《Crimson Petals: Whispers of a Daughter's Cry》 The Field of Crimson Tears "Mom!! Where are you?!" "Mom!! I am scared; everything is dark!!" "It hurts!! Mom!! Please answer me!!!" A young girl lying down in a breathtaking view. Red, light purple, pink, and white flowers are all over. The beautiful flowers where the young girl lies are being covered by the deep crimson blood coming out of her stomach. The young girl was crying from the pain. Her fragile body is trying to contain the blood spill, but her hands only become crimson red. "Why won''t I stop!! Mom!! Please, I don''t want to die!!" The young girl cried, but she only heard the echoes of her words. Her consciousness drifted in and out. The hot, sharp pain continues to torment the young girl. She takes one of the flowers drenched in her blood. "Don''t be a sad flower; we are both together. It is so sad that you are being killed; you are so beautiful." The young girl can''t lie to herself; she wants to act strong, but she wants to live. She is scared of everything; she feels colder and colder the more she loses blood. Her throat dries; the adrenaline she had has diminished to the point where death is almost certain. "M-mom, p-please¡ªI¡ªI¡ªI don''t want to die!! Help me, please, please." The young girl has no more energy left than what she can give. At this she wants to stop suffering; she wants to just rest peacefully and put an end to all of the suffering. She grabs her necklace, a beautiful three-pendant necklace. A flower, heart, and witch''s knot. The moment she touched the flower pendant, it began disappearing. She jolted awake; she didn''t remember where she got the necklace, but she felt a personal connection to that pendant as if it were part of her entire life. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The flowers began releasing stronger smells. The aromas began creating a silhouette. A clear image formed; in the image, a beautiful woman wearing a beautiful white dress, her red and pink hair, appeared to be made by the gods. Her pupils, a pink heart shape. "Mom" The young girl has no strength to try and scream; all she can do is give a small whisper. "I am so sorry for everything." The young girl begins feeling the heat returning back to her body as it begins healing, her blood returning to her. "Mom! Where are you!" The young girl is slowly regaining her strength. "I am sorry I was a bad mother. There are many things that I wanted to live with you." The mother began shedding tears. The young girl can''t see her mother cry; she also begins crying; she is now more scared of everything. "I wanted to be there for you at everyone''s birthdays. I wanted you to see how much we love you. I wanted to see you grow up and become a beautiful young woman. I am sorry for everything that is happening to you. I don''t expect you to understand since you are so young, but when you can understand, I beg you to forgive me." "I do forgive you!! But please tell me where you are?! Where is Dad!?" The young girl''s wounds finally healed. "I tried to prevent this from happening. Believe me, your father and I tried with everything we had, but it all, unfortunately, fell upon you. There is no amount of regret that I can do to change the fact that I have ruined your life! Your mother ruined your life!!! How! How! Why is everything like this?" The young girl is stunned; she can''t think of anything. She wants to cry, but something is coming out; her eyes are completely dried out. The mother calmed down, her eyes puffy and red. "I am sorry I am so immature. Your father always got mad when I acted like a baby instead of a woman. But the thing I have to tell you is that you are now alone. Your father and I are no longer here." The woman shakes her head which causes a yellow flower to fall. Images begin flashing inside the little girl''s mind. Images of how everything culminated into her being in her current situation. The images of how her parents hid her away with a glowing yellow flower and her mother putting the necklace on the terrified girl, then they both began fighting against mysterious black figures. The next image is of her being stabbed with a long black sword as the flower begins exploding. Her mind begins to be overrun with hatred; she wants to make the people who killed her parents pay. All she wants is to destroy and eat their bodies in front of their families to make them feel the pain she suffered. "I love you. I want you to live your path away from any danger, but I can''t do that. That is why I left my destiny to you. The destiny of riding the world of evils." The young girl''s mind came back to reality after she heard those words. "In the heart pendant is all our strength. You will once obtain both your father''s and my powers to try and get rid of evil. You will have to grow stronger and even surpass both of us. The witch''s knot is missing twenty gems." The young girl looked at her pendant and saw twenty missing gems and one dark central stone. "You will have to kill every one of the twenty evils for you to understand the truth behind everything." Twenty? The young girl felt a deeper abyss inside her heart. "That is all I can say. All I want to say is that I will always love you. No matter how lonely you feel, I will always be there for you." The young girl began sobbing; her little heart was suffering unimaginable pains. In the next frame, her father appears. His body is covered in a deep white fog, but his face shows that of a person smiling as his eyes tell the story of his crying due to his extreme love for his family. "Dad!!" "We love you, Iris." The last frame of the image showed the parents hugging as they waved goodbye to their little girl. Iris'' heart became a little more hardened. All she wants is revenge and to find the truth behind everything. Whispers in the Flowers Iris extends her hands up to the blue sky. Clenching her fist with so much strength that her blood circulation slowed down. ¡°I swear I am going to kill them!! I swear!¡± Tears continued rolling down, tears of fear and anger. Iris begins imagining how they are going to experience worse. How to make their life worse. Her first thought is to rip their limbs part by part or to steal the people they care for the most and make them beg for their release only for them to arrive dead. Iris'' brain is out of control; she is declaring war on the enemies. She needs to see them sad. Her whole young system begs it. Iris'' mental collapse lasted a few minutes before she came back to reality. She released her numb hand, and the weight of the situation began hitting her. She had such confidence, but now she feels completely unprepared. She has no idea who she is supposed to fight. No idea how strong they are, how large they are, how evil they are, and in general she has no idea of anything related to the outside world. Throughout Iris'' entire life, she has lived in a major city. The city is covered with angels from different places, all united to love and protect the beings from other worlds. The city radiated beauty; the flowers bloomed beautifully, and the smell of sweetness and flowers was everywhere. The architecture combined nature and the brilliant minds of many architects from other worlds. However, Iris is in a strange room. The houses and angels that are normally present in every place are nowhere to be seen. Only flowers are present. Iris sits up; her eyes illuminate due to the beauty of the flowers. She feels conflicted. She wants to cry, but she wants to quietly appreciate the movement of the flowers. The wind is increasing, making her hair resemble that of his mother, moving in sync with the flowers. ¡°Mom. If you are watching, doesn''t this look beautiful?