To You Who Never Loved Me - Chapter 1

Chapter 01

< The beginning of the story [1] >

We can’t forget that moment. The moment when the beast rises from the

sea where we have been worshiped.

At first glance, It was hard to understand the appearance of a monster

with green scales that shone like a beautiful mermaid in legends. This was

because even though the head had just popped out, it was huge enough to

cover our village, and when the monster appeared, everyone fled without

looking back.

But when the monster climbed onto the rocky island not far from our

village, I was able to observe it closely. The monster crawled on its two

paws over the rocky island. Some of its scales were pointed like a mane,

and the eyes were dead and lifeless. It looked like a long water snake, but

its head was like a dragon, and its giant mouth had thousands of teeth that

could chew through a person in one bite.

“Run, run away…!”

On the first day, the monsters appeared people screamed and ran away.

Fortunately, quite a few people survived, but instead, we had to lose our

place in an instant. The brave men of the village came out, but they were

only dragged into the endless abyss by monsters. However, it was not

without a solution.

The villagers, including my father, climbed to the temple of Gamila, where

the goddess of the earth was enshrined. The white temple was built on the

hillside surrounded by fog, there is no priests were seen. Except for the

only priest hiding behind the veil.

“You don’t sincerely worship the god of the sea.”

That was before the villagers even spoke first. The woman in the veil, who

didn’t even reveal her face, opened her mouth first.

“You do not show your sincerity to the god of the sea even though you

have the sea by your side, it seems that you have refused to accept that

god’s protection. The beast, Leviathan, lives only where the sea gods have

not reached it.”

“Priest…! Please forgive our stupidity!”

“Forgiveness should be prayed to the god of the sea, not me. I am not a

priest who worships the god of the sea, so I can’t even apologize to him.”

“Then what can we do?”

“Accept the punishment until the god of the sea relieves his anger. But, it

could never be done so easily. However, there’s a way to stop Leviathan as

a temporary measure until the god of the sea relieves his anger.”

The village was now in ruins, but it was hopeful news for the villagers who

had no place to live but the ruins.

“What is that?”

However, the answers they heard were far from expectations.

“The goddess of the earth says that every year children under 15 years old

must be sacrificed. It was said that only the blood of a pure soul could

silence Leviathans.”

Could this be the real solution?

After returning from the Temple of Gamila, the relationship between the

villagers was not the same. Everyone looked at each other’s eyes

consistently. However, the fight didn’t last long.

“This is all because of that old man! I mean, you’re the one who leads the

village and you never even thought about offering a ritual to the god of the

sea?!”

The first offering was the grandson of the village chief.

“You! Do you know how badly our store suffered because you did not pay

it back?”

The second offering was the eldest daughter of a drunkard, who had a

poor reputation in the village. The uncle’s youngest son later became the

third sacrifice.

The village was restored to some extent thanks to the silence of the

Leviathan, but people were unable to go overboard by boat because of

that monster, and the god of the sea did not respond, no matter how

carefully the sacrifice was held and the precious livestock were sacrificed.

Some wanted to leave the village to protect their children, but their

children had to be sacrificed as soon as they were found.

“Ooh, no, my daughter! My daughter is still young!”

“Then, is it my daughter, she only 14 years old now?!”

“Your, your daughter is not dumb! Who’s better than my daughter…”

“What is it? This guy!”

The village quickly became engulfed in madness. My father, who had

stopped fighting people, saw me come out and come to me, leaving them

behind.

“Rose! Didn’t Father told you not to come out!”

“But I heard my father’s voice…”

My father, who became sensitive to the people’s madness, refused to

listen to my excuses. My father pulled my hand into the house and locked

the door, then grabbed my shoulder.

“Rose, listen carefully. Now…”

But, as a child and innocent, I worried more about the bruise on my

father’s cheek than what my father said. I reflexively bite my finger until it

bleeds. It was then.

