8
Chapter 8
While all the children of the Tribe were born receiving the Blessing of the heavens, she alone was turned away by the stars.
On the day she was born.
As if the sky were covering its eyes, dark clouds rolled in, and a flock of crows cawed ominously.
To calm the Tribe Members who were terrified by such omens, the High Priest had no choice but to step forward in the end.
A double circle drawn in blood.
A massive magic circle is carved into the ground.
Astrology.
A power passed down through generations by those who serve the heavens.
The very reason the Empire is so desperate to eradicate them.
Symbolic relics of the stars placed all around.
Humans mimic the heavens to glimpse the laws of the world.
Knowledge of the heavens flows into the High Priest's mind.
And...... before long, the High Priest's face turned pale.
It was only natural.
The Heavenly Killing Star.
A child born to paint the world in blood, possessing the very nature of a killer.
The girl born today was fated to kill hundreds, no, tens of thousands.
However.......
The High Priest did not reveal this truth to everyone.
He couldn't bring himself to tell them.
-See? I was right, wasn't I? There's no ominous sign. She's my child, so I can tell.
With a pale, dying face, the woman spoke those words.
Perhaps, she would leave this world the moment she gave birth.
She, too, was a member of the Tribe.
Because of that, she couldn't possibly be ignorant of it. Of all these ominous signs. Of the future foretold for her child.
-I'm sure she will live a happy life.
Even without me.
Even without him.
Strongly, stronger than anyone else.
Happier than anyone else.
Even as she said that, she shed tears.
Desperately ignoring all the principles of the heavens she had spent her entire life learning, she dreamed of the happy future of the child who would be left alone in this world.
The only things waiting on this child's path were blood and death.
A path of carnage built upon corpses.
Denying all of that truth.
She spoke of a vision where her child was born into the world, experienced many things, met someone, fell in love, and lived a normal, happy life just like everyone else.
She said the only regret was that she wouldn't be able to see it.
Seeing her like that, the High Priest couldn't possibly say it.
That the child had to be killed.
That this child was never meant to be born.
In the end, everything related to the child's fate was kept a strict secret.
And so, a girl was born.
Born taking her mother's life.
Her life began with a sin.
Despite this, the High Priest tried time and time again to lead her down the right path.
He made every effort to raise her to be righteous, knowing she was left all alone in this world without a mother or father.
It was a foolish endeavor.
The High Priest knew better than anyone just how absolute a heaven-given fate could be.
In the end, no matter how much one struggles, they cannot escape the destiny they were born with.
It is called fate precisely because it cannot be escaped.
The girl, Rien, continued to grow as the days passed.
Snow-white hair and pitch-black eyes.
Taking after her mother, her beauty only deepened with time, and the number of Tribe Members who secretly admired her grew.
Only the High Priest knew.
Of Rien's true nature.
Rien's hunts were not for gathering daily sustenance.
When killing her prey, Rien would always watch slowly... as if mesmerized by the sight of the life draining from its body.
As if she were savoring death itself.
'If Rien ever kills a person.......'
There would be no turning back.
Just as her innate fate dictated, the girl would paint the world in blood. Countless people would lose their lives.
And no one would be able to control her.
And to the High Priest, that future didn't seem so far away.
As Rien continued to grow, simply killing animals would no longer be enough to satisfy her.
That day would come soon enough.
She would eventually kill a person, as fate dictated, and be completely consumed by her true nature.
'If that happens, then I.......'
The High Priest finally made his decision.
He had to kill her.
He had to kill that child.
Before she fell beyond the point of no return, the sooner the better.
*****
Bloodlust.
Rien could feel the Bloodlust in the High Priest's eyes as he looked at her.
The situation was that the man who had raised her in place of her late parents, a figure like a father to her, was now trying to kill her.
Yet, Rien did not panic.
Because she already knew.
That she was a strange being.
The villagers.
Whenever she saw their endlessly kind faces, Rien always imagined how she could kill them as efficiently as possible.
Of course, she knew that was wrong.
