Two more years passed.
The little girl was now thirteen years old.
The same age she was when Light had first seen her inside the auction house.
Yet the difference between the two versions of her was staggering.
The girl before him now was healthy.
Her body, though slim, was toned from years of relentless training. Her movements carried strength and balance completely absent from the frail child he had encountered earlier that day.
Only her eyes remained unchanged.
Those dull crimson eyes that reflected no light.
"Let's take a break."
The older woman lowered the wooden spear in her hand and exhaled softly.
Sweat covered both of their bodies after another brutal training session.
For the past several years, the girl's training had focused on two things above all else:
Her body.
And her senses.
Since she could not rely on sight, the woman had sharpened everything else to higher levels.
Hearing.
Touch.
Instinct.
Awareness.
Even Light found it absurd at times.
"One more try," the girl said stubbornly while wiping sweat from her forehead. "I can do it this time."
Hearing that, the woman paused.
Then a warm smile spread across her tired face.
"…Alright."
She nodded gently.
"One last try. Then we'll head home."
The girl immediately straightened up in excitement.
Soon, Light noticed what the training actually involved.
Not far away stood a crudely built wooden cage.
Inside were several rabbits.
The structure itself was rough and uneven, clearly handmade, but strong enough to keep the small creatures from escaping.
The woman walked toward the cage and crouched beside it.
"Remember," she said while grabbing one of the rabbits carefully, "if this one escapes, that means less food for us tonight."
The girl puffed her cheeks slightly.
"I know."
"Then do your best."
"I will," the girl replied immediately. "Today's definitely the day."
The woman laughed softly before tossing the rabbit several meters away.
Thud.
The rabbit hit the ground awkwardly before freezing in confusion.
Then—
It bolted.
A blur of brown fur shot through the dense forest at incredible speed.
At the exact same moment—
SWOOSH.
The girl disappeared after it.
Light barely had time to react before the invisible force binding him to her dragged him forward as well.
Wind rushed past him.
Branches blurred around him.
After several seconds, he finally caught sight of the chase.
The girl was pursuing the rabbit through the forest with terrifying focus.
Despite being blind, she navigated the terrain surprisingly well.
She ducked beneath branches.
Avoided large roots.
Adjusted direction based purely on sound.
But it still wasn't enough.
Several times she stumbled into thick bushes.
Once she crashed shoulder-first into a tree trunk hard enough to make Light wince.
And gradually—
The rabbit grew farther away.
Until finally—
It vanished completely.
The forest became silent.
The girl froze.
Then her body trembled violently.
"DAMMIT!"
Her scream echoed through the trees.
"Why?! Why can't I do it?!"
Tears streamed down her face as she dropped to her knees.
"No matter how much I train… I still can't do it!"
She slammed her fists against the dirt repeatedly.
"I can't! I can't! I can't!"
Light watched silently.
A painful tightness settled in his chest.
Because for the first time, he could truly feel her frustration.
The girl had trained for years.
Years.
Yet the one thing she desired most—
To move freely through the world like everyone else—
Remained forever out of reach.
The older woman approached slowly from behind.
But she didn't interrupt the girl's breakdown.
She simply stood there quietly, allowing her daughter to vent every ounce of frustration bottled inside her.
Eventually—
The sobbing stopped.
Only soft sniffles remained.
The woman quietly sat beside her daughter and leaned back against a nearby tree.
Above them, faint stars shimmered through gaps in the enormous canopy.
For several long moments, neither spoke.
Then softly—
"There's something I need to tell you, dear."
The girl immediately stiffened.
Slowly, she turned toward her mother's voice.
"What is it, Mama?"
Then quietly—
So quietly even Light almost missed it—
She whispered:
"…This should be enough."
"Mama?"
The girl tilted her head.
"You said something?"
The woman froze briefly before turning toward her daughter.
Her expression darkened slightly.
"Dear…"
Her voice carried an unfamiliar heaviness.
"There's something I need to tell you." she repeated
Something about her tone immediately felt wrong.
Even the girl sensed it.
"Tomorrow…"
The woman clenched her hands tightly.
"I have to leave this forest."
The girl blinked blankly.
Not fully understanding.
"Really?"
Excitement briefly appeared on her face.
"Does that mean we're finally going somewhere new?"
The woman's lips trembled.
Then—
"No."
The single word shattered everything.
"I'll be leaving alone."
Silence.
The girl's expression froze completely.
"…What?"
Slowly, panic began creeping into her voice.
"What do you mean alone?"
She stood abruptly.
"Mama…?"
Her breathing grew uneven.
"You're not leaving me here by myself, right?"
Realization finally began sinking in.
And with it—
Fear.
The woman's shoulders trembled slightly.
Still, she forced herself to continue.
"Listen to me carefully, dear."
Her voice shook despite her efforts.
"There's something I've been postponing since the day you were born."
She lowered her head slightly.
"And there's no avoiding it anymore."
Light's eyes narrowed.
The woman continued speaking.
"I've done everything I could to prepare you for your future."
Her voice carried both pride and heartbreak.
"In a few hours, a group of traders will pass through this part of the forest."
"You'll go with them."
The girl's face paled.
"They'll take you somewhere."
The woman paused briefly.
"It won't be easy."
A painful expression crossed her face.
"But you only need to endure it for one month."
"One month from now…"
Her gaze slowly lifted.
