Dark billows of clouds draped the earth in eerie shadows. Thunder reverberated across the sky in a low requiem.

Daisuke stood silently atop a hill at the village’s edge, his grip tight around a familiar pair of hairpins. His expression was one of melancholy, his gaze fixed on a simple tombstone bearing his mother’s name.

Opening his hand, he gazed at a glass fragment from a vial that once held deadly poison, pondering who might have wanted his mother dead. Yet, despite his efforts, he couldn’t conjure a name or face.

The unfortunate truth was that he hardly knew anything about Evandria Starfrost; her past was veiled in mystery. The assassin was just the same—a specter that had vanished as mysteriously as he came, robbing a poor woman of her cursed soul in the process.

In the depths of his frustration, Daisuke’s brows furrowed into dangerous slits, his face a canvas of pure loathing. He balled his fingers into a fist so tight that his knuckles turned white. Crimson droplets pooled and dripped onto the parched earth below, a tangible testament to the intensity of his silent vow for vengeance.

As if sensing his unwavering resolve, the wind surged around him, a silent witness to his fierce conviction. It whipped at the edges of the orange scarf wrapped around his neck. It was the last token of affection from his mother, a tangible reminder of her enduring love. As he tenderly ran his fingers over the fabric, a bittersweet calm washed over him, soothing the fires of anger that had consumed him moments before.

But his reverie was abruptly shattered by the arrival of an unwelcome group, jolting him back to the harsh reality of his surroundings.

With a mere glance from the corner of his eye, Daisuke could easily ascertain the situation: April’s tear-stained face; Brek’s inability to look in his general direction; and the triumphant chuckles of the four men as they forcefully restrained the children.

Betrayal hung heavy in the air, as plain as day.

Next, Daisuke saw the swords—

“Don’t even think about it,” one of the men warned, brandishing a knife perilously close to April’s exposed neck.

“Hic!” she gasped, her eyes widening in fear.

Without a word, Daisuke raised his hands in surrender and bowed his head in defeat. Alas, even after starting anew in a virtual world, he couldn’t shake off the shadow of misfortune that trailed him.

Hacking the greatest game of all time, stealing from the middle-class to aid the poor—perhaps, in the end, he was destined for condemnation.

“B-Big Brother! Big Brother!” April cried out as she was being forcibly dragged away, her toy bear tumbling to the ground.

“You bastards!” Brek yelled. “You promised to let her go!”

He tried to resist, but was swiftly brushed aside like a mere insect. With desperation in his eyes, he searched for Daisuke’s gaze, clinging to the hope that their leader would miraculously intervene as he had done countless times before. However, Daisuke remained impassive, refusing to spare even a fleeting glance in his direction.

“The only reason you’re not being dragged off with them is because we want you to relay a message to your pals: scram, or brace yourselves for a world of hurt,” one of the men snarled with menacing intent.

With those parting words echoing in his mind, Brek remained rooted to the ground, watching helplessly as his world unraveled before him, the consequences of his actions crashing down without mercy.

Meanwhile, a few meters away, a pair of bunny ears poked out from behind some brush, unnoticed amidst the chaos.

***

HWIIIING~~

The wind gusted atop a distant mountain.

At the edge of a cliff, a familiar shopkeeper stood in solemn solitude, the gravity of his evil deeds bearing down heavily upon his shoulders.

His gaze drifted out into the horizon, but his thoughts remained trapped in the past. He remembered his loving wife, her warmth, her smile—a treasure now lost to him forever.

Regret clawed at his heart. His mind was filled with the thought of the slum kids who stole to relieve their hunger. He couldn’t fathom or digest the idea of being the cause of their deaths or enslavement, and the guilt weighed on him like an anchor dragging him into the depths of despair.

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The bitterness of his anger had led him down a dark path, one that he couldn’t bear to continue upon. And tears filled his eyes as he thought about the demon he had become.

He missed his wife terribly, and the idea of facing life without her, tainted by his rage and possibly murder, was unbearable. With a heavy heart, he made his decision.

He wanted to be with her again, in whatever lay beyond. With a deep breath and a step forward, the cliff took him, swallowing him in its depths.

***

Around a smoldering fire, a group of rowdy men lounged, their laughter carrying through the crisp afternoon air. One among them, hat tilted low and reclined on his back, lazily observed the scene. In the distance, a mile from Dusthaven, a procession slowly came into view.

Beneath the sprawling branches of an oak tree stood a horse-drawn wagon, its cargo bed housing a sizable barred cage. Within the enclosure were children of diverse ages, genders, and races. Some looked on with ashen faces, their eyes devoid of any emotion, while others displayed a flicker of curiosity at the newcomers’ approach.

This marked Daisuke and April’s maiden voyage beyond the village, a somber introduction to the world beyond its boundaries.

