find the Hope.
"There is something you need to know Kana…"
"Mama?"
Mother Theresa struggled to catch her breath. Every precious second of her life was vanishing. She managed to somehow find the energy and words to spare.
"Remember...None of this is your fault. They were...all blind. You're not...demon child."
"Mama, don't talk anymore!" Kana shouted and gripped her mother's hand tighter. She understood it all now. This whole time, Mother Theresa cared for her. Mama protected me from the other villagers.
Kana didn't want to hear anymore. She just wanted her mother to be okay.
"Kana...you're my Hope. Remember…I love you more than anything."
The little girl watched the light fade from her mama's eyes, and she cried. The sky shared in her sadness, raining down purple drops of water all around her. The storm in Kana's heart had transformed into a storm over the whole forest. Trees rocked back and forth as the life was slowly drained from them.
Animals wept and fled their homes. The forest died an agonizingly slow death, yet Mother Theresa's body was preserved.
It was covered in a golden ray of light, slowly disappearing into bright particles. Kana struggled against the phenomenon trying to grab each one, but they slipped through her fingers. They raced into the sky, growing forever away from the little girl.
"What am I supposed to do, Mama?"
A voice answered behind the little girl. "You can come with me, little one."
Kana whipped around with eagerness. Only, the person to greet her was not her mama. A strange rat stared at her. The woman's vicious tail snapped at the air.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you, little Kana."
"How do you know my name?"
The rat smiled and rubbed her hands together. "I was a friend of your mothers."
"Mother Theresa?"
The rat nodded. "And your real mother."
Kana shook her head. "Theresa was my real mother."
"Now, don't by so coy. I understand this is a tragic moment for you, but your mother and I were good friends. Did she ever tell you about Lady Vermille?"
"No...Is that you?"
"That's right! You're a clever little one aren't you, but I bet they never told you who you really are, did they?"
Kana looked down, not answering the rat. She was surprised this rat woman could stand in the purple rain drops and not wither away.
The rat sighed. "It's just like mortals to dance around the truth. Maybe if they had told you sooner…"
Kana grit her teeth and snapped, launching a purple tentacle towards the rat.
Vermille ducked beneath it and watched it pass over her head. "Wow! You nearly got me with that thing! Are you really planning to kill a friend of your precious mama?"
Kana's eyes widened, and she retracted her magic power. 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"That's a good little girl. Now, tell me, did they ever tell you what you really are?"
"A demon child…"
The rat clicked her tongue, and the snake on her tail snapped at the air and hissed more vibrantly. "Much displeasure. You are not a demon child! You're far from anything like it! Remember, do you remember what Theresa said. You are her Hope!"
"I don't understand…"
"Let me explain it to you, little girl. You have the power to change fate itself. Those elders are so stupid trying to kill you. Why would they want to toil with something that can change the whole universe?" The rat laughed at the absurdity of it. She danced on her little feet, tapping away at the purple mud. "You are something much greater than a devil! Why, you are the Despair of everything in existence!"
Kana's mouth opened and closed. "What does that mean?"
"What that means is you're also the Hope of everything in existence! For without Hope, there can be no Despair! In a sense, you could call yourself the true daughter of Lady Hope!"
"The daughter of Lady Hikari?"
Kana thought back to the words of her mama. Mother Theresa knew all along?
"The expression on your little face is so cute, darling. Your little head is starting to wrap around this concept, no? The elders thought that something like Despair is meant to be separated from Lady Hikari. For you to be Despair makes you the devil in their eyes. Such is the prophecy of this place. That Despair will destroy everything. Well, look around you…"
Kana looked around, seeing only endless destruction and blood. "Then...the prophecy was true."
"Yes, but you have it all wrong. These people got what was coming to them. By trying to defy Despair, their Hope came to an end. Their feelings of darkness was much greater than their feelings of light. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only one who was correct was your dearest mama. If everyone had only given you love, then all of your hopes would have been fulfilled."
"How do you know all of this?"
The rat put a finger on her long nose. "Indeed, how do I know all of this? Well, you can call me a vermin. Rats do like to watch everything from the shadows, don't they?"
"You watched?"
Vermille nodded. "But don't be angry at me. Nothing I could have said would change their minds. Besides, you can't fall completely into Despair yet. Your true mother still needs you, dear."
"She does?"
"Yes, only then will I allow you to fade away."
