She laughed with the girl next to her, the sidewalk ahead paved by the orange glow of a setting sun behind them. They continued to chat as they walked, before they finally reached a crossing. She smiled and waved at the girl, who said her goodbyes. She walked out onto the crossing. A shout of warning was heard. She turned to her right, eyes widening as a bright light was careening towards her at high speed.

What sounded like fabric tearing was heard. She turned to her left. Another bright light had appeared from seemingly nowhere. Pain shot through her body as she felt something hard collide with her right side. Her bones shattered, her mouth open but no sound came out. She was sent flying directly into the other light, which completely filled.

The pain in her body increased tenfold as the world around her went black. Her flesh was torn from her body, mouth open in a silent scream. Soon that too disappeared, melting into the void of nothingness around her. Her body had disappeared, her very being now floating aimlessly without direction in this void.

She was in unimaginable pain, despite having no nerves to feel it, or brain to receive the signals that she was feeling it. Her mind was also slowly being torn apart, no matter how desperately she attempted to hold onto it. She could see everything around her at once yet couldn't.

Her vision suddenly focused on a bright blue light. The pain was still there, and growing the more she remained in this place. She moved forward, not knowing how, but also knowing at the same time. As she neared the blue light, the faint outline of a tear was visible. The pain increased even more as she felt herself pulled in by an unknown force, sending her hurtling towards the tear. She didn't care though.

She had to get out of this place.

She finally reached the crack, reaching out with non-existent arms. She touched the tear.

White filled her vision for the second time in what was most likely only a few seconds.

[Rift Event] complete, [Reincarnation] complete, [World System] loading...

She opened her eyes blearily, their sapphire blue shine causing the woman above her to smile gently, silver hair cascading down her shoulders. "Good morning little one." The woman said, hugging her closer as she kissed the small baby on the forehead. Confused the baby could only hug closer in response. Voices could be heard around wherever they were, but her vision was too blurry to see anything. Except for the woman. Where the hell was she? Who the hell was she?

[Mental] Rift Memory Erosion [Status Effect] successfully applied.

Letting out a cry of surprise she hugged the woman closer, who only chuckled in response. "Gotten your first look at the [System], eh." She said. "Sleep now little one." A soft green glow appeared in the woman's hand. The baby felt drowsy, shocking it greatly as it tried to fight back.

Unable to resist [Sleep]

Her eyes shut as a sudden tiredness fell over her. She probably should sleep. Yeah, that sounded quite nice. Once she woke up it would all be better. The pain was over. That was all that mattered right now. A large bang could be heard, followed by what she could only assume was shouts. She could deal with that later. Right now it was nap time.

Noise assaulted her little ears, causing her to cry out as she wished for it to stop. She opened her eyes, her body bouncing up and down as a man carried her. He wore a dark green cloak, with a hood that was pulled up to defend against the onslaught of rain, a stream of blood running down the side of his face barely visible in the darkness. Looking at his other arm she noticed another child, a boy with brown hair curled up against the mans chest.

Rain was pouring down from the black clouds overhead, the man using his body as a shield to protect the two from the rain. That meant he was a good guy. She snuggled closer to him, a shocked look appearing on his face. He suddenly came to a stop in front of a building, a single lantern outside illuminating him as he stood under the overhang, not allowing the rain to assault him anymore.

He stood there panting for several seconds before he looked at her, tears in his eyes. He was crying. Sure she would cry if blood was coming from her head, but this was different. He wasn't crying because of the rain. Silently he placed the two of them on the cold steps leading to the building.

Why though? If he was protecting them from the rain then why would he simply leave them on cold stone in the middle of a thunderstorm. He knelt next to the still sleeping boy that now lay beside her. She attempted to shuffle to hear what they were saying, but the wool blanket she was tightly wrapped in disallowed that. Seeing her movement the man turned to her. Now it was time for explanations.

"Ooh gaa." She sputtered out, attempting to communicate but unable to do so because of her accursed baby body. The man leant closer, pulling out a silver pendant and piece of paper, a blue tear stone embedded into amulet. He smiled as he continued to cry, placing the two objects inside her blanket alongside her..