In truth, she had never once in her life killed anyone, let alone even thrown a punch.
She genuinely liked the villagers, too.
However, despite that, she could still see it.
Stab here, and they would die.
Slice there, and it would be over.
The moment she let her guard down even a little, thoughts like that would eventually cross her mind.
A being like this couldn't possibly be anything but a monster.
And letting such a monster live couldn't possibly be the right thing to do.
That was why the High Priest...
It was only natural for her father to try and kill her.
There was no need to be in pain.
"...Rien? Where are you going all of a sudden at this hour?"
However, just a little. Just a tiny bit, her chest felt stifled. So Rien headed into the forest to hunt.
A Mister she bumped into by chance asked her that. But it wasn't really a problem worth worrying about. Things like this happened all the time.
"I was sitting still and got bored, so I'm going out to get some exercise."
"Really? But why does your face look....... No, never mind. I must have drank too much. I must be seeing things. I should hurry home and go to sleep."
With those words, the man disappeared.
Rien brushed off the Mister's strange reaction without much thought.
Now, there was no one left to disturb her.
Her snow-white hair became drenched in red blood.
The death cries of animals echoed through the midnight mountain.
This was what she did whenever she felt something inside her was left unfulfilled.
Only this kind of act could satisfy her instincts.
Only this kind of act could calm her mind.
Thinking about it that way, her father's reaction was indeed only natural.
Because she was a monster.
Finding satisfaction in such vile and horrendous acts meant she couldn't blame her father for trying to kill her.
So.
It doesn't matter.
It shouldn't matter.
She could feel her heart aching.
But it didn't matter. It only hurt because she had been running around too much.
She could feel something streaming down her cheeks.
But it didn't matter. It was just blood, after all.
Therefore.
I am okay.
I have to be okay.
"You......."
She was having those thoughts right as she was finishing off a deer.
Suddenly, a man's voice rang out from somewhere. She saw the figure of a man through the bushes.
Flustered, Rien forcefully suppressed her Bloodlust.
She must not kill people.
That was something the High Priest had cautioned her about time and time again. But...... it was hard to hold back.
Already drunk on blood, her mind had grown hazy.
"Don't come any closer!"
He must not come any closer.
If he approached, she wouldn't be able to restrain her instincts anymore.
However, ignoring the girl's words, the man kept walking closer. He kept walking closer, and then.......
"W-What are you doing right now?"
He embraced her.
"Just... because you looked like you were crying."
The man said something so nonsensical.
There was no way she was crying.
Because she was a monster.
Because she was a monster who savored death and got excited by blood.
There was no way she would feel disgusted by doing something like this.
There was no way she would feel self-loathing for being so broken that she was drawn to such disgusting acts.
She hated herself too much.
There was no way she was crying because she found herself so terrifying.
Surely, she should have been smiling.
She was definitely smiling right now.
"It's okay. Everything will be alright once you calm down a little."
But why.
Was she bursting into tears like this?
She didn't understand why.
It didn't matter that her father was trying to kill her.
She wasn't afraid of how others would look at her like a monster when her true identity was revealed.
Being treated like a monster and killed by the villagers—people who were no different from family—didn't bother her at all.
She had never once thought she was afraid of dying while being hated by everyone.
Truly, it really didn't matter at all.
Since she was a monster, there was no way she would be afraid of such things.
There was no way her heart would ache.
But why.......
"Crying a little will make you feel better. You should cry when you're having a hard time. Why are you forcing yourself to hold it in?"
Why did her heart calm down at those words?
The more she sobbed.
And the more her tears burst forth, was she feeling the warmth from his embrace, which held her even tighter as if to let her know she wasn't alone?
Warmth radiated from the man's embrace. That warmth seemed to whisper something to her.
That it was okay.
That she was a person just like him.
That she wasn't a monster or anything like that.
So, it was okay to cry.
It was okay to be sad.
The world slowly regained its original colors.
Her vision, once dyed in blood, reflected the most beautiful and noble night sky shining brightly.
That was the first encounter between Rien and that strange man.