And Leaves The Rest To You

-The Night Gazelle Buried The Old Man-

A woman lived alone in the most dangerous part of the city, north of it. Her name was Moira. It didn't make sense for a woman to live alone in the most dangerous part of the city, but Moira had ways of protecting herself. Moira was a born witch, even one of the best.

When she first came to the city, she had decided to hide her presence, but she had not thought back then that the area she had chosen to live in would be so dangerous. It didn't make any sense to have some vagrants intercept her one night as she went to find herbs in the woods for her potions to reconstitute. Indeed, Moira was a good witch. She was talented and strong, you wouldn't want to be hostile to her.

With a single wave of the hand, Moira threw the men who blocked her path. She looked at the men who were groaning on the ground in pain. Then her hand in the air. "Maybe it's not the time to gather herbs," she said to herself. And she disappeared.

While she was hiding in her house, rumors had already spread throughout the city. The city had a witch. Should they have her impaled? Or should she be burned alive?

While Moira's mind was home to all possibilities, the city did nothing to her. Moira even became a witch who had people cast spells and brew potions when they needed them. Moira remembered the suffering of her ancestors. Why did these people accept her? She had no idea.

Now, she could walk into the forest at night without any fear and collect the plants she wanted, but tonight, the city had a different atmosphere. Moira walked slowly towards it when she heard a noise near the old man's hut. The scene she saw when she reached the place where the voice came from was unlike anything she had seen before.

Moira also knew that she was a book character. So she wasn't surprised when she saw the author. The only thing that surprised her was the expression in the author's eyes as she buried the old man. Never before had anyone come across such an expression. She wanted to help her, so Moira could tell in one glance how the man died. The author hadn't killed him, and that woman needed help. She was afraid and helpless. She raised her hand slightly in the air as if she could reach the woman, but a hand with large claws gently grabbed hers. "Don't do that," he whispered in her ear. "You are not her savior and she has never needed a savior. That woman needs to see the truth, she needs to be alone with those pain to understand who she really is."

"Hugo…" Moira said with trembling lips. "She doesn't know about this world."

"I know," said Hugo calmly. "But I also know that this world is locked in a cage in her deepest depths. When the day comes, she will get to know us all, she will see us all, and maybe then we will cease to be book characters. One day, we will come to life in that woman's mind and become real. Because only writers are the ones to make a dream come true. Everything that can be written is real and takes its place in that world, Moira. We are in too deep to write."

Hugo, the beast man. The monster that Moira encountered while she was wandering in the forest when she first came to the city. Her only companion. The only person who can see this world like her. Beneath Hugo's large claws was compassion, and behind his dark eyes was a dazzling light. And the reason is unknown... Moira was the only one who didn't burst into screams the moment she saw him.

*

Big fighting arena of the city. At night, the sound of a sharp sword cutting through the air was heard. The Asian woman was training with her heavy sword while wearing traditional warrior attire.

Mei is an Asian woman who doesn't even know where she came from. One of the most favorite fighters in the weapon fighting arena. She looked like a Goddess with her perfect face, aqua green eyes, and naturally pink hair, but behind her eyes was a blazing rage. That anger never turned her to ash.

She continued to train in a sweat, ignoring her clothes and her sword, which now seemed to weigh a ton. She thought of her being lonely, of her family. The fire of her anger grew, she began to shout every time she swung her sword.

"It's enough!" Mei froze as the old swordsman Lingyun's voice echoed through the arena. The old master, who taught all those who wanted to use swords in weapon fights in the arena, could not bear the long-suffering of his favorite disciple. To Lingyun, it was a curse to open your eyes to the world in this city. Like Mei, he was of Far Eastern origin but did not know where his homeland was.

This was the strange thing: If you were born and raised in this city, this would be your homeland, your everything. Your origins didn't matter because no one knew anything. Everyone was from the city. This city didn't even have a name: The City.

"Is it enough?" Mei asked with a grimace. She looked at her master in amazement. "While I thought my only problem was loneliness, I also learned that I am not real, but actually a character from a book. Master..." she whispered bitterly. "Doesn't that truth break your heart?"

Lingyun sighed deeply and inflated his lungs, then calmly emptied his lungs. "Mei," he said flatly. "Can you call your life and existence a dream if you tasted all the sensations and got lost in your own thoughts? You were the one who felt them all. It was you who touched your sword and swung it, destroying yourself with the anger in your heart. Mei…" Mei's grip on the sword loosened as he started walking towards her.

"The moment God creates your soul, he puts your destiny on a piece of paper and hides it in your heart. And leaves the rest to you."

"You know I don't believe in the existence of God, Master," she whispered. Lingyun, coming in front of her, grabbed her shoulders and squeezed hard. Even though it hurt, Mei didn't speak up.

"Our issue here is not God, child. This life is yours. No matter what anyone has written, it is you. No pen has made you the person you are now. No sentence was premeditated for you. This life has always been yours, child. It's time to live it. Don't let anger consume you. Revenge will not end your grief."

"I'm sure now." Her strong and determined voice echoed in the arena. She gripped her sword tightly and plunged it into the ground. "No matter what happens, no matter what I become, I will find out who killed my family."