A skinny, young, decrepit boy with dark circles under his eyes was lying in a small, hollow tree. Trying not to cradle back from the slope it was on, he put his hand back to catch himself on the inside wall.

"Err!" He yelped while biting his teeth down.

Drizzles of dark blue liquid flowed down his forearm while droplets fell from his elbow. A bristle of small sharp spikes had pierced his palm, and a dark blue liquid was gushing through them at a moderate pace. The tree appears not cleanly hollowed but rather dug through, leaving most of its walls impure.

A pile of leaves was covering the front of the hollow tree; the boy peeked through a slight crack in the leaves. He saw a small woman with a cloak on bending her head up and talking to a young man with a blue tunic; he had a sharp-edged silver sword with a golden glowing tip.

'They already sent knights that fast? Damn!'

"I think I saw him run that way!" The woman yelled.

The boy saw the finger pointed near him and ducked down and quivered. He was about fifty meters away, and the forest had animals moving throughout it; no normal man would see him from that far away in the darkened forest. 

"Cree-ckle" 

The boy felt a gooey substance under his foot; he looked down and saw leaves, straws, and eggs. He had stepped into a nest of some creature and even destroyed two of its eggs. 

'Crap'

The yolk from the eggs was crimson, meaning they were monster eggs, and if its guardian decided to come back while he was still there… it wouldn't end cleanly or quickly.

"Grr-ur!..."

The boy inhaled deeply and, with his bloodied left hand still leaning on the wall, he reached with his right to scoop up some egg mush and slide it down his throat. His stomach twisted in hunger, demanding more... He gulped it all down, even feeling some eggshells scratch his throat; he kept eating.

The boy knew the guard had no chance of finding him unless he was a level three Wince user, but he doubted that. He was more worried about when the mother of this nest would come back, so he had to move soon.

'I should grab some eggs'

He quickly stuffed some in his pocket, and as soon as he grabbed the last one, he felt an ominous aura near him. He looked up and saw portions of tall leather pants the size of his body through the leaves.

"Come out, witchling, and I'll only bleed you once!"

The guard chuckled while swiftly drawing his sword out.

'How the hell did this bastard find me...'

Mid thought the guard bent his leg down in front of the tree. The boy held his breath and tightened his grip on the egg. Once the guard knelt, he glanced at the hollow tree whose leaves hid the entrance. He used his hand to push some leaves away. The guard peeked through the leaves, looking around, and saw a nest with crimson yolk and eggshells covering it.

"Now, I have to report this to the lieutenant," 

The guard sighed and stood up with his sword in hand. 

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'Thank goodness he's g…'

In the next moment, the boy felt excruciating pain that led him to the verge of tears; he could barely see through his eyes from tears forming, but once it cleared, he saw his right arm with a slash. It went through his shoulder down to his bicep, cutting through almost cleanly. 

"Found you, damn witchling." The knight grinned and leaned forward. 

While the boy writhed and screamed in agony, his mouth widened, and two coral-blue fangs glistened in the moonlight, reflecting off his teeth. With his blue blood splattering all over the nest and his right arm severely wounded, something was quite strange. The egg in his hand was tough; he gripped it in pain, and it didn't even have a small crack on it…

***

Species from different worlds arrived on one planet thousands, maybe even millions, of years ago, though the method remains unknown. In the beginning, it seemed the planet had just recovered from a devastating natural disaster that left most continents famished. Only the strongest and most cunning creatures lived through it, and legions began to form over time. With the strength in numbers, it brought more protection and power, as well as corruption.

Humans had formed alliances with multiple factions most likely from how fast they populated. They could be on top, except they had one problem: humans had one of the shortest life spans on the planet, averaging forty to fifty years. While creatures like ogres had hundreds and elevens with thousands even. The only way humans could extend their lives was by "witches."

While humans could not turn into witches, exactly, from a taboo that was placed. They could take some of their life essences by harvesting their young, which sounds weird because it is. It is commonly known witches are banned from having children because most of the time it results in a miscarriage, and they don't live long after labor. 

There is still one problem even if they do succeed in giving birth, though: a witch can't give birth to another witch, so instead they give birth to what people call "witchlings." They resemble humans more than witches, except for when they bleed; they have blue or pink blood. The biggest difference is their large, slim fangs. These fangs are the one thing humans can harvest to extend their lifespan; one fang can be equal to half a century for humans. So, naturally, they hunted them, ruthlessly.

***

With his bloodied sword covered in thick blue liquid and the golden tip remaining bright, the knight inched closer to the boy. He reached out with his left hand to grab the boy by the throat.

"Nothing personal, witchling. Your suffering will bring life to others. You should feel honored."

Using his little strength, the boy gripped the egg and threw it at the knight's face, hitting his eye directly. The boy then fell back, sliding down to the back of the tree. 

The knight had purely flared up with fury in his eyes, his veins were almost popping out of his forehead, and then suddenly his face became calm and stoic.

"I was planning to end this quickly, eh, I got time to make your demise worse."

He sheathed his sword back to his side, and as it slid to the bottom, the blade was out of sight. The knight slammed his arm down the hollow tree and barely missed smashing the boy's head in. The knight's missed attack sent a powerful gust of wind into the boy's face.

The boy's arm had started to burn, but he didn't have time to worry about that. With little space, it forced him to either escape or be killed, as he couldn't move. His left hand grabbed another egg and threw it towards the knight. This time nicking him straight in the nose.

"Throw another egg, and I'll bleed you while you're hanging from your foot!" The knight was almost fully blinded with rage and killing intent.

The knight took a couple of steps back.

"BA-BAM!" "BA-BAM!"

The tree started shaking. All the boy saw was a leg rapidly slamming into the side of the tree. It felt like it was about to come crumbling down, and the boy was getting dizzy. So he grabbed another egg and, with all his might, threw it towards the knight.

"Uuge-ahh-la-la" The knight was bemused and could barely stand up; the egg ended up hitting him right between the legs.

'Now's my chance.'

The boy scrambled up the tree slope, shoving aside leaves in a desperate dash for freedom. As he ran past the knight, it looked like he was going to get away. 

"Wh-Wham!"

The boy was picked up by the neck and slammed on the ground, all the eggs he had left rolling out of his pocket toward the knight. The boy rolled over to his side, clinging with his hand to his chest while trying to gasp for air. The knight slammed his foot into the kid, sending him flying and tumbling into the forest grass.

"Gonna take a lot more than that to hurt me, damn rascal."

As the knight unsheathed his sword and walked towards the kid ready to deal one final blow, his feet started shaking. 

"Cla-Clank!"