Arthur Note: This story was originally designed with only 7 chapters plus the prologue and epilogue, but I broke it down to smaller chapters (ranges from 1200-2300 words per chapter) for an easier read.

The quick setting is this: The world they live in is very similar to modern times, but a bit in the future. Magical powers exist... so yeah. Well then, I hope you enjoy reading my story!

Prologue - Open the Story

The only people who are wandering the city are the police force and the assault squad. Everyone else is hiding in their homes or a nearby shelter. If anyone is found, they will be quickly escorted to the designated locations, away from the danger.

The officer running across the empty street is doing exactly that... Sort of.

He is carrying a small child in his arms. But what he is doing at the moment probably would not be called escorting a passing stranger; it is more like rescuing. The officer and his squad had found her gagged and bound.

He peeks at the girl. She has shoulder length, messy magenta hair that covers her face; but there are other features on this ten-year old girl which causes concern. Upon that girl's body were cuts and bruises, along with tattered clothes covered in blood stains.

He tucks her closer to his body. He is in charge of protecting her, and he is not planning to fail his mission. With only a flashlight and the few flickering lights to guide him in the night, he rushes toward the nearest shelter.

The girl is barely awake, mumbling quietly enough that the officer cannot hear her under his heavy breath. The girl's eyes close and she leans her head against the vest, feeling his warmth on her cold skin. This moment is one she wants to last; but that was something that just would not go the way she planned.

Unknown to the officer, this girl is called Ikaris. And the incident she finds herself in is not new. It's far-fetched to say she has grown acquainted to this, because she has gone through the motions before. She knows the officer will try to protect her. They only have the best interest, but the moment they ask questions, she will have to lie. She cannot tell them the truth, for that is the safest choice for her. The moment she is safe, she will slip into the shadows and disappear.

The next moment, she feels herself flying in the air. Ikaris opens her eyes. Her vision spins around quickly, her back falling toward the pavement. Just as she is about to hit the pavement, she sees the night sky through the gap left by the buildings around her. She hits the ground and tumbles for another half meter or so.

Her vision is blurry after crashing to the floor, but she knows something has happened. She sees the officer lying on the ground and notices him gripping his shin. A bloody wound, the size of a baseball, could be seen through the cloth. As her vision clears up, she makes out the object logged in his shin: a brick.

She hears a clink sound, followed by footsteps. At that moment, the silhouette of a man appears behind the officer. The left hand holds a blade, which scraped the walls as he walked.

"Pff- Claiming that I was a kidnapper is not going to work twice on me. It makes me sick knowing how you run around so carefree, and yet I have to live under the shadows. Next time, I'll do more to you then just tie you up."

The girl recognizes the voice, but she could not believe it. The voice belongs to a man known as Orin; the same person who is trying to kidnap her.

The officer reaches for his gun hoisted on his belt, but with this motion, a snap echoes and another brick appears through his arm. There is not enough time for his mind to understand what is happening. He is about to scream in pain, but he is not even given enough time for that.

A foot smashes his face to the ground.

"How annoying that I have to deal with these officers. But at least it's only leaves you."

The girl's eyes widen. The man approaches, twirling his switchblade in a fancy way, as if to show off, before tucking it in his back pocket.

His face is hidden in the darkness, but the girl sees the man. He is tall, twice the size of her and well-built for long battles with the perfect blend of strength and speed. He wears a hat, coat, and pants, all navy blue leather, which resembles much like an old explorer of ruins.

Ikaris gets up and runs, but -"GAAACCCCK!"

Her right leg is hot and in pain.

A sharp shard of glass pierces through her skin, nailed to the flesh of her leg. The heavy sound is not heard from her ear, but echoes through her entire body.

"I really don't want to have to do this all over again, so stay still for a second," Orin mutters, embracing his shoulders, as if worried about the cold.

At this moment, thousands of grape sized, blue orbs fly around Orin, coming from the ground, walls, and thin air. Their origin does not come from any one point, but their end does, three points around Orin. The process is fast, taking less than two seconds.

Standing to his left, his right, and behind Orin are what look like wolves, but they are not normal wolves. They are something unnatural, by sense and logic. These wolves have a blue glow around them with red eyes, and their body can be seen all the way through. They have a jelly like appearance and yet, their skin is as hard as steel.

"So, you resort to this again? Calling forth your hideous Unborns. You are truly a monster, girl," Orin says calmly, as if being surrounded by these creatures is normal for him.

The next thing she knows is that she hears a snap and the creatures vanish as quickly as they appeared, the sound of glass shattering on the ground following shortly.

