Silence reigned as the party ventured deeper within the untamed wilderness. The deeper they advanced, the denser the trees' verdant foliage became. Soon, not even the sun's harsh light could pierce this leafy veil, plunging them into obscurity. Although the dull glow of small bio-luminescent mushrooms illuminated the path ahead, Sofia could barely see just a few steps before her while the rest of the forest was bathed in darkness.

Although she was accustomed to walking on such a rugged road filled with protruding rock and tree roots, her pace still slowed to a crawl as her exhaustion mounted. She had lost track of how long she had walked. She finally stopped and scanned her surroundings to find her bearings, but the fox demon leading the way was nowhere to be seen. Even her companions seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

She stood rooted in place while anxiety sprouted in her heart. A strange thought formed in her mind: would anyone grieve if she were to perish, lost in these wild lands? Would anyone even remember that she once existed? Everyone she had ever been acquainted with was now dead and buried, while her brother was now lost to her. Would there even be anything left to prove her own existence?

With all these thoughts swirling in her mind, Sofia’s breathing accelerated. She was on the verge of panic until she saw a single bright, flickering light in the distance. She darted forward, rushing toward the light. Surprisingly, the bumpy road had turned into a flat, straight path. There were no signs of the rugged and dense forest, only an unending darkness.

Despite time’s unending flow, the light remained stationary, always out of reach. She persevered in her quest to reach it despite the doubts plaguing her mind. She ran for so long in the darkness that time and space seemed to blur into each other. Her clothes were soaked in sweat, while her breathing became rough and uneven. Soon, her legs became heavy as if made of lead, yet her gaze was still riveted on the ethereal light flickering in the distance as if taunting her with its glow. She gritted her teeth, fighting through her exhaustion, clinging to the faint hope that she might finally escape this all-encompassing blackness.

While on her futile quest for that light, Sofia lost track of the passage of time. Seconds might have elapsed since she started running, or perhaps even decades; she didn't know. She was on the verge of losing hope of ever leaving this illusory space when the light suddenly grew brighter. With each step she took, its glow was finally coming closer. As if catching a second wind, Sofia accelerated. A slight sense of relief grew in her heart at the thought that she would finally leave this desolate landscape.

Once close enough to touch the glowing light, Sofia reached for it with her slender hands, pressing a single finger toward its warmth before the light exploded, scattering its radiance and blinding her with its brilliance. Once she finally opened her eyes again, she was stranded in a familiar place. Gone was the unending dark corridor, only to be replaced by a venue that made her recall some harsh and painful memories: her childhood home.

All around her stood imposing buildings supported by grandiose ornate pillars made of carved stone. Behind her was the grandest of them all, easily overshadowing all the surrounding structures. A massive staircase made of cut granite led to a majestic and luxurious wooden door. The door was expertly crafted, while sublime scenes were carved on its surface. The carvings were so vivid and mysterious that they seemed as if they could come alive at any moment. This was home, but also the source of her pain.

She stood rooted in place, stunned by this scene lost in the flames of war. She remembered this place burning as she fled with her brother, hand in hand, away from this accursed place. She lost herself in memories; although not all were bad, not many were good either. She wished she could simply forget this time of her life, yet it would always find a way to crawl back into her consciousness.

Her surroundings were drowned in the laughter of numerous children, while further in the distance was the jovial bustle of everyday townspeople. Yet she could hear none of it; her mind subconsciously cut it out to protect herself. She found her gaze attracted to a crooked tree in an isolated part of the mansion's massive garden. Her feet lead her there, despite her mind's protests, as if they had a mind of their own. Her reluctance was apparent, but she couldn't help but go.

With each step, her mind trembled as she fought the urge to progress forward as if warning her of the dangers ahead. Despite all her best efforts, she now stood below a crooked and barren tree. The vibrant verdure of the surrounding vegetation only accentuated the strangeness of this dead tree, devoid of leaves.

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Below its naked branches stood a little girl, no older than six years old; her back rested upon the rugged bark of the tree’s trunk. She held her legs in her arms, burying her small face within. Unlike the children she encountered on her way, who wore gorgeous and expensive garments, the little girl was dressed in old, tattered clothes that barely covered her skinny body. Sofia could hear small, almost inaudible sobs coming from the girl.

Sofia couldn't bear to look at her anymore; she turned away only to glimpse a shabby hut inside a small forest behind the mansion. The hut was small and tattered; it could barely count as shelter, yet she had called it home until she turned twelve. Indeed, she had once been the little girl crying under the tree. This was but memories of days long past.

