Chapter 2: A Void, In My Heart
"They say death is the end, yet I am"
(Part 1)
Akari opened her eyes. A cellar? she thought. So dark. She wasnât sure how sheâd gotten there. Or where there even was. She looked up. A green, furry substance crawled across the ceiling. Her eyes widened slightly. Whatâs that? It covered the walls around her. Below, thick, damp air rested on the stone ground as if waiting with her. Akari raised her head, slowly drifting her gaze across the cold room. The only thing she could see in the darkness was the small shadows that scurried across the walls, and the thin gate that kept her contained. Above the cellar, above the very grounds that held Akari like a beast, many locals had gathered, voices echoed across the large clearing.
"Let her rot in the cellar!" one voice yelled.
The crowd erupted. Some agreed. Others hesitated. Another voice rose from the uproar, louder and prouder.
"If she is truly a monster, then let us treat her like one! To the stake!"
The crowd froze. The locals were cruel and selfish. But to commit such graphic cruelty to a mere child, no matter how evil, was unthinkable. Then, one final voice spoke. Soft and calm with unseen compassion, yet filled with undeniable hatred.
"Hmph, let us leave this child in the Forest of Darkness."
In the centre of the crowd, amidst all the commotion, sat an elderly man. He rested upon the remains of a once-tall, proud tree. His hands were placed on an old cane. His skin: wrinkled, yet smooth. A look of serene sadness washed over his face. He pointed to something distant. The crowd turned. Behind the houses, beyond the playful smiles of innocent children, stood something haunting. Something that slowly engulfed the village outskirts with its presence.
The elderly man continued: "You say she is a demon, right?" His eyes pierced through the crowd. "Well, not even a demon could survive that place."
The crowd muttered beneath their breaths for a few seconds, then paused. Everyone stood like a flock of sheep. Waiting for permission. Permission to begin her trial.
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Dozens of boots splashed through the dark, narrow path, sending ripples across the wet stone as they passed. Creatures in the darkness scurried across the narrow corridors in fear. A group of men burst into the underground prison where Akari was held. A bunker of sorts. Their eyes burned, filled with rage and hatred. All for one small, helpless child. They stepped over old relics, cracked stone, and withered bones. Cellar after cellar, their eyes searched, looking for the girl in blue. Then, they found her. At the edge of the dark bunker was a small cell. A thick, blue mist oozed through its bars. The group slowed as they reached the cell. There was something strange about it. Aside from the dark blue mist, the men felt like they had walked into the jaws of the unknown, yet they kept their composure. A man stepped forward from the group, peering into the dark cell ahead, but even his torch was not strong enough to pierce through the mist. The faint sound of a chime whispered through the air, soft as breath. He gulped and reached toward the cellâs door. His hand inched toward the cold steel gate. His fingers brushed the bars. He froze, mid-breath, as if someone had wound his bones tight. The cool blue mist seeped into his clothes as though it were sentient. At first, he couldn't move his legs.
âHey, hey. I-I canât move my legs!â His voice faded quickly as he froze in time.
One of the members of the small group behind stepped forward with a confused look on his face. "Ar-are you⦠ok⦠Han?"
The man who had touched Akariâs cell, Han, did not respond. A hand reached out, an attempt to pull him back to reality. But the moment skin met cloth, Hanâs body collapsed. Shattering into a thousand pieces. Han was no more.
Stolen novel; please report.
The men staggered back. Fear latched onto their souls. Their faces turned pale, their eyes wide. And yet, despite that, their gaze was not fixed on the remains of their old friend. No. But on the girl who stood beyond them. Cloaked in light blue mist. A look of emptiness stretched across her face, as though she had no face at all. Her eyes were serene, tired. Her clothes, torn. And then she dropped. Her form dissolved into that of a sleeping child.
The men glared with unease, unsure of what to do with the child. One of them slowly turned towards the shattered remains of their old friend as fear scraped through his mind.