¡± Tears begin swelling up. ¡°It would have been incredible to have a picnic here with all of us like a family.¡± Iris can¡¯t contain her emotions. She begins imagining how her family could be here enjoying the beautiful breeze while picking the most beautiful flowers to create a crown for Iris to wear. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The more she imagines this beautiful image, the lower and lower her mental health goes. She wants to have a place to feel protected, a place where nothing is wrong and everything and everyone is happy. The refreshing breeze suddenly halts, leaving Iris with the realization that she is all alone in a place where there appears to be no end. Fear begins creeping in on her; the fear of being alone increases each second she looks around and there are only flowers. Iris feels that something wrong is happening. She looks up and begins to notice that there are no clouds, sun, or any type of shapes in the sky. The heart-shaped moon is Iris'' favorite to see in the sky, but there is nothing but a spotless, almost artificial sky. Desperate to find a way out, Iris stands up to see if she sees any door or any clue to leave this place. Iris begins running around; her small legs smoothly pass through the flowers. A tickling sensation in her feet begins increasing her joy. The wind begins to move at the right speed, a speed so relaxing that every movement feels perfect. The more she runs around passing her hands through the beautiful flowers, her white silk dress seemingly flowing as she moves. Iris begins forgetting about her current situation; all she feels is joy. Her young brain is trying its best to increase its dopamine to calm itself down from the shock. After running to her heart''s content, she falls down on a patch of red flowers. Her face is full of joy, smiling and laughing as if there is nothing wrong. ¡°That was very fun!! Mom, did you see!!¡± Iris sits down, her face youthfully smiling. Whoosh Iris''s whole demeanor changes as the hard realization settles in. She rolls herself in the fetal position. Her face, full of joy, returns to a face full of sadness and desperation. ¡°It is so lonely here. How long do I have to be here? I want my mom.¡± Iris''s eyes become teary. ¡°Mom, I miss you. I want to tell you how you are the best mom of all time. I never told you how much I missed you every day I left to go to school. I never told you how you are perfect.¡± Iris cried herself to sleep; the amount of energy she wasted running hit her. ¡­ Iris wakes up, her eyes red from all the crying. She suddenly jolts up to see if everything is a dream. Iris¡¯s face showed visible disappointment. ¡°I want to leave. I want to go back home.¡± Iris lays back down; the tickling flowers regain her spirits a little more. She rips a five-petaled flower. She begins appreciating the beauty of the flower, rolling it and smelling it. ¡°What a beautiful red petal. It reminds me of my mom¡¯s hair color. You will be called Flowermom.¡± Iris giggled. ¡°Do you like it, Ms. Flower? I mean Ms. Flowermom?¡± She rips out a six-petaled flower. ¡°You will be named Mr. Dadflower.¡± She giggled, her innocence shining in a time of darkness. She grabs both petals and puts them in her beautiful long hair. ¡°There you will always be with me.¡± Iris stands up and is alerted by a sudden but slow change in the color of the room. The once-vibrant room is becoming a little darker than usual. ¡°Is someone there!? I need help!¡± ¡°...¡± The room gradually became darker and darker until the change became noticeable enough to cause Iris''s heart rate to increase. Iris¡¯s palms become sweaty and her legs weaker once she begins hearing a quiet sound. A sound that no flower can produce. The sound became louder and louder as the room became covered by the smoke, limiting visibility. Iris'' heart sank after she could recognize the sounds as a song. Iris looked everywhere to know where the song came from, but the sound became louder to a point where all she could hear were the lyrics. ¡°Through the petals, through the thorns, a melody of shadows is born¡­¡± Iris fell on the ground, covering her ears, but the sound grew so overwhelming that no matter how much strength she put into covering her ears, the song continued. ¡°Whispers in the smoke. A call for you full of sorrow, a hymn of pain¡­¡± Tears streamed down her face the more and more intense the song became. ¡°Sleep, little Iris, sleep so deep. The shadows sing the shadows remember.¡± Iris¡¯s heart stopped, her face full of terror. She has never felt such intense fear in her entire life. Throughout her whole body, warning signs began ringing intensely¡ªa warning to run away before it was too late. Thump!! Thump!! The Drums Of Despair Thump! Thump! Thump! The haunting melody is replaced by a deep thumping that roars throughout the entire room. Iris falls to the ground, covering her organs, her entire body shaking with such an intense fear that it made her heart rate increase to such a high level she would have the symptoms of a heart attack. Iris feels a strong pressure, which causes her to have a hard time breathing. Combined with the high adrenaline her system is creating, it makes her enter the fight-or-flight state. She looks up; her body becomes pale. A tall figure appears; his presence is masked by a dark, deep fog, only showing two drums at each side of his hips. Every hit of the drums begins shaking the floor. Iris stares at the figure with unreasonable fear. Without having a second to think about the situation, her body frantically jumps up and begins running at such speed that resembles the speed of the wind. Thump! Iris falls down; she quickly looks back at the being; her heavy breathing can be heard throughout the room. She begins running away, trying her best to run away, but every time the beginning hits his drum, he appears to take ten steps. Iris begins to run with more speed, surpassing the maximum her legs can physically do. The hitting of the drums continues; her determination to survive is the only thing preventing her from constantly falling and lessening the gap between the both. The more she ran, the more she came to realize that the room appeared to be an infinite amount of room. The flowers never end; there is nothing present except flowers. Thump!!! Iris'' legs can¡¯t support her anymore; she wants to continue running, but there is nothing left in her tank. Tears begin running down; she is extremely desperate, but her small body can¡¯t continue. She has her end. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Ahh!!!