[??? POV]
I am not the same as them...
Those were the words I heard from the inhabitants of the village where I was born and lived. They thought everyone was hurt because I intentionally harmed them. However, there was never a single thought in my mind to do evil to the other children, even though their treatment of me was quite cruel.
It made no sense for me who wanted so badly to play with other children to do bad things to them. That would only make the others avoid me even more if I truly intended to harm them.
"I'm home, Runa."
I heard the voice of a man entering my house. However, I did not reply to his words.
He then saw me and walked over. "You look so gloomy like that; are the other children avoiding you again?"
I only nodded slowly in response to his words.
"I'm sorry Father cannot be by your side when you are going through hard times, Runa," he said, sounding regretful as he stroked my hair.
This was not Father's fault; he had to work from morning until night in the nearest City just so the two of us could eat until full. It's just... I am very lonely here, and the other children have never accepted me since I recovered from my illness.
Since Mama died when I was very small, I have always lived alone here until Father returns. Sometimes I go with the other children just so I won't be lonely.
"To cheer you up, I brought something," said Father, taking an object out of the leather pouch he carried.
In his hand was a yellow duck doll.
"Uwahh... how cute..." I took the doll from Father's hand. "Did Father buy it from Joker the Ugly?" I asked him.
"That's right; he was still here this afternoon when I came home from work," Father answered.
Joker is a man who lately often comes to the village to sell various handicrafts like dolls, statues, and objects made of clay. He always wears a mask that covers his face. When the villagers ask why he always wears it, he only answers, 'I am ashamed of the burn scars on my face.' He also told the residents that he didn't want his ugly face to make us uncomfortable.
I have spoken with him often these past few days. Talking to him is very exciting; he always tells stories about his adventures here and there as a merchant, visiting amazing places and meeting all sorts of different people.
At night, I played with the doll Father gave me. I gave it the name Luna—a name almost the same as mine. This is because, for some reason, I can see myself in this duck doll. She is all alone, has no friends, and her face looks gloomy.
"I have an idea! Tomorrow I will ask Joker to make a partner for Luna so she doesn't feel lonely, hehe..."
Thinking about that, I hugged Luna then closed my eyes to sleep in my comfortable and soft bed.
The next morning, Father suddenly had a mysterious man as a guest. It was seen he wore a strange mask similar to the one Joker wore. Was he one of that merchant's acquaintances?
The two of them talked about something I didn't understand, like magic, Temples, and Inquisitors. Many words coming from that mysterious man sounded foreign to me. That mysterious man then glanced toward me; the gaze of his eyes seen through the two holes in the mask made me afraid.
After the man left, Father then said goodbye to go work in the City. As usual, I am alone again here. Joker will only come later in the afternoon, so I have no choice but to spend my time playing with Luna.
I then brought her to the river; don't ducks really love playing in the river?
However, when I arrived there, I saw the other children playing in the water. They all looked happy and laughed while splashing each other's clothes. I was so jealous... I also wanted to laugh and play with the others like that.
But this time I have Luna; we already promised to play together in the place Luna likes best. I walked away from those children and tried to place Luna on the river water. She then floated and swam, following the water's current. I ran chasing her along the riverbank; it seemed she wanted to invite me to a race to see who was faster.
— Brak!
Suddenly I hit something; my head hurt very much and my body fell to the ground, making my clothes dirty.
"You freak! Do you not have eyes!"
Suddenly I heard someone shouting; he was the boy who yesterday told me to stay away from the other children.
"S-sorry! I didn't mean to hit you! I was just too excited chasing Luna!" I bowed my head as a gesture of regret for my actions.
"Huh, Luna? Do you mean this ugly duck doll?"
I looked at another boy; it was seen he was holding Luna—the doll Father gave me.
"I beg you... give Luna back to me..." I said, staring at the boy.
"Cih, a weirdo like you doesn't deserve to be happy! You should suffer just like how you burned Perun's hand!" the boy exclaimed.
Those words again... I hated it.
"Give it back! Give it back right now!" I screamed as loud as I could.
However, even though I had asked several times, the boy instead tore Luna into pieces and then threw her into the mud, stomping on her until she no longer looked like a cute duck.
I hate you all...
I hope you all disappear from this world...
I want you to feel the pain I feel because of your words...
"Aggghhh! It hurts! My hand! My hand!"
That's right... Scream! Scream louder!
"Motherrr! My eyes sting! No!"
This is fun... Seeing those who were mean to me suffer is very fun...
"What is this!? Why is your skin blistering, Remus!"
Ah... the parents of those animal-children have arrived.
"It was her! That freak hurt all of us again!" the boy shouted while crying.
"That's enough! I will report to the Priest and ask him to call the Inquisitors here!" said that boy's parent. "I am sure you are a devil's incarnation that the Priest always talks about!"
They all left me here alone. I... don't care anymore... There is not a single person who wants to accept my existence in this world... There will be no place where I will be happy in this life...
Several hours passed after the incident near the river.
Currently, I am in front of the warehouse Joker usually uses for selling; I am waiting for him to come to ask him to fix Luna, who is currently severely damaged, torn and stomped by that boy. This place is very quiet, far from the center of the village inhabited by those half-animal humans.
It's more comfortable here; there is only me, nature, and Joker.
"Hey Little Girl, what are you doing here while the shop is closed?"
I heard a familiar voice from behind. Turning around, I saw a man with white hair, green eyes, and wearing a black mask covering the eye and nose area.
"Joker! You finally came!"
I wanted to hug him, but my clothes were dirty from playing by the riverbank earlier.
