Prologue: The Village of Red Eyes (Part 3)

The storm battered the small windows of the house.

The old stove crackled softly as Kaien sat motionless, staring at the yellowed pages before him.

His hands trembled.

Not from the cold.

From everything else.

The illustrations.

The red eyes.

The creatures.

The woman with the blue eyes.

And Yun Yun's final words.

"The last human who tried to wage war against the Demon King."

They still lingered in the room.

Slowly, Kaien lifted his gaze.

The firelight reflected in Yun Yun's eyes.

This time, they didn't seem alive.

Only tired.

Like the eyes of someone who had seen far too much.

"...None of this makes any sense."

Yun Yun remained silent.

Kaien slammed the book shut.

The dull thud echoed through the small room.

"A Demon King? Humans turning into monsters? This village used to be normal?"

His voice rose.

"Why should I believe any of this!?"

Yun Yun flinched.

But she stayed calm.

"Because it's true."

Kaien ran a hand through his hair.

His head felt like it was about to explode.

For years, he'd known something was wrong with Asterveil.

But this...

...this was too much.

Too twisted.

"Why didn't I know any of this until now?"

His voice trembled.

"How could you keep something like this from me!?"

Yun Yun let out a quiet laugh.

Not a happy one.

A bitter one.

"Because the Elders will do anything to make sure no one learns the truth."

"But why!?"

Yun Yun looked toward the window.

Outside, snow lashed against the house.

"Because fear is easier to control than hope."

The words lingered between them.

Kaien felt that familiar tightness return to his chest.

"You talk as if you've known all this forever."

Yun Yun didn't answer immediately.

After a few seconds, she gave a slow nod.

"Partly."

Kaien frowned.

"Partly?"

Yun Yun bit her lip.

Kaien recognized the look immediately.

She was deciding how much she was allowed to tell him.

It was driving him insane.

Always avoiding the truth.

Always giving half-answers.

He stepped closer to the table.

"Yun Yun."

His voice was calm.

Almost too calm.

"I'm begging you."

He held her gaze.

"No more games."

Slowly, she looked up.

"Who..."

He hesitated.

"...or what..."

Another brief pause.

"...are you, really?"

Outside, the wind howled against the house.

For a brief moment, Yun Yun looked frightened.

Not because of the question.

Because she already knew the answer.

"I'm just Yun Yun."

"No."

"Yes."

Kaien slammed his hand onto the table.

"NO!"

The stove cracked loudly.

Yun Yun flinched.

Kaien drew a shaky breath.

"You know things about monsters."

"You know these symbols."

"You were afraid of that man."

"And you're secretly living in a house full of drawings of demons!"

His voice trembled.

"We're the same age."

"So stop treating me like a child!"

Yun Yun lowered her gaze.

For several long seconds, she said nothing.

When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Because I'm afraid."

Kaien froze.

He hadn't expected that.

Yun Yun wrapped her arms around herself.

"You don't understand what happens to people who learn too much."

"Then explain it to me."

"No."

"Why not!?"

Yun Yun suddenly raised her head.

Tears filled her eyes.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!"

The words lingered between them.

For a brief moment, even the storm outside seemed to quiet.

Kaien didn't know how to respond.

Yun Yun breathed heavily.

Her voice trembled.

"Everyone who asks questions..."

She swallowed.

"...has disappeared without a trace."

"Just like..."

Another breath caught in her throat.

"...my parents."

Kaien immediately remembered Magnus.

"You are not the first to ask so many questions."

An uneasy feeling crept up his spine.

"Is that what Magnus meant?"

Yun Yun didn't answer.

Instead, she walked over to the window.

Moonlight reflected faintly off the snow outside.

"A few years ago, they started asking questions."

"What kind of questions?"

Yun Yun closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"The same ones you're asking now."

Kaien felt a knot form in his stomach.

"They wanted to know what lay beyond the walls."

"What happened to your parents?"

Yun Yun didn't answer.

Kaien waited.

"...Yun Yun."

Slowly, she turned to face him.

Her eyes were dry.

As though they had long since run out of tears.

"They found their arms."

Kaien felt his blood run cold.

The wind slammed against the window.

Kaien looked back at the drawings.

The monsters.

The deformed humans.

The black eyes.

Everything suddenly felt far more real.

"These demons..."

His eyes remained on the drawings.

"...are they out there in the forest?"

Yun Yun gave a slow nod.

"And the North Wall?"

The question changed her expression instantly.

Fear.

Pure fear.

"You..."

She hesitated.

"...you mustn't go there."

"Why?!"

"Because no one survives there for long at night."

"But Magnus is sending me there."

Yun Yun clenched her teeth.

"Then he wants to see if you die."

Kaien let out a short laugh.

Not because it was funny.

Because she sounded completely serious.

"They can't actually mean that."

Yun Yun gently shook her head.

"You still don't understand those people."

A thought suddenly crossed Kaien's mind.

Yun Yun hadn't defended Magnus even once.

"You hate the Elders."

