Dark Worlds. Convergence.

Proligue

December 25, 2004. USA. State of New York. Buffalo.

Large flakes of snow fell in a dense veil over the rooftops of the numerous buildings. The city was enveloped in a blinding snowstorm. Visibility on the roads was limited to a few feet. The gray skies were illuminated by the faint light of the setting sun. People rushed to find shelter from the fierce storm in any available space. The city gradually sank into darkness as twilight illuminated the streets. There was a crunch of wet snow under our feet as we walked through the deserted streets. Two sets of footprints could be seen on the sidewalk covered in a thick layer of snow, with more tracks next to smaller and more chaotic footprints. The crunching sound of the snow became louder with each step, making us feel cold.

"Deira, just hold on a little longer. We'll be home soon."
"I'm so tired," said the child, his voice filled with desperation. "Can we stop at a coffee shop and rest for a bit?
"We don't have enough money to go to a cafe", the woman said as she slowed down, walking with her tired child. "Honey, just a little more. Soon, we will come home and have a festive dinner to celebrate Christmas."
"And Dad...?" the girl asked, her voice trembling. "Will he be there for the holiday?"
"Deira, I've already told you that your dad has left, and he won't be coming back," the woman said with a heavy sigh. "Your dad has left us."
"He can't have left us," the girl replied, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "My dad loves me and he'll come back. You wait and see. My dad won't leave me at Christmas!"

With a sudden movement, the girl yanked her hand free from her mother's grasp and ran towards an alleyway, leaving the woman behind. Before the woman could react, the child had disappeared from view. Despite her fatigue and the bad weather, the woman quickly chased after her child. She ran through the streets, finally finding her daughter in an alleyway. Darkness had already fallen over the city, casting sinister shadows over the silhouetted figures. The girl sat on the ground, crying loudly and shivering with endless sobs, hugging her knees to her chest. As the woman approached her, a dark figure emerged from the shadows behind her. It was a young man with a pale face, his eyes dark with red reflections in their pupils.

The stranger grabbed the woman, clamping her mouth with his pale palm.

"Shut up," the stranger said in a melodic and attractive voice. "You're not afraid of anything, and nothing will threaten you. You will shut up and feel nothing."

The woman's body went limp and motionless. Her attempts to free herself from the stranger's strong grip ceased. The woman's eyes glassed over and resembled those of a soulless doll. The stranger's red eyes flashed, and exposing a number of sharp, unnaturally white teeth, he dug into the woman's neck with a death grip. Her hands fell limply along her body, her empty eyes slowly closing, and her thin legs buckled. The girl looked at what was happening with horror in her eyes.
The last rays of the sun disappeared behind the horizon, giving way to the power of black night. Her eyes flashed, and her crying and recent hysteria stopped instantly. Her look changed, taking on a fierce and ruthless expression. She grabbed a massive wooden board with one hand and, with a sharp movement, broke it into many pieces. Then she grabbed one of the pieces and attacked a stranger in the dark alley. The sharp end of the board pierced the man's body, causing him to shake and let out a piercing scream. His pale fingers released their grip on the woman's lifeless body, which fell onto a white, snowy blanket. Scarlet stains spread in the snow as she walked away.

The woman's body lay in the snow with a ragged and lifeless appearance, not giving any sign of life. The man had fallen dead at the feet of the little girl, who was clutching a bloody wooden stake in her hands. The child's eyes didn't have a childish or naive look, but rather a fierce and ruthless look that belonged to a murderer and real monster.

A few hours after the incident, the police began an investigation. The child's account of the monster's attack on her mother, and the woman's attempt to drink the victim's blood, was perceived as a post-traumatic stress syndrome. Detectives questioned the girl extensively about the identity of the assailant. The girl's responses were collected and restrained.