Legacy World 3.1 Luna's Promise

Luna woke up feeling incredibly weak. Her lips were dry. Her throat was parched. Her stomach hurt and growled at the same time. She laid crumpled on her side near a big tree. The surroundings were vibrantly green and warm sun rays filtered through the dense canopy.

/Am I.../ Her stomach growled and hurt at the same time again. /Actually dying from starvation?/ Yet another sharp pain coursed through her through her stomach. /When was the last time this person ate...?/

With that, BaoBao quickly transferred all of the original soul's memories into her. 

The original soul was born as a white rabbit shapeshifter in a peaceful and quiet village filled with herbivores. She was named BaiXue due to her snow white fur. They have low fighting capabilities but excelled in escaping, especially when they were in their animal forms.

The original soul had 4 other siblings, half of them were also rabbit shapeshifters, while the other half were hare shapeshifters. The hares were naturally swifter than the rabbits but the rabbits would capitalise on their intelligence to figure out their own way to survive and not get left behind.

On the other hand, BaiXue was like the runt of the litter. She did not have the strength, smarts, or skills to save herself. No matter if it came to escaping bandits or hunting for food, she would require aid.

For such a dependent and fragile creature, her parents had hoped that she at least would grow into some beauty that could incite feelings of protectiveness from others. Unfortunately, she could not live off her looks even if she wanted to. There were many other cuter and more adorable people in the village. 

In the end, she only had her oldest brother doting on her. He was the strongest and swiftest one in the family but never left her behind in the dust like the others usually did. He would wait for her and play with her. He looked after her the best and pampered her, while never forgetting to encourage her. He was the sole reason why she was still well-fed. 

It was common for people in this world to grow up feeding themselves once they are old enough to do so. Her parents were considered good to have not let her starve to death. They kept her fed enough to survive and expected her to fight for her own growth and satisfaction of hunger. 

Whereas her oldest brother would patiently help to coach and advice her during their hunts and debrief her after each bandit attack. Whenever she failed to catch anything for her meals for the day, which happened pretty often, he would share his catch with her. He has continued to believe in her potential. This led to the development of a very dear and close relationship. 

One fateful day, when BaiXue was 15 years old and playing a little far from the house by herself, screams travelled from the village. She turned back to find fires just starting to rage. Her brother was running towards her in his hare form. She immediately understood that the village was under attack. All of a sudden, her brother maxed his speed then hurled his foot towards her. Her heart jumped and she stood rooted in fear. 

THUD.

Her brother's foot struck a jaguar's head that had its teeth centimetres away from from her neck. The concussion he gave the jaguar knocked it out cold. He swiftly changed into his human form and princess-carried BaiXue off, while informing her that everyone was already making their way to the safe ground, so they had to leave too. To make it easier for her brother, BaiXue changed into her rabbit form. 

The bandits turned out to be leopard, jaguar, and tiger shapeshifters. Everyone were in their animal forms. Not one human was in sight, except for her brother. This made him stick out like a sore thumb and attract attention. BaiXue was at least smart enough to know that it spelt trouble for her brother. She tried asking him a few times to change into his hare form and carry her that way but he adamantly refused. Instead, he repeatedly reassured her that everything would be alright. The speed that he was running at would make it a rough journey for her, who is being carried. If he was in his hare form, not only would he be faster, he would only be able to carry her by her neck. He pampered her too much to want to cause her that much discomfort. 

In the midst of their escape, her brother had close shaves with death. Each encounter gave him another injury. These bandits were especially difficult to deal with. They were very well-coordinated. Nonetheless, BaiXue knew that he could escape unscathed if he was alone and in his hare form. So, at some point, she tried to convince him to leave her behind. However, he merely smiled warmly and kindly in response. 

They eventually managed to reach their hideout where the rest of the survivors were gathered at. He gently put BaiXue down and gave her the almost completed flower garland that he had hastily shoved into his vest along with her. BaiXue's face was covered in tears. "I'm fine. There's no need to check. Please treat your injuries already...!" She begged him.

Her brother sighed in relief. To her horror, he collapsed immediately after that, in front of her. 

"BIG BROTHER!!!"

The others around finally rushed to him and carried him to the doctor who was still making his way to them from treating several others' injuries. BaiXue hastily followed and could only peek through the crowd to see her brother. She was filled with panic and held the flower garland in a tight grip. 

All of a sudden, halfway through the treatment, the crowd made way for her. Everyone stared at her but with mostly hostility and blame in their eyes. She shivered not knowing what was happening. Her haggard mother came into view at the other end. "Your big brother's asking for you." She looked as miserable as BaiXue but her voice was ice cold. 

