A small hut sat at the edge of the Land of Grass. The roof creaked softly whenever the wind passed through the wood. There were no other houses near them. The only thing you could see was tall trees and grass wherever your eye could reach.
A woman sat near the corner of the room.
Her long hair was slightly messy, tied loosely behind her shoulders. Bandages wrapped around her arms. She had bright red haired which now seemed to be turning white slowly. At only 30, she looked like a woman who had seen far too much already to survive.. Her body was covered in bite marks.
She stared at her hands for a long time.
Not at anything in particular.
Just… thinking.
From the other side of the hut, soft footsteps could be heard.
A child moved carefully across the wooden floor, trying not to make noise. He stopped near the doorway, watching her without speaking.
The woman noticed him immediately, but she didn't look him in the eye
"…You're awake early," she said softly.
Then a quiet voice:
"I couldn't sleep."
The woman finally turned her head slightly. Her eyes softened when she saw him standing there. He looked too innocent for this world.
"Bad dreams?" she asked.
The boy hesitated, then shook his head once.
"No."
That was all.
He stepped closer, without any hesitation, and embraced his mother in his small arms
Outside, the wind pushed against the hut again. The walls creaked faintly.
The woman looked away for a moment, her gaze lowering to the floor.
There was something unspoken between them, something that had been growing for a long time, filling the spaces in their lives.
The boy saw it all.
The way she held herself was slightly different now.
The way her mother returned every time was limping and in extreme pain.
He didn't understand it completely.
But he understood enough.
"…Are you tired again?" he asked quietly.
A small silence followed.
Then she smiled.
A mocking smile, perhaps
More like something she remembered how to do.
"A little," she admitted.
The boy nodded once, .
He sat down near the doorway, looking outside instead of at her. The grass swayed gently beyond the hut, endless and quiet.
After a while, he spoke again.
"Why did we come here?"
The question hung in the air.
The woman didn't answer immediately.
Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her sleeve.
"…Because I trusted your father," she finally said.
The boy didn't respond, but his eyes lowered slightly.
An understanding forming too early for his age.
The silence fell, but soon a baby's cry broke it.
"Ah, it seems little Erza is awake; maybe she is hungry."
Then the women stood up and left the boy all alone.
The boy stayed seated near the doorway.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then the door sound was heard.
It was burst open as usual.
The boy didn't turn immediately.
He already knew who it was.
Heavy footsteps followed.
A man's voice came from behind.
"You're here"
The boy slowly turned his head.
A man stood near the entrance.
A man who has a slightly aged face and a grass symbol headband on his head. His posture was relaxed, like he belonged everywhere he stood. His eyes moved across the hut slowly.
Finally, his gaze landed on the boy.
"…Still as disgusting as always", the man said.
The hatred in his words said it all
The boy didn't answer.
Then silence..
Outside, the wind moved through the grass, brushing against the hut like nothing was wrong in the world..
The man stepped further inside.
His eyes shifted briefly toward the back room where the baby had cried earlier.
"Good," he murmured. "At least there's still the girl..."
The boy's fingers tightened slightly against the floor.
He didn't realise why.
The man noticed the movement.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"My my, you disgusting piece of shit.
He walked past the boy as if he were just another piece of furniture in the room.
Then he stopped near the centre.
"…You resemble her more than I expected," the man added, "and that's it."
A pause.
Then, quieter:
"But you'll understand soon enough. Everything here has a purpose."
The word purpose had a meaning too deep for the young boy.
The boy finally spoke.
"…What purpose?"
The man didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he glanced toward the back room again.
A grin spread on his face
Then
Footsteps returned.
The woman appeared in the doorway, holding the baby wrapped in cloth. Her expression changed the moment she saw the man.
"You're back early," she said softly.
The man nodded.
"There was no need to stay out longer."
His eyes shifted to her arms for a moment
"…You've got more work to do, and you are still not recovered," he said.
She didn't respond.
The boy looked between them.
The man stepped closer to the woman.
His voice lowered.
"You know the agreement."
A long silence followed.
The woman tightened her hold on the baby.
"…I know," she said.
Only that.
The boy's eyes moved slightly.
Agreement.
The word didn't feel like something normal.
The man finally looked at the baby properly.
A faint, creepy smile spread on his face.
Then he turned away.
"Good," he said. "Then everything continues as planned."
He paused at the doorway.
Before leaving, he glanced back once at the boy.
"…Make sure he stays at home. The man added, "his face is already very disgusting."
And then he left.
The door closed behind him.
Like nothing had happened at all.
Silence returned to the hut.
But it was no longer the same peaceful anymore....
The woman stood still, holding the baby.
The boy remained seated near the doorway.
And for the first time,
he didn't feel like he was simply inside a home.
He felt like he was inside something he didn't yet understand.
Outside, the wind kept moving through the grass.
But inside the hut, nothing felt like it belonged to them anymore.
Messy dark hair fell over his forehead, barely covering the strange red birthmark that stretched across the left side of it like frozen flames. His clothes were simple and worn, and his pale skin showed how rarely he left his home....
Ouroboros.....