"This is it." The muscular figure took a step forward, unsheathing his blades. He caused his target to step back, closer to the edge of the cliff. "This is where it ends. Greet my father for me, will you?"

His heart raced in his chest, getting faster and faster as time wore on. There was nowhere to run. He took another half-step back, to feel the edge of the earth crumble underneath him. It was clear that he was about to die.

At least, this is what he told himself as he plummeted down, deep into the cliffside.

Prologue: How it all Began...

Cold gripped the dark forest like a kiss from a lover, threatening to never let go. Snow covered everything; the sharp needles of a pine tree, the grass, growing ever longer each year, and the ground, which showed no sign of any living being ever crossing its path. Snowflakes fell from the sky, falling so thickly that it was nearly impossible for a creature to pass through without losing complete sense of direction. Indeed, the forest had a lonely yet taunting look to it, tempting any lost traveler to continue walking into the shadows it casted... Except there were no lost travelers, nor would there ever be. This was the Cursed Forest, a place which lurked in the hearts of the Forgotten.

However, somewhere in the unknown, a child's wail broke the eerie silence of the forest. "Hush now, little one. Everything is going to be fine. Have faith in me, and I will protect you." Again, everything was quiet.

Step by step, a young girl got closer to the town ahead, her feet making little to no sound as they sank into the snow. Perhaps it was the gentle way she spoke, or her gentle appearance that made her seem so calm. Whatever it was, nothing could mask the pureness of her soul, or the soul of the baby she was holding. "Do not worry, young child. Food and shelter are just up ahead."

When was she ever wrong? Small wooden buildings started to appear in the distance, just as she had predicted. Not that it mattered. At least, it wasn't really important for this particular girl. The frail child in her arms started to cry again. With a sigh, she gave up on trying to make the child stay quiet and started to walk down the steep slope that led to the Forgotten City.

An old, rotten sign arched above the child and the girl, which meant that they had successfully reached their destination. The sign creaked slightly in the wind, threatening to come crashing down at any moment. If there had been words painted on the hard surface, they weren't there now; all that remained was the sign itself, along with a number of scratches sloppily carved into the wood. The end of the girl's plain white dress flowed back behind her as she stepped into the city and glided towards the main road.

At first, the town was silent, and the people went about their own business. It was only natural, though, that the civilians would start to mutter among themselves as the light-footed girl continued down the street. Confusion filled the eyes of those who stared. The murmurings started to get louder and louder, until they formed into a roaring mob. "CURSE! IT IS A-A CURSE! THAT... THAT THING..." Even the roars started to increase volume as more people joined in. Only a few remained where they were, but they still glanced at the child nervously.

The moon, full in the sky, shone down on the child's face; the girl adjusted the tattered blanket to shield him-or her-from the intensity of both the light of the moon and the stares of the curious. "There are far more people here than I thought there would be." She lifted a hand towards the child's face, brushing the hair out of its eyes. The youngling appeared to be asleep...

Many more minutes passed before the two of them arrived at the place they wanted to be at. Still ignoring the townspeople around her, she walked up a staircase of marble steps, the cold mineral pressing against her bare feet and stealing any body heat that the seemingly insane female might have had left. Of course, if she had any left at all. She came to a complete stop at a wooden door, then raised her knuckle to tap the door once, twice. A servant opened the door, surprise and respect evident in his voice as he said, "Oh. Hello, Miss. It has been a while, oh, yes it has." His feet scuffled on the ground, and he continued in a rather timid voice, "Th-this way, Madam, if you would. He is expecting you, oh, yes he is..." the servant's -wasn't his name Sebastian?- turned and walked down a long hallway, the two visitors right behind him.

The female with the child in her arms stepped into a candlelit room, her blank eyes motionless. A man with light gray hair sat at a desk at the center of the decent-sized space, a large glass window behind him. A single candle sat on the desk, glowing faintly. The man's hand darted across a sheet of paper, holding a white quill. He stuck the tip of the pen into a small jar of ink as he heard the door open, then close again. Letting go of the quill, he looked up, the light catching his face. The middle-aged man visibly relaxed as the girl came within his sight. "Karuna." With a smile, he stood up, chair scraping against the ground. "Welcome."

Karuna stepped deeper into the room. "Mayor. Mr. Meyers. Charles. Whatever it is that you like to be called." She placed the child on his desk. "This is the last one. Now it begins."

Charles's eyes widened slightly, a glint of panic in his eyes. Taking the baby in his arms, he pushed his chair into his table and walked across the room. Karuna didn't need to see to know what the man was feeling; but she stayed silent and followed.

Mr. Meyers opened a large wooden door at the side of the room, creaking softly. The silence continued on; Karuna let the mayor gather his thoughts, whom was searching desperately for something to say, something that could get him out of this.

"Do not worry." Her voice had a gentle tone to it as she continued, "Whatever happens tonight will happen for a reason."