BaiXue immediately ran towards her brother and fell to her knees beside him. "Big brother, are you better now?" 

"Sorry..." BaiXue's heart got gripped tightly by fear. "Seems like... I'll be leaving you alone..." Her heart broke. Her chest tightened and hurt. "Stay strong and don't forget everything that I have taught you. I believe in you. So, believe in yourself too." He spoke softly with a gentle smile. 

BaiXue shook her head slowly in disbelief. "You have to get well. I still have this flower garland I was making for you. It's almost completed. See? You have to be here to receive it..." 

His smile shone amidst the bloodied state he was in. "It's beautiful... Thank you." He slowly but steadily reached up his hand to stroke her head. She lowered her head to gently rest it against his chest. 

"Please keep breathing...?" She whispered.

He felt how her body trembled from the fear of being left behind. Suddenly, their time together flashed through his mind in a mere few seconds. He remembered the day he started caring for this runt of a sister. 

He was the oldest and helped to show the ropes to hunting, fighting, and escaping to all his younger siblings. Even the youngest learnt and grew quickly, while BaiXue always ended up eating their dust. One day, when he decided to look back on a whim, he saw how pale her face had looked and her body all covered in sweat, yet she never stopped trying to chase after them. It warmed his heart for some odd reason. He found it an adorable sight. 

When he began paying attention to her, he also noticed how she would mutter to herself from time to time as if committing his and her parents' lessons to memory then trying to apply them in situations. She just could not seem to react fast enough to catch her hunt or build her trap sturdy enough to prevent her game from escaping. 

Before he knew it, he grew a soft spot for this little sister of his. 

He continued to stroke BaiXue's head and left her with this sentence, "I've noticed... and witnessed... how hard you've been... trying... The day will come... when it's your... turn to... shine... Believe... in... yourself..." 

BaiXue felt and heard his breathing become increasingly shallow and slow. Tears fell from her eyes like waterfalls. She made her final promise to him with a shaky voice. "I'll live my life to make you proud. Rest in peace, my dear brother."

He died with a proud and satisfied smile on his face.

The memories afterwards were a little hazy. She roughly remembered being told that her father had died to ensure that everyone else in the family could escape and that his death was not meaningless and hearing some comments being passed around that she should have been the one to die. There were also rough images of accusing and hate-filled eyes. 

BaiXue did not react to everything because she was consumed in her thoughts. /Why did big brother think my life was more valuable than his? How was I worth saving? How was I worth sacrificing for? Why?/

Eventually, just one thought and desire dominated her mind. /I have to avenge my brother and make his death meaningful too./

She clearly remembered one of the attacks that he suffered. It was particularly memorable because it caused her to tumble out of her brother's vest. While her brother struggled with a tiger, she was exposed for easy picking. Not wanting to be a burden, she tried hard to dodge other bandits, then got the idea to rapidly kick rocks and stones at them with her feet. She relentlessly kicked the floor like she was urgently digging a hole to hide in. It created so much dust and dirt in the air.

All of a sudden, her brother picked her up again and continued to run. Just before she got stuffed back in his vest, she caught sight of a roaring tiger changing into his human form, while clutching one eye. Blood flowed through his fingers uncontrollably. 

After the funeral for her brother ended, BaiXue left with the intention to find that tiger who was likely left with only one eye. 

She tried her utmost best to survive by herself out in the wild. She remembered everything her brother taught her and reinforced parts of her traps that her brother had previously told her were weaker. However, it still had low rates of success. She also did not have much luck with fishing as she did not have enough strength to reel it back in. Instead, she was often pulled along and into the water. The small ones somehow refused to bite down on her bait. She ended up passing most days with berries, mushrooms, and more plants. 

She was not recovering as much energy as she was expending. Eventually, the day of ehr collapse came. 

BaiXue laboriously pushed herself to sit up with her back against the tree. She was taking deep breaths and working to digest all the memories that had resulted in a stronger massive migraine. It also came along with strong intense emotions. Suddenly, she heard a soft whisper in the wind. /I have to avenge my brother.../

[BaiXue...?] BaoBao softly called out.

BaiXue raised her hand to touch her cheek then brought it down to look at it. It was wet. Tears continued to flow while she kept on a straight face. She remained silent like that for a long while. Just as BaoBao thought of calling out to her again, he heard her private thoughts.

/I wonder when was the last time I cried.../

BaoBao did not respond because he did not know what to say. He only knew that he felt sad. However, he did not know why either.

BaiXue closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. The original soul may be pathetically weak but her relationship with her brother and what her brother was willing to do for her strongly reminded her of Desmond. 

/I promise you to avenge him./

When she opened her eyes again, her eyes shone bright with determination.