Moonlight filtered through the cracked wooden walls of the house, teetering at the edge of the alley.
The pale glow fell directly through the window onto a woman whose head rested on the bed. Her red crimson hair splattered on the bed, even on her face, appearing vibrant and glowing in the moonlight, contrasting with the white sheets beneath her.
She sat leaned against it, sleeping peacefully. Her eyelids twitched slightly at the subtle light brushing her face, yet there was no sign of her waking soon—as if the long day of pain, prayers, and grief had drained her completely, plunging her into a deep, undisturbed sleep.
"She's just as strong as you, husband," murmured the older woman, who could still remember collapsing—losing consciousness the moment she saw her children rushing toward her through the dining table, her vision fading into darkness from the floor upward.
Now, she gazed at her daughter sleeping quietly. After waking up and now seated, even with her weak body, she knew how much she was making her children suffer due to her.
'Hm?' She suddenly noticed her daughter's eye twitching from the light falling on her face, causing her to slowly lift her hand, stretching it toward the window, letting its shadow fall across her daughter's face—to shield her from the moonlight's glow.
It was gentle, physical light—but not the kind that could heal the wounds or brighten what remained dark inside their hearts and lives.
"Mmnh…" Astara stirred, not because she was disturbed by some noise but because she was sharp to sense outside things.
It was just that her single hope in dreams had vanished...
That pale moonlight, which had become the reason for her eyes to subtly twitch, had been offering her great comfort—a sliver of hope in the form of bright light in the dark tunnel of her nightmare.
But now that it was blocked, her eyes blinked open slowly.
Drowsy, her gaze wandered until it met her mother's, who looked back at her—caught in an awkward moment, as if worried she'd woken her by accident when all she had wanted was to shield her from the light.
"MOTHER!" Astara lurched forward, her arms wrapping tightly around her.
Her eyes widened, but she squeezed them shut, refusing to let the tears fall.
For so long, she had been waiting... looking outside toward the sunlight, which turned orange from yellow and then finally vanished, wishing for the darkness within her life to pass... for the inevitable to not happen today... for some sign that the world hadn't collapsed completely.
And now, when the darkness outside arrived, it brightened the darkness within their lives—something that was ironic in a way, yet something that she yearned for all day today.
"Oh, my, Astara, so this is why Sam was fearing you... you are strong." Astara's mother clearly felt suffocated by that sudden tight hug, but she couldn't ruin her daughter's excitement by saying it out loud.
So she tried to be as gentle as possible and even went as far as to suppress her discomfort, using her hand to hug her back as she lifted them a bit.
"Whaaa—!—sorry, Mom!" Astara, swiftly realizing her mistake, grabbed her mother's shoulder and retreated clearly, feeling embarrassed for acting like a child.
But as she did, she saw her mother's hands stuck in mid-air as if she were trying to hug her back, but she just ruined even that, causing her voice to fidget slightly as she let the words come out stammering, "Wait, I don't..."
"Pfft, hahaha, your nose always gets red like your eyes whenever you try to hide your tears, child." The woman couldn't help but laugh, feeling the warmth of that moment and also that particular trait which was definitely passed down to her daughter from her father, who also possessed slightly red hair and had that strange moment when his nose used to get red whenever he tried to act tough and hide his tears just to look brave in front of his wife.
Seeing the same thing in her daughter made her feel that he was still alive between them... in their daughter.
"Come on, Mother, you can't tease me like that." Astara's words didn't match her expression as she avoided her gaze, folding her arms as if showing her slight anger.
Clearly, her eyes glanced at her mother, who just laughed at her antics, making all the pain of the day turn swiftly into relief—a relief that made her mind calm a bit.
Until—
"By the way, where is Cruxy?" Her mother noticed that her younger child was not present. Looking around the room, given that normally he was the first one she might find holding his tears back, seated in the corner while looking at her, clearing his tears off before they could fall. But now he was absent.
"Hm? Has he not come yet?" Astara just slowly stood from her seat, turning as she arrived at the door of the room before realizing that indeed until she fell asleep, she thought maybe he would come.
But yet the night had arrived, and there were no signs of him. Thinking that maybe he was downstairs, she called out.
"Lil bro, are you there?"
But her voice met with the empty ground floor with no one except the grasshoppers and the night insects' sound reaching her in a way that seemed to make her heart suspicious a bit.
Though she didn't panic given it was not the first time that little guy had come late, but it was not often, making her slightly suspicious.
"Where is he? Has he not come yet? Don't tell me he went alone on that mount—" Astara's mother, clearly worried about her child, tried to stand up from the bed, removing the sheet as she looked towards the door. Simply, the night's silence was sinking in her heart, with her eyes showing the signs of tremble.
"Wait, Mom, don't stand. He will come soon. He might be—" Astara hurriedly moved to help her mother, and she did, balancing herself to not stand up from the bed.
But her words, which were meant to soothe her, to tell her mother that everything was safe and her brother would soon arrive, were cut off by a sudden sharp sound of drums beating.
BAM BAM BAM BAM
Instantly causing both her and her mother's heart to clench tight as their ears perked up.
Given this was the warning signal installed by the town mayor in case of emergency, something that was not auspicious at all, especially given the absence of one member in the house; the drum beating just synced within their hearts like terror.
And that terror became truth when an announcement from a voice, manly yet panicked, shocked yet firm, and stammering yet bold resonated throughout the place, alerting everyone by using all the air stored in his lungs.
"EVERYONE, THE SOLDIERS FROM THE ROWLIE EMPIRE HAVE ATTACKED US! DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSES! THEY HAVE KILLED EVERYONE IN THE HERB MARKET!"