A faint smile appeared on Yun Yun's face.

She didn't answer.

She didn't have to.

Outside, the storm had begun to fade.

Only a few snowflakes drifted past the window.

Kaien let out a weary sigh.

His head hurt.

Too much information.

Too many questions.

Yet...

...he wanted to know more.

"The woman in the book."

Yun Yun looked at him again.

"Who was she, really?"

She was quiet for a moment before answering.

"Her name was Elysia."

The name sounded strange.

Ancient.

Almost forgotten.

"A long time ago, she led the last humans in the war against the Demon King."

"And she lost."

Yun Yun nodded.

"What happened to her?"

"No one knows."

Kaien frowned.

Yun Yun stepped a little closer.

"But some believe..."

She looked at the old book.

"...that she still exists somewhere."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Very little in this world does."

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Then Yun Yun smiled faintly.

A small, gentle smile.

"You really do look like her, you know."

"Stop saying things like that."

"But it's true."

Kaien let out a quiet snort.

"Great. Maybe I've just gone completely insane."

Yun Yun's grin was barely noticeable.

"As if you weren't already."

"Very funny."

The tension eased.

Only a little.

But it was enough.

Yun Yun sat back down at the table.

"You should stay home tonight."

"I was planning to."

"And don't go to the North Wall alone tomorrow."

"Do I even have a choice?"

Yun Yun didn't answer.

Kaien watched her for several long seconds.

Then he slowly got to his feet.

"I should get going."

Yun Yun gave a small nod.

As Kaien reached the door, she stopped him.

"Kaien."

He turned back.

She looked serious again.

"No matter what you see tomorrow..."

The wind whispered softly outside.

"...run."

Kaien held her gaze for a moment.

Then one corner of his mouth lifted into a crooked grin.

"Thank you, Yun Yun."

He smiled faintly.

"I really mean it."

A brief pause.

"Thank you for everything."

Yun Yun didn't smile back.

More than anything else that night...

...that frightened him.

Kaien stepped out of the house.

The icy night air hit him immediately.

Snow crunched beneath his boots as he made his way through the quiet streets of Asterveil.

Only a handful of lanterns were still burning.

Long shadows stretched across the narrow paths.

Kaien pulled his coat tighter around himself.

His thoughts refused to settle.

Demons.

Elysia.

The Demon King.

The North Wall.

Yun Yun's parents.

Most of all...

...Yun Yun.

He had never seen her like that before.

So afraid.

Footsteps echoed behind him.

Kaien stopped.

The sound vanished.

Then it came again.

Slow.

Steady.

Crunching through the snow.

He spun around.

No one.

Only dark alleys.

And falling snow.

Kaien swallowed.

Ever since that night in the forest, he'd felt as though someone was watching him.

Now the feeling had only grown stronger.

Much stronger.

He picked up his pace.

The houses grew more familiar.

Poorer.

More run-down.

This was where the people lived whom hardly anyone in the village paid any attention to.

Workers.

Drunks.

People who didn't matter.

At last, Kaien stopped in front of a small, crooked house.

A faint light glowed through the window.

He let out a quiet sigh.

Then he pushed the door open.

The smell of alcohol hit him immediately.

Along with tobacco.

The living room was a mess.

Empty bottles were scattered across the floor.

An old table stood crooked in the middle of the room.

A broad-shouldered man with a gray beard sat by the window.

A bottle of beer rested in one hand.

His red eyes immediately settled on Kaien.

Narrowing in annoyance.

His adoptive parents had taken him in after he had been found half-frozen near the South Wall as a small child.

The man's name was Eren Vale.

Although Kaien had never truly thought of him as his father...

...he was still the only father he'd ever known.

The woman in the kitchen was Mireya Vale.

Kind-hearted.

Calm.

And probably the only reason this house had ever felt like a home.

"Well, would you look at that."

Kaien closed the door behind him.

"The little hero's still alive."

Kaien rolled his eyes.

"Glad to see you too."

Eren took a long swig of his beer.

Without warning, he hurled the empty bottle at Kaien.

Kaien dodged it at the last second.

The bottle slammed into the wall behind him and shattered.

"Maybe one day you'll learn to come home on time."

"Maybe one day you'll learn not to be drunk."

A crooked grin spread across Eren's face.

Not a friendly one.

More like the grin of a tired beast.

"Big mouth."

"As always."

Mireya hurried out of the kitchen.

"Kaien!"

She immediately took his hands.

Her expression filled with concern as she examined the fresh wounds.

"Your hands... you've hurt yourself again!"

"It's nothing."

"Of course it is."

Her voice was gentle.

Concerned.

Everything Eren's wasn't.

She guided him toward the kitchen.

"Sit down."

With a quiet sigh, Kaien sank into a chair.

From across the room, Eren watched him.

That same familiar look of contempt in his eyes.

Mireya carefully cleaned his hands.

Kaien winced.

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"Stop lying to me."

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Only the soft crackling of the stove broke the silence.

Then Eren spoke again.

"