¡± Iris begins screaming like a madman every time the being hits his drums. She tries to stand up, but her legs resemble recently boiled spaghetti; if she continues, she might cause irreversible damage to her growing body. However, she doesn''t care that her legs are numb; she tries to stand up, but she begins to constantly fall. In an act of desperation, she starts ripping out the flowers. For every flower she ripped, she felt how her body began to regain energy. With a face of pure determination, she continues running. She ran with everything until there was something that caused her to lose all hope. She looked down and saw how the flowers that she ripped were lying down in a patch of dirt. Throughout the entire room, there were no other patches of earth, and this realization hit her extremely hard. Her body gave up; she couldn¡¯t believe that she had been running in a circle. The more she began thinking about her current situation, she began to realize that the being never moved; it was her speed and the different angles that made it seem as if the being moved. Iris¡¯s mind partially collapsed; she was at the point of a mental breakdown. Iris falls face-first towards the plants, her will to live decreasing with every breath she takes. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Iris began thinking that this was her end. The rhythm of the beat only increased that belief. No tears rolled; there was no reason for her to cry, only the acceptance of her destiny. The smell of the flowers overpowered her; her nose couldn''t contain it, which caused her peripheral vision to see how the smoke disappeared. She looked up; she felt her heart tense. She sees a large black door with black dragons on each side. She looks back and sees how the being has changed the drums to two large black swords and is moving in her direction. She now feels that her calls for help are being answered. Iris runs to the door; she looks for the handle. Her heart sinks back; she has never felt so betrayed. The door requires a key. Her first thought is that the being has it, which causes her to lean at the door and curl up. She looks up and sees a glimmer of hope. One of the flowers begins glowing. The glowing flower isn¡¯t far away from her. With her regained spirits, she runs to the glowing flower. The moment she reaches the glowing flower, tears of happiness roll out. The flower resembles that of a key. Iris quickly grabs the key as she sees how the being is now in an uncomfortably close direction. Iris manages to catch a glimpse of its eyes, which sends a shiver down her spine. Their eyes are pure red; there is hatred and bloodlust behind those eyes. She runs back to where the door is located, her hands shaking and struggling to insert the key. She constantly looks back, which only increases her anxiety. Click Her face lights up as the key fits; she turns it to the right. The door began to open, and a bright light was released from it. The smell of freedom and happiness protruded out of the opened door. She quickly peeks back to see the being showing a terrifying smile. Iris quickly enters through the door. ¡­ She falls to the ground with her eyes closed and her body extended in pure happiness. Thump Iris feels that her worst dreams are becoming a reality. She raises her head to see that she is in the same room as before, the only difference being that there are now two doors. ¡°Welcome to my world. Little Iris.¡± A deep voice can be heard. Iris, deathly scared, looks back at the being. ¡°I am sent by Omnira to test out if killing you will be necessary or to leave you incapacitated.¡± The name of Omnira caused one of the pearls to glow a deep indigo light. ¡°I have decided that you are a threat, but I do feel bad, so I will give you the chance to either die and make this end or I will give you a chance to escape if you perfectly escape me and enter one hundred doors correctly.¡± Iris feels the hatred of the realization that they are the people who killed his parents, but she knows that she can¡¯t beat him and she can¡¯t die until she kills them. An arrow passes through, only barely scraping Iris'' left cheek. ¡°Let the hunt begin!!!¡± He roared, his laughter echoing through the room. "Your parents begged for mercy too, little Iris. I am excited to see how you compare to them." The Choice of Suffering Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The Weight of a Decision Iris began frantically touching her face out of pure terror. The voice and face of the woman unlocked a memory she had suppressed as her time in the flower room drove her to remember the essentials. ¡°Sophia! Why are you here!!¡± Iris screamed as tears rolled down. The being smiled. ¡°Aww, how adorable. Is this a reunion?¡± The being''s sadistic voice echoed through the room. Iris looked up at the being, her face full of anger. ¡°Let her go!!¡± Iris jumped at the being. The being moved out of the way causes Iris to crash into the wall. She looked up, her head bleeding and her face full of wrath. ¡°Bye¡± The being disappeared. Iris'' fury was short-lived as she was not dealt with the decision of deciding who is permanently disabled and will have a large hatred towards her. ¡°Please help me.¡± The man finally spoke, his voice filled with fear. ¡°No! Please help me! I helped your mother with raising you!¡± Sophia screamed. ¡°Please, I have a family who are waiting for me. I need to go and provide for them.¡± The man¡¯s body began trembling. ¡°Iris, help me! I know you! I know you! I¡­¡± ¡°Please, Iris, I have a daughter who is ten, and she is probably extremely scared about where her father is.¡± The man tried to remain calm, but his voice and actions told a different story. Iris has no idea what to do. She is frantically looking around. She has never been dealt with such a difficult situation; all she can do is tear up as they begin arguing over who deserves to be saved. ¡°P-please, please stop!!¡± Iris screamed; she couldn¡¯t process the information; she felt petrified and disturbed by the choices. Sophia looked at how Iris went to the corner, curled up, and began crying. ¡°Iris, please just choose me and let it be over with!¡± Sophia supplicates. ¡°No, please, I have a family!¡± ¡°But she knows me, and I have been with her since forever!¡± ¡°No! She needs to help me and my daughter!¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Shut up.¡± Iris''s voice feels soft. ¡°I don¡¯t care that you have a family! I also have a family that loves me!!¡± ¡°But my daughter has no one except for me.¡± Their argument increased in tone until Iris reached her breaking point. ¡°Shut up!! I said, "Shut UP!!!¡± Iris looked back, her eyes filled with tears, her eyes filled with devastation. They both instantly went quiet. ¡°You have ten minutes to decide, or both will get killed.¡± The being¡¯s voice rumbled throughout the entire room. Iris stood up and began walking to where they were. ¡°Let me ask you two questions, and whoever''s answer I like will be healed.¡± Iris'' words made the atmosphere of the room become more tense. She walked to where the man sat. ¡°Your daughter, how is she?¡± Iris'' soft tone pierced the man''s ears. ¡°She is my whole reason to live. She is my biggest blessing, a real angel.¡± The man''s tone became soft and caring. Iris walked over to Sophia. ¡°How long have you been here, and how do you remember my mother?¡± ¡°I have been here for about a week, and I loved your mother as my own sister. I valued her with all my heart, and I want to be there for you in your time of remembrance.¡± Sophia began crying. Iris stared at her, her mind racing. Something feels off. The more I thought about it, Sophia''s answer didn¡¯t add up. ¡°I¡¯ve only been here for three or four days.