Luna's diary: "A long time ago... there was a lonely black cat..."

   I grew up at the top of a hill where the mornings always felt like a dream. 

   Mist would curl low along the ground, the sun spilling golden light across the trees, and the breeze carried the scent of wildflowers mixed with fresh soil. Our home was small and humble—stone walls, a thatched roof, and smoke forever rising from the chimney—but it was filled with warmth.

   My parents were everything to me. My father was quiet, strong, and steady as the mountain. My mother was kind and always smiling when she looked at me. Together, they worked hard, tending our crops and hunting.

   I was always by their side, but never beyond our land. There was one rule—one unbreakable law of our family.

   I wasn’t allowed to leave the house.

   Every time I asked why, they were giving me exactly the same answer. That it was too dangerous for me.

   I never understood why. So I just stayed inside and made the most of my small world.

   Mother taught me cooking. I chopped vegetables with careful hands, always sneaking a bite here and there when she wasn’t looking. I swept the floors, washed the sheets, learned to sew. But my favorite moments were at night, when we sat together by the fire. Mother would open her old books and read to me until I drifted to sleep.

   My favorite was always The Adventures of Yoru the Black Cat.

   The story of a little black cat who lived alone in the forest. The other cats avoided him, whispering that he was cursed, that he brought misfortune. So Yoru used his imagination to create his own adventures as a mix of fantasy and reality.

   I loved Yoru. Because I understood him.

   I was different too. My parents had pale, radiant skin, but mine was dark as midnight. 

   One day I asked why.

   Mother’s hands trembled as she touched my cheek. Father hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe. “Don't worry, we love you exactly as you are.”

   I didn’t understand why their eyes glistened when they said it... 

   Not then.

* * *

   I was eighteen, when that happened.

   That night, we were eating dinner. A simple stew of roots and meat, steam rising from our bowls. Father hummed between bites, out of tune as always. Mother teased him, and he laughed, though his rhythm never improved. I smiled quietly, thinking there was nothing warmer than this.

   Then—

   CRASH.

   The voice of shattered window glass spread over the room.

   I took a look to see what happened. Torches lit the hill. Dozens of people advancing toward us. My chest tightened with confusion.

   “What’s going on?” I asked, my voice trembling.

   Mother’s face went pale. Father slammed his fist on the table. “Hide her! Now!”

   Mother didn’t hesitate. She seized my hand and dragged me through the back door. The night air was sharp and cold, filled with the smell of burning torches.

   “What’s happening?! Why is father not coming with us?!” I cried, stumbling to keep up.

   “He’ll join us soon,” she said, her voice shaking.

   We ran into the forest, branches whipping against my arms. The shelter came into sight—hidden beneath brush and stone, our final refuge.

   But before we reached it—

   BOOOOM.

   A thunder spell ripped the ground apart. The shelter erupted in flames, nothing left but smoldering ash. The blast hurled me backward, my ears ringing.

   From the smoke, a hooded elf emerged. His smirk was cruel.

   “Don’t make this harder,” he said. “Hand over the girl.”

   Mother shoved me behind her. “I think you already know the answer.”

   His gaze fell on me, sharp and merciless. “I don't get it. Why are you protecting this dark elf? She brings nothing but misfortune. Her only value is to become a sacrifice.”

   The word echoed in me. Dark elf?

   Mother’s fury snapped like a whip. A gust of wind roared from her palm, striking him hard.

   “Don't you dare to speak like that to my daughter.”

   His sneer twisted. “You’ll regret that.”

   “Run, Luna!” Mother shouted, summoning another gale. “Go to north! There’s a beastmen village—they’ll take you in!”

   “I won’t leave without you and Father!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face.

   Her smile was pained but firm. “Don't worry. Those weaklings are nothing for us. We’ll catch up quickly. Find us a place to rest in that time.”

   Her wind surged again, tearing through the night. 

   And I… I ran.

* * *

   Two hours. My legs gave out, lungs burning, heart pounding as if it would burst. Finally, lights flickered ahead—the outlines of a village. Relief washed over me, and with it exhaustion. I collapsed, the world going dark.

   When I woke, the ceiling was unfamiliar, rough wood beams crossing overhead. The air smelled faintly of herbs.

   Suddenly, a boy entered—wolf ears twitching, amber eyes curious yet kind. “You’re awake,” he said brightly. 

   "Who... are you?" I said confused.

   The boy puffed out his chest proudly. 

   “I’m Luke, son of the village chief and a future chief myself.”

   “I-I see...”

   “Seriously, what a relief. You’ve been asleep for sixteen hours. I was starting to get worried.”

   Sixteen hours? My parents... 

   I bolted upright, ignoring the weakness in my legs, and rushed past him.

   “Wait—!” Luke called, but I didn’t stop.

   I searched the village. Faces turned toward me, strangers all. My eyes darted, desperate, as I was looking for them. But...

   They never came.

   Blood dripped from my clenched fists. My throat burned as a single word tore free.

   “...Liar.”

* * *

   Days blurred into one another. I shut myself inside, suffocated by silence. The hooded elf’s words echoed over and over. Dark elf. Misfortune. 

   All this time, my parents were protecting me from those people. They died because of my existence...

   Through my moment of weakness, Luke was the only one who knocked. He left food, tried to talk, always smiling even when I stayed silent.

   At first, I ignored him. But slowly, his voice chipped through the darkness. I answered. Then... I stepped outside. 

   I began helping in small ways. Carrying water. Sorting herbs. Children peeked at me from behind fences, giggling, and Luke teased them until they dared to come closer. Slowly, their smiles drew one from me as well.

   Bit by bit, the walls I’d built around myself began to crack. And in those cracks, the village slipped in, not as a replacement for what I had lost, but as proof that maybe I wasn’t entirely alone in this time.

   The village became something like a home...

   Then the bandits came.

* * *

   The flames roared higher than the trees. Screams split the night. The air stank of smoke and iron. I stood frozen, watching another home burn, powerless.

   They chained us. Locked us in cages. I lowered my head, despair pressing down like stone.

   I believed that it was just a nightmare. I wanted to believe it.

   For some reason at that moment I remembered the stories about Yoru, and then I realized, that I was him. 

   Different from others, giving misfortune to anyone who gets close. And now I just wanted to hide in my small fantasy, believing that it is all just a dream. 

   Maybe Yoru didn't imagine his adventures because he was lonely, but because he wanted to run away from the overwhelming reality.

   Well... It's not like it matters. He is just a character from a novel after all. 

   I just want to stop thinking about anything.

   I closed my eyes...

   Then—

   “Unbelievable,” a voice muttered from the other side of the cage. “Am I cursed or what?!”

   I opened my eyes.

   And just like that, when I was about to get drown in despair... I met my Master.