Ram's birth was regarded as a miracle. This girl, not yet ten years old, possessed intelligence that put generations of the Oni Clan to shame, and the total amount of mana stored within her body surpassed common sense.
When the horn atop her head shimmered in the sunlight, even the Clan Head would instinctively bow his head.
The parents who once treated the twins with cold indifference now didn't even dare to breathe heavily in Ram's presence. The clansmen who once mocked them as "accursed children" now only looked up with eyes full of awe. Even the Clan Head who had originally ordered the twins' execution had no choice but to bow and scrape before Ram's astounding talent.
In this race where strength was everything, Ram's existence was the absolute truth.
And Rem was like a planet that forever followed the star. She followed closely behind her elder sister, who was hailed as a "prodigy," with clumsy steps.
Unlike Ram, she possessed neither astounding talent nor vast mana reserves. In terms of her abilities as an Oni, she was no different from the "Hornless Ones" who had lost their single horn.
This young girl chose the safest way to survive—she shrank into her sister's shadow, imitating Ram's every move like a carbon copy.
She felt no jealousy, only deep respect and love. She never resented her parents, for they treated the sisters equally. Even their fellow clansmen would always encourage her.
"Keep it up. You're Ram's sister, after all."
But whenever the night was deep and quiet, Rem would often stare blankly at her reflection in the water.
She clearly had the same height and appearance as her sister, so why was there such a world of difference in their talent?
She tried every method: extra practice late at night, studying texts, even venturing to try other dangerous means... yet all her efforts were in vain.
Until one sweltering night, Rem woke up in the scorching air. Out of habit, she reached out beside her, only to touch an empty bed.
"Sister?"
Sweat soaked her pajamas, and an inexplicable panic gripped her heart.
Following the habit formed over years, she had to find her sister immediately and continue being that faithful shadow.
The moment she pushed open the door, a wave of scorching air rushed at her. Only then did Rem realize something was wrong—the entire house was surrounded by raging flames.
Sizzle...
Her hand unconsciously rested on the scalding doorknob, and the smell of charred flesh filled the air.
But Rem gritted her teeth and, relying on the tough body of the Oni, forced her way out of the sea of fire. The excruciating pain of the burns almost made her faint, but only one thought echoed in her mind: Find sister, and follow her instructions!
However, the scene outside the house made her thoughts come to a complete standstill. The corpses of her clansmen were piled in the center of the village, and familiar houses collapsed with a roar in the sea of fire. Even more terrifying were the figures in black robes—they moved through the fire, slowly closing in on her.
Hoods concealed their faces, with only the blades in their hands reflecting a cold, chilling light.
Facing this hellish scene, a bizarre smile appeared on Rem's face.
It was a sign of a young mind completely breaking down.
At the very instant the black-robed man raised his blade—
Swish!
The first head flew high into the air, warm blood splashing onto Rem's face.
Then came the second, the third...
The precise slashes were like art, the enemies perished before they could even let out a scream.
"It's sister's mana!"
Rem immediately recognized this familiar aura. She frantically scanned her surroundings and finally found that figure amidst the firelight.
But the Ram before her eyes made her freeze—that face, which was always composed, was now filled with sorrow and distortion.
Ram rushed over like a bolt of lightning and pulled her sister into an embrace, her trembling fingers carefully checking Rem's injuries.
"I'm glad you're okay." Ram's voice was choked with emotion.
However, at that moment, more black-robed figures approached from all directions. The enemies were so numerous they blotted out the sky, but Rem still firmly believed her sister could handle everything—until she saw Ram collapse to her knees, letting out a heart-wrenching cry.
The scene completely exceeded Rem's understanding. In her heart, her sister should always stand tall, not be like this... prostrate on the ground.
Suddenly, a lethal beam of light shot straight toward Rem. Before she could react, Ram had already turned and shielded her tightly in her arms.
Boom!
Amidst the violent impact, Rem watched helplessly as the beautiful horn on her sister's head flew toward the blood-red sky. That pair of white horns, symbolizing the glory of the Oni Clan, spun in the air.
"Ah... Ahhh..."
Rem's pupils contracted sharply, her vision completely occupied by the image of the severed horn.
The sister who protected her, the sister who endured the violence, the sister whose horn was broken... and that white horn spinning endlessly in the sky.
All of this formed a nightmare landscape etched forever deep in her memory.
From that moment on, what took root and grew wildly in Rem's heart was an obsession that overrode her past inferiority complex. That is, the unbearable guilt of having caused her sister, who was loved by the world, to be cast down to the ground.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
That was what Ram often said to Rem.
But whenever the night was deep and quiet, Rem would ask herself: Why, even after giving it her all, does it still feel like it's far from enough?
"Because you still haven't done well enough, Rem!"
A voice in the depths of her heart roared.
Yes, even if she exhausted all her strength, even if she tore her soul apart, even if she burned this body to ash... she would never be able to reach her sister's back.
"Why am I even alive?"
The answer had long been etched into her bones. Her entire purpose was only to atone for that hellish night, to atone for her own ignorance and incompetence at the time. Only by staking this life could she forge a path for the sister whose future she had stolen.
Because she had always firmly believed that she was nothing more than a degraded version of her sister, and always would be.
Under the moonlight, Rem clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. Those unspoken monologues turned into scalding tears, falling drop by drop onto the green grass.
Rem's only meaning... was atonement.