What was the world like many years ago, and why did it change?
Near the borders of the Fallen Kingdom lay a nearly abandoned prison, a place where time and mercy had long been forgotten. Though its official duties had ceased, it had become a shadowy hub for the illicit slave trade.
In one of its deepest, darkest dungeons, a young boy sat in silence. His black hair was a tangled mess, and his frail, thin frame spoke of a life defined by deprivation. He lived as a captive, enduring a cycle of slavery, backbreaking labor, humiliation, and relentless torture. In that place, anyone who disliked his presence felt entitled to beat him at will.
But the boy's spirit, though battered, was not yet broken. One day, after being sold once more, he found a desperate strength: he killed his new owner and fled into the wild.
It was winter. The snow fell heavily—silent, oppressive, and without pause. Haruki trudged through the forest, sinking deeper into the white powder with every agonizing step. He could no longer feel his feet; the biting cold had turned them into numb weights. The wind lashed at his face like a sharp blade, and each breath brought a searing ache to his chest.
"Just... one more step... one more step..." he whispered to himself.
He eventually collapsed. The snow felt deceptively soft, a cold cradle for his exhaustion. As his eyes began to close, he whispered an apology to the parents he had lost.
Then, he saw a light. In his crimson eyes, there remained only a primal, flickering urge to survive. Ahead, a solitary house stood in the middle of the frozen forest, looking warm and inviting. Before consciousness slipped away, he saw a woman running toward him, her face etched with alarm.
I'm saved, he thought as he felt himself being lifted from the cold. "You're safe now, little one," a voice whispered into the darkness.
When Haruki finally opened his eyes, he saw a woman, approximately twenty-eight years old, watching over him with deep pity. She was beautiful, with kind brown hair and eyes that held a gentle warmth.
"You looked to be in a terrible state," she said softly. "What is your name?"
"H-Haruki..." he croaked, his voice raspy and thin. The woman, Anna, checked his forehead and found him burning with fever. She explained that she lived in a place where few ever traveled. Haruki drifted back into a deep sleep, and when he finally woke again, the delicious scent of cooking filled the room.
He approached Anna and whispered a quiet, "Thank you".
Anna, who lived alone after the passing of her parents, felt a deep maternal pull toward the boy. After hearing his story, she made a life-changing decision: she would take him in. Haruki looked at her with wide eyes and asked, "Can I... call you Mother?".
Anna hesitated for a moment before pulling him into a tight, warm embrace. "Of course... my son".
That night, they sat together at the table for the first time. Anna served him a bowl of hot soup. In the prison, his only sustenance had been coarse, dry bread and filthy water. Here, the steam warmed his face, and the first spoonful was a revelation. Tears began to stream down his face as he ate.
"Everything will be fine now," Anna whispered, hugging him tightly. "I promise".
For the first time in his life, Haruki felt truly safe.
Days turned into weeks. Haruki spent his time chopping wood to sell, earning enough money to provide for their needs and more. He found peace in the labor, returning home each day to a warm house and a loving mother.
One snowy day, as Haruki returned from the woods, Anna ran outside and caught him by surprise with a snowball. Haruki was stunned; he had never played a game in his life. But seeing Anna's laughter, he clumsily made a snowball of his own and threw it back. They played until they were both breathless and covered in snow.
"Everything will be like this from now on," Anna promised him as they lay in the snow. Haruki believed her.
Eight months passed. One morning, Anna promised a special dinner to celebrate their time together. Haruki smiled a truly happy smile for the first time. "I'll be back soon," he said as he headed out. He didn't know it would be the last time he would see her smile.
When he returned and opened the door, the world he had built shattered. Several men were assaulting Anna. Without a moment's hesitation, Haruki hurled his axe, killing one of them instantly. He tried to strike a second man, but a powerful blow to his stomach sent him to his knees. One of the men grabbed him by his hair, forcing him to look.
"This world isn't a fairy tale, kid," the man sneered.
Anna lay on the floor, bleeding and broken. "Haruki... run... please..." she whispered with her final breath. Haruki's body wouldn't move; his heart felt like it had been replaced with lead. As his mother's eyes closed forever, something inside Haruki snapped irretrievably.
The men threw him against the wall. "Hurry! This boy's level is incredibly high!" their leader shouted. "He bears the Mark of the Black Curse! If he grows up, no one will be able to stop him!".
They began to chant an ancient, dark spell. Black lines crawled across Haruki's skin like burning ink. He tried to scream, but the air in his lungs had turned to silence. His last sight was Anna, motionless in a pool of her own blood. Then, there was only darkness and an eternal, burning hatred.
Over 30,000 years passed.
Two childhood friends, Reo and Rika, wandered into an ancient, long-forgotten temple. Inside, they found a cracked, dusty statue. Rika, ever curious, began reading ancient incantations from a book she had found. Suddenly, the statue began to splinter. With a deafening crash, it shattered.
From the dust emerged a figure with jet-black hair and clothes as dark as the abyss. But it was his eyes that were the most terrifying—glowing red orbs filled with the accumulated rage of thirty millennia.
Haruki stepped forward, his memories rushing back like a flood of poison. "They... they are still alive..." he muttered, feeling the old hatred ignite into a new flame.
Terrified, Reo and Rika tried to flee, but Haruki caught them instantly. He pulled Rika close, his breath cold against her face.
"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice devoid of any warmth. Rika could only weep in terror. With a swift, brutal motion, Haruki snapped her neck. Reo stood frozen in horror before Haruki decapitated him with a single, effortless strike.
Haruki walked outside to find a world he no longer recognized. He looked down at a nearby village and extended his hand. In an instant, the village was consumed by a terrifying black fire. It wasn't an ordinary flame; it was a void that turned everything to ash.
Meanwhile, in another region, a young girl with silver-white hair and wolf ears was being brutally beaten by a group of children. "You're a half-human monster!" their leader yelled, full of hatred. He took a stick and thrust it directly into the girl's eye.
Her screams echoed through the forest, a sound of pure agony and panic.
Haruki, hearing the scream from a distance, murmured, "Hmm... interesting...".
He approached the girl as she stumbled through the snow, clutching her bleeding eye. "What is your name? You look young," he demanded, his voice cold and demanding.
"M-my name is E-Elisa..." she stammered, her voice trembling.
Haruki touched her face, and her eye was instantly healed, her sight restored as if the injury had never occurred. Overwhelmed, she hugged him, sobbing her gratitude.
"How old are you?" Haruki asked.
"I... I'm four!" she replied.
Without another word, Haruki commanded her to follow him, and together they set off toward a destination known only to him.