¡± Iris''s voice hardened. ¡°How did you know my mother is dead if you have been here for a week?¡± Sophia''s eyes widened; the room remained still. Then Iris grabbed the butcher knife and slashed Sophia''s nose. ¡°Ahh!!!¡± Sophia screamed, blood pouring down her face. ¡°I hate you!!! Why did that bitch give birth to you!!!¡± Iris ignored her, her hands trembling as she turned to the man. ¡°Thank you. I will never forget this.¡± He whispered, his voice filled with gratitude. Iris nodded, ¡°Just value your daughter and tell her how much you love her.¡± Iris grabbed the man''s eyes and attached them back with a powder that was in the tray. Iris looked back as Sophia¡¯s screams stopped and her legs became hotter. Iris''s and the man¡¯s heart dropped. They saw how every drop of her blood was expelled, leaving her all dried up. ¡°You did well. Little Iris. You now have to open each door to find out.¡± The world began to disappear while sixteen doors appeared. Iris ran to the doors and began to try and open them. She managed to open the correct door after six attempts. She enters the door and finds herself in the flower-filled room. She feels a huge wave of relief, as it is a total change in environment. ¡°Since I expect you to choose that woman, it would have been your next thirty-two doors, so let¡¯s just skip that one and go to the next challenge.¡± In the next second sixty-four doors appeared, all scattered through the room. ¡°For your next challenge, you will have to find the correct key and the correct door on a time limit, as it would be very easy.¡± In the sky, a timer was created. ¡°The keys are marked, so don¡¯t worry; it won¡¯t take you long.¡± Tick, tick, tick. Iris began to run to the closest keys and started picking them up. She managed to grab eight keys in less than five minutes; now all she has to do is find the correct door. She runs to the first door and tries all the keys with little to no success. She repeats this process for ten doors until it dawns on her that the challenge would be virtually impossible if she didn''t have extreme luck. Iris fell to the ground; she began overthinking about how to complete the challenge until something clicked. She inexplicably felt drawn to one of the keys far away from where she was located. She began running to the key; it was a gamble, but she felt that it would be the correct decision. Iris reached for their key and began running to one of the doors. She began opening the door. Click It opened; she cheerfully opened the door. As Iris enters the door to the next challenge, she sees a figure covered in a dark fog; however, it¡¯s a smaller statue than the mysterious being, and there is one door behind it. The fog began to clear, and the figure that appeared left her petrified. She is face to face with someone she values so much¡ªher father. However, there is something wrong with him. His eyes are deep, dark, and cold, and he¡¯s holding a weapon. ¡°Iris,¡± he said, his voice distorted and unfamiliar. ¡°You should have died with us.¡± The Fathers Shadow ¡°Your final challenge is to defeat your father.¡± The being¡¯s voice echoed. ¡°How!! I can¡¯t do anything against him!!¡± ¡°Hehe, I don¡¯t know. That is for you to figure out.¡± The being spoke sarcastically. Her dad reached close proximity and lunged at her, his weapon gleaming a dim white light, a characteristic of him. Iris dodged; her instincts moved her to the left, which only caused her dress to be caught. Iris''s dad fixed his footing, raising his two blades directly at Iris. Iris is feeling overwhelmed and can only try to run away. Iris¡¯s dad lunged, his movement creating the image of a butterfly. Iris can only dodge a few as she is struck with many attacks, causing her limbs to be profusely bleeding; she has hit a dead end; there is nothing left for her to do. The discrepancy of abilities is too much for both of them. Iris hadn''t learned the movement of the butterfly nor the rose movement from her mather; she was completely untrained, fighting against someone who was close to reaching the pinnacle of the natural arts and the greatest user of the butterfly movement. The more Iris got attacked, the more the room became blurry. Iris continued to defend her dad¡¯s precise attacks; his movement was unrefined; however, Iris was still no match for his powerful attacks. For every attack, there are hits of white that show his blessings. Iris saw how an attack was aimed at her heart; without having a second thought, her body naturally dropped on the grass. She began rolling around, propelling herself with her hands to try and create a larger distance from her father. Iris rapidly stood up, looked back, and saw her father sprinting towards her, his movement confusing and unexpected; however, she knew that it was all calculated. Her dad launched his weapon towards Iris, which caused Iris to propel herself to the left, only leaving her arm scratched from the attack. Iris closed her eyes, and in the next second saw how her father was now an arm''s length from her, his blade aimed directly at her stomach. There was no possibility in where Iris could dodge this attack; she could only close her eyes as she began to feel the sharp pain. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The blade halfway inside Iris, her father kicked her, which sent her flying away, leaving a trail of blood. ¡°Ahh!!¡± Iris never expected the pain to be that severe; she expected the pain to sting; however, the blade managed to trigger her whole nervous system to break down; and her legs gave up. The constant bleeding caused Iris to twitch around on the floor, trying to calm the pain and the profuse bleeding, but no matter how many flowers she began plucking, they did nothing to stop the pain; only the bleeding relaxed. She looked up, her face full of tears, seeing how the one who cared for her would be the one who would take her life away. He gave her life and will be the one to take it away from her. Her dad, seeing Iris on the ground, extended his hand and launched the other sword, preparing it to be the finishing blow. Iris closed her eyes; she had not agreed to her death, but there was nothing for her to do. The speed of the blade and her current state created an environment to produced certain death. Boom! Iris rapidly opened her eyes, her eyes in full surprise as the heart pendant created a shield protecting her body; she began to feel a surge of power, her wounds sealed. She quickly stood up, her hands glowing a light pink light. Her dad looked at her in surprise, which caused him to create two blades. Iris, seeing this, wasted no time and unconsciously launched herself at her father, her arms extended. Before her dad could extract his newly created weapons, Iris collided with him, her hands creating a shield that sent her father flying. Iris started running to finish her father finally and to put an end to both of their suffering. The second she arrived, she looked down and saw her father lying there without moving; she carefully arrived close to his head and created a small shield to try and kill it. Her hands trembling, she raised her arms and prepared herself to finally end this. Slash Iris, with her hand up, looked down, seeing how her father moved out of the way and, in the process, cut her leg. