Once upon a time, in a forest far, far away, a woman, Ursa, took care of orphans in her ruined orphanage.
Pepe, her eldest son, helped her out.
All of the orphans considered themselves siblings. They struggled to survive, but they did.
Energy radiated throughout the forest.
Later, three brothers were adopted from The Orphanage by a married couple, Henry and Adelia. They were reluctant at first. Still, they became a part of the Fisher Family, a family of farmers.
The names of the three brothers were Hafen, Stark, and Matteo. They were around five to seven years old. Hafen was the oldest, and Matteo was the youngest.
"Don't go far from the house," Henry and Adelia always warned them. Their warning always remained in the back of their foster kids' minds.
Even so, Hafen, Matteo, and Stark, especially, ignored it on multiple occasions. One day, they ventured deep into the forest without any supervision. They left to visit The Orphanage and stumbled into a village.
There was a sign that read: Welcome to the Southern District of The Sacred Forest!
A group of kids had gathered for an event.
"We're about to begin," Ms. Lily, the organizer and adult, announced. She clapped ecstatically, hurrying the kids.
In an instant, it rained.
"I guess we have to try again tomorrow," Ms. Lily murmured and frowned. She urged, "Now, kids, quickly run back to your homes."
Stark, Matteo, and Hafen panicked and moved on to the depths of the forest. As they rested in a cave, they grew hungry.
All of a sudden, the other kids ran into the cave. They were trembling, scared for their lives, and they hid inside.
"Huh? What's wrong," Stark asked.
"There's a monster chasing us," a kid warned. His face was dark.
"It attacked our homes," another kid exclaimed.
Matteo was shocked that a monster had made it that far.
Hafen narrowed his eyes and inquired, "So, you brought it over here?"
The kids affirmed.
Stark smirked and exchanged glances with his brothers. "We'll deal with it," he reassured the kids.
As they exited, a giant serpent monster, known as a snake, lunged at the brothers.
Matteo, Stark, and Hafen dove out of the way. They charged back to it and attacked.
The snake outmaneuvered them and hit them into the cave.
Matteo laid on top of Hafen and Stark. "Ow," he cried.
Stark groaned.
"Get off me," Hafen demanded.
The snake slowly slithered into the cave and looked around. It spotted the scared kids and rushed at them. Suddenly, it felt a jolt, and its eyes widened. It was pulled away midair and dragged out of the cave.
Everyone stopped panicking and stared at the cave's entrance.
Henry grasped the snake's tail and swung it into multiple small trees. His hands were covered in an aura of energy. He fixed his straw hat and scowled.
The giant snake, bumping into everything, frantically slithered away.
The kids were bewildered and in awe.
"Henry is strong," Matteo pointed out.
After that, Hafen, Matteo, and Stark happily decided to stay with Henry and Adelia.
Stark ran up to him and requested, "Dad! Please train us!"
Matteo and Hafen were behind him. They awaited their foster father's answer.
Henry sighed and scratched his head. "If you're going to be running off on your own, then, I suppose so," he remarked and obliged. "These moves are only necessary in dire situations," he explained. He taught his sons how to spar and some of his martial arts. He taught them karate, sword fighting, archery, and other forms of hand-to-hand combat.
After a while, Stark, Matteo, and Hafen helped their foster mother, Adelia, with her garden.
Stark's eyes darted across the garden. He kneeled and looked closer. "The seed I planted is gone. Where did it go," he questioned.
Adelia chuckled and fixed her red headband. She pointed to a flower. "Look over here. It bloomed into a beautiful green flower."
Just then, Matteo exclaimed, "Mine did, too. It's red. Wow!"
Simultaneously, Hafen quietly watered his newly bloomed blue flower.
Stark laughed.
Adelia smiled. "You all took good care of them." she asserted.
Stark stared at his green flower and caressed it. "Hello, friend," he greeted and smiled.
On the next day, Pepe, from The Orphanage, arrived at their farm. He had green hair and eyes, and he was a little older than the brothers being ten years old.
Henry worked on his crops.
Pepe approached and greeted, "Good morning, Henry."
"Oh Pepe, nice to see you again," Henry welcomed.
Pepe glanced around. With no sight of them, he surveyed, "Where are my brothers?"
"They're training by the trees behind the house," Henry responded. He plucked out potatoes with his bare hands. He chuckled and commented, "They are quite special."
Pepe headed towards them. "What does he mean by special," he wondered.
Behind the trees, Stark, Matteo, and Hafen did pull ups on the tree branches. "750...751...752," they groaned.
Pepe's eyes were agape, and he stuttered, "Brothers."
Hafen looked at him. "Hey, Pepe is here," he alerted and jumped down.
Matteo and Stark also dropped down from their branches.
Pepe raised an eyebrow. "Are you training? Why? For what," he interrogated.
"We encountered a strong monster," Matteo informed.
"We must protect the people from future attacks," Stark proclaimed and raised his fist.
Pepe was astounded by their determination. He was reminded of The Guild, the former group that defended the forest. His father and Henry were members in the past.