The air brushed Karuna's face as Charles whipped his head around to stare at her. "But... is it right? They are just young children. Some were just born less than a week ago. It just seems... vulgar, to end their lives at such a young age."

Karuna let out a soft laugh. "Do you truly believe that I would slaughter innocent infants? No, Charles, there is a much bigger picture here. I am merely playing my part, as meaningless as it may seem." The girl tucked her hair behind one ear, lost in thought. "Even you play a role in this, whether you realize it or not."

His astonishment was apparent in the mayor's voice as he replied, "But surely the entire point of this mission was to kill them all? They are too dangerous to be kept alive." The astonishment slowly started to turn to panic as he continued. "No... they must die! All of them!" Foam was starting to gather at the corners of his mouth, spittle flying through the air. "I will not have it. I won't! They-they-"

But the girl did not appear to be listening; her gaze seemed to be fixed on something in the distance. She walked past the angry man, into a room full of cradles. They were the very nice kind. They were made of oak, rather than the more basic and less stable hickory. 'Stop.'A voice appeared in the back of her mind. Calming, but annoying all the same. 'If you walk any farther, you will tip the cradle over, and possibly harm the life inside.'Indeed, these cradles were not empty. Each one held a small child, seemingly harmless. They were all sleeping so peacefully, and it would be a shame to wake them up.

"Karuna? Karuna! Are you listening to me?!" Mr. Meyers spoke in a loud whisper, harsh and angry. "If what you have told me is true, then you will condemn us all by keeping these children alive! They will be our downfall."

Karuna turned angrily to face the man. For once her face showed true emotion; her expression wasn't as emotionless as usual. "Would you be the one to condemn themto hell, Charles?" Her voice seethed with anger. "Fear and greed can turn even the kindest of men into a monster. We are not the ones to decide their face; they have the right to choose for themselves. Life over death." Her eyes closed momentarily, and when she opened them again, they were filled with hard determination. "Some of them will bring disaster to the town. Others will bring hope. Or maybe every single one of them will destroy us, in the end. But we don't know. The only thing we can do is set their paths in motion. We do not have a choice in the matter, for if we do not try, everything will have been lost anyways."

Moonlight shafted into the nursery through multiple windows, the beams shining at her from all sides. Karuna's white hair received a bit of a glow to it, and silver reflected off of her skin. The marble floor reflected the light back towards the sky. Even though it was the middle of the night, the night sky seemed very bright

Charles just stood there for a moment, his jaw gaping in shock. "But... it is your duty to protect the town from things like th-"

"All right, then, Mr. Meyers. I'm fine with it. Kill them." From the inside of her sleeve, she drew a dagger. She handed it to him slowly. "You can go ahead. But you have to be the one who kills them. Every single one of them. Their blood is on yourhands."

The man went silent at this, eying
the dagger nervously. After a few moments, he looked down at his feet, muttering to himself. Finally, he mumbled something that sounded like, "D***you, Karuna. You know me too well. I... I can't do it."

A small smile on her face, Karuna replied, "I know." Switching her eyes to the cradles, the blade disappeared, probably back into her sleeve. "Now, for the ritual. Tell your men to take the children into that room you showed me earlier."

Two hours later, everything was set up. They were in a windowless room, the walls and floor made completely out of wood. Charles and Karuna were in there alone, except for the children, whom were all placed in a circle. The mayor made one final attempt to change her mind. "Are you sure? The consequences will be brutal."

"We have much more to gain than we have to lose. As I mentioned earlier, we do not have a choice, anyways."

Resigned with the fact that they were going through with this, he stepped back, arms folded across his chest. "Very well, then," he sighed, closing his eyes. "You may begin."

Karuna gave a small nod, then walked forward, into the center of the circle. Then she sat down, crossing her legs as she did so. "So it begins..." she murmured, then started to chant.

Her voice was soft and gentle as she sang. "Ring around the rosies..."A paradox circle started to form around the children, a star in the middle, its tips meeting at the rim. A silver ball of light started to bounce between each child, running along the lines of the star, sometimes venturing off of the pattern to reach a different body. "Pocket full of posies..."Now Karuna started to shimmer from the strange power, white and light gray streaking her hair and falling onto her eyelashes like dust. "Ashes to ashes, we all... fall ...down."

The candles all blew out at once, and the room grew deathly cold. Even the children were silent. Perhaps they had fallen asleep. Each one now seemed... different, in a way. Charles was just standing there; though his face was emotionless, he must have been facing turmoil inside. "Take them away. Back to their families."

Karuna sat in silence as the bundles of blankets were taken out of the room by the mayor's servants. Standing up slowly, she rushed off her dress, flecks of the sparkling dust falling out of her hair. "It is done." A breath escaped her lips. It could have been a sigh, or just a normal breath.

Without a word, Karuna turned and walked out into the cold night snow.