"Do you think killing someone is wrong?"
A petite girl asked Rose curiously, completely out of the blue. The gentle morning breeze threw her black hair backwards, revealing two little horns on top of her forehead. Rose looked at the girl to check if she was joking, but her eyes looked serious back into hers. After pondering for a little while on how to answer that, Rose stretched out her arm and patted the girl on the head.
"I don't think taking a life is ever a good thing. You will always make someone sad: their friends, their family, their neighbors... I believe everyone is precious to someone, so that person would cry a lot when his precious friend is gone, don't you think?"
"Hmmm... But what if they're a really really bad person? Like reaaaaaaaaally bad? If they hurt everyone and they are the only ones that are happy?"
"Chi, what's up with the weird questions today... Wait... Did you not like that ice cream from earlier? I'm sorry, I should've known you wanted the strawberry ones, but I completely forget. Your older sister is such a dummy sometimes, isn't she..."
Rose tried to derail the conversation to something more comfortable. After all, this was a precious free moment with her little sister. Lately she'd been stuffed with paper work. Even though the head of the Royal Six, Vanessa, was helping her out a lot, there were some things even she couldn't do. Rose did not mind the work at the slightest: it was necessary to keep this city stable. She had the duty to see it through to the end, especially because it was her dream that led to its creation. As long as everyone was happy, that was plenty for her. She would gladly go through thousands of papers to keep that feeling alive.
...But she was still longing for some time with her little sister from time to time. And today, she'd finally gotten that little opening she'd hoped for.
"Sis...? What do you think...?"
Seems she couldn't get out of this one that easily.
"Look at that man over there." She pointed towards a farmer tilling the soil with some basic earth magic. A dog was waiting at the edge of the land, patiently waiting for his master to be finished with his work. "Do you think he's a bad man?"
"O-of course not! How would he be a bad man?" Chi jumped to the defense of the man instantly.
"Now what if at night, he is secretly a thief, stealing money from all the people, and hurting them while doing so. Does that make him a really bad person?"
"W-well, he's hurting other people for money so he must be a bad person, right?" Chi didn't seem convinced with her own answer.
"But what if that man was really poor? Nobody wants to give him money, and even his work is barely enough for him to stay alive. Now, the man really likes his dog and wants to buy him food. But he has no money for that anymore. Do you think it's strange for him to try everything he can, including stealing money from other people just to keep the dog alive?"
"B-but, he could let someone else take care of the dog! Or maybe he could explain himself and get some money from people? He does not have to steal money..."
"But what if he already tried that? Nobody wants to give him money, and nobody wants to take care of his dog."
"Uhhhhh..." Chi was clearly frustrated because she didn't know the answer to that. Was it right or was it wrong? She seemed to be in deep thought trying to determine which of both the man was. "B-but, he is still wrong! After all, he's hurting other people! That can't be right, can it?"
Rose smiled gently at Chi. "Indeed. No matter his motivations, harming others is wrong." She paused for a moment, then continued. "But, do you think this man should be killed for his actions?"
"No way! I mean, his dog would be really really sad without him, right? Also, nobody wants to take care of him so he'd be left behind on his own, without any food..." Chi had a grim expression on her face after her realization.
Rose nodded. "That's why killing someone is never the answer. It only causes more sadness and despair."
"But that farmer was not a reeeeeeaaaally evil man. He just wanted to take care of his dog."
"I do not think really evil people exist. I believe everyone always has a reason for their actions. Someone or something they want to protect. Something they have lost and they're trying to find without thinking about the mess they're leaving behind. Or maybe someone who had stolen someone beloved from them and they're so sad, the only way they can be happy again is by getting revenge. We all have a human part in us, and sometimes the emotions it gives us are stronger than our brains and we do stupid things."
Rose took a deep breath.
"So there's no real evil people, Chi. There's only really sad, or really angry, or really hungry people who are hurting more than anyone around them can see. And it's our job to try to understand them, so we can fix wherever their problem originates from. If one person would've given the farmer a bread each day, he wouldn't have to steal anymore. So instead of taking lives, we should try to help those people regain their lives instead."
She went on for quite a while. Only when she was finally finished, she felt the small weight on her lap. Chi had laid her head down in the middle of their conversation without Rose being aware of it, and had dozed off. The soothing voice of Rose had slowly lulled her to sleep.
"Either way, it's not something you have to worry about. I won't let anyone destroy the happiness we have, I promise."
She kissed her little sister on the forehead, who in response made a small, happy noise. Rose smiled at her cute face and then stared out in the distance, enjoying the comforting silence around them. The two of them stayed like that for hours, hoping that moment would last forever.