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Her heart began racing; the pain was too much for her. She looked up with tears and agony on her face and saw how her father looked down at her, his arms up, prepared to kill her in the same style she thought of killing him. ¡°Ahh!!¡± Boom!!! With a cry, she unleashed something brewing deep inside her, a burst of energy that destroyed her father. Iris was also sent flying, her leg now appearing to regrow. She began crawling to where the only remaining part of her father was his torso; all of his limbs exploded. She arrived at her father''s body and began crying on his chest. She wept, all of the pent-up fear from seeing how a copy of him tried to kill her and grieving his death. She looked up and imagined his face. Looking at her, he had the same warm look he always had. Iris¡¯s leg finally healed; she stood up and finally grabbed the key that the explosion created. She looked down, her face full of grief, and turned around to open the last door. Iris reached the door, taking a deep breath, her hands trembling as she turned the key. The door opened, releasing a powerful blue light that consumed her. She stepped inside, her heart pounding with a mix of grief and relief. She looked back and saw the world around her begin to dissolve, the flowers and the bloodstain fading into nothing. As the light faded, she found herself in a new environment, a beautiful green forest; the fresh air and birds chirping made her feel liberated. ¡°I finally left.¡± She whispered, her voice breaking as tears streamed down. She fell to her knees, her body shaking with cries of excitement. ¡°Congratulations, Little Iris. ¡° The beings'' voices shook the forest. ¡°You¡¯ve earned your right to live¡ªfor now.¡± His voice deepened, ¡°But remember, we are always watching. Get stronger, or our next encounter will be your last.¡± Iris¡¯ heart raced as the voice faded, returning the sounds of nature to run the forest. She moved her hands and felt something. She looked and saw a beautiful crimson flower. Iris grabbed the flower and inserted it into her hair just as her mother had always done. She clenched her fist, her tears drying as her eyes were filled with determination. She looked up at the sky, seeing a crow pass. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready,¡± she whispered. ¡°No matter what, I will have my revenge.¡± The Whistle in the Fog Iris'' body began to feel all her suppressed bodily functions hitting her at once. Thirst and hunger stood out the most. Iris'' stomach started begging for food; all she could think of was satiating her hunger. Her cracked lip and dry throat need water. She had to first get rid of her thirst, as there was no possibility of her surviving another day without proper hydration. Now her challenge is to locate a clean water source in the forest. She knows that there has to be a close river. Her mother always told her that plants need water to grow beautifully. With that idea in mind, she, with the remaining strength she mustered. Stumbling forward, her legs heavy all in a fight against her exhaustion. She began walking past massive, colorful trees. The clouds in the sky covered her from the sun''s rays. The sounds of chirping birds and the rattle of the leaves and branches she stepped on. Iris continued walking, seeing the beautiful marvels of nature. A beautiful blue bird passed her; many different insects appeared, staring at her as she carefully positioned herself as far away as she could. Insects always scared her; the sight of bugs petrified her. Iris¡¯ body began to slow down; the thirst was too much for her body to act naturally. ¡°I am thirty. I want food!¡± Iris¡¯ spit became difficult to produce; she is becoming more desperate. Iris continued walking until the sun began to set. Her hope diminishes with every step. Her only hope is that she survived for so long; she can¡¯t give up just now. Iris¡¯ face began to tear up; she heard the sound of flowing water. She immediately ran with all of her remaining energy. The moment she arrived at the river, she was stunned to see many different animals she only read about in books drinking water together. The unicorns, wolves, zebras, and lions are all far away from each other but not hostile; they are calmly drinking without any worries. This eventually led Iris, consumed with thirst, to carefully try her best not to act like a threat and approach the river. The atmosphere felt wrong, the air became denser like an external creature caused it. Iris took a step for every second; she wanted to appear just like another thirty creatures, without making anyone aware of her or acknowledging her as a foe. Iris arrived at the river and tearfully began drinking the sweet water. When the water touched her cheeks, it was such a euphoric experience. She began drinking to her heart''s content; she suddenly, in her peripheral vision, saw how the unicorn she was beside looked at her, then did a double take. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Iris calmly turned around, her face petrified but trying her best to smile. She and the unicorn began staring; they both just blankly stared at each other. Iris'' face began to profusely sweat, her face turning redder. Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! All the animals simultaneously look at Iris, their faces ready to hunt her. She tries to slowly remove herself from their area; however, they all begin to run towards her. Her slow walk immediately transformed into a full sprint. She began running at such a speed that it resembled her speed in the flower room; she looked back and saw how the animals began to close the distance. Her small legs are no match for an adult animal. As a last-ditch effort, she launched herself at a tree and began to climb it just as the wolf reached her and was a step away from reaching her leg. Pant, pant, pant. Iris looked down at the animals all trying their best to climb; however, they all quickly decided to leave her as the sun finally settled down. The animals shook in fear as the sun settled, which left Iris with many answers and an increased hunger. Luckily the tree she climbed had many apples on the higher branches. She climbed them and took five bright red apples. She cheerfully went down to the lower branch and began eating; her first bite was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten. She looked down and saw a deer eating grass without a care in the world. This only increased her curiosity about why the other animals looked so afraid while this one was eating as if they ruled the forest. Iris'' question was soon answered with a dark, low, terrifying whistle. Phwwwwwht A loud whistle shook Iris to her core. Her body began to tremble; the once noisy forest suddenly became silent. Iris could hear her heartbeat increase as, on the ground level, a white fog appeared. Iris'' body remained paralyzed, her body shaking in fear. The fog increased until a dark black creature appeared walking. Thump! Thump! Thump! Each of its steps caused the ground to shake. Iris holds herself in the tree to not fall into the mysterious creature''s fog. The mysterious creature found prey; it walked up to a shaking deer. Iris saw the innocent deer trying its best to run away, but its legs gave up. The creature raised its hand and swiftly cut the deer''s head. ¡°...