Everything was dark.

The morning has arrived and through a small hole in her house, the light seemed to fall upon her eyes. Which annoyed Alka greatly as she wasn't yet ready to wake up.

Though she could turn to the side to avoid the light, she didn't open her eyes.

"Alka! Wake up! The food is going to grow cold!"

Hearing the voice of her mother, Alka immediately widens her eyes and rose halfway up from her bed. Blankly staring around her surroundings, seeing nothing more than her room.

"Huh?"

For a moment she was confused and froze in the position.

It was only after she heard her name again that she reacted again.

"Alka!!!"

"Mother?" She mumbled halfway confused before she got up and started dressing up.

After finishing putting on the boots her mate, she was about to leave her room before she turned around and stared at the small hole in her room, which greatly annoyed her while sleeping.

'I will have to fix that later...'

Turning away from the hole that let light in, she opened her door and went to the living area which at the same time was their kitchen.

There he saw her father sitting on the table with her mother cleaning her tail beside him.

"Alka! What would you mate think if you woke up so late each time? You got to drop those habits once you made your own family! Now sit. I also got the Bekai'mou milk that you always loved when you were little~"

Hearing her mother's usual complaints and how she still brought the expensive milk, Alka would have normally rebuked her like a child anymore.

But for some reason, Alka just warmly smiled at her mother and father and seated to eat.

"Thank you, mom."

Seeing her different reaction, both her father and mother stared at each other before looking concerned at her.

"Did you have a bad dream sweety?" her mother said.

"Or did that lustful guide say something to you, if he did, I will personally-" Her father said while taking his axe near the table to his hands.

"What!? Nothing of that sort. There was a hole in my room that let out a light, but no nightmares. And Dad!!! Don't go to my mate with the axe! I already told you that I will be living with him in the future!" She said while using the food to keep away her frustration.

'Why do they always have to be like that' She thought internally.

"Ugh...I know, but I still find it hard that my girl will leave this old hut. Sigh, I will be going then." Her father said as he rose up from his seat, with her mother soon to follow him.

"Hmm? Where are you guys going?" She asked while staring at the back of her parents.

"The hunters called me to help them carry the wood that his nice piece has provided. Shouldn't take long." Her father answered.

"I am going to meet my friend and give her advice on how to take care of her baby. She worries that her touch will kill her cutey." Her mother said.

Alka stared at them while for some reason feeling very uncomfortable.

"Make sure the cleanup Alka." Her mother with compared to hers, with long blond hair, said as she left the house.

Her father soon followed, but before he could close the door, he said turned to look at Alka.

"Alka, my daughter. Just stay in the house for today. And whatever happens...don't open the door." He said almost in a whisper-like tone, but for Alka, it was loud enough to hear.

"We love you, our daughter." The father and mother Alka said before closing the door, leaving Alka alone in her house.

"..."

Once they closed the door, everything grew silent.

Considering her being alone in the house was to be normal.

'Something feels wrong...' She mumbled as she stopped eating as she was feeling more uncomfortable.

She stared at her house as if searching for the incomparable feeling.

But then she noticed something after looking around.

And that the axe that her father took a moment ago out of the house, was now right in front of her, broken.

"Huh? Why is it..."

It was extremely bizarre to her as she saw her father pick the axe. It was more bizarre with the fact that the axe was broken.

Then she remembered her father's few last words.

'Don't open the door.'

The moment she recollected her father's words, she felt urgency never before like now. Then for just a split moment, he saw an image of her bloodied father.

"No..."

Ignoring her father's last words, she rushed towards the door and swung it open despite her father's warning.

And outside the house, everything looked normal.

At first.

"Where is everyone?" Alka said as she looked around, only to see not a single soul.

Walking towards the outside, once her eyes landed in front of her, she saw something terrifying.

It was a beheaded head of an ice troll laying on the snow and training the very snow with his blood.

That sight alone was very terrifying, but after gazing at the lifeless head for more than a second, she notice long blond hair coming out of the mouth of the headless ice troll.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Both Alka and the headless ice troll said at the same time, despite seemingly impossible for the latter.

"M-Mother?" Alka said with a shaking voice.

Although it could have been any hair in this village, Alka recognized the long, beautiful blond hair that her mother had...inside the ice troll's mouth.

And that's the moment when she remembered everything.

About the raid.

"N-No."

About the ice trolls.

"N-No, it can't be."

About the village.

"W-Why?"

And lastly, about her loved ones.

She remembered everything.

"Run!!! Run Alka!!!" A desperate voice yelled from afar to her, a voice that she could never forget.

