--Alex's Point of View--
It had been ten years since my sister and I came to live with our grandmother in Canos.
She was our last remaining relative.
Before we moved here, we lived in Lvida—a small settlement recently founded in the northern reaches of the kingdom, far from Canos.
Lvida was peaceful. Just fifty people lived there.
Everyone knew each other, shared what they had, and worked side by side.
But everything changed when the villagers spotted a horde of goblins and orcs roaming nearby.
Fear spread like wildfire.
The village chief sent word to the local lord, begging for protection. He even appealed to the Adventurers' Guild in a neighboring village.
Not a single person came to help us.
I remember that night clearly—the night my village turned into a bloodbath.
I was eight years old. My sister was five.
My father volunteered to help defend the village, armed only with a hunting bow and a handful of arrows.
My mother stayed with us. But when things began to feel wrong, she hid my sister and me in a small basement my father had dug beneath our house—just in case this day ever came.
"Alex, don't come out no matter what… and protect your sister!"
Those were the last words my mother ever said to me.
Through the narrow cracks in the trapdoor, I saw everything.
Goblins burst into our home, ransacking the place—flipping over furniture, tearing through our belongings like animals.
Then, one of them plunged a dagger into my mother's stomach.
She let out a scream I will never forget.
My sister began to cry when she heard the noise and sensed our mother's pain.
I had no choice but to clamp my hand over her mouth.
Even in her final moments, my mother threw herself over the trapdoor, shielding us with her body.
I watched, frozen, as they stabbed her, tore at her clothes.
They didn't just stabbed her, they played with her.
They laughed while she suffered.
Even as she barely clung to life, they began to violate her.
And when they were finished, they tore her apart like she was nothing.
And all I could do was hide and witness everything.
That night, something inside me changed.
A fire ignited in my heart.
A hatred so deep, it burned through every tear I couldn't shed.
A hatred for those monsters.
And for the powerful people who never came to save us.
===============
My sister and I stayed hidden until morning.
When the silence stretched too long, I slowly pushed open the trapdoor and peeked out.
My mother's body was gone—and so were the monsters.
I turned to my sister.
"Wait here," I whispered.
But she was already sobbing again, clinging tightly to me. I had no choice but to hold her hand and take her with me.
As we stepped outside, I froze.
Something in the distance made my heart drop.
Without a second thought, I covered my sister's eyes and hurriedly dragged her back inside the house.
Then, I grabbed a piece of cloth and gently wrapped it around her head like a blindfold.
"Lis… I need you to close your eyes for a little while, alright? Your brother will hold your hand the whole time."
She sniffled.
"But… okay, brother."
I tightened my grip on her small hand, steadying my breath.
Together, we stepped outside once more.
The village I once knew was gone, houses burned and smoldered. Blood stained the soil like spilled ink.
In the center of the village, a pile of decapitated, naked corpses was stacked like garbage.
My parents were among them.
I nearly threw up at the sight, but there was nothing left in my stomach. The emptiness only made it worse, twisting my insides into knots of pain.
"…Big brother… I'm starving…"
My sister's voice was soft and fragile, barely more than a whisper.
I forced myself to move, to search for any remaining food—anything that could still be eaten.
Most of the homes had been burned to the ground, but near the chief's house, I got lucky.
A few bruised plums were scattered across the dirt.
I brushed off the dirt and handed one to her.
"Here… eat slowly, alright?" I said, kneeling beside her.
She took it with both hands and nodded quietly.
We rested in a cleaner spot, far from the mountain of corpses. For a moment, there was only silence, until a voice shouted from the village entrance.
"Is anyone here!?"
It was a man's voice.
I quickly stood, still clutching my sister's hand, and rushed toward the sound.
A group of five people was entering the village. They didn't look like soldiers, more like adventurers, each with a distinct appearance.
"…Oi, boy! Are you alright?" one of them called out, hurrying toward us, with the others close behind.
"…Please… my sister…"
That was the last thing I managed to say before everything went black, and I collapsed from exhaustion.