She tries to pull herself away, but Orin closes in quickly. Ikaris' teeth clatter; her body will not stop shivering. Her breathing becomes more erratic.

Orin is now standing directly next to her. He rises his foot above the girl and, as if trying to squash a bug, drives the foot into her chest. He does not hold even the slightest hesitation as he keeps throwing his foot down repeatedly.

"Your mere existence is a curse on this world. You continue to travel from place to place, unleashing Unborns, and yet I am the villain because I have to stop you. You're nothing more than a complete monster."

Smash. Bash. Shock.

A thick sound occurs in succession.

Blood splatters on Orin's face.

Kicking continuously, until he is out of breath, Orin wipes his bloodied shoes against the wet pavement. Afterward, he bends lower, getting a closer view of the still breathing girl. As he raises his fingers to snap, his expression remains blank.

"I'll make sure you won't wake up aga-"

Orin's word are interrupted.

Something has happened. Something so unexpected that Orin could not react; but his expression slowly changes from shock to fury with every passing moment.

From Ikaris' view, she sees nothing wrong—but she feels something dripping onto her legs. It feels thicker than water.

Orin twists his head to see the offender, but his eyes are bloodshot with rage and his teeth grinding hard enough to cut through steel. Standing behind Orin is a person with a silver mask concealing his entire face, dressed in a ripped dark coat and wielding a long, silver spear, which he drives deeper into Orin's rib cage.

Orin clutches the spear with one hand, but in his position, he retreats from the masked figure to prevent the spear from piercing deeper into his body. The masked figure gives pursuit and. the moment the man steps over Ikaris' collapsed body, he shouts, "Run!"

Ikaris does not hesitate to question why this person is helping her. All she thinks is to follow his words and get as far away from Orin as possible.

No matter how painful it is, her body still worked. Orin had not disabled her on purpose, because she knew he had to keep her alive. Ikaris pulls herself up, using the wall as an aid. She pulls the shards out of her body—the wounds were not deep enough to kill her—and she makes her way out of the alley.

She hears unsettling noises behind her, and glances over her shoulder.

The masked figure is soaring two meters into the air and crashes to the wall. Orin is now alone with the spear still lodged in his back, stuck because of the bulletproof vest he wore underneath. With both hands, he reaches behind him.

"GAAAAAAAA!" Orin screams, pulling the spear out like a weed, ripping apart the skin around the wound.

He moves, weary for a brief second, but the moment he regains his senses, he glares at her direction. Spear in hand, he clutches it tightly as blood continued to fall.

Orin begins to toss the spear but at that instance, the masked figure tackles Orin. Their bodies crash against the ground, but it is too late. The spear is already homing towards the girl.

The girl swings her body to the side with all her remaining strength, losing her balance. The spear passes her, cutting through the tattered shirt and into the wall, shooting out debris and dust at impact. She turned her head away from the dust. As she does, she gets a glimpse of the masked figure brawling against Orin, tossing one fist after another.

Orin strikes the masked figure, while dodging each shot tossed at him. Her savior is taking a heavy beating, but each time he falls, he rises back up to challenge Orin. The skill gap between them are too immense, yet the person does not stay down. He keeps rushing in and attacking Orin, only to get beaten down again.

And finally, it becomes clear for Ikaris. The masked figure knows he cannot win. He already knows he cannot match up with Orin. He is taking these attacks so she can escape.

But it is all in vain because she will not leave. Her body will not allow her to leave knowing what is happening. Every inch of her body wants to run back and help her savior, yet there is nothing she can do. She is useless in this situation.

She bites her lips and shuts her eyes.

Deep in her gut, she knows it is wrong to do this. Her heart aches with every passing second, but her mind is telling her differently. What is most important is to live. That is the only thing that keeps ringing in her thoughts. If she does not look, she will not have to regret it. If she ignores the sound, it does not exist.

Her savior had told her to run and that is what she would do. That is all she could do at the moment. That is the only way she could help him.

Ikaris pulls herself out of the place with every ounce of strength she had left in her body. She drags her body away slowly. Before long, she can only hear her footsteps echoing in the night. She does not know how far she has walked or for how long. The only thing she knows is that she cannot hear the fighting anymore.

Blood is all over her body, and she can hardly keep her eyes open from sheer exhaustion and pain. Her body wants to collapse at the spot and rest, yet she cannot allow this. Though, with each step, her vision darkens. Her body begins to shut down. Her legs buckle and the ground approaches her face at amazing speeds. Whether she liked it or not, this is her resting place for the night.