Her mate.

Turning around towards the direction of the voice, she saw her mate laying on the ground on top of his own blood.

She impatiently wanted to rush towards him to help him, but her mate raised his hand and yelled at her.

"Don't come Alka! Run! Run away! Please! Before it's too late!"

Alka stopped at her cracks and she remembered how her mate similarly yelled at her to run away when from the ice trolls.

'Am I going to run away and leave them behind?' She thought to herself.

The moment she made up her mind to run towards her mate, she notice a dark green mist manifesting from the building slowly creeping behind her mate, and slowly moving towards her.

"Alka....please." Her mate said with a pleading voice and tears on his face.

"Ah..." Alka tried to say something but couldn't.

When she gazed at the dark green mist creeping closer to her mate and her, she felt a primordial fear just staring at the mist.

What she next heard were quiet, almost silent metallic footsteps coming from the very mist.

'That sound!' She yelled internally as she remembered the owner of that sound.

She gave her mate a last glance, before deciding to run while biting her limps.

"Sorry."

"Sorry"

"Sorry."

She mumbled to herself while running to the opposite of the mist, towards where the sun was rising.

Her mate looking at her put a warm smile on his face.

"Run Alka! And Don't turn back! Run!" That were his last words, before the mist covered his bleeding body, bringing quiet through the village.

The only thing to be heard was Alka running through the snow, away from the mist.

Alas, the dark green mist gave pursuit.

The mist grew bigger and became faster, everything it touched, from tools to houses, decayed rapidly and disappeared through the dark green mist.

With each second that passed, the mist grew closer and closer to the running Alka.

"Haah~Haah~Haah~" Her ragged breathing was the only thing to be heard.

'Just a bit more. Just a bit longer and I will be out of the village.' Alka thought internally as she soon was only 100 meters away from getting out of her village.

And from afar, she could see several silhouettes standing there and waiting for her.

Though she couldn't be sure, all the silhouettes to her seemed to like her whole village and her loved ones.

"I-I will be right here! Wait! Don't leave me!" She reached out her hand as she was getting closer.

And as she reached the 30-meter mark, a cold voice with no hind of emotion was heard behind her.

"You..."

Alka's eyes widen at how close the voice was.

And before she knew it, the mist had finally caught up to her and a cold hand grabbed her hand and dragged her to turn toward the dark green mist.

Being forcefully dragged to turn towards the mist, Alka's eyes saw the owner of the hand.

Wearing dark armor and his head was a skull with two flaring dark green eyes glaring at her.

"Ah~"

Dread washed off her body as the other hand of the skeleton was revealed through the mist, holding an ominous longsword in his hand and rising up to the air.

That's when she realized that death was upon her.

That all the sacrifices of everyone will be in vain if she died here.

The flaring eyes that locked at her eyes flared once more before he swung that sword towards her neck.

'Fseeeeen!

That's the last thing that Alka heard.

Before so woke up.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"

Jumping up from her bed in screams, her hands quickly moved around her neck, checking if her head was attached to where it was supposed to be.

"Ha~Ha~ha~" With haggard breaths and her body full of cold sweat, she dropped her hands tiredly to the bed while breathing out.

'I am alive. ' She thought, never before more relieved by being alive than as of now.

"You even woke up, had a bad dream?" A female voice suddenly said, coughing Alka's attention.

Turning to see who it was, she was surprised to see a girl wearing a white wooden mask.

"Where am I? Is this the Vashara villag-aghhh!" She tried to get up from the bed, but upon using one of her hands as support, she felt immense pain going through her, making her almost fall off to the ground if it weren't for the white-masked girl catching her in time.

"Careful, you almost died. Rest for now." The white-masked girl reassured her before gently forcing Alka to lie in the bed.

Alka was slightly stunned at how she moved from one place to another at such speed.

'She is stronger than she looks.'

"This is indeed the Vashara village and your daughter is also safe. So just rest here in my house, though I would like to know what kind of dream make you so pale...or how you received this mark." The white-masked girl said while pointing toward Alka's shoulder.

There her skin had turned black looking as if she suffered through necrosis, though that was only on the surface.

"I tried healing that mark...but I couldn't completely get rid of it, which never happend before..." The masked girl said while staring at Alka who was staring at her shoulder.

Closing her eyes in acceptance, Alka let her head fall on the pillow while closing her eyes.

And once she opened her eyes and stared at the white-masked girl, she gave her answer with a serious voice.

"Death, Death did this to me."

Hearing such words, the girl behind the mask frowned upon such words.