“Eh~? Boss, don’t tell me that’s all the brats you guys managed to bag?” one of the men teased.

“It couldn’t be helped,” another man explained with a boisterous laugh. “The little rascals were pretty crafty.”

“Ha-ha! You let yourselves get outsmarted by a bunch of kids?”

“It’s fine,” the leader finally said, not at all offended. “If we trim the weeds all at once, we won’t be called in for another job, now will we?”

“Smart.”

“In the meantime, we managed to capture their leader so we got a hefty bonus from the vendors,” he explained with a satisfied smirk.

Daisuke half turned his face at the mention of the perpetrators, his eyes narrowed with disdain. One of the heartless men noted his sour expression and shoved him, causing him to stumble. He nearly tripped over April, who had her face buried in his chest.

“Don’t just stand there,” the man barked. “Get in there, the both of you!”

Daisuke’s heart skipped a beat as the gate of the cage swung open with a metallic screech. He swallowed, sensing an unforeseeable future the moment he set foot inside, but he didn’t have the power to change his fate. If there was one certainty, however, it was that defying his captors would mean perishing right where he stood.

April buried her face in his chest again the moment he found a spot at the back of the cage. Her body trembled with fear, and Daisuke gently patted her head, whispering words of comfort as he observed their captors.

In total, there were seven men—nine if the odd-looking dogs they kept were counted. Each man was armed with a sword, and except for the coachman, they formed a tight-knit circle around the carriage, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Are they on the lookout for monsters? I guess that makes sense. I never left the village because I was warned about the mobs that roam the lands nearby.

As the carriage began heading northeast, Daisuke took a moment to study the panoramic view. The open grassland unfolded as far as the eyes could see. Undulating waves of emerald-green grass stretched out in every direction, swaying gracefully in the gentle breeze.

The sun bathed the landscape in warmth, illuminating every blade of grass and revealing the intricate details of the sprawling meadow.

To the horizon’s edge, a majestic sea met the distant forests. Beyond them, the land rose, giving birth to the rugged grandeur of the steadfast mountains. These towering giants stood as silent witnesses to the passage of time, their peaks touching the heavens, adorned with snow-kissed crowns that shimmered like precious jewels.

Daisuke shifted his focus back to the cell in time to catch a human boy blatantly ogling April without any regard for his presence. He looked around eight years old, just a year older than April. His large, round eyes were sincere, his cheeks flushed.

Daisuke’s expression tightened into a disturbed poker face, a single bead of sweat forming at his temple. Is he just going to continue staring like that? Is he one of those innocently dense types?

A slightly older human girl palmed his face and calmly pushed him away with a poker face of her own. “Sorry about that,” she apologized on his behalf. “He’s still learning about the existence of personal space, but he means well.”

Daisuke’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, and the girl raised her hands in surrender with a kind smile. “Relax. I’m not your enemy; none of us are.”

Daisuke glanced around at the somber expressions on the children’s faces. Like him, they all bore the weight of their own traumatic experiences. He felt foolish for ever suspecting them of anything other than being broken and afraid.

“My name is Sheba,” the girl introduced when Daisuke’s shoulders sagged. “And this is Aldric—he’s a bit of an oddball, but he’s a good kid at heart.”

“I’m Haxks, and this is April.”

“Haxks and April… I wish we could’ve met under different circumstances, but it’s nice to meet you both.”

Upon hearing the soothing voice, reminiscent of Mia’s in its compassion, April relaxed her grip on Daisuke and turned her head slightly. Large, chestnut eyes peeked out, assessing the owner of the voice.

PUOK!

With the ferocity of a Spartan warrior, Cupid forcefully plunged his arrow into someone’s heart. Aldric’s eyes widened in awe, his face flushing to his ears as he admired April’s beautiful dress and adorable features.

He was hopelessly smitten.

“Y-You don’t need to be afraid, April!” he exclaimed, slamming a fist to his chest and standing up straight like a soldier. “I’ll protect you! My father was a great smith, so I know my way around a sword. I’ll definitely free you all one day.”

In a flurry of panic, April hastily concealed her face without uttering a word, leaving Aldric’s once rigid stance to wither, his face twisting with disappointment.

Daisuke cringed, his smile awkward. I’m pretty sure you’re the one scaring her the most though…

He averted his gaze just in time to feel the weight of a girl’s stare from the corner. She was concealed beneath a dark hooded cloak, her features obscured, yet her presence seemed to command attention more than anyone else in the cage.

“I’m as clueless as you are,” Sheba admitted when she noticed his curiosity. “She was here before me, and she doesn’t talk or show much interest in interacting with anyone.”

“Maybe it’s due to the trauma?”

“Most likely.”

Fear of monsters & the unknown: 66.4%