Unfortunately, The Guild was no more.
Henry was the sole survivor to this day.
Matteo, Stark, and Hafen surrounded Pepe.
"Why are you here," Hafen questioned.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to test your worth as protectors of The Sacred Forest," Pepe, to their surprise, taunted with a little bit of arrogance in his stance. He motioned them to come at him.
Stark smirked and exclaimed, "You're on!"
Hafen and Matteo also accepted the provocation and lunged at him.
In a turn of events, Pepe outpaced and defeated the three of them.
On the ground, Stark panted and muttered, "I will win next time."
"We've been training constantly. How did you win," Hafen sought to know.
Pepe sneered and replied, "It's a secret."
"Well, you might be as strong as Henry," Matteo praised.
Pepe laughed.
"Food is ready," Henry called out and waved from the porch.
Stark, Hafen, Matteo, and Pepe entered the house to eat.
Adelia served them food.
Matteo, Stark, and Hafen ate through bowls of food and stopped when they were full.
To Adelia's and Henry's shock, Pepe ate through more bowls than their kids, combined.
The stack of bowls almost reached the ceiling.
After dinner, Pepe stood on the paved path. He patted his tummy and burped. He waved at The Fisher Family and yelled, "Goodbye! I'll be back in the future."
The Fisher Family watched in disbelief as he walked away.
Stark made a fist and raised it. "There's always someone stronger than us. One day, I would like to be the strongest myself," he expressed.
Adelia realized and remarked, "Pepe ate so much. I can't give Ursa enough praise for feeding him and the other orphans."
"We might be out of weeks of harvest," Henry muttered and slouched in defeat.
Soon, Hafen, Matteo, and Stark headed back to the outskirts of the Southern District. They trained with a group of kids.
Ms. Lily barely supervised. She slept while leaning against a tree. Her sunglasses covered her negligent behavior.
From the forest's path, a girl with black hair observed them. She held onto something.
A boy noticed and inquired, "Hey, who are you? What are you holding?"
Hafen, Stark, and Matteo looked at the girl and halted the training session.
The girl had red eyes. She had a black shirt and grey pants. She held a big egg with a metal ring around it. "It's an egg from a monster," she revealed.
The kids were shocked.
"That means... You must be taking care of it, then," one of them accused and charged at her. He had black hair on top and white hair on the sides. It was slicked back.
The girl spun around him.
The boy crashed into a tree.
The other kids surrounded her and growled. "Hand over the egg," they demanded.
The girl glanced at the boy and recognized that he was just knocked out. "I can't trust any of you with this egg. Where is The Orphanage? I," she inquired.
The kids interrupted and instantaneously lunged at her.
The girl flipped and unexpectedly defeated them all while keeping her grasp on the egg.
Matteo's mouth formed a circle. He was impressed.
"She seems strong," Stark commented and smirked.
"Who are you," Hafen asked and looked up at the girl.
As she stood on a branch of a tree, the girl kept her distance. She frowned and sighed with slight annoyance. She insisted, "I'm just a girl. Could you tell me where The Orphanage is, or are you going to try to fight me, too?"
Stark sneered. "I would like to fight you," he accepted the challenge. He paced towards her.
"Wait," Hafen urged.
The girl jumped off the tree and faced Stark with determination.
Stark rushed to her and threw a punch.
The girl dodged to the side.
Stark's punch brought down the tree. He quickly turned to her.
The girl's jaw dropped, perplexed by Stark's strength. "You're different than the other kids," she noted and backed away.
Stark affirmed and threw another punch. He shouted, "Take this!"
The girl threw the egg into the air and blocked it. She clenched her teeth as she was slammed against another tree.
Pieces of wood broke off.
Stark smirked.
Above them, Matteo jumped and grabbed the egg. "I got it," he alerted.
The girl kneed Stark in the chin. Then, she kicked his gut.
Stark rolled on the ground. He struggled to get back up, and his knees wobbled. He was bewildered by her strength, as well.
The girl chased after Matteo.
Matteo ran into the depths of forest with abnormal speeds. He jumped over large roots and rocks. He headed uphill.
In his trail, leaves and petals rose and floated into the air.
The girl slid under a root and caught up with Matteo. She tackled him to the ground.
The egg dropped and rolled back downhill.
"You got me. You're faster," Matteo laughed and shrugged.
The girl had a serious expression though. She let go of him and pursued after the egg.
In an instant, the egg floated into the air towards Hafen.
Hafen grasped the egg and raised an eyebrow. "What do you plan on doing with an egg of a monster," he asked.
The girl stopped and explained, "It is an egg of snakes. Even though it's a species of monster, it was abandoned." She, confident, continued, "A friend wanted me to bring it to The Orphanage. I'll take it back."
Suddenly, Hafen felt resistance from the egg. "Your abilities. They are the same as mine," he remarked and panicked.
The egg flew out of his grasp.
The girl caught it. After that, she ran away.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo were completely amazed and shocked.
The girl had outwitted them in their specialties. Who was she?