The girl begged them to stop, her voice trembling with desperation.

“Please, don’t!” she cried, tears brimming in her eyes.

Her mother stood before her, calm and cold.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “We won’t… if you hand over the crystal.”

She looked down at her daughter, her expression harsh.

“You are unworthy of such power.”

The girl’s arms were pinned tightly by her brothers as she watched the only thing that truly mattered to her—the sketchbook—being thrown into the fire. The old, musty pages curled and blackened as the flames devoured them.

She tried not to cry. She refused to show them the pain.

Her long, dark purple hair fell over her face, hiding her expression as her brothers finally let her go.

Why do you even bother cherishing such people?

A strange thought echoed in her mind.

Kill them. People like this don’t deserve to live. No more being nice.

Her face twisted with rage. One of her eyes turned blue; both eyes began to glow. The fire devouring the sketchbook shifted from orange to black.

“You’ll pay for this,” she said—but the voice that came from her mouth wasn’t entirely hers.

The last thing the family saw before everything changed were strange creatures rising from the black fire. The girl, once seen as the weakling, now radiated a terrifying power.

Claws—monstrous and sharp—formed at her hands.

Her power gripped them all, paralyzing their limbs. The creatures spread into the town, bringing chaos and death.

The mother dropped to her knees, begging for mercy.

But the girl didn’t speak to her mother anymore.

Suddenly, a loud alarm blared. Rachel shot up in bed, staring at the ceiling.

It was just a dream. But it felt so… real.

She quickly reached under her bed and pulled out her sketchbook.

Relieved, she hugged it to her chest, then sank back into thought.

“Rachel!” her younger brother shouted.

“Mom says get up! You have to clean Amanda’s room—she’s coming to visit today!”

Right. Amanda. Her older sister by three years. Amanda, who seemed like the main character in a perfect story. Always glowing, always right. Everything Rachel wasn’t.

Rachel sighed and got up. She didn’t even bother with the bathroom. Her mom would yell if she didn’t clean Amanda’s room at lightning speed.

Still, that dream lingered in her mind.

After finishing the chores, Rachel headed to college.

She studied fashion design—not by choice, but because her parents insisted. She followed every rule, did everything asked of her, but somehow, she was never enough.

A middle child, she learned early not to expect love or attention. She didn’t ask for much—just a peaceful day.

Survival was enough.

Sometimes, when she could steal a quiet moment, she’d write chapters for her story on Tapas. Drawing and writing were her only escape, though her college major left her little time for either.

As she walked, lost in thought, Rachel bumped into someone.

“Ah! I’m so sorry, miss!” she said quickly, dropping to gather the woman’s fallen belongings.

The woman had white hair, despite looking close to Rachel’s age—maybe slightly older.

“It’s alright, dear. No harm done,” the woman said kindly.

But then the woman’s eyes shifted to the crystal she was holding. It glowed faintly, pulsing brighter the closer Rachel came.

A spark of realization flashed in the woman’s eyes. She hesitated… then, while Rachel helped with the rest of her things, she quietly slipped the crystal into Rachel’s bag.

She whispered a silent hope: May this one not end like the last.

That afternoon, Rachel sat alone in the cafeteria.

Though she was a senior, almost done with her degree, she felt as miserable as ever.

To relieve the pressure, she opened her sketchbook and began drawing. Messy doodles, scattered ideas—her safe space. The one thing that made her feel whole.

Then she saw it.

A strange pen—no, more like a wand—with a crystal the size of her thumb at its core. It rested in a box covered in detailed symbols she didn’t recognize… and yet, somehow, she could read them.

Use it wisely, for its darkness may swallow you whole, no matter how right it feels.

She blinked.

What was that? How could she understand symbols she’d never seen before?