“This father had told you many times don’t act like that!”

My father’s anger was as big as thunder, and I looked at him. My father

sometimes told me to bleed, but he also hated me bleeding without his

permission.

Why? why?

Every time I questioned my father’s dual attitudes, he told me.

Your power is special. When you show that power to anyone, if they find

out that you are special, they will step on you and try to kill you, so your

abilities should be used only when it is absolutely necessary.

People complained that my father was obsessed with me because my

mother died while giving birth to me. However, my father never brought

up a story about my mother in front of me. My father only talks about my

specialness.

I am a special child, so my father loves me very much.

“Rose, I can’t live without you…”

“…I’m sorry, father.”

No father in this world does not consider his children to be special. But my

father has a strange way. I grew up listening to the word ‘special child’ to

the point where I was unfamiliar and bored. I didn’t have a question

because it was spoken at every moment naturally, but at this moment I

asked my father a question without even knowing it.

“But father, why am I special?”

My heart trembled because it was my first question. It seemed like my

father would not answer me properly. However, my father answered me

unexpectedly and easily.

“When your mother was pregnant with you, she went to the temple of

Gamila to receive an oracle.”

“Then the oracle said to the priest…”

‘This is a very special child, so keep it carefully until the time comes.’

“But you don’t have any special powers as a proof.”

“My father, why do you like me special?”

“That’s right. Because you’re proving that I’m not like anyone else.”

That said, it was difficult for me as a child to understand.

“My daughter is a child with special powers as prophesied by the Oracle!

Even though the world knows nothing, they look down on this father,

Rose, my daughter…”

“Your presence proved that this father wasn’t just a man like that.”

My father hugged me and stroked my head. Father was always sweet.

Even though I liked my father, on the one hand, I was afraid.

My father may need something to prove his worth, he not only needs a

child who feels devoted solely out of parental love. No, this feeling was

almost certain.

In fact, I can’t figure it out even though I try to find out.

* * *

My father prepared to go to another place without the villagers knowing.

However, there was no way other people couldn’t notice the suspicious

move of my father in this small village. When everyone became sensitive,

finally four months passed.

“You traitor! Are you going to a safe place alone? ”

A hot-blooded uncle in the village got drunk and caught my father in the act.

“Do you have any evidence? It doesn’t make sense to run away!”

“Don’t lie because everyone saw you getting ready to flee to another

town!”

As long as they caught it, my father couldn’t help it.

“Okay! I left here to protect my daughter, but why are you bothering with

it ?!”

“Everyone here has kids!”

“Then you too can leave this town! Why? You don’t dare to do that!”

“What?!”

My father and the other uncle started to tangled together and fight. I cried

when the adults fighting. However, It seems like the cries of a child like me

can’t be heard in the ears of a quarreling adult.

“The village traitor! I won’t let you live!”

An angry uncle lifted a brick.

“No!”

Someone shouted out loud, but it was too late. A thick brick hit my father’s

forehead.

“…Father!”

Terrified, I ran towards my father. The floor was covered with blood

flowing from my father’s head. I reflexively found something sharp enough

to scratch my hand. If I rubbed my blood on my father’s head, he would be

well soon……

I tried to bleed again by biting my finger. But it stopped right away.

It was because I remember my father’s request, which I had always been

bored with.

“When you show that power to anyone, if they find out that you are

special, they will step on you and try to kill you,”

People will see me heal my father who was bleeding in front of me. In fact,

I didn’t even care. I just need to heal my father.

But I couldn’t. The words of my dad, who screamed and grabbed my

shoulder, kept lingering in my head.

‘If they discover your abilities, you will eventually die.’

You have to hide it, you have to hide it, you have to hide it…

That was what my father always told me. It was a word that stuck in my

head, like an imprint. I just watched my bleeding father.

And because of my selfishness and fear, my father died.

A pool of blood flowing down from my father’s head and accumulating on

the ground reflected me.