[Jjk] Existence: Book 1 [Balancer]

Prologue

Luscious black hair swayed along to the tune of the night, iridescent gray orbs sharply darting around to search for any possible help. The female ran through the dark woods for her dear life, her breaths coming out in short huffs as her vision blurred because of the blood steadily dripping from her forehead. She could hear the loud rustling a distance away behind her even as she sped up, knowing it was a Curse chasing after her.

She's been seeing those creatures for as long as she can remember. It's always been a normal occurrence for her, considering that the people around her could also see the creatures clearly. She didn't have the slightest idea that it wasn't a common phenomenon. The people who raised her always seemed to have no problems eradicating the creatures they called Curses. Yet here she was, running away after said abomination literally crashed the car she was in and killed the driver.

She lived an oddly isolated life, moving every once a month and passed on to different families as she studied under them without having any idea it was out of the ordinary. Being ambushed by Curses was nothing out of the ordinary, she's always been escorted by the most skillful of people who claimed to be Sorcerers and they usually had no problems dealing with any Curse that may show up during the transport. She would've never imagined there would come the day where they fail and die instead, she was still far too naive.

To be fair it was in actuality a Special Grade Curse, not that she had any knowledge about the grading system and such since she was never taught about it. Which is also the reason why she was clueless on how much trouble she was in now.

Another rustle could be heard behind her, too close for her own liking. Turning her head just in time, she barely dodged a claw that grazed her cheek. The Curse chasing her resembled the mythology of Amakiri, a cross between a serpent, bird, and a lobster. Its claws were similar to that of a crab, donning the body of a snake while its head was one of a bird. And by no means she was in the mood to be crushed by a giant lobster claw.

There was a small cracking noise as the noirette kicked away the Curse with her inhuman strength. That only earned her a shrill cry from the enraged creature, the damage she caused to it quickly healing as it used a Reverse Cursed Technique which made her curse softly under her breath. The Curse's claw struck down once more, leaving a small crater on the ground right where she was a split second ago had she not moved away in time.

She already knew her attacks wouldn't work, that's why she didn't bother to try fighting it and opted to run instead. All her life she's been watching how the Sorcerers around her battling those monstrosities, asking them how they did it only to be told that she didn't have to worry since they'll protect her. She wasn't going to believe that again in the future, well that is if she lived past today.

The wind was knocked out of her lungs as the Curse swung at her, making the gray eyed female crash into a nearby tree. The tree dented from the sheer impact, the poor girl coughing up blood with a pained expression as she collapsed to the ground. She could've sworn she heard a few cracks. Oh how her lungs burned and the helplessness that she was feeling. But was she scared? Not in the least. Rather she was feeling pissed off, at herself who was powerless, at the people who didn't teach her and instead told her they'll protect her, at this Curse who dared to attack her.

It wasn't as if she had any grand reason or the strong will to live. She didn't have a loving family that she wanted to return to desperately, having moved to a different family every month for reasons unknown to her. Even then said families resembled mentors more than anything else. Was she curious as to why that is? Of course, but she wasn't particularly interested in finding out the reason either since it seemed to be too much effort.

She didn't have some sort of sob background or someone dear to live for, one month was barely enough time to make an attachment for her especially since none of the "families" kept in touch after she moved. She didn't yearn for love, nor live in order to fulfill someone else's will either. She was simply existing instead of living, for she had no purpose of her own nor the everlasting curiosity to be alive. She was a mere existence amongst the world's population. And existence was no more than the precarious attainment of relevance in an intensely mobile flux of past, present, and future.