"Goodbye, little Argent." He whispered before standing up, sprinting into the darkness once again. What? Where was he going? You can't just leave two kids at some random house and sprint off. She attempted to yell at him to stop but only a cry came out. She continued to try and call the man back, however only the despaired cry of a baby came out. She screamed in frustration.

She shivered as a burst of wind brought some of the rain onto her face. She gulped as she realised her situation. She was going to die. And dying was painful. No more pain. Please. And so she cried as hard as shy could, hoping that the man would come back to rescue them from the cold. She was crying for so long that she didn't even notice the sound of a door opening followed by a sharp gasp.

She was going to die. She didn't want to die. Please no more pain. She felt her body being picked up, a woman trying to lull her to sleep to no avail. A familiar green glow appeared in the woman's hand. Yes. Put her to sleep. There was no pain in sleep.

Please...no...more...pain...

[Sleep] has been willingly accepted.

Argent frowned as Olver shoveled the porridge in front of him into his mouth, moving with such speed that Argent didn't even know was possible. "You could try to eat slower." She offered, sighing when she only got ignored.

It had been ten years since she and Olver had been taken in by the orphanage. And unlike the faint memories she had of books and tv shows, it wasn't run by a cruel woman, nor was it dirt poor and run by a kind one. Rather the orphanage was doing really well for itself, with donations coming from both the public and crown to keep it up and running.

As a result they ate well, were treated kindly, and had warm beds to sleep in. Every now and again, someone would even come by to adopt one of them. And then there was the person in charge of the orphanage. She walked into the main hall, a bright smile on her face as she brought a tray of porridge over to another table, all the denizens thanking her before digging.

Despite her position as the head, and the wide array of helpers that had volunteered, she always found time to care for the children. Her clothes also extremely ordinary, her memories of orphanages from her previous life telling her that the head would almost always dress differently to establish herself as leader. Not Kayla though.

Her brown hair was tied into a high ponytail, which still reached down halfway to her back. A bright smile complimented her sparkling brown eyes. On top of that she was a really beautiful character too. So beautiful in fact that some children had been actively attempting to marry her. Such as right now.

"Mistress Kayla, I have come to request your hand in marriage!" A small boy declared, causing Kayla to giggle and roll her eyes in response.

"I am afraid I must decline, fair knight." She said, the rejection causing the boy to clutch his heart in pain.

"B-But-" He stuttered out before being cut off.

"As I have told all your friends that have come before, no."

The boy fell to the ground, clutching his heart as he curse every god he could think of.

"Hey Argent, Olver." A voice brought both the kids attention, away from the commotion. A young teenager, about sixteen, had sat beside them, a mischievous smile on his face. "You wanna go out to the market?" He asked, Olver's eyes lighting up while Argent frowned. Before she could reply however, Olver beat her to it.

"Yes that would be amazing Kaiden!" He declared, Kaiden's smile only growing while Argent's frown deepened.

It was well known around the orphan kids that almost every time Kaiden was involved, he would direct whatever was happening towards mischievousness. There was even some rumours that he would even do illegal activities. She opened her mouth to decline when Olver turned to look at her, stars in his eyes.

The reason she couldn't refuse was because of Olver. For some strange reason, him, and some other kids looked up to Kaiden like their favourite uncle. Even if he was just a few years older then them. But Argent knew that if she let him go alone then the trouble they would get in would only worsen. And so, grumbling, she agreed as well. Kaiden's smile brightened significantly upon hearing her agreement before turning to chat with Olver about what they would find.

Argent didn't know why, but she found that smile very unsettling.

"This is so cool!" Olver said as he narrowly avoided walking into a mans legs. His eyes landed on one of the stalls, and began salivating. Following his gaze Argent rolled her eyes. It was a food cart, a small grill set up on top of it with [Fire Magic] keeping it hot. Even Argent licked her lips at the thought of the taste of those delicious sticks of meat. Looking to her right to see Kaiden's reaction she blinked in surprise to find him simply not there at all.

Looking around, her eyes saw him through the crowd, he was standing in an alley, speaking with a man who was enshrouded in shadow. Kaiden had his classic charismatic smile on, not changing for even a second as a small bag was dropped into his hands. Kaiden turned around. Argent quickly looked back to the cart, giggling at the site of Olver trying to list the pro's and con's to the man selling them of giving him one for free. She stopped though as she remembered what she had seen.

