The Duke's Slave Daughter

A Heart Grown Cold

Urania stumbled through the dark, twisted forest, her body almost collapsing from the weight of her injuries. Blood soaked her clothes and skin, staining every inch of her with reminders of the battles she’d fought just to stay alive. Her hands trembled as she leaned against a jagged tree trunk for support, feeling splinters press into her raw palms. Shadows of vicious beasts she’d narrowly escaped lingered behind her, their growls echoing through her mind.

Each breath was like a dagger twisting in her chest, and her vision blurred with exhaustion. She felt as though her soul itself was bleeding out, piece by piece, leaving her hollow. A faint whisper escaped her lips as she sank to her knees, staring vacantly at the dark, desolate landscape around her.

“I was foolish,” she murmured, her voice trembling. “Family, love… all illusions. They mean nothing.”

A bitter laugh bubbled up within her, rough and filled with a sorrow that had no room left to grow. “How could I have ever believed I mattered to them?” she whispered to the shadows around her, as if they would answer.

But there was only silence, save for the rustle of leaves in the cold wind.

Urania slumped onto the ground, the cold earth beneath her seeming to drain the last remnants of warmth from her body. The memories of her past flashed in her mind—the kind smiles, the gentle touches, the laughter she once thought was genuine. And then, the images twisted, faces turning cruel, smiles fading into sneers.

She clenched her fists, feeling sharp rocks and dirt dig into her skin, grounding her in the rawness of her grief. She was so tired of this—of fighting, of hoping, of feeling anything at all.

“I don’t have the strength to go on,” she whispered, her voice a ghostly echo in the quiet forest. She felt as though her heart had been carved from her chest, leaving behind nothing but aching emptiness.

With a bitter smile, she murmured to herself, “I will never believe in anyone again… Not in family, not in love. They’re lies, every last one of them.”

A single tear traced down her cheek, the last she felt she could shed, carrying with it the fragments of a girl who had once trusted and loved so deeply. As the tear fell to the ground, Urania felt something within her shatter, the pieces slipping away like sand in the wind.

Just as she closed her eyes, surrendering to the darkness that threatened to swallow her, a soft glow began to spread around her, gentle and warm. The light seemed to wrap around her battered body, a stark contrast to the coldness she had felt moments before. Urania opened her eyes, blinking through the haze of pain, to find herself enveloped in a comforting radiance that touched her wounds and quieted her anguish.

From within the light, a voice echoed in her mind. It was neither male nor female, yet filled with a profound sense of peace and wisdom.

“We will conceal all your memories and emotions until the day you are ready to face and accept them again,” the voice spoke gently, filling her mind with a strange calm. The tone was as tender as a mother’s embrace, yet held an unyielding strength that rooted her to the spot.

Urania’s lips parted, though no words came out. She simply listened, feeling the heaviness in her chest begin to lift, replaced by something she couldn’t quite name.

“But for now,” the voice continued, “be strong, my child, for a true monster will come to destroy this world. And this world will need you.”

The voice faded, but its warmth lingered, soothing the ache that had burrowed into her heart. Urania wanted to hold onto it, to capture the solace it offered. But she felt her consciousness slipping, her memories scattering like ashes in the wind, leaving her hollow, yet strangely free.

When the light receded, and the warmth left her, Urania opened her eyes slowly. Her face was expressionless, her gaze dull and unfocused as she stared blankly at her blood-stained hands. The pain that had consumed her was gone, leaving her body numb. She could no longer recall the agony that had once seemed insurmountable, nor the love she’d lost.

She stood, movements mechanical and devoid of purpose, as though she were a puppet pulled by invisible strings. Her legs, which had once trembled with exhaustion, now moved without hesitation, no longer burdened by any desire or will. She was simply… empty.

A breeze whispered through the trees, lifting strands of her blood-matted hair. She looked around, taking in her surroundings with no hint of curiosity, fear, or recognition. Everything seemed faded, as if drained of color and meaning.

Then, she heard a faint rustling, and a small creature—a bird with a broken wing—lay struggling nearby. Once, such a sight would have tugged at her heart, compelled her to offer aid. But now, she stared at it with indifferent eyes, her lips unmoving, her heart untouched by compassion or sorrow.

The bird gave one last feeble cry before falling still, its tiny chest ceasing to rise and fall. Urania simply turned away, her footsteps carrying her deeper into the forest, leaving the fragile life behind without a second thought.

As Urania moved deeper into the forest, she encountered a pack of enormous white bear-like beasts. They surrounded her, growling, their massive forms bristling with the threat of attack. She looked at them with cold, empty eyes, her face expressionless, showing neither fear nor anger.

One of the bears lunged at her, teeth bared, aiming for her throat. But before it could make contact, Urania moved with shocking speed, her hand snapping forward like a strike of lightning. With a single, powerful blow, she brought the beast crashing to the ground, lifeless.

The rest of the pack hesitated for a split second, then attacked her all at once, their sheer size and ferocity filling the air with the thunderous sounds of battle. But Urania moved through them effortlessly, her hands becoming deadly weapons, taking down each beast with a cold efficiency. Blood splattered her face and arms as the creatures fell one by one, defeated by her relentless strength. Her expression never wavered, and when the fight was over, her skin and clothes were soaked in fresh blood.

Urania felt nothing—no remorse, no hesitation. To her, anything that posed a threat now met only one fate. She wiped the blood from her eyes, her gaze still blank and lifeless, and continued on her path as if the battle had never happened.

As she walked, a faint memory stirred in the back of her mind, like a distant echo. A memory of faces—people who had once meant something to her, though now they felt like strangers. Her brows knitted for a brief moment, but then the thought vanished, dissipated into the void within her.

Urania’s eyes reflected nothing but emptiness, a void where once there had been light. She moved forward with no destination, no purpose, merely following the path before her because it was there, and there was nothing else left.

And deep within her, buried beneath layers of suppressed emotion and concealed memories, the last remnant of who she once was lay dormant, waiting for a time she could no longer fathom—a time when her heart might once again feel warmth, though she could no longer grasp what that might mean.

Urania continued through the shadows, her expression vacant, unaware of the distant cries of battle echoing through the world around her. In the place where her heart had once beat fiercely, there was only silence. The warmth of love, the sting of betrayal, the bitterness of loss—all of it had been sealed away, leaving her an empty vessel, a soulless shell, prepared to face whatever darkness lay ahead without fear or hesitation.

In that moment, Urania became something beyond pain, beyond sorrow, beyond hope. She was the quiet aftermath of a storm, a heart grown cold, a spirit devoid of light.

And as she walked into the unknown, the world would soon come to know her as a force they could not comprehend—a warrior born from despair, with no love or mercy left to give.