~{Imagine a Snowflake In The Wind}~

Prologue~{Shadows Of The Past}

In the heart of the night, where the shadows danced their silent waltz and the moon cast its pale glow upon the world, a child was abandoned. It was not the kind of abandonment that came with tearful farewells or lingering hugs. No, it was the cold, merciless abandonment of a parent's fleeting footsteps, disappearing into the darkness without a backward glance.

The infant, swaddled in a tattered blanket, lay nestled amidst the discarded remnants of an alleyway. Her cries echoed through the stillness of the night, unheard by any compassionate soul. Above her, the stars twinkled, indifferent to the tragedy unfolding below.

No one knows why she was forsaken, left to fend for herself in a world that showed no mercy to the weak. Perhaps her parents were driven by desperation or fear, or perhaps they simply lacked the capacity for love. Whatever the reason, their actions set in motion a chain of events that would shape the course of her life forever.

As dawn broke on the horizon, casting its golden rays upon the city, the child stirred. She blinked up at the sky with eyes as clear as crystal, unaware of the destiny that awaited her. Little did she know that she was destined for a life of darkness, trained in the art of death and deception.

For she would be found, not by a kind stranger offering solace and warmth, but by those who saw her potential for something far more sinister. And so, the child abandoned became the child embraced by shadows, molded into a weapon sharpened by loss and betrayal. 

Years passed, each one blurring into the next as the child grew from infancy into adolescence. She was no longer the helpless babe left to perish in the cold embrace of the night. Instead, she was a fierce and agile warrior, honed to perfection by the hands of her masters.

In the hidden depths of a secluded fortress, she trained relentlessly, her days filled with the clashing of steel and the whispers of her instructors. They taught her to move without sound, to strike without hesitation, to extinguish life with ruthless efficiency.

But amidst the brutality of her training, there were fleeting moments of tenderness, rare as precious gems in a sea of darkness. In those moments, she would catch a glimpse of what could have been—a childhood of laughter and innocence, of love and warmth. Yet, such thoughts were quickly banished, for sentimentality was a luxury she could ill afford.

For she was not simply a girl anymore; she was an assassin, a harbinger of death lurking in the shadows. And as the years stretched on, she embraced her destiny with a steely resolve, burying the memories of her past beneath layers of ice and steel.

But deep within her heart, a spark remained—a flicker of humanity amidst the darkness. And though she may have been forged in the fires of cruelty and abandonment, there was still a glimmer of hope that one day, she would find redemption in the most unlikely of places...