Chapter: 3397

Her memories lay scattered like the remnants of a storm-battered beach, broken shells and deep scars, fragments that could never be mended, leaving only the weight of pain in their wake.

Those brutal moments were like blades, sharp and unrelenting, carving deep gashes into her soul. Each time she dared to recall them, it felt as though the wounds were ripped open again, the pain suffocating her breath.

She had huddled, small and helpless, in the corner of that trash bin, clinging to her mother's words to keep the coldness from freezing her heart entirely, desperately hoping for even a faint glimmer of Light.

Fear gripped her so tightly that she dared not breathe, taking in the shallowest of breaths, as if even the air might betray her presence.

A tiny hole in the trash bin had allowed her to witness the terror unfolding outside, a grim window into the horror she was powerless to stop.