Dec 20, year 230, late evening
A big pebble on the road forced Rose out of one of the only remaining memories she had. Some of the others around her had also woken up by the sudden impact, filling the air with a gloomy mood. Two carriages had departed earlier that morning with a total amount of twenty people, split in two groups of ten. The four friends she'd met the other day had joined the other carriage, which Rose had missed by a hair. Even in a small town the roads all looked the same to her bad navigational skills, because of which she had taken some wrong turns, slowing her down for almost half an hour. Luckily for her, the other carriage had waited for her, else she would've been stuck in that town for another week. The embarrassment Rose felt when nine faces were impatiently looking at her the moment she entered the carriage, still lingered in her chest.
In order to escape that feeling, she thought back at that memory. It was one of the precious ones she had left, traces of her past which refused to leave her mind even at the very end. Almost everything else in her memory was one black goop, impossible to search through. The only thing she knew for sure, was that she'd died. How she was still breathing and alive, she did not know. But the final images before her death were engraved in the deepest parts of her memory.
The whole world around her was on fire. Screaming voices were thundering through the air. A burning pain ripped through her chest, quickly spreading throughout all her veins. At the end, the sky slowly turned red, then purple, then black.
And then, nothing.
But luckily, that one precious memory kept the bad one away. Chi... Apparently she was her little sister, one she'd cared for very much. Even thinking about the name made a warm feeling well up in her chest. Rose wondered if she would be able to see her again soon. Especially after that letter she'd received. She could still clearly remember its contents:
"To Rose,
Master, I have received the word you are alive. I still cannot believe it, it is a miracle! Even after all that has happened, we can still have hope... I can still have hope... I am eternally grateful, Supreme God, for allowing my prayers to come true...
Sadly enough I have also heard you've lost your memories. Even though I would like to come over and reminiscence about all that's happened, I do currently not have the freedom to meet you, or even tell my own name. This was the condition I was given and breaking it would not only put your life at stake, but a lot of other people's. I will accept any punishment as you would please for my uselessness after this is all over.
I understand this must all be very confusing, suddenly receiving a letter from a stranger telling you this and that while you don't even have your memory. But I can only ask you to trust me, so I can help you regain not only the memories you've lost, but also the friends inside of them.
To that purpose, I am writing this first letter. There is someone I want you to find. You might remember her, and even if you do not, know that this person was very precious to you. Even more precious than your own life. That's what you would always tell me, and I have no reason to doubt that it's still the case. The girl you're looking for, goes by the name of 'Chi'. She's your little sister.
Rumor has it that she was spotted on her way to Vinclum, a city in the very south of the continent about halfway in between the borders of the kingdom and the end of the Human Realm. To get there, I advise you to take a carriage which departs in a small town above the Forest Of Mist. It's coordinates and name are engraved on the badge included in this envelope.
Be careful, my master. There have been a lot of ongoing disappearings in the area later, but some of my sources say it's more than that. There could be something sinister building up in the area, and that might be the reason why Chi finally came out of hiding after all this time. I know you will want to protect all of those around you, but please make sure you will be fine as well. Also, make sure not to use your name anywhere. It's dangerous since some people still have ill intent towards you. Please, master, I ask you, no, I beg you to keep this in mind as long as I'm not around to protect you. I cannot bear losing you a second time...
It seems like it's time to wrap this first letter up. But before that, I need to say one more thing.
Please, no matter what you remember, don't blame yourself. You did what you had to do, as we all did. The blame lies not on us, but the people who knowingly trampled over all our dreams for their selfish desires. Follow your heart, and I know for sure you'll make the right decisions.
May you be protected by the blessing of the Supreme God,
V."
Rose somehow knew that the sender of the letter was telling her the truth. A familiar feeling rose up when she read it the first time, as if she'd known the sender for many years. But no matter how hard she'd searched for it, no memory of that person had shown up yet. Since she didn't know where to go, she'd decided to follow the instructions in the letter. Which had brought her to the carriage, riding through the Forest of Mist towards its final destination: Vinclum.
The clouds above the forest slowly gathered, isolating the sunlight from the ground below. The humidity slowly rose and the temperature dropped, slowly transforming the forest into one big mist bank.
Nor the ten people inside the carriage, nor the driver had noticed the danger slowly closing in on them. Waiting for the perfect moment, it had followed them from the edge of the forest to the middle, where it had finally been given the perfect circumstances. A deep howl filled the forest, followed up by similar, distant howls. At long last, the hungry hunters were ready to catch their prey...
