"Haizzz…"
A weary sigh escaped softly from the girl's lips.
Right now, she was slumped on a low wooden bench beneath a large tree, seated in the middle of a bustling open space.
But unlike the rough, crude furniture back in the house where she once lived, this bench had been polished smooth, its surface gleaming, refined as though it had been crafted by the hands of a master woodworker.
It wasn't placed indoors, nor sheltered by a roof. It simply stood exposed beneath the rustling canopy and amidst the endless flow of people passing by.
Kyouno sat there, head bowed, both hands massaging her temples as if trying to ease the pounding ache in her overloaded mind.
Unlike the last time, when she stood frozen like a statue, too frightened to move.This time, Kyouno had moved.
She walked around, step by step, through this bizarre space, her eyes searching desperately for any clue, any sliver of hope that might explain the storm of questions churning in her head.
And the result…?
The farther she went, the deeper she sank into a maze of confusion.
Down the wide, like before, all kinds of strange beasts zipped by at lightning speed, their forms nothing like anything she'd seen.
But that wasn't all.
This time, she had looked up, only to be struck speechless.
In the sky above, smaller creatures of all sizes glided like flocks of hunting birds, yet instead of wings, they bore steel bodies that gleamed beneath the sun.
Even higher, beyond wisps of cloud, she glimpsed the faint shadows of beasts hundreds of times larger.
But the most bone-chilling sight of all—Were the massive serpents slithering through the sky, winding along vast metallic pathways like stone bridges suspended in midair, held aloft by towering columns of black steel.
These serpents were clad in silver metal scales, their lengths terrifying to behold, and they raced forward even faster than the beasts on the ground.
And most horrifying of all—
Within the steel armor of these serpents, through translucent segments of their bodies… she could faintly see humanoid figures sitting inside.
Humans!
Inside their bellies!!
Many of them!!!
And when one of the great serpents halted, its body split open along hidden seams, revealing gaping "doors" of enormous size.
From within, streams of people poured in and out, calm, orderly.
As though this were the most natural thing in the world.
At that moment, Kyouno stood frozen in place.
Her eyes wide, pupils trembling.
Her whole body limp....
"..."
Now, the young girl simply sat there in silence.
Her vacant eyes gazed at the endless stream of people flowing past—
A sea of humanity, never ceasing, never slowing.
Kyouno felt as if the entire world was surging by before her eyes, and she was merely a forgotten pebble on the roadside.
Too many people.
Too many sounds.
Too many things happening all at once.
For her—a girl who had spent most of her life in the tranquil solitude of the snowy mountains, where the liveliest moments were the rare trips down to nearby villages with her mother and sister to trade trophies of the hunt, this was nothing short of a sensory storm.
Even the busiest village festivals back home had never teemed with such crowds.
But here, people bustled shoulder to shoulder, moving urgently, each face passing by with an air of indifference, buried in their own haste.
Children ran about, laughing with voices clear and bright like wind brushing through leaves.
And yet, despite all the noise and motion, this place—already so foreign—now felt even more alien in the girl's heart.
A world full of people, and not a single one could see her.
No matter how much she tried to call out, waved her arms, or even stood right in someone's path.
They all just passed through her, as if she had never existed.
At that moment, the young girl was nothing more than a ghost, completely detached from the world around her.
The thought sent a chill across her entire body.
It was as if a cold, shadowy wind swept down her spine.
Every hair on her body stood on end. Her head reeled in dizziness.
She recalled the stories her sis used to scare her with when they were little—
Stories about wandering souls, separated from their bodies after death.About spirits who had nowhere to belong, drifting aimlessly in the world.
Could it be…
Had she died… from sheer exhaustion?!
"...What the hell is even going on…"
The words slipped from her lips, heavy and hoarse, weighed down with helplessness.
Too many strange things.
Too many impossible truths.
Everything swirled in her mind like a storm, tightening around her skull until her head throbbed with numb, unbearable pain.
But then again—
Why was she even wracking her brain like this?
After all, her family… that beloved home… everything was gone.
Everything she'd held dear, everything that once gave her warmth and protection—now lived on only in memory.
What was there left to cling to?
She had already saved the Snow Wolf and her cub.
If there was any regret… it was that she hadn't had the chance to take revenge.
Hadn't been able to snap the neck of that cold-blooded knight with her own hands.
But even if she had lived, with the strength she possessed now—
What could she possibly have done against such an overwhelming force?
So…
If she really was dead, then perhaps there was no need to dwell any longer.
Nothing left to yearn for. Nothing left to mourn.
To simply vanish—
Wouldn't that be easier?
And yet…
If she had truly dead, it would feel pretty eerie in her chest!
"…"
As her thoughts tangled like a web within her mind,
suddenly—
"!!!"
Her heart tightened, as if an invisible thread had wrapped itself around her chest and pulled.
A heavy feeling spread across her body, creeping from somewhere unknown.
Kyouno blinked, as if something had stirred her deeply.
Then, for reasons she couldn't explain,
she slowly lifted her head, instinctively turning her gaze in a seemingly random direction.
And then—
She saw it.
A group of boys and girls, five or six of them at most, all still young, barely more than children
They form a tight circle, sealing every escape route.
At the center of that circle—
A small figure.
A lone little girl.
Huddled.
Cornered.
Like a tiny animal driven into a dead end, with nowhere left to run.
Though she couldn't clearly see the child's face…
Kyouno could see—
Her whole body was trembling violently, curled up like a leaf caught in a storm.
So small.
So fragile.
So pitiful it pierced the heart.
Kyouno's eyes darkened.Her brows furrowed ever so slightly.
She didn't know why—
But in that exact moment, something inside her stirred.
A feeling all too familiar.
All too deep.
And far, far too painful.
. . .
. . .
As if they were one and the same . . .
...