"Listen to me," I told the little girl. She found me next to the pit. "I want you to listen, time is running out."

She poked her head out, and there was no fear in her eyes. "Tell me what to do."

I like her. A light smile bloomed on my face, and it seemed like it had passed since the last smile...... Forever. "No," I said, gesturing with the arrow she was holding. She held it in her hand as if she were holding a spear.

I was very young when the Void kidnapped me from my family, so I didn't understand anything at the time. But others, they were too careless. Sacrifices, sacrifices, tributes – whatever you want to call them, they won't work anyway. It is not God and will never be satisfied with giving and praying. All it wants is to devour everything.

"Do you want to kill it? Want to destroy it? I asked her.

She nodded.

"Then starve it."

The pinprick in the flesh was stronger, as if in response to this sentence. A coercion was approaching, and my second skin began to contract, tightening like a strong bow. I took one last deep breath and prepared to meet them.

The gravel began to flow, like a collapsing whirlpool in an hourglass. An eerie shimmer of light pulsated into the night sky, and the creatures leaped high in the night of Shurima, salivating and roaring wildly. I steadied my body, and the energy built up in my shoulder pods.

I gritted my teeth and energy poured out.

Bright scorching heat and roaring pain rained down from the sky, striking in an instant, cutting the creatures to a halt and flipping them to their sides. There was a sour stench in the air, interspersed with the hissing of chitin dissolving.

Soon, the monster was reduced to nothing. The pinprick sensation should have stopped soon, but it didn't.

The little girl was half-crouched beside me, still in an attacking stance. She may not be able to comprehend what she had just witnessed.

"Does it hurt?" She whispered as she reached out to the glimmering scales on my arm.

I subconsciously withdrew my hand. She was not cowardly at all.

"Occasionally," I admitted.

Not far away, her village continued to sleep unawarely. The little girl's curiosity completely controlled her. There were so many stories and fables that both frightened and fascinated her. Ethereal monsters hunt in the dead night, calling out to each other.

She wanted to see it with her own eyes. Look at what is hidden behind the rocks, and see what people are afraid of.

My skin tightened again. The tip of the needle, the constant itching......

I blinked, "Sorry, you haven't told me your name yet." ”

She stood proudly, still holding the arrow in her hand. "My name is Elly. I'm here to protect my family and drive away the monsters. "She's not even ten years old.

"Well, Eli—sometimes it's all about running for your life."

"But you didn't run," she said, narrowing her eyes, "right?" ”

Clever little girl. I shook my head, "I won't run anymore." ”

"Then I won't run!" Ellie courageously announced loudly.

She had no idea what people were facing. Nobody knows. All they did to get rid of the monster was to ring the bell for dinner.

"Ellie, you're going to tell them. Let them know that no more dancing under the crescent moon. Don't tie the animals to the stakes anymore. The Void doesn't know what it means to be merciful—it dies if it doesn't eat. ”

That day, I understood all this, and I also knew that I had a glimmer of hope. Maybe that's why I survived, and so many others died.

But survival always comes at a price. I've been paying back the price ever since I found my way back.

"Look......," the little girl whispered. They're coming for us. ”

I don't need to look. I knew they were coming. With intuition, the carapace covered my face. Ellie looked up at me.

"Don't be intimidated," my voice became distorted and weird, perfectly trying to mean the opposite.

"Frightened by what?" She asked. I smiled again, but she couldn't see it anymore.

Only a handful of people have ever seen me in person, or rather, what is now covering me. All but two died.

Eli's people seem to be capable hunters. Only capable people can live here. I understand where her courage comes from. Their torches flickered in the darkness.

"Daddy!" She didn't warn me and yelled at the villagers who came to search for me. "I found her! The girl who came back alive. ”

They are now coming towards us, weapons in their hands, and their eyes glittering with fire. "Ellie!" Her father shouted as he put the arrow on his bow. "Away from that...... Thing, stay away! ”

She looked up at me again, confused. A child as old as Ellie would have turned around and run nine times out of ten. Or more exaggerated. I know what most people say about me. I've seen them scribble their fears on mud walls that stretch down to the boulders in the valleys.

The girl who came back is a monster, please be careful!

They don't know me at all. To them, I was just something they didn't want to face – a living, walking, fighting symbol, symbolizing what they feared the most. I guess that's why they changed my name.

Ten years ago, I was Keisha – similar to Ellie, looking forward to an endless future like the stars in the night sky. But on the day I was taken captive by the Void, the future was completely shattered.

Acupuncture is back. Ellie let go of my hand as the gleaming weapon began to take shape on my arms. "Go find him," I told her. "Go find your father."

"Ellie, run!" Her father pleaded, pulling the bowstring with trembling hands.

"Don't!" She yelled and turned to me. "I'm not going to run away anymore."

I gently pushed her forward with my hand, eyes still locked on the villagers. "It's not a run, Eli, you're born a warrior. They will need you. ”

After taking a few steps, she turned. "What should I say to them?"

"Tell them...... Tell them to be prepared. ”

The Void has taken too much from me, but I refuse to let it take it all. These small moments, when kindness and humanity shine through our hearts, when innocence and trust overthrow fear—all of these moments fill me with hope that we can overcome the ancient undercurrents that are surging deep underground.

The first time I escaped the abyss and survived, it was for myself.

Maybe one day, I'll live for them.

But I don't want to, I want to break this ice, I don't want to live for anybody, I don't want to fight for anybody who doesn't care anything about me, I just want to live for myself, I want to fight for myself.