âHan, are you o-?â
But before he could finish, another voice from behind swallowed the entire room. The sound of water dropping from broken pipes muffled into silence, and the splashes from below vanished. It was as if the group had fallen into a pit of nothingness.
âCarry her.â
A couple minutes laterâ¦
At the edge of the Forest, Akari shuffled. Her face throbbed. Ouch. She felt a sharp sting. My wrists? she thought. Exhaling softly, Akari opened her eyes and saw them. The locals were trailing her from a distance as someone or something dragged her from behind. She looked up, trying to get a glimpse of whoever it was. She could just about make out the figure of a tall man with brown hair before a grey hand appeared beside her neck, and the bright sky faded into darkness.
A voice rose from the crowd: "Letâs just drop her here. Weâre already deep into the forest."
Another voice answered, sharp and laced with judgment: "Not deep enough."
The plan was simple. Leave the girl beyond the forest walls, beneath the cliffs. A point of no return. And so they did. They dropped her into the small but deadly ravine, an inescapable hell. Its walls were lined with thorned vines.
âSheâll have to learn to live in this accursed forest, or die like the others.â The elderly man spoke before he vanished into the crowd.
(Part 2)
Hours had passed. The sky had darkened, streaked with grey traces that veiled the moon. Below, a child lay unconscious on a patch of rough grass, caked in dirt. Her long, blue hair draped over her face, masking the sound of her slow, silent breaths. And beside her, a rabbit. Small and coated in grey fur, it stood still, its gaze fixed beyond the curtain of hair. It waited a moment, then it twitched. Something had startled it.
Akari.
She stirred and raised her hands, brushed the unkempt strands from her eyes, then rose. Before her, the trees loomed tall and crooked. And like soldiers in formation, their arms stretched into the sky. Below, the grass was broken into strange, scattered patches, like a chessboard etched into the earth. Akari glanced ahead. Beyond the crooked trees. Beyond the eerie silence of the forest floor. It was at that moment that the reality of her situation unravelled like a thread. She had nowhere left to go. No village. No family. No home. Only her and this⦠place. But unlike the warmth of the underground cellar, the forest felt cold and distant. It was almost like it didnât want her there. So, she closed her eyes. Maybe⦠maybe I can find them hereâ¦
A collage of images flickered through her mind. His smile. Her warm embrace. Akari stepped forward, walking the forest path. And with every step, more memories surfaced. She opened her eyes, lifted her chin. A futile attempt to hold back the tears. More memories surged through her. The pain. Their comforting arms. The moments she buried deep. Thoughts she had locked away, grief she refused to acknowledge, all came crashing down, too heavy to carry. Her knees gave out, and she collapsed onto the forest floor. Then, her eyes widened. A heavy warmth spilt down her cheeks, wet and trembling.
"Why?" she whispered.
Her voice cracked.
"What did I do wrong?"
Images of the villagers swirled in her mind, faces twisted with judgment. All she had endured. The mockery. The thrown stones. The bruises from beatings for stealing scraps. It was unfair. Unjust. And in that moment, Akari remembered her motherâs words.
One year ago:
Akari lay curled against her mother in a small room. A single candle flickered in the corner, its flame cast long shadows that danced across the wall. Her motherâs voice drifted through the silence.
"Akari⦠this world is cruel," she said, her tone soft as a feather.
She gently brushed her fingers through Akariâs blue hair.
"If the world pushes you, then push back⦠okay?"
Akari turned to face her. Her wide eyes shimmered in the candlelight.
"Motherâ¦" She grinned. "If people try to hurt me, then Father will beat them up with his big muscles!"
Her mother paused. Akari wore a look that didnât belong in this world, a look of joy, pure and untouched. A soft smile curved on her motherâs lips.
"Akari⦠we won-" She stopped. Just for a second. Then smiled again, a little brighter this time.
"Yes⦠Actually, he will chase them away with the scary masks we made."