Sofia stood alone, detached from this reality, forced to watch her life play out before her eyes. The events unfolded rapidly, only slowing down near the critical moments as if her life was a spectacle and she was both actor and audience.

The little girl silently sobbed below the deformed tree when a young man, a few years older than her, reached out. She lifted her head, surprised to see him, as he should have been occupied welcoming guests. The manor was in a festive atmosphere, for this was the master's son's tenth birthday, yet the boy stood in an isolated part of the manor where no one dared to tread.

"What are you doing here all alone, little Fie?" the boy asked despite knowing the answer. It was no wonder since she alone wasn't invited to the party despite also being the master's own blood.

Her father was the clan's patriarch, yet she was but a bastard child, conceived with a maid during the master's usual night escapades away from his wife. At least, that was how it was known in the clan, but nothing was proven. One day, before she could even remember, she found herself in this mansion while the maid that gave birth to her had fled. No efforts were made to trace her down, however.

The master then took pity on the little girl and allowed her to reside within the premises. The master was well-known for his infidelity, while his wife could do nothing to stop him. The number of his bastard children was said to reach over a dozen, yet only Sofia was allowed to reside near the main family.

His wife was understandably less than happy to care for one of her husband's love children. Although she wasn't abusing the little girl, she treated her with a careless disinterest, confining her to one of the manor's recesses, away from prying eyes. Her existence was a source of great shame for the prideful noblewoman and a constant reminder of that man's low-morale character.

Her children, on the other hand, were much worse, treating her as their property, as if she was somehow lesser than them. She was still too young at the time and found this environment normal as this was all she had ever known, yet things turned for the worse once her bloodline started to bloom.

Unlike the rest of the family, who all possessed the Immortal Snake's bloodline attribute, Sofia differed from the rest. Although the specifics of her power were barely understood, it was enough for the master to lose all interest in her, even going as far as insinuating that the maid lied about her being his child in the first place. Such claims couldn't be disproven as no trace of the maid remained.

The master’s wife took the opportunity to rid herself of this eyesore, exiling her to the edge of their manor. Her new home was a small cabin hidden in the woods where she would live alone, only receiving a small meal once a day brought by the manor’s servant. She was barely five then, yet she still remembered the looks of disdain the servants gave her. If not for the boy in front of her, her older brother, she might not have survived, or at least, she would be broken mentally. Her brother was the only source of warmth in this frigid house.

Despite not being the eldest, her brother was strong and intelligent: the jewel of the family. His life was the complete opposite of hers. While she was a bastard, he was legitimate. While she froze in her dilapidated cottage at night, he had a warm bed to sleep on. While she had to subsist on the servant's pity, he never had to go hungry a day in his life. Despite being the two ends of the spectrum, they got along surprisingly well.

Unlike the servants who looked at her with pity or her sibling's look of disdain, her brother sported none of those. For the first time, she was treated as simply another human being. Her brother was busy between his lessons as a nobleman and his training, yet he still found the time to be with her. He would always bring something so they could eat together or some materials so he could repair her shabby house, blocking the cold.

The master’s wife wasn't happy with her son. She told him to stop affiliating himself with their burden, but he wouldn’t listen. Despite all his mother's reproach, the boy still came to keep Sofia company. Many children in her situation would resent their fate, maybe even feel betrayed by the boy for not doing more to help her situation, yet all she ever wanted was for someone to be by her side. He gave her hope that maybe her life was still worth living.

Sofia watched the scenes with grief in her heart. She thought that she had left this life behind the day her clan was destroyed, but she found herself still resentful of the man who carelessly brought a young child into his household only to abandon her shortly after.

The scenes flashed again, and the boy's tenth birthday ended. There wasn't anything special about that day; it was just another day for a lonely, helpless little girl being ignored and treated as non-existent by those she called family.

The world around her revolved, spinning as time accelerated. Days, months, and even years passed before the world slowed once again. Once time came to a standstill, Sofia frowned, visibly shaken. She remembered this day vividly as if it were yesterday. She trembled uncontrollably. She had done everything she could to raze this moment from her life, yet it still haunted her.

This moment had such an impact on her psyche that her mind shut the memory out, locking it in the recesses of her mind, yet it would suddenly rise to the surface from time to time, taking control of her.

It all started one day when she was ten years old. This was the beginning of her nightmare.