¡± No animal produced a sound; Iris''s fear increased as she saw how an innocent animal cruelly died, its head rolling to the tree where Iris rested, looking up at her with its sad and lifeless eyes. The creature leaned over and began ripping the deer''s body into smaller pieces. Blood and bone began flying everywhere. Iris got stained with the blood, which almost caused her to scream, but in the last second, she covered her mouth and bit her tongue to not produce any sound. "I need to survive. I need to survive. I need to kill them." Iris whispered to calm herself. The creature began eating the deer, it grabbed its legs and in one bit ate an entire deer leg. The next legs suffered the same fate. There were no remains of the deer''s legs. The torso remained and the creature began to eat the torso, his eating resembled that of a rabid dog. Iris looked petrified as the deer''s body became no more. Clutching herself to the tree branch, her breathing growing shallower. The creature began sucking the blood from the ground until there were no remains of the deer; only the head remained. The creature stood up and began walking to where the head was. At this point Iris began to weep; she had never experienced such a deep amount of fear for her safety. The creature grabbed the deer''s head and ate it in one bite. Iris began praying for the creature to leave; however, its following action left her dying in fear. The creature''s head tilted upwards, its glowing red eyes locking into Iris''s fearful eyes. Blood dripping from its grotesque smile. Slowly, it raised its hand a thin, grey hand pointing directly at her. The air grew denser, and the fog thickened. "You are next," it coldly spoke. Then with a bone-chilling laugh dissolved with the fog, leaving behind a faint whistle sound. Tears Under the Crescent Moon Iris, holding herself to the tree with all her strength, shakes from fear, her heart wanting to leave her body. Frigid winds increased in speed, shaking the leaves and leaving Iris to hug the tree with all her strength to maintain her heat while trying not to fall; however, the coldness was too much for her to hold on, leading her to fall face-first into the ground. Thump! Iris created a shield to relieve the damage, which did aid in the damage her body would have sustained, only causing a small nosebleed. Iris stood up, her body wobbling from one side to the other, doing its best to find a place to rest and protect itself from the frigid winds. My head hurts; why can¡¯t I have a break?! I truly miss my parents. A strong wind raised her hair, showing her the true beauty of nature. The crimson flower fell from her hair. She picks it up, looking at it with a tender and nostalgic gaze. Mom, Dad. I am trying my best to be here, but everything is going up against me¡­ Looking up at the crescent moon, she gave a small smile. ¡°I truly miss you.¡± Iris'' wobbly walking gradually straightened up as her lightheadedness improved every minute. The frigid winds penetrate her small silk dress; shivering and hugging herself, she sees a large tree with a hole at its center. Iris'' face brightened up; the hole appeared to be a blessing by the gods to help her. She tearfully shivered her way into the hole, sitting down as she sensed her body regaining its heat suspiciously fast. Iris looks to her left, seeing a fox and a unicorn, each on their corner, trying their best to hide and not to disturb the other one. ¡°...¡± Blankly staring at each other, they unofficially agreed to stay here for the rest of the night without attacking each other, all to preserve energy to survive against the mysterious creature. Iris'' heart calmed seeing the animals resting, peeking outside the hole to see any potential dangers. Seeing no soul outside, she gave in, positioning herself in a fetal position and falling into deep sleep. ¡­ Tap, tap, tap. Iris annoyingly woke up to the feeling of something constantly tapping her at a fast tempo. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°I want to sleep more.¡± Iris grumpily stated, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to school!¡± Tap! Tap! Tap. The speed of the taping only increases, reaching Iris''s breaking point. ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t want to go to school!!¡± Iris swiftly sat down, pushing the unicorn. Neigh! Iris''s blurry eyes slowly but surely regained focus until the once-blurry image of the unicorn became more lively. Iris, locking eyes with the unicorn, instantly realized what the unicorn wanted. She stood up and left the hole, following the unicorn that also left the hole. ¡°I am hungry!¡± Her stomach growled as she looked at the sleeping fox inside the hole, her mouth salivating, but eventually, she decided to get away to try and find the apple tree. With her spirits at a normal level, her first goal is to find food and to find a hiding spot to survive the next night. The threat of the creature sent a shiver down her spine the more she thought about it. ¡°I need to escape this forest. I need to find another angel or human.¡± Iris muttered as she climbed the tree. Reaching the top of the tree, she raises her clenched fist proudly. ¡°See Aunt Lily! Me climbing your trees actually benefited me!¡± She lowered her hand. ¡°I hope that you are doing better than me.¡± Sensing tears rolling down her cheeks, she wiped them away, looking down, seeing a unicorn eating. Iris''s face turned to a sinister smile as her primal instincts kicked in. In a swift motion, she let herself fall onto the unicorn''s back while trying to hold all seven apples close to her. ¡°Yay!!¡± Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! With the unicorn violently shaking, Iris grabbed its neck until the unicorn raised its leg, flinging Iris. Now on the ground, the unicorn ran to Iris, looking at her with disdain as it stepped on her. Iris, seeing the first leg nearly touching her, created a small shield to protect herself. Each step hurt her, but she persisted. Its silver horn tip stood out the most, shining beautifully with the sun. The stomping lasted a few minutes until the unicorn felt its vengeance was complete. Leaving Iris lying down, her body hurting but with so much joy. She sat up, crossing her arms and shaking her head. ¡°I am sorry, Mom, but I think that unicorn has to die. I hope you forgive me for killing your favorite animals.¡± Her face turned from a bright smile to a simple smile. ¡°How are you going to punish me?¡± With her heart aching, she stood up, taking a deep breath and smelling the different smells around her. Iris sees an apple resting beside her, grabs it, and devours the apple, leaving it with only the seeds remaining. She scavenged for more apples, her face in deep sadness as her apples were squished by the unicorn. ¡°I am going to kill you!!