⊰⊹Crimson ⍭ redemption⊹⊱ Vincent valentine x reader

Chapter 0: Painful beginning

VincentValSimp24 I continued writing it, it's been long but I am back!
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Black. Everything is black. Your body is aching and your head hurts, you felt a lacing pain like your head was about to explode. Your ears are ringing and you feel totally disoriented. You can feel the dirty ground under you, slowly coming back to your senses.

Your eyes are feeling heavy, but you urged them open, your sight is clouded at first, but it quickly stabilizes, only to realize that you are lying, stomach first on the floor. You slowly start to get up, putting your hands under you to allow your body to get on your knees and then standing on your feet. You quickly close your eyes to stabilize yourself, almost losing your balance. When you re-open your eyes, the sight in front of you made you freeze.

There were houses on fire, some still standing, others completely in ruins; dead bodies everywhere, it wasn't difficult to understand that those were the bodies of the innocent civilians that lived here. Dust and smoke were flying in the air, though, not enough to hide the horrified of the corps, you could see the blood on the ground, the burned flesh, the death...everywhere. Tilting your head down, you looked at your shaking hands. Blood, innocent's blood, their blood was on your hands.

Even though you don't have any memory at all, you knew, you knew that THIS was YOUR fault. You knew that you were the one, the one that ended the lives of innocent people, the one that destroyed this village and reduced it to ash. At this moment, your heart shattered into thousand pieces. The wave of emotion overwhelmed you.

Sadness, sorrow, guilt, fear, despair...

You were horrified by what you did, afraid of what you could do. Oh, how you wished at this very moment that you could have never existed. Suddenly, the sound of helicopters pulled you out of your thoughts. You heard them getting closer and closer to your position. You were at the edge of the village, near the forest. They were getting closer and closer; you could even discern shouted sentences of soldiers through all the noises.

" Look out for any survivors! And stay on your guard! "

" -NOOOOO!!! My home! My family!... I'll kill the one who did that!!! I'll kill them !!! "

" Hey, soldier! Focus on the mission! Keep your feelings for later and try not to die till then! "

" -ect must still be around, if you find it, alert the others and catch it alive! "

Instinctively, you took some steps back and then began to run to the woodland and beyond, far away from that bloodshed, YOUR bloodshed, even though you wanted to stop, your legs were acting on their own, driven by a survival instinct.

'No...I shouldn't run away; I don't deserve to live or to be free. I should surrender myself, not try to escape the only fair punishment for my sins! So why, why am I running?' you thought.

You ran for what felt like hours and hours. You didn't look back. The sounds of the soldiers and the helicopters slightly fade away along with the lights of the multiple fires caused by the destruction, and the artificial light that illuminated the night sky, helping the soldiers in their research of survivors. Suddenly, you realize that you are only surrounded by trees and silence. The only sound that could be heard was the noise of your steps on the forest soil and the night insects. The sleeping forest seemed so peaceful, like time doesn't exist. The shy moon illuminated the sky and light slept through the tree's foliage. Giving enough light to see the environment and your surroundings. You ran until exhaustion and slipped onto the hard floor covered with moss. You fell to your hands and knees and finally began to cry.

"Why?! WHY?!!?" ... You sat on your knees and looked at your hands again.

"I... I am...... I am... a monster..." you said in a whisper.

You sat there for who knows how long, crying and muttering inaudible apologies. Then, it started raining, just as if the planet could feel your pain and sorrow. The moon was hidden, covered by dark clouds. You were surrounded by darkness, completely soaked and lost. You just wanted to disappear into nothingness, not like anyone would miss you, would they? Slowly, you started to stand up again, helping yourself with a nearby tree. You can't stay there, if you don't move, you'll freeze to death. Or worse, you could end up killed by a forest monster. A part of you wished that one of them could just come and kill you, and the other part of you didn't want to die, wishing that you won't cross paths with them, because you knew that you wouldn't have the strength to fight for your life. You started to walk, you didn't know where to go, surprisingly, you were still able to see quite well even in the dark. The walk was long and tortuous, with only trees for orientation point you quickly felt like you were walking in circles, and that all your efforts were for nothing. You walked for what seemed like hours, or maybe was it only minutes, you did not even know yourself, slowly becoming desperate to ever find a way out. Maybe this was your punishment, trapped in this never-ending forest for eternity. Your train of thought was suddenly cut when you saw, not far away from your spot, the entrance of a small town. Finally, you ended up finding the end of the forest and with it a place safer than the forest. Thankfully, there weren't a lot of people out this tardily in the night.

'I have to get new clothes, don't need to bring attention to me with how pitiful I look' you thought. But you didn't have any gils on you.

'I guess I'll have to steal, I hate it, but I have to, I'm sorry.' You went to the first shop that you found. The door wasn't locked, you were surprised, but you weren't going to complain, were you? Maybe luck was finally by your side after all. There was no light, and you saw no one inside, so you choose that it was safe to go inside.

You quickly went inside and took the first things that looked like they would fit you, you took every precaution not to break anything or to make something fall, very aware of all the sound that you were causing in the so very silent shop, and then immediately changed. After that, you went outside of the shop, carefully closing the door and throwing your hold-thorn clothes into the trash can. You were ready to start again, a new beginning, a new life. Find a job, a place to live. Locking your heart and sentiment under lock and key, closing yourself to the world, and reminding yourself of your sins and what you were, a failure, your journey finally began...