Hope

This world had already taken everything from her. This—this was the last thing she had. And now, even that was gone.

 That night, as she lay broken on the cold floor

 As she looked up from the depths of the chamber, she could see the sky.

 The chamber was buried deep underground, yet through the opening above, the vast night stretched endlessly.

 The scenes from the book she had once read flashed through her mind—of a world beyond confinement. She couldn’t bear it anymore. She longed to be there, to escape this prison.

 “If I can climb up there… maybe I can finally be free.”

 It was the dead of night, and the chamber—situated at the outskirts of the demon realm was left unguarded. This was her chance.”

With a deep breath, she reached for the rough stone wall, her fingers aching as she pulled herself up. Her arms shook, her whole body sore from all the beatings, but she refused to stop. She had to keep going.

 Then—her grip failed.

 She slipped.

 Her body hit the ground hard, pain exploding through her limbs. For a moment, she lay there, struggling to breathe, her vision blurred. Everything hurt. Every bruise, every wound burned, screaming at her to give up.

 But she wouldn’t.

 With a shaky breath, she pushed herself up again, her hands raw and bleeding as she gripped the stone. One pull at a time, she climbed. The higher she went, the heavier her body felt, but she forced herself to move. She had come too far to stop now.

 Then—her fingers found the edge.

 Summoning every last ounce of strength, she pulled herself up. 

And finally, she made it. She reached the top.

 The cold night air embraced her, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she breathed freely. Above her, the sky stretched infinitely, stars twinkling like distant dreams.

  She took a deep breath—sharp and unsteady, but real. It was the first breath she had taken as a free person.

 Then, she ran.

 She didn’t look back. Not even once. There was nothing behind her but pain, nothing worth remembering. She had spent too long in that place, too long suffering. She refused to waste another second.

 Her legs ached, her body was covered in bruises, but she didn’t care. She pushed forward with everything she had. The wind stung her skin, her heart pounded in her chest, and still, she ran. Faster and even more Faster Because stopping meant hesitation, and hesitation meant fear. And she had no room for fear anymore.

 Her chains were broken.

 She was free.

  She ran beneath the night sky, never stopping until she had escaped  the demon realm.”

 She stepped into the unknown, guided only by the fire of her curiosity—

And the desperate longing to see the world she had only ever known through the pages of a book.

 She walked for days, weeks, months—through forests where leaves swayed gently in the breeze, over hills that stretched endlessly into the horizon, and across rivers that shimmered like liquid glass beneath the open sky. With every step, she left behind the chains of her past and moved closer to the world she had only ever dreamed of.

 For the first time, she felt it.

 The world around her was nothing like the battlefield she once knew. The air was fresh, filled with the scent of blooming flowers and damp earth. The sky stretched endlessly above, a brilliant shade of blue she had only seen in forgotten dreams. Birds chirped in harmony, the wind whispered through the trees, and the distant sound of a flowing river reached her ears.

 She took a step forward. Then another.

 The grass beneath her feet was soft. The sunlight filtering through the trees was warm against her skin. Every breath she took was real—not the suffocating stench of blood and fire, but something new. Something… alive.

 One day, deep in the forest, she stumbled upon an abandoned caravan. It was old and broken, left to be swallowed by nature. Curious, she stepped inside.

 Among the scattered remains, she found clothes—worn, but still intact. And then, tucked away beneath the debris, an old cloak.

 She held it in her hands, staring at it in disbelief. It was nothing special—faded, frayed at the edges—but to her, it was more than just fabric. It was hers. The first thing she had ever owned.

 

For as long as she could remember, she had only ever worn the same torn, filthy clothes. But now… now she had something new.

 

A small smile tugged at her lips as she wrapped the cloak around herself. It was big, rough against her skin, but it felt warm. It felt like a fresh start.

 

For the first time, she had something to call her own.

 As she stepped outside, adjusting the cloak around her shoulders, a gentle breeze rustled through the trees. She lifted her gaze, her crimson eyes wandering across the forest until they landed on a tree, its branches heavy with ripe, colorful fruit.