¡± Her screams caused many birds in neighboring trees to fly away. Arriving at the river and seeing the animals all drinking water, she felt calmer, drinking water beside them as she covered herself with a tree branch on her head. Her plan was successful as none of the animals acknowledged her as a threat. The rest of her day remained stagnant as she searched for a place to hide and stole as many apples as her small hands could carry. With night approaching, she found a hiding spot. Night arrived; she carefully positioned herself to not expose herself but with a decent vision of the exterior of the tree she was hiding. The fog appeared once again; with more preparation, she felt safe. Thump A dazzling woman with purple hair covering her face fell beside her. Iris'' body tenses; her mind rises to decide to help or leave her alone. The woman looked back at Iris, her butterfly-shaped pupils shining in the moonlight. Light purple butterfly design on top of her eyebrows. Her soft voice whispered, ¡°Please,¡± her hands trembling as she reached out to the shaking Iris. The faint smell of mountain mint wafted from her, a strange contrast to the powdery and metallic smell in the air. Phwwwwwht The sinister whistle rumbled the tree, Iris trembling as she looked at the woman whispering to her and back at her hiding spot. The words of the woman and the creature echo through her. I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t know! ¡°There you are.¡± The Purple Trails Iris grabs the woman with all her strength, managing to pull her inside just in time before the mysterious creature lands a powerful blade throw at where the woman''s stomach used to lie. ¡°Thank¡­¡± The woman is interrupted by Iris, who covers her mouth and pulls closer to her so she won''t be discovered. The woman''s eyes, looking at Iris''s terrified eyes, tendered her heart, letting Iris''s body rest on top of her hand as they both tried to survive the night. Auuuuu! Slash! They hear the cry of the wolf, knowing the outcome; however, they are too afraid to look outside. Trembling inside the tight hole, Iris began to gain more internal heat. The fog continued simultaneously as the slaughter of animals in the open continued, each sound of their blood-curdling screams increasing Iris''s anxiety. The woman¡¯s maternal instinct tried to calm Iris, but Iris ignored all of her soft cuddles, deciding to close her eyes and wait until everything was over. The bloody night continued for what felt like an eternity. Iris had not expected the fog to last for hours; her first encounter was fast, and only one animal died; however, this night it felt as if the creature was extra hungry from only consuming one animal or that it might be looking for her. The threat of the creature echoed in Iris'' head, constantly overthinking about that threat. She looked up at the woman, her eyes lighting up the small dark hole. Looking into their eyes, the woman gave a soft smile, which calmed Iris, the tiredness of the day beginning to catch up with her. The smell of the woman¡¯s body combined with her soft, silky skin made Iris¡¯s eyelids grow heavier, her breathing relaxing. With her wobbly head trying to stay up, it found a perfect spot close to the woman¡¯s chest area. ¡°What is that?¡± Iris said, noticing a small, almost unnoticeable, liquid purple trail. Iris gave up on trying to stay awake, looking up at the woman¡¯s tender look and closing her eyes, feeling a wave of calmness piercing her body. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With Iris resting, the woman looked back at her arm, dripping purple blood. She tried to move her arm, yet it felt bolted to the ground, the sharp electric pain passing up and down her arm. The pain is bearable; however, the blood loss is her biggest worry. ¡°Thank you. I will do my best to make you live this hell.¡± The woman whispered as she rested her head on top of Iris. How did she get here? She is too beautiful to be by herself. Was she abandoned or did she get lost? The woman felt a sharp pain in her heart. Why did her eyes appear so youthful and energetic yet full of sorrow? The woman raised her head, now resting on the tree bark. The woman feeling safe could calmly heal her hand, a process that brings her many problems. Taking heavy breaths as she clenches her face in pain, the bleeding decreases to an almost unnoticeable level. With her vision increasingly dizzy, losing sensation in the lower extremities combined with the loss of heat made her relax for a little to try and regain her strength. She looked down at Iris soundly sleeping, her heat transferring to her. Neigh!! Seizing the opportunity to let out a small scream of her final attempt to heal while being massacred by the cry of a dying horse led her to move her hand while not startling Iris or calling for the attention of the creature. ¡°What?¡± Iris whispered, her eyes full of drowsiness. Looking up and seeing the woman making a funny face as she tries to hide her pain and show a smile. ¡°Hehe, pretty,¡± Iris said before falling asleep, burying her left side face more into the woman''s chest while still maintaining a good source of oxygen. With her hands healed, the woman decides to rest, regain her strength, and learn more about the young girl. Resting her head on top of Iris, she closes her eyes and falls asleep. ¡­ The woman is the first one to wake up, seeing Iris'' little legs extended as she covers her face, sleeping soundly warms her heart. Her hand feeling numb, she carefully wiggles it away from Iris so as to not disturb her sleep. With a much clearer vision, the woman looks in amusement to see such a long hole inside the tree. She knows that the trees range from ten to five times larger than the trees where she is from, but seeing such a deep hole surprised her. The woman quickly leaves the hole and is blinded by the sun''s rays. After regaining some of her vision back, her first goal is to find some clean water and food for the both of them. She stretches her body, extending her limbs as far as she can, doing a few little jumps, stretching her quads, and she feels ready to start her day. She began her food search, passing through many trees, not before creating a trail to come back. ¡­ Iris wakes up; the smell of freshly cooked fish alerts her. She stands up, disregarding her current spot, and smacks herself to the top of the tree. She lowers her body as she massages the top of her head. Going outside the hole, she is surprised to see the woman cooking two medium-sized fish. The woman looks back, seeing Iris looking at her with hunger written all over her face. ¡°I made us breakfast; come here,¡± pointing at a large stone. Iris, looking astonished, walks up and sits on the stone, her mouth watering from the idea of finally testing something else aside from apples. As she waits, she can clearly see the woman''s beauty, her hair majestically flowing, the paintings of the butterfly radiating a calling aura. Her simple black dress with signs of wear catches Iris'' attention. ¡°Miss, what is your name?¡± Turning around, locking eyes with Iris, the woman''s dazzling purple butterfly-shaped pupils. ¡°My name is Apatura. What is yours?¡± ¡°Um, my name is Iris.¡± The Apatura''s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°My middle name is also Iris. What a coincidence.¡± Apatura gave a large smile before returning to cooking the fish. ¡°Thank you.¡± Iris looked up to see Apatura stretching the fish on a stick, her face reminding Iris of her mother. She grabs the fish, feeling heartache as she looks up, seeing Apatura and giving her a beautiful smile. Whispers of the Past If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The Rose Angels Shadow Apatura runs towards the creature, positioning herself in front of Iris. Her eyes are doubtful yet full of rage. ¡°Why are you doing this! What do you want?¡± Apatura screamed, which bounced through the trees. The creature locks eye contact. ¡°Do you forget the deal ¡®we¡¯ did?