The Forbidden District 3

As her ears caught the muffled sound of people speaking, she slowly opened her eyes, only for her sight to land on the two men chatting with each other.

With a jerky motion, she lifted her upper body, rubbing one eye while using her other hand to steady herself on the grimy ground, still struggling to find balance.

From the corner of his eye, Zen suddenly caught a glimpse of the girl waking up, so he abruptly stopped what he was about to say as he turned to face the sleepy face of the little girl, drawing a warm smile as he pulled his mask up before saying "Oh! You finally woke up!"

"Keep your mask down, Zen…" Harold uttered, reminding him that the place they were in wasn't something to take lightly.

"Don't worry. It's just for a few minutes," Zen replied in a low voice as he gave the old man behind him a nod.

"Who are you, mister?" The little girl asked with her voice shaking as she yawned deeply.

"Ah!" Zen exclaimed, quickly responding to the girl's question, "My name is Zen, and this man over here is called Harold"

Zen then caught a glimpse at the side of her neck, where a wound that formerly tainted her skin now was completely healed. "I see your wounds have completely healed as well. That's a relief"

"Wounds…" the little girl questioned, her confusion evident in her eyes. She looked down at her palms before anxiously scanning her entire visible skin, her mind filled with worry about what her body had endured." "What happened?" she added.

"Huh?…" Zen looked at her, with his pinched eyebrows showing his puzzlement. "You don't remember?"

"Remember… what?"

Zen turned his head to seek Harold's help, but unfortunately, the old man only gave him a simple, slight nod. Zen seemed reluctant at first, as his eyes drifted away, evading the girl's face.

He was unsure whether it would be a good idea to tell the girl about what happened before they found her, as it might trigger unpleasant memories. However, he couldn't find any other option and ended up asking her another question, "Do you not remember the monster that was chasing after you?"

"The monster?…" for a few moments, her face only portrayed the confusion in her mind as she slightly tilted her head. However, the moment didn't linger, as her pupils swiftly contracted and began trembling in their position. She clutched her head tightly with both hands while her body quivered with fear. "The monster! It's here! It's going to eat me!""

She started hyperventilating, and sweat began escaping her body like overflowing water. Zen jumped forward and grabbed her before hugging her, tightly holding her in his arms.

"No, no, no, don't worry. You are okay. You are safe," He said in a soft voice as he gently patted her head, slowly going through her hair strands. "The monster won't find you. No monster will do"

A few moments later, the girl seemed to have calmed down. Zen gently brushed his thumb against her teary eyes while assuring her, "As long as you're with me, no monster will ever be able to harm you, alright?"

"O-okay," the girl stuttered, her voice still shaky as she spoke and gave Zen a nod.

A small smile was curved on Zen's face before he asked, "now, what's your name?"

The little girl opened her mouth to answer. However, she stopped abruptly and closed her mouth again, lowering her gaze that showed a hint of puzzlement. "I can't… remember…" she uttered with a low voice.

"You can't remember?" Zen uttered, sharing the same puzzlement that the girl was expressing.

"Yes, I can't remember my name at all," she shook her in denial.

"Hmmm…" Zen rubbed his chin as he thought about something before he added "The, can I call you Lily?"

"Yes, a name is a precious thing, so we can't just leave you without a name," Zen explained while his hand patted her head.

"Okay…" a smile appeared on the little girl's face, her eyes brightening up.

"Okay now, lily, how did you get here" Harold finally uttered, breaking his silence.

"After mama and papa died, I couldn't find anywhere to go or anything to eat, so I just walked and walked until I found this place," Lily put one finger on her cheek and answered as she tilted her head

*As I thought… She is an orphan* Zen thought to himself with a pained look covering his face as he listened to lily talk.

"I couldn't find any food here, but I never felt hungry or tired after I came here"

"You never feel hungry or tired here?" Zen asked with his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes, and this place feels warm and gentle too," she added, "but… after seeing that monster, I don't want to stay here anymore"

"Hmmm" Zen suddenly extended his arm and added, "Lily, can you give me your hand?"

"Huh?…" the little girl looked puzzled as well as reluctant, pulling her hand away.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything to hurt you"

Though she still was hesitant, she decided to put her hand on Zen's and wait to see what happens.

[Blood Art]: <<Convergence >>

Suddenly, her entire body started glowing in bright red color. She immediately closed her eyes in fear, expecting a wave of pain to attack her body. However, none of that happen.

Out of the blue, she experienced a comforting warmth flowing through her body, causing her to slowly open her eyes in bewilderment.

The warm smile she saw curved on Zen's face made her more relaxed, as she finally understood that he didn't intend to harm from the beginning, and even if it hurt, it wasn't his intention.

After a little while, Zen stopped and moved away his hand before saying "As I thought, you are a natural imperfection"

"A natural… huh?" The little girl raised her eyebrow in confusion, not understanding what Zen was saying.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It's actually a good thing," Zen said as he pushed himself up. "It means that you can become stronger and defeat those monsters that scare you"

"Defeat the monster…" Zen smiled as he watched Lily look at her hands with her eyes twinkling.

"A natural imperfection, huh?" Harold questioned as he stroked his beard. "I didn't expect to find a kid like her in this place"

"Yes, and her natural affinity for poisonous substances is very high," Zen replied as he put down his mask.

"Kelton will be excited to hear about this when we return," Harold giggled.

"Yeah, I have no doubt about that."

"Well, we need to get going now," Zen added before turning to the excited girl behind him. "Lily, do you want to come with us?"

"Yes!!" she immediately answered, standing up and running to hold the hand that Zen extended to her.