 

Without thinking, she reached up and plucked one. Turning it over in her hands, she ran her fingers along its smooth surface, its weight unfamiliar yet strangely comforting. Then, slowly, she brought it to her lips and took a bite.

  Her eyes widened.

 A taste she had never known before flooded her mouth. Sweet.

  She took another bite. Then another.

 

And for the first time, The demon girl enjoyed something without question.

 

 Days passed as she wandered—through forests, rivers, and mountains, places she had only seen in books. She climbed rocky hills, ran through open meadows, and dipped her fingers into the cool waters of a flowing stream. The world wasn’t just a place of war and suffering.

 It was vast. It was beautiful.

 And she was witnessing it with her own eyes.

 For the first time in her existence… she wasn’t just surviving.

 She was living.

 

And then , Finally , she found them.

 Humans.

She hid among the shadows, watching.

They were not like demons.

 They laughed, they cried, they argued, they held each other when they were hurt.

 She saw kindness.

She saw cruelty.

She saw people working together.

 And she saw them fighting.

 

War existed here, too.

 

Violence, suffering, loss.

 

But there was something else—something she had never seen before.

 When humans suffered, they did not simply accept it.

 They healed.

 They helped each other.

 They tried again.

 Even in the face of failure, they did not stop moving forward.

 She wanted to understand them.

 She didn’t know why she was drawn to them. She only knew that, no matter how many times she told herself to leave, her feet wouldn’t move.

 

So she stayed hidden, watching from the darkness, moving from village to village, never daring to step too close.

 

At first, their words were nothing but noise. But as the days passed, she listened. She learned. And slowly, she began to understand.

 

She had never known humans could be like this. In her world, there was only war, only pain. But here, people shared their food, held their children close, laughed even on the coldest nights. It was strange. It was beautiful.

 

She wanted to reach out. To be part of it.

 

But she was afraid.

 

So for now, she just watched, holding onto the warmth she had found—hoping that, one day, she’d have the courage to step into the light

 

One day, she decided to step forward.

 

For so long, she had only watched—hidden in the shadows, listening to their voices, learning their ways. She had seen kindness, warmth, and love in their world. And in her heart, a fragile hope bloomed.

 Maybe… just maybe… they would accept her too.

 But the moment they saw her, that hope shattered.

 The laughter stopped. The warmth faded. Fear filled their eyes. Children screamed and ran, clutching their parents. The adults stared at her, not with curiosity, not with understanding, but with hatred.

 She didn’t understand.

 She had done nothing wrong. She had harmed no one.

 But none of that mattered.

 She was a demon. That alone was enough.

 Just as demons despised humans, humans despised demons. It didn’t matter who she was or what she had done. The moment they saw her, they decided.

 

She did not belong.

 

They threw her out. Every village, every town. Doors slammed shut in her face. Voices shouted at her to leave. Some threw stones. Others looked away, pretending she wasn’t there.

 But she didn’t stop.

 She kept walking. Kept searching. Somewhere in this vast world, there had to be someone who wouldn’t turn away. Someone who would speak to her. Someone who would see her, not as a demon, but as herself.

 Days passed. Then weeks. Then months.

 And then, one day, she learned something.

 When she pulled a cloak over her head… when she hid her horns beneath the fabric… everything changed.

 No one screamed. No one ran. No one told her to leave.

 She could walk among them, stand beside them, listen to their stories, and see the world up close.

 And so, she kept going. From city to city, village to village, never staying too long, never letting anyone see beneath the cloak.

 But no matter how far she traveled, no matter how many places she saw, that small, fragile hope never left her heart.

 She still wished for the day she wouldn’t have to hide.

 The day someone—just one person—would accept her for who she truly was.

 In a way, the demon girl was glad to be free from the demon realm, to finally see the beauty of the world beyond. But the more she saw, the more she understood—and the lonelier she felt.

 Experiencing human emotions up close made her realize what she had been missing all along. The warmth of a voice, the comfort of companionship—things that always slipped through her fingers.

 And so, to this day, she wanders, hoping that maybe—just maybe—one day,

someone will talk to her,

 someone will call her a friend,

someone who won’t run away.