What is the Greatest Revenge? (Arcana#1)

Prologue

I wake up to the gentle sunlight and find Vana standing before me, her smile is bright and warm. Am I dreaming? What is happening? How can Vana be here, and most importantly, how is she alive?

I analyze the surroundings, the temperature and snow surrounding the place, the cold wind, and the tall snowy trees. I am pretty sure we are in the Zakraine Empire. How did we get here? She helps me to stand up, and from her cloak, my eyes were drawn to a peculiar symbol, an emblem that has once been the seal of her letters and packages from unknown senders, depicting a crown of ice encircling an eight-pointed star.

"V-Vana? Is it really you?" I tried to touch her, but it felt as if her body were made of wind. Am I hallucinating?

"Hale, I understand that you have many questions and doubts, especially in your heart. Everything that is happening is already written in the future. Follow your heart's desires, and heed the guidance of your mind."

Tears begin to form in my eyes as she held my face, her warm hands soothing against my skin. I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. Why must they take away what is important to me? Why must they live when everyone I lived for is already gone?

I am contemplating whether seeking revenge was the best way to show them that those they killed were innocent, wanting nothing but their safety. Why must they fall victim to their greed and take away the precious lives that once saved them?

I held her hands and look into her eyes. "Vana, I have decided to take back what they once took from me. Those people must not live. They must suffer, feel the pain, the loss, grieve, and die. I will erase their existence from this world as if they never existed. I will make them remember what they did to all of you, I will ensure they experience the same fate you endured. They do not deserve to breathe the same air you once inhaled, nor to live in the world you tried so hard to protect. I will kill them all. I will bring their empire down."

After I spoke those words, the sky turned a fiery red, the snow melted away, and the snowy trees ignited in flames. Crows swarm the sky, their caws echoing ominously. I turned to Vana, tears streamed down her face. The worry in her expression mirrored what my mother looked like before she died.

I reach out to hold Vana's hands, but suddenly, a massive crack split the ground between us. What is happening? I tried to summon my power, but as soon as I did, a wave of weakness washed over me. Pain surge through my left side, like a searing burn. I rolled up my sleeve and saw a red mark glowing across my entire arm. What is this...?

"Hale, do not act in ways that might bring harm to the world your kin once protected. When you wake up, I will be gone, and you will be alone. You must survive until the very end, Hale. We are all watching over you. Hsnjhsdjhdfurfdchdjke..."

Her voice trailed into a garbled sound, the words becoming unintelligible as my head throbbed with pain. My vision blurred, and the ache in my skull grows unbearable, drowning out everything else. Using the little strength I had left, I shield myself from the encroaching flames.

.

.

.

"Miss? Miss?? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" I heard a voice calling out. My body feel so heavy, immobile, and every part of me aches. I tried to respond, but I am too weak, unable even to open my eyes.

I can hear birds chirping and the murmur of many people. Where am I? I felt someone gently touch my arm and help me sit up, carefully wrapping bandages around it. The smell of medicine filled the air. Did someone really burn the trees? But I can't smell anything scorched. I tried once more to open my eyes, but the light was blinding. I must've been asleep for several days for my eyes to have become so sensitive.