Chapter 246: Sylvia Ashley
Before the explosion...
She had sensed the subtle operations of illusion nodes, but it was too late to stop them. What she didn’t take into account was how potent the illusion would be and the effect it would have, especially on someone like her. Normal illusion doesn’t work much on her, but very potent ones did worse than just throwing her into an illusion. It makes her go back in time, before she became known as the Black Fang Prodigy:
"Let’s name her Sylvia. Sylvia Ashley," the man said as he cradled the baby gently in his arms, his blue eyes staring right into the baby’s eyes while he spoke with the pale-skinned woman on the maternity bed. The woman had long black hair and deep red eyes. On the sides of her head were long, curved, black horns with red details. She was a high demon.
"To think we were able to have our own child after a hundred years..." the demon woman said with a sigh of relief, causing the man to chuckle with love and joy. The man had long white hair, deep blue eyes, and sharp ears. On his forehead was a beautiful golden symbol of a kite-shaped eye with wings. He was an angel.
This could only prove one thing: their child was a hybrid, and that was correct. The baby that was cradled in the man’s hand was a carbon copy of both of them, but her hair was a mix of black and white. The colors were split evenly, white on one side and black on the other. Her large, cute eyes were heterochromic: one blue and one red. And just like her mother, she had a horn at the side of her head.
"She’s perfect!" the man exclaimed in pride.
The scene changed...
The scene shifted again.
...
Warm sunlight spilled through massive glass windows. A little girl sat quietly at a polished table much too large for her small body. Books were stacked around her in neat piles while glowing symbols floated gently above parchment sheets. She looked no older than four or five now. Her black-and-white hair had grown longer. One curved horn protruded from the side of her head while her heterochromatic eyes stared nervously at the elderly man seated opposite her.
"Answer the question," the tutor said coldly.
Sylvia looked down at the open book, and her tiny fingers tightened slightly.
"I-I don’t know..."
The old man’s expression twisted instantly into disgust.
"You don’t know?" he repeated sharply.
The child flinched.
"I’m sorry..."
"Sorry?" The man slammed the book shut violently.
BANG!
"You are the child of a demon and an angel. A creature that should not even exist, yet you cannot answer a basic question?"
Sylvia lowered her head further. The tutor’s eyes narrowed hatefully at her horn.
"At first, I believed your parents were foolish." He stood slowly. "But now I understand."
His voice became colder.
"You are simply an abomination."
The word struck harder than any slap. Sylvia froze completely. The old man grabbed his belongings immediately.
"You should never have been born." Then he left, the doors shutting behind him heavily and leaving the little girl alone. She was silent and broken. She looked at her reflection in the polished table slowly.
One red eye, one blue eye, black and white hair, and a horn. Her tiny hands reached up shakily toward it.
"Abomination..."
The scene shattered.
...
Fire, screams, and blood were all that she could hear. Sylvia was eight years old now. Rain poured endlessly from the sky as flames consumed homes around her. The air smelled of burning flesh and wet ash. Her mother carried her tightly while running through the forest desperately.
"Hurry!"
Behind them...
BOOOOOOM!!!
A wave of holy light exploded through the trees. Sylvia turned instinctively. Her father stood alone against dozens of figures clad in silver armor. Humans, angels, and priests. They were all staring at him with hatred.
"You harbor a heretic!" one shouted.
"A cursed hybrid!"
"A calamity!"
Her father spread his wings wide despite the blood pouring from his body. Golden feathers drifted through the rain.
"She is my daughter," he said calmly. "She has done nothing wrong."
"She exists!" another screamed furiously. "That alone is sin!"
Magic circles ignited across the battlefield instantly. Sylvia’s eyes widened.
"DAD!"
Her father turned toward her one last time and smiled warmly and lovingly, the same smile from when he first held her.
"Run, Sylvia."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The world vanished in white light as the explosion consumed everything. Her mother screamed as she fled deeper into the forest, carrying her, while Sylvia reached toward the light desperately.
"DAD!!"
But he never came back.
...
The scene changed again.
This time, it was snow and cold winds. Sylvia was fifteen. A veil already covered her face now. Blood stained the snow beneath her feet while her mother knelt nearby, barely conscious. Around them stood armed figures once more.
"You cannot hide forever," one of them said coldly. "The hybrid must die."
Sylvia trembled while holding a broken blade. Her mother coughed up blood heavily.
"Run..."
"No..."
Tears streamed beneath Sylvia’s veil.
"I won’t leave you!"
The enemies advanced, tier circles forming. Death approached, when...
SHIIIIIIIIING!!!
Darkness cut through the battlefield instantly, and three heads flew into the air. Sylvia’s eyes widened as figures appeared silently atop the snow. They wore black robes and wielded dark weapons while releasing a murderous aura. The newcomers moved like living shadows. The attackers barely had time to scream.
CRASH!
SHING!
BOOOOM!
Bodies fell apart violently. Blood painted the snow crimson. Within seconds, there was silence. The surviving enemies fled in terror. A tall woman stepped forward slowly, her eyes glowing beneath her hood. On her robes was a symbol, black fangs surrounding an eye.
"The Shadow Fang Sect..." Sylvia whispered weakly, remembering some of her lessons. She’d learned of all the sects and kingdoms in the world. Another person crouched before her calmly.
"You survived well."
Her mother stared at them warily.
"Why help us?"
The person looked toward Sylvia, then, at her horn barely hidden beneath the veil.
"Because the world fears what it does not understand."
The third person handed Sylvia a black veil.
"From today onward," he said quietly, "your identity must remain hidden."
Sylvia accepted the veil silently.
"You are no longer simply Sylvia Ashley."
The person’s gaze deepened.
"You will become someone else."
"A shadow."
"A fang hidden in darkness."
The snowy wind blew gently. Sylvia slowly covered her face with the veil for the first time. Only her eyes remained visible.
"And never reveal your true identity," the elder continued. "Not unless you find someone you truly trust."
The scene began fading slowly, but before everything disappeared, a frail-looking boy appeared. He was blind. He became the only person outside the elders who knew her true name.
"I miss using my name... Sylvia Ashley," she muttered when a loud explosion shook the whole place, messing up the illusion.
"Sylvia?" A familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded in her ears. She turned towards the source.
