POV: Yukihana Cadaver
Inside the palace of the Cadaver Kingdom, a 12-year-old girl with light-blue hair flowing to her shoulders and ruby-red eyes walked along the corridor.
Yukihana was making her way down the royal hallway, but unlike a normal princess, she didn't walk with her back straight.
As she passed, servants stepped aside and whispered quietly to each other — just like any other day in her life.
Her father paid her no attention, her siblings bullied her, and the servants acted indifferent. In everyone's eyes, she was a weak, helpless, and hopeless girl.
I ignored the people around me and quickly entered my room. The fearful expression I usually wore faded, replaced by one of disdain. Reaching my bed, I kicked the chair beside it.
"Hmph, those bastards… who do they think they are?"
"That useless brother… damn it, I want to kill him."
"And that whore of a sister — dressing up and acting pretty, just thinking about her makes me want to vomit."
"And that worthless father… just wait, one day I'll make you all pay."
After venting my anger, I took a deep breath, walked over, grabbed my mirror, and stared at the horrible scar on my face. As my fading anger flared up again, I smashed the mirror with my fist. It shattered, shards piercing my arm as blood began to flow.
I ignored the wound and walked to my bed to pick up the only recording device I owned. As I turned it on, the image of a black-haired, red-eyed boy appeared.
Seeing him, a small smile curled on my lips. Zeref — the only person who had never looked at me with disgust.
My memories quickly drifted back to the past — to the birthday celebration of the princess of the Helios Kingdom. Just thinking of that beautiful, arrogant princess filled my heart with jealousy and hatred.
I left my room and was accidentally seen by that stupid brother of mine. Back then, someone saw me being bullied and came to help — someone strong, and I even benefited from it.
Since then, I was always "accidentally" bullied by my brother. No matter how many times someone rescued me, they only thought they had saved a beautiful girl — because they had only seen half of my face.
But once they saw my entire face, even if they pretended to be kind, I could always see the disgust they felt for me.
Who would have thought this time would be different? A boy from a powerful family saved me. That black-haired boy, when he saw my face, didn't feel disgust. He looked straight into my eyes and smiled — and for the first time, someone called me cute.
At first, I was wary of him, but the more time I spent with him, the more drawn I felt. That day, for the first time, I could speak freely. For the first time, I met someone who treated me kindly.
I kept talking with him, and he even gave me a communication device so we could always stay in touch. In this broken world, he became my light.
Seeing my situation, he was even willing to risk causing an international incident just to help me. He was the only person — besides my mother — who ever made me feel close to someone. I knew I had fallen in love with him.
But… would someone like him ever love someone like me?
One day, I asked him indirectly — and his answer only made me fall even deeper for him.
Lying on my bed, I touched the necklace resting on my chest — a gift from my mother before she died. I had always kept it close, never letting a speck of dust touch it.
Unknowingly, some of my blood dripped onto the necklace and was absorbed into it. Suddenly, a bright light burst from the pendant, and unbearable pain consumed me.
Before I could scream, I lost consciousness.
A few hours later ~~~
'W-what happened?'
I felt a terrible headache. My eyes were weak, and my body felt heavy. As I lifted myself up, I noticed my necklace was gone!
I leapt from my bed to check my surroundings, and as I did, I felt myself being flung through the air and slammed into a wall.
'What the hell?'
When I stood, I realized my body felt stronger, my hearing sharper — it was as if all my senses were working beyond their limits.
I tried to cover my ears, but they felt different — they had become pointed.
I quickly moved around my room and found a piece of broken glass to look into — and when I did, I was stunned.
"W-where is my scar?"
The scar was gone. The scar that had made me hideous had vanished. Staring back at me was a beautiful face. Tears began streaming down my cheeks.
"Finally!! I'm finally free from that curse!"
Overwhelmed by emotion, my tears kept flowing. I moved toward my bed and looked at the still-glowing recorder. Seeing the boy inside, my eyes sparkled. I gently picked it up, brushing my fingers across the screen.
"I'll find you soon, my Zeref… just wait for me."
High above the sky, in a place undetectable to anyone — not even the goddess of this world knew of their presence.
Two men were watching Zeref's every move. Their power was unimaginable — so great that even the goddess who created this world could not sense them.
Their names were Limbo and Mark — assassins sent by Zeref's older brother to kill him.
"How about we make our move now?" (Limbo)
"I agree, but… how do we deal with that woman?" (Mark)
"You handle her. Do your best not to draw unnecessary attention from the goddess of this world." (Limbo)
"Alright. I'm not afraid of fighting a goddess, but just to be safe, we should stay cautious." (Mark)
"Exactly." (Limbo)
The two of them swiftly moved toward Zeref's location. But before they could reach him, a massive hand seized them both and dragged them into another dimension.
The place looked like an ancient battlefield — countless swords and corpses lay scattered everywhere. The sky was blood-red, and the stench was so foul it was unbearable to remain there for long.
"Kukukuku…"
A strange laugh made Limbo and Mark tense up.
Then they saw him — a man with a cold gaze staring at them. He had silver hair, crimson eyes, and a spider perched on his shoulder.
Fear gnawed at Limbo and Mark's hearts as they looked at the man before them. Their instincts screamed at them to run as far away as possible.
The man drew the sword at his side and—
Slaaash!
The slash was so fast that neither of them could react.
Limbo and Mark stumbled back, clutching their stomachs where the blade had struck.
Chains then materialized out of thin air and wrapped around the man. Mark seized the opportunity and fired a mana bullet from his pistol.
Boom!
The man's abdomen vanished upon impact. The bullet Mark fired carried a corrosive effect — no matter how strong one's body was, it would corrode upon contact.