A Rainy Night.
Thunder and lightning tore through the sky.
The wooden cabin in the darkness rocked precariously in the torrential rain like a tiny boat.
The howling wind swept through the gaps and across the pitch-black interior, biting cold. Rainwater dripped along the old rafters and into the cabin, growing heavier by the moment.
On the straw mat bed in the cabin's bedroom, amidst the noisy rain, a faint shivering could be heard if one listened carefully.
"Big Sister. I'm. Cold."
Two children, one big and one small, whose combined ages probably did not even exceed ten, huddled tightly together, curled up in the corner of the bed.
It was the only place the rainwater could not reach.
Even so, the quilt covering them grew increasingly damp. They could avoid the rain falling from the roof, but not the raindrops carried in by the drafts blowing through the gaps.
The temperature inside grew colder and colder, while the damp bedding only made matters worse.
The older sister tried to hug her little brother tighter, using their body heat to warm each other, but the effect was not obvious. She could feel his body trembling even harder.
It was also possible that her own body was trembling just as badly.
This couldn't go on.
The older sister pressed her lips together. Gritting her teeth, she pulled her little brother off the bed, and the two of them hurried toward the other bedroom in the cabin.
After quietly pulling open the door, the older sister let out a sigh of relief.
There was no one inside.
Their gambling and alcoholic father had indeed not returned.
They had come here because this room contained the only brazier in the house. The older sister found some matches in the drawer, but they had gotten damp and were difficult to light. On top of that, her fingers were cold and stiff from the frost.
After several attempts, the older sister finally managed to light the brazier.
In an instant.
Crimson firelight illuminated the dark room, flickering gently.
"It's so warm, Big Sister."
"It's fire. Did the God of Fire come to help us?"
"I'm so sleepy, Big Sister."
The young boy in her arms pressed against her chest, his sleepy nasal breathing already audible. The older sister began to doze off as well. The heat continuously radiating from the brazier drove away the cold, and the precious warmth soon carried her into dreamland.
But unfortunately.
This beautiful moment did not last long.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A rapid pounding on the door jolted the older sister awake.
"Open the door! Hurry and open the door! Vivian!" Their father's panicked shouts from outside even drowned out the rain. His voice was filled with alarm, as if someone were chasing him.
Oh no.
Not as if.
Boom!
Vivian had just left the bed and reached the door. She was about to open it when the small wooden door was kicked open.
Right after it, her father's bruised and swollen body was kicked inside as well.
"Run, run! If you don't pay back what you owe tonight, I'll burn your whole house down! Money! Hand over the money!" A villager in a raincoat stood at the doorway, his face twisted viciously as he shouted at Vivian's fallen father.
In the pouring rain, Vivian could still make out his face.
He was the village bully, Gibber.
Perhaps Vivian's gaze alerted Gibber that there were other people inside. Or perhaps it was her little brother, who had been awakened by the noise and gotten out of bed to look for his sister.
In any case, when the burly villager saw the two children, one big and one small, a malicious grin spread across his face.
"Can't pay up, can you? Then send your children over to repay your debt!"
Gibber sneered as he took a large step into the room and grabbed the still-groggy little boy, who had no idea what was happening, by the collar.
"Let go! Let go of Andy!" When Vivian saw her little brother being seized, she screamed and clawed at Gibber's clothes.
But how could a frail little girl possibly overpower an adult man? Not only did Vivian fail to pull her brother back, Gibber was about to drag her out of the house as well.
Amid the chaos and darkness, the frantic girl's hand found a sharp object hanging beside the door.
She used it to cut grass in her daily chores.
A sickle.
Its blade was already covered in rust and had grown dull, no longer sharp. But if all she needed was to cut through someone's skin, it was more than sufficient.
After all, the human body was so fragile.
As long as one had a weapon, even a little girl barely over ten could kill an adult.
Drip.
Drip, drip.
The sounds of the struggle ceased. The night once again held nothing but the sound of rain. But this time, the water left on Vivian's body had turned blood-red.
"Big Sister. Big Sister."
"Vivian, you—you!"
Crack!
Lightning tore across the midnight sky. In that instant of daylight, the scene revealed a dazed little brother, a terrified father, and a silent girl.
There was also the bloodstained sickle in the girl's hand, and Gibber lying at her feet in a vast pool of blood.
"Heh."
"Hehehe."
"What a useless old fool."
The girl raised her head. It was the same familiar face, and the same familiar voice, but Anlu—Vivian's father—scrambled backward toward the corner like he was looking at a monster.
"Vi-Vivian, what's wrong with you? No, no, that's not right. You—you're not Vivian! Who are you?"
Anlu stared at his daughter in terror.
A completely unfamiliar second daughter.
"You piece of trash. Do you want to die?" The still-dripping sickle was pressed against Anlu's neck. Vivian, her face smeared with blood, stared coldly at "her" father.
"If you don't want to die, carry Gibber's body to the mountaintop and push it off the cliff. Then forget what happened tonight and don't tell anyone. Do you understand?"
"Remember, Gibber slipped and fell off the cliff because of the heavy rain. His body was torn apart, and the beasts devoured it by morning. As for the huge gambling debt you owed, you got lucky and escaped it. No one will come after you anymore."
"Got it! I—I'll move him right away!" Anlu's body trembled. It was impossible to tell whether it was from fear or excitement at having his debt erased out of nowhere.
After Anlu carried Gibber's body away, the little cabin returned to how it had been before, with only the siblings left inside.
Vivian threw down the sickle and let the torrential rain wash the blood from it. Then she looked at Andy, who seemed not to have recovered his senses and stood there stupidly. The girl frowned.
"Hmph. Another useless little fool."
"Why are you still standing there, Andy? Come here!"
"You..." Seeing his completely unfamiliar sister, young Andy instinctively began to retreat. But then his foot caught on something, striking the brazier on the floor. His whole body was about to fall into it.
"Idiot!" Vivian's expression changed. She cursed him angrily, but her body burst forth with strength completely at odds with her frail build.
She lunged at Andy. The two of them rolled across the floor once, successfully avoiding the brazier.
"Does it hurt?" Half-crouching, Vivian lifted her brother's clothes and began treating the wounds Gibber had inflicted when he dragged Andy around, along with the injuries from his fall.
"Waaah... Big Sister, waaah... I'm so scared." At that moment, Andy seemed to find the familiar image of his sister in Vivian again. The little boy threw himself into the girl's arms and burst into tears.
"Cry, cry! All you know is crying! Andy, remember this: you're a man. From now on, you can't wait for other people to protect you. You have to protect others—especially your sister. Do you understand?"
"Waaah... I—I understand, Big Sister... Waaaah!"
"All right! Stop crying. Hurry and support me. Your other sister is coming back. Remember to carry her to the bed!"
Just as Andy stood there in confusion, unable to understand what his sister was talking about—
The girl, who had been standing upright moments ago, suddenly seemed to black out and collapsed unconscious onto the floor.
"Big Sister!"
"Big Sister, what happened?"
"Big Sister."
"Vivian?"
"Vivian, what happened to you?"
"Vivian!"
Claw Forest.
An unfamiliar call came from beside her ear. No, it did not seem to be a voice, but rather some kind of sensation coming from the depths of her heart.
Her consciousness awakened.
Vivian opened her eyes.
Before her lay a vast spread of splattered blood and a headless corpse kneeling not far away.
"Heh."
"Hehehe."
"That coward. Is he making me come out again to clean up his mess?"
Before you continue