GongRav

SSS-Class Executioner: One Life, One Rule, Infinite Trials

In a shattered world where ancient dungeons emit magic energy, powerful warlords vie for dominance, and the air crackles with old curses, Xiaoya Feng walks a treacherous line between destruction and godhood. Orphaned at the age of twelve when mercenaries burned her village, Xiaoya holds on to two legacies from her dying mother: a jade pendant in the form of a crescent moon that reminds her to survive at all costs. . . . Xiaoya (age 15); "Mama, please get up! We have to run!" Her small hands shake as she presses on the wound in her mother's chest, the warm stickiness spreading through her fingers. The earth shakes; Another explosion? Mercenaries? Demons? She didn't look. Li Feng choked her blood. "Listen… Xiao-ya. The strong… they do not triumph. The clever do. You… survive. Promise me." A cough cuts into her words. Blood splatters across Xiaoya's cheeks. Xiaoya Feng Cried. "I-I'll carry you! There's a healer in the next valley—" "No." Li Feng's fingers wrap around Xiaoya's wrist, cold as winter steel. "Take the pendant. Hide it. Let them see you as weak… until you strike back." The jade glimmers in the firelight, its edges razor-sharp enough to draw blood. Xiaoya's tears dry upon contact with the burned earth. Li Feng whispered in a low voice. "Live. Not just… survive. Live. Find joy. Promise—" The hand goes slack as she dies. Far away, a man laughs which was like a deep, greasy sound as footsteps close in on the hut. Xiaoya Feng didn't not moved. She does not breathe. Her mother's eyes look past her, and flames dance in them like wicked spirits. 'Survive.' She threads the pendant's chain around her neck. It burns her skin. 'Live.' A shadow falls in the doorway: a mercenary captain, his armor shining with borrowed trinkets. Xiaoya does not beg or scream. She looks him in the eye and allows her voice to shake, becoming the frightened child she is meant to be. Xiaoya Feng whispered. "P-please… don't hurt me." The captain smiles broadly, sheathing his sword. "Aww, little rabbit. I'll make it qui-" Her fingers wrap around the dagger concealed in her mother's sash. Strike! Present Day (Whispered Memory): Xiaoya touches the pendant at her throat, its edge still sharp. Survive. Live. These orders war within her heart as she gazes into the emptiness of a dungeon, its darkness resonating with promises of power… and destruction. "Ordinary," she says as she readjusted her herb-gatherer's cloak. "Just an ordinary day." The lie burns like ashes. But lies, like daggers, cut the deepest when they go unnoticed. -- P.S - Romance? I don't think I will add this element but if I do then not much... Romance isn't my first priority.