¡± Iris is on the ground trying her best to not die, looking up at Apatura, wanting to know what is happening and why she is being targeted. ¡°I never did such a deal! That was those scum at ¡®the Antennae¡¯; why would I sell myself for those traitors?!¡± The artifact pulsated, sending Iris into a violent, bloody cough. ¡°Leave her out of this!! She has nothing to do with this situation!!¡± ¡°It was an order for the higher-ups; I didn¡¯t disclose any information regarding them.¡± The creature said in a bone-chilling. ¡°W-what w-e-why. I¡ªI haven¡¯t done anything.¡± Iris said, struggling with her words as her lungs felt that they would collapse if she raised her voice. ¡°That is not for me to discuss; I am just following orders.¡± The creature changed its vision to Apatura. ¡°Butterfly, if you don¡¯t do what you are supposed to do, then that girl will die. My mission is to weaken her, and if she is strong, to kill her immediately.¡± The fog changed color to a light brown, changing its consistency from simple fog to a fog that sticks to the skin; the smell of burning leather can be smelled everywhere. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch her!! I swear to **** that I will kill everyone!!¡± Iris looked up at Apatura, intrigued. Why can¡¯t I hear the word? It is the name of¡­. Why can¡¯t I remember what the name is? Her body shaking, her mind drifting in and out of consciousness. ¡°How are you planning to succeed? Did you not tell the girl that you are a failure of a butterfly?¡± Iris''s eyelids'' weight increased; she had reached her limit. ¡°You can do it.¡± Iris passed out. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°She has fallen; how pitiful. I was ex¡­¡± Apaturas'' dull pink sword pierced the stomach of the creature, releasing a dark black liquid. The creature looked down, appearing unbothered. The creature, in a swift motion, moved backwards with its left hand covering the injury. Looking up, it sees Apatura lunging herself to attack. The creature lowered its body, positioning its leg to the right and lowering its shoulders. Throwing a fast kick to Apatura''s uncoordinated footing caused her to lose balance. Seeing this, the creature raised its leg, launching a barrage of kicks to her liver, bringing her to her knees. Apatura sees the creature''s blade closing in, and she quickly moves out of the way, creating another blade. Focusing on increasing the amount of power in the blade raised the beauty of the pink. Transforming from a dull pink to a simple pink. Apatura launches herself at the creature, which is met with a block, and attacks begin. Apatura swiftly sends high-speed attacks in a point-blank position. The creature, using its blades, struggles to defend against her attacks. The being lands its right leg to the left; quickly it changes its position, creating a fake-out that allows it to have the upper hand. With Apatura leaving her back completely unprotected, the creature launches precise attacks. Apatura feels the blade enter her right hand before managing to correct her footing and protect herself from the attacks. Apatura, seeing an opening, sends a powerful kick at the creature''s calf, causing it to lose footing. Apatura swiftly moves to a blind spot, and with little time to calculate, she grabs both her blades, inserting them inside the creature''s back. The creature begins twitching, its black blood pouring out; distracted, Apatura doesn''t see the creature punch toward her stomach. Boom Apatura is sent flying, colliding with a tree. Her head smacked the wood with such potency it led her to lose consciousness. The creature looks over at its blade, grabs it, and runs towards Apatura to finish her off. Apatura can barely open her eyes, seeing how the creature raises its blade in a fatal angle. Aiming to pierce her skull. Tick Apatura senses the blade on top of her head, blood slowly pouring out, while the being looks back to its artifact. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to kill me! Kill me but leave her alone!!¡± ¡°Shh!¡± The creature, irritated, covers her mouth. ¡°We both were lucky to be alive.¡± Biting the creature''s hand, Apatura screams, ¡°Shut up!! Didn¡¯t you want to kill me?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t miss construction. I do want to kill you, but orders can¡¯t be disobeyed.¡± Pointing at Iris, ¡°That young girl can be saved if you decide to complete our deal.¡± The creature walked back to grab its artifact. ¡°Why are you using her as blackmail?!¡± Apatura screamed, causing her to launch her blade at the creature. The creature, narrowly avoiding the blade, took a deep breath. ¡°You have ten days; each day the girl will get weaker, and on day eleven she will die.¡± The creature said before disappearing with the fog. Seeing the creature disappear, Apatura fell on her knees; she felt stuck in a situation where she would only be losing. ¡°Also pay respect to a rose angel.¡± A mysterious voice echoed through the forest; the potency caused many trees to fall down. Apatura smashes her head to the ground out of desperation. She has nowhere left to go and no one else to turn to. The words ¡®a rose angel¡¯ sent her further in despair. With her bleeding arms, she hugged the sleeping Iris. She always knew that Iris was special, but her original thinking of her being half an angel was disproved by the confirmation that Iris is a combination of the strongest races. Half-bloods are rare and are known as the strongest beings in any world that has the fortune of having an angel visit them and impregnate a human woman. The possibilities are incredibly low, and the chances of the woman surviving are even lower. Pure angels are rarer due to the low fertility of female angels; however, pure angels are the third strongest beings, and their extremely high level in every statistic makes them a defender of many words. They are nothing compared to a rose angel, being the second strong being aside from the superior being. A combination of a Rose and an Angel can only birth one child; however, the hardest part of this combination is due to how politically divided both angels and Roses are. ¡°Iris I promise I will save you. I don¡¯t want to fail another person.¡± Apatura, he muttered before falling unconscious. Echoes of the Self Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Wings of Fragility A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Wings of Fury Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. A Dance of Lightning and Shadow This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The Wolf’s Last Stand The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Wings Of Sacrifice The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The Cost of Survival The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Shields And Survival Stolen story; please report. A Moment of Peace The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Cracked Reflections Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Blood and Broken Spines This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The Eye in the Dark This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The Stalker in the Leaves This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Winter of the Soulless Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!