Prologue:

"I'm sorry"

A lady's crying voice echoes through the dark world.

Those words... I always hear them at the end of my dream. A familiar voice filled with sadness and pain. Yet I know, and I am sure, that I’ve never met anyone or experienced anything that may concern this dream that I keep on having every night. Surely, their is a reason. Thus, I kept questioning myself, “what does it mean?”

Right. Introductions. I am called, ‘Frozen Lily’ by many; It may not seem like a proper name, but I assure you it is now my “proper” name.

You see, I once had a different name when I was still six years old. I lost it when my mother who couldn’t stand my cold demeanor anymore gave up and sold me to an underground group.

Even though what happened go against any laws of nature between mother and child, I assure you that it was natural and expected; also, I do not hate her, since she tried her best to ignore my coldness towards outside stimuli for five years. Besides, it was for the best; I would’ve had a hard time adjusting to the society with normal people. In a way, you could say she did it out of generosity towards me.

“How did I became like this?” I don’t really know, but the doctors suspect two things. One was the “miracle” that happened when I was still one year old. The phenomenon might have changed the chemicals inside me, according to their theories. Apparently I died for two hours, but suddenly cried out right before they tried to open me up to understand why I suddenly got sick. It was fortunate and at the same time unfortunate, because the end result was me being cold and unresponsive.

Two was the one about the harshness of my surrounding caused me to mutate and unable to become normal.

You see, this world is what you call a wasteland. It’s full of surprises and unnatural phenomenons caused by the fourth world war that happened 45 years ago. Due to that, the lands became infertile and radiation clouds would suddenly appear, summoning a grotesque scene of creatures. Sometimes, a storm would form and before you know it, the rain would melt everything. It was hard for the six years old me and my mother, due to our lack of money, leaving us unable to afford living in one of the “garden domes”, that the rich can afford.

The Garden domes are huge domes built to move a city with large mass of inhabitants, as well as protect them from the harsh world outside. Basically, the “promised land” for everyone in this world.

I, myself, am living in one of these domes, but not with a price.

After I went through harsh treatment for one year -followed according to instructions; moved according to instructions, and act according to instructions- I graduated from slave, to “disposable assassin”. It happened when I was introduced to the master of the group. It was during a party in one of the Garden domes.

Due to the lack of emotions, I did not have much will to go against anyone. When the master noticed this, he tried to test me and I followed accordingly; I killed a poor old man without hesitation.

“Incredible. No hesitation at all”,

says the big man in his fifties wearing a clean suit with stylish swiped back hairstyle.Obviously the master of the man I was sold to.

“Where did you get this gem?”, he added, directing the question to the man I accompanied.

“Rather than found, she was sold to us by her own mother”. The underground leader replied with a proud voice.

“Hmm... A rock with a hidden gem inside. To think we’d find something rare”, The big boss muttered loudly with a smirk on his face. He then turned to me and asked,

“Tell me young lady, what are you?”

I paused, tilted my head trying to find the meaning of his question and replied,

“I am nothing. I have no emotions like any human, thus I do not identify myself as human. What you do to me does not matter.”

The master, astonished by the reply, muttered in his breathe, “cute and cold. She might be perfect for this.”

He then turned his attention to one of the subordinates present at the scene; a man wearing a black suit stepped forward to receive instructions from the master.

The man nodded, then they both turned towards me. The black suit man crouched to ask me a question,

“What is your name?”

I raised my head and replied, “I am called Rune”.

“Well then, from now on you do not have a name, thus, I will call you 336 based on the last number of the trainee we recently possessed”

“yes”

“You will follow my instructions; If you do not comply, you will be annihilated or dismissed. Either way, you will die”

“yes”

“Objections are not welcomed; questions are not allowed. You do not have the rights of a human being from now on”

“yes”

“...”

“...”

“Well then, 336, welcome to the shadow corps”, said the master with a welcoming smile.

Four years passed as I trained to kill; I was given missions to dispose of different people. Whether they were important people or not, I killed them without a care, thus before I knew it, I became the first “13 years old elite assassin” and a necessary pawn. This is when they gave me the name “Frozen Lily” due to my cold nature. Apparently, only the elite assassins are able to receive proper names.

I continued my life like this: “only to move when I was told to by my superiors and never hesitate when it needs to be done”, until that day came, when I became the master’s left hand and was given the instructions to protect the master’s young son. I was nineteen years old when I first came in contact with the young master.

“Hmp! You’re just a girl!!”, was the first words spoken to me at our first meeting.

A fourteen years old young boy with arrogance spilling all over the place was facing me with an annoyed face.

I courteously bowed and replied, “I am called Frozen Lily, young master. From now on, I shall work as your guard. I am at your disposal”

That time, I didn’t know, he was my key to finding the secrets of that dream.