"You'll meet someone special."
"A boy around your age."
The moment those words left her mouth—
Something impossible happened.
The woman suddenly turned her head.
Directly toward Light.
Their eyes met, or at least he thought they did.
Light's entire body froze.
'…What?!'
For the briefest moment, Light suddenly remembered something.
Years ago, when the girl first began training, she had once asked her mother a question.
"Why don't you teach me how to use weapons?"
At the time, the woman's answer had surprised even him.
"As you are now, you can't properly learn how to wield a weapon."
The woman had tapped her crude spear lightly against the ground.
"But one day, you'll be ready."
Her gaze drifted toward the distant sky hidden beyond the giant trees.
"And when that day comes…"
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"You'll meet a far better teacher than I could ever be."
Back then, Light hadn't understood those words but now, he had, she knew he was here. The certainty sent chills down his spine.
'She's Awakened.'
There was no longer any doubt in his mind.
And suddenly, countless questions flooded him all at once.
Who exactly was this woman?
What was her blessing?
Why were both her name and the girl's name constantly muffled within these memories?
And most importantly—
How had the girl gone from this…
To the broken child inside the auction house?
Because now Light understood something clearly.
The girl had not been born a slave.
She had only become one recently.
Less than a month ago.
And somewhere during that month—
She had awakened her blessing.
Just like him.
His thoughts shattered instantly as the girl suddenly screamed.
"MAMA, DON'T LEAVE ME!"
Tears poured endlessly from her dull crimson eyes.
"You can't! You can't leave me!"
The woman immediately pulled her daughter into a tight embrace.
Her own body shaking violently.
Only after the girl's sobbing weakened slightly did she finally speak again.
"Listen to me, ******."
Her voice cracked.
"This is the only way."
"You only need to endure one month."
The woman held her daughter tighter.
"After that… you'll understand why I did this."
The girl continued crying uncontrollably.
"But Mama—"
"Do you think I want this?!"
For the first time—
The woman broke.
Her warm voice shattered completely beneath overwhelming emotion.
Tears streamed down her face endlessly.
The girl froze.
Because in all her thirteen years—
She had never once heard her mother cry.
"I know they'll treat you badly."
The woman's words came out trembling.
"I know you'll suffer."
Each sentence sounded like a knife twisting into her own heart.
"But this is the only way for you to truly be free."
She hugged her daughter desperately.
As though trying to memorize her warmth before losing it forever.
The girl slowly fell silent.
She didn't fully understand the world.
But she understood one thing.
Her mother would never hurt her without reason.
Everything she had endured until now proved that much.
Watching everything unfold from above, Light felt conflicted.
'So… in the end…'
The reason the girl became a slave—
Was because of her mother.
Of course, he understood there were larger forces at play.
The woman had practically confirmed it herself.
"One month from now, you'll meet a boy your age."
There was no doubt she meant him.
Still—
Knowing that didn't erase the bitterness in his chest.
The girl's current condition.
Her starvation.
Her fear.
All of it traced back to this decision.
Suddenly, the girl pushed herself free from her mother's embrace.
Stepping back slightly, she faced her with trembling determination.
"O-Okay…"
Her voice shook badly.
"I'll do it."
"One month, right?"
"If I last one month… I'll meet that person?"
Even now—
She was trying to act strong for her mother's sake.
The woman saw through it immediately.
But she still nodded.
"Yes."
Her voice barely remained steady.
"Tomorrow morning, a small caravan will pass nearby."
"They're heading toward a city."
"You'll travel with them to a nearby city," the woman continued softly.
The moment she said those words, her voice faltered.
"There… you will be sol—"
She stopped herself abruptly.
Her entire body trembled.
Light noticed it immediately.
The woman lowered her head for a brief moment before forcing herself to continue.
"...Taken to a place where people will ask you to do things you've never done before."
Each word sounded painfully forced.
As though she was desperately trying to soften a reality too cruel to say aloud.
"It's okay if you can't do those things," she whispered quickly. "Don't push yourself too hard."
Her hands tightened around her daughter's shoulders.
"And no matter what happens…"
Her voice shook again.
"Just remember you only need to endure it for one month."
Light remained silent.
But inwardly, his chest tightened.
Because he understood exactly what the woman had just done.
She couldn't say it.
She couldn't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth.
That she was about to be sold into slavery.
That she would spend the next month starving.
Terrified.
Alone.
So instead—
The woman disguised it with gentle words.
"A place where people will ask you to do things."
Light felt bitterness rise inside him.
Part of him wanted to hate the woman for this.
To hate her for throwing her own daughter into hell while hiding the ugliness behind comforting lies.
But when he looked at her trembling hands—
When he saw the way her lips quivered after nearly saying the word sold—
He couldn't.
Because it was obvious the woman herself was barely holding together.
This wasn't cruelty.
It was desperation.
The desperate choice of a mother cornered by something far beyond herself.
And perhaps…
Perhaps she believed this was kinder.
If the girl knew the truth beforehand—
Would these final moments together become nothing but fear?
Would her daughter spend the entire night terrified?
The woman probably couldn't bear that thought.
So instead, she chose to preserve what little innocence remained.
Even if only for a few more hours.
Light slowly lowered his gaze.
He remembered the frail girl trembling inside the auction cage.
The starvation.
The emptiness in her eyes.
Just one month.