Walking to Olver's side she tugged his sleeve, causing him to look down at her. He was three years older then her and as such plenty taller then Argent. "Olver I want to go back now." She said, nervousness creeping into her voice. Olver frowned and opened his mouth, to presumably ask why, when Kaiden appeared at their side once again, the smile that he had when talking in the alley never having left his face.

"Guys, I have got the most amazing thing to show you." He said, Olver smiling in eagerness in response. Argent gulped, and she noticed both him and Kaiden look down. Olver had a look of worry in his eyes, while Kaiden's expression never even changed. He held up a hand when Olver opened his mouth to speak, "Don't worry, we can go right back to the orphanage immediately after. It'll be over in no time!" He said, his natural charismatic charm, causing Olver to nod slowly.

Smile growing, he led them to the edge of the street, ushering them into an alley. Hugging closer to Olver, Argent watched the shadows nervously. The memories from her past life screamed at her that this was a trap. But she didn't want to leave Olver. Besides, with Kaiden behind them and urging them further onward, it wasn't like she could make a break for it.

After turning several corners they found themselves at an intersection. Olver had also been getting increasingly nervous, and was also looking at the shadows nervously. "So what is it that you wanted to show us?" He asked, turning to face Kaiden. She didn't know how, but Kaiden's smile changed. Whereas before it had been charming and mischievous, now it felt...darker.

"This here sack of coins." He said, bringing out the pouch she had seen the man give to Kaiden. "It's a lot of money. Enough to pay for both of you in fact." He said, pouring out a portion of it. Silver fell into his hands. He looked back up, "Nice knowing you guys. Thanks for making this easy for me." And with that he turned around heading back the way they had come.

Two men stepped out of the shadows, one a tall and bulky man, axe in hand as he sneered down at the two that backed away. He seemed extremely large from this angle, even by adult standards. Brown hair matched his bushy beard that partially covered a scar that went down the side of his face. Attempting to back away, the siblings yelled in surprise as he shot forward, grabbing the both of them with one large arm and holding them close. Kicking and yelling against the large man Argent watched as the second man walked in front of them. This man was tall and rather lean, his brown hair the same as the large man's, however he lacked the beard, and his green clothes seemed a lot cleaner.

"Shush now children." He said, silencing the both of them, "If you behave you will be treated well. After all our boss rather dislikes damaged merchandise." He chuckled as though he had said a funny joke.

This was bad, they were caught by the large man who had stood up, leaving the children's feet dangling in the air. She blinked as she tried to think of a way out of this situation. A memory came to her. A weak spot. A weak spot that only men had. She checked her position. Her right leg should be close enough. Taking a deep breath she brought her leg up before swinging backwards with all her might.

She was suddenly dropped to the ground in a daze, a hand grabbing her and pulling her to her feet. Looking back she saw the large man groaning in pain as he held his crotch. Tears leaking through his eyes. The other man stared shock for a second, before looking after the fleeing children. In seconds he was sprinting after them, the mud on the dirty alleyway ground splashing upwards to dirty his clothes.

And so they ran.

Argent looked behind, the man rounding the corner once again close behind them. Her eyes widened in horror as she realised what being caught by him might mean. Pain. And so she screamed. They rounded several more corners. Olver seemed to know his way around the alleys which was good, as they undoubtedly would have run into several dead ends by now. They were also very lucky that the alleyways were mostly neglected, as the mud that had caused the man chasing them to slip several times was the only reason he hadn't caught up.

They rounded another corner.

They both fell to the ground, Olver groaning in pain while she looked forward in a daze. A pair of legs met her gaze, clothed in leather trousers. Trailing them up along with Olver, her eyes widened more and more along with her brother's. Although not for the same reason. She recognised this armour. She recognised that dagger. She recognised the massive sword he was wielding.

An Abyss Watcher.

She knew the name, and knew that it belonged to this person, but didn't know where exactly from. Her memories were fuzzy no matter how much she tried to remember. She stopped though when she noticed something. A dark purple ball of flame centered in his chest. As in, inside, his chest. She didn't know why, but she could tell. He was like her.

And he would be their saviour. Grabbing her brothers hand she dragged him with all her strength, Olver realising too late what was going on, and attempting to pull back. The Abyss Watcher stepped past them.

This fight was over before it began.