"Sorry, there were some matters outside that made me late returning," Joker said while opening the warehouse door. "Come in first."
The two of us entered the warehouse; many goods and dolls were seen stored in here.
"So, what do you need from me, Runa?" Joker asked.
I then showed him Luna, who was severely damaged and dirty because of those children's actions.
"You want me to fix this?" he asked back.
I only nodded in response to his question. Joker then took Luna and put her on a shelf. "I will fix her tonight; is there anything else I can help with, Runa?"
I wanted to ask him this... but I was afraid Joker—the only person I could talk to—would avoid me too. However, I didn't want Joker's kindness to me to be just fake kindness or merely a sense of pity.
"Hey, Joker... why are you not afraid of me like the other villagers?" I asked him. "You surely heard from the other residents, right? I often hurt other children and to be honest, I'm starting to enjoy seeing them scream in pain."
I am different from them; I finally realized this when I saw those children in pain and enjoyed their suffering.
"I am different from the others, Joker." I then walked over to him and touched his palm. "I am a monster who doesn't deserve to be with ordinary humans like them."
Smoke began to come out from Joker's palm that I touched. However, why did he not feel any pain at all? What happened?
"You seem confused, Runa," Joker said, smiling at my reaction. "I am using an Unreality Field, which can negate the effects of magic that my body receives up to a certain level."
Magic? I think I've heard that term. Isn't magic a phenomenon where someone can create a miracle?
"Follow me for a moment, Runa."
I then followed Joker, walking behind him. Not long after, we arrived at the river on the outskirts of the village.
"Runa, do you want to know why you are avoided here?" Joker asked me.
"Unn..." I only nodded my head, answering his question.
"Alright, I will tell you a story about an ugly duckling..."
When Joker said that, suddenly the water in the river formed a mother duck that was swimming. My eyes opened wide seeing this miracle.
"Once upon a time, there was a mother duck who was about to lay eggs..."
The eggs from the mother duck then hatched, showing small ducklings swimming after their mother. However, there was one larger egg that had not yet hatched. The mother then waited for a while until the egg was born. But when that egg hatched, it was seen that the duckling that came out had a shape slightly different from the others.
This duckling was then insulted as ugly because it had a strange shape and was avoided by its other siblings.
"Look at you! You aren't even the same as us!"
"Your shape is very strange and your color is not like ours! You are so ugly!"
The strange duckling could only watch from a distance as its family left it alone in the wild. Loneliness, fear, and hunger the strange duck felt without any help from its other family members.
"He is just like me..." I muttered sadly, hearing the tale of the Duckling told by Joker.
As the duckling wandered in the wild, he saw a group of winged, long-necked creatures talking to each other and showing affection to one another. Seeing this, the duckling felt very jealous of that group; he wanted to be part of them and remove the loneliness he had experienced all this time.
I... also feel the same as that duck... I want to have friends like the others... have fun with them... without being called 'the Freak'.
Before I knew it, tears began to flow down my cheeks.
However, suddenly the winged creatures approached the duckling. One then invited the duckling to gather with them.
"Why do you want me? Am I not ugly? Am I not strange!?" Joker exclaimed while acting out what the duckling felt.
"Hahahaha! You are not strange at all! You are just like us! Look at yourself in this clear water!" Joker said, acting out the voice of the creature that approached the duckling with a different voice.
The duckling did what the creature ordered. He looked shocked when he found out he had the same shape, appearance, and color as the creature that approached him.
"You are a swan, just like us!"
All this time, the duckling did not know at all that he was a swan, which was clearly different from the other ducks he considered family before. So it became natural why the other ducklings often avoided and insulted him as strange.
"Come, let's gather with the others!"
The duckling then flapped its wings and flew toward the flock of swans with a very happy face. It seemed he was very happy to have found a place that accepted his existence. He began to chat and play with those swans.
The flock of swans then began to fly away, leaving the river area. However, the duck did not fly following them, but instead flew here to where I was on the riverbank. When the duck made of water was right in front of me, it then began to change, forming an ice mirror that showed a figure of a blonde-haired girl with red eyes.
The reflection in the ice mirror was me...
Realizing what Joker wanted to convey from this story, I clenched my hands to hold back the emotions overflowing in my heart.
Could I find happiness like that duck?
Is there anyone else out there who cares about my existence?
Are there other children who are the same as me, this strange one?
Was I a swan all along and not a duck at all?
"Joker..." I called, turning to look at him. "Are there children out there who are the same as me?"
The masked man then smiled and stroked my hair. "Of course, Runa. If you want, I can introduce you to them."
"I want to! I want to be with children who are the same as me! I don't want to keep feeling lonely and insulted like this!" My tears flowed uncontrollably, unable to hold back my uncontrolled emotions.
"Alright, Runa. I will take you to the friends who are already waiting for you there."
However, I only realized it after calming down for some time. The river water behind me looked like it was emitting smoke, as if boiling, and Joker's body was also emitting a lot of smoke.
"It's okay, Runa. In the place where your friends are, we will teach you to control this power of yours."
***
[Raul's POV]
After escorting Runa home and talking with her Father regarding moving Runa to our orphanage, I hurried back to the warehouse where I met that girl earlier.
I immediately took off the gloves and clothes I was wearing. It was seen that my skin had suffered quite severe burn wounds from being near Runa when her emotions were unstable earlier.
"The magic Runa releases can even penetrate the Unreality Field if I'm near her for too long..."
We must quickly make Runa control her power. If not, then she will die because her body is unable to withstand the massive amount of mana from the magic she releases without control.