Heaven No. 9

Chapter 1: The Hunter

The wind rustled through the shady forest of giant sequoias, the thick branches colliding with each other and creating a symphony of waterfall-like noises that echoed through the trees before fading away. Even from a hundred meters away, the wind still carried the sounds of the forest, as if a giant creature was making its way through the woods. Despite the noise, the ground beneath the invisible footsteps remained still, heavy with a sense of premonition.

Under the gloomy sky, a crow flew slowly through the forest, carefully and patiently searching each area before returning to the same place again. However, the bird failed to detect the camouflage cloak that nestled against a tree trunk, blending in with the overgrown foliage. Gray eyes stared down at the ground beneath the cloak, occasionally looking up at the sky or into the distance, their pupils shifting while their bodies remained completely still. Those eyes belong to Lou, a young huntress.

Lou remembered her grandpa's lessons on hunting. He taught her to change her vision using only her pupils, to be patient, and to focus on the small details. Lou wanted to be like her grandpa, who could kill a 3-meter-height moose with only one arrow. She started by mastering killing rabbits, spending half a day in the canopy of the sequoia tree, waiting for prey to appear.

After hours of waiting, Lou finally found her object - a rabbit with a tilted head and darting eyes, hopping towards the sequoia where Lou was hiding. Her gray pupils locked onto the rabbit, and she waited patiently for the perfect moment to strike.

With a deft hand, Lou nocked and drew an arrow from her compound bow. Slowly and deliberately, she tried to make as little noise as possible, her slender arm appearing from beneath her camouflage cloak. The two support wheels of the bow began to creak, but their sounds were quickly covered by the rustling of the wind and forest leaves. The rabbit, unaware of the impending danger, went about its business. As Lou aimed, she quietly uttered a prayer, one that only another Hunter would understand:

"I pray to Mech-God to provide your child with food and drink every day. I swear to be faithful to the Will of God and consecrate this body to you after death. In the name of Mech-God, I'll kill them all!"

As Lou loosened the string, the arrow flew forth, swiftly and surely. As it reached the midpoint of its journey, a rabbit darted out from the undergrowth, displaying its remarkable reflexes. However, in the next instant, the rabbit suddenly bent down, only to be met with the rough piercing of the arrow into its neck and nape. The rabbit fell to the ground, attempting to rise again but ultimately succumbing to its fate. Its once lively eyes, which had just moments ago scanned its surroundings, now reflected the finality of death.

With a heavy sigh, Lou released the weight of the hunt from her mind and felt her spirits lifted. Rather than aiming directly at the rabbit, Lou had instead targeted the direction it would flee - a skill taught to her by her grandfather. Since the Great Disaster, animals had become much more cunning and elusive, he had warned her. In these times, hunting required not only skill and luck but also the blessings of the Mech-God.

On this day, it seemed that the Mech-God had indeed smiled upon Lou.

Lou swiftly gathered a bow and camouflage cloth before descending the towering sequoia using a hooked rope. Once on the ground, she dashed towards a nearby rabbit. A mischievous crow, which had been hovering over the forest earlier, landed on a branch and observed Lou with dark eyes. Though notorious for stealing from humans, the crow did not attempt to snatch Lou's spoils. Instead, it simply perched and watched. Lou gestured with her hand, shooing the bird away:

"Go, scum! Nothing for you today!"

As Lou removed the arrow from the rabbit, blood gushed from its neck. The crow remained stubborn, unfazed by Lou's curses. Ignoring the bird, Lou slung the rabbit over her shoulders and prepared to leave the forest. Suddenly, a noise halted her in her tracks.