Alright, this was supposed to be the introduction to the story, but I lost this part of the novel. I found it in my old notebook and rewrote it. It will be the introduction and an important part of the story.
Alright, I have a webtoon and I will publish the first chapter soon. The title is the same as the novel's.
Darkness swallowed the forest, no sound but the screams of the wind and the ragged gasps of her breath. Arwa ran, glancing left and right, her wide eyes shining under the pale moonlight. Her torn dress fluttered behind her like a tattered banner of survival.
Her undergarments were fully exposed now, and her bare foot sank into the mud, leaving a trail of blood and dirt behind. Pain gnawed at her, but she didn't stop.
Panting.
"My God... please, help me..." she gasped in desperation, clutching the sleeping child to her trembling chest.
Panting.
"I'll save you... little one... I won't let them take you..."
The little girl was unaware of anything, her innocent face sunk in a deep sleep, while the world around her exploded in madness.
Panting.
"I promised your mother... I won't break that promise... no matter what it costs..."
Suddenly, branches snapped behind her, followed by heavy... quick... furious footsteps.
Arwa ran with everything she had left. Her heart pounded like war drums. The wind slapped her face, and the cold bit into her skin.
Then... she stopped.
As if time froze with her.
In front of her, among the shadows... he stood. Him.
The killer.
His deformed face twisted into a crooked smile, and his bloodied axe dripped from its edge. His eyes gleamed with demonic madness.
"Where will you run to, my beautiful painting?"
Her face paled, but she didn't back down. She raised her chin and shouted from the depths of her soul:
"Arwa, you bastard... I won't stay here, even if it means I die now!"
He laughed, his laugh like the gurgling of tainted water. "Oh, my beautiful one... I can't take such romantic words! Makes me want to tear you apart slowly!"
"Die!" she screamed, picking up a large stone the size of her hand and hurling it with all her strength at his face. It struck his forehead, and he screamed, but didn't fall.
She ran. She didn't look back.
She ran toward the river.
"You'll die there!" he yelled after her, "The water is strong! It'll sweep you and the child away!"
But she didn't stop.
She looked at the rushing current, her eyes blazing with burning resolve, her heart echoing: "I promised."
She entered the water, the cold slicing her skin like knives. She moved against the current, breaking through the river with her arms, the child still held between them.
The water reached her chest, then her neck, but she didn't stop.
Panting.
"I'll save you... I promised your mother..."
Her body trembled, and her soaked dress clung to her skin, transparent like a snake's shed layer. Nothing covered her now... except her will.
Finally, she reached the other bank. She collapsed on the ground, panting, crying, hugging the child tightly.
But behind her... there was the sound.
The thud of an axe.
"You've crossed the line, Arwa... now, things get serious."
She saw him step forward, determined to cross.
She screamed inside:
"No... he won't reach you... I swear!"
She gathered what little strength she had left and stood up, her legs bleeding. Her eyes swollen from crying—but it was the kind of tears that burn, not weaken.
"I'll make it."
"I'll save you."
"I promised."
As the killer approached, memories flashed before her eyes... how it all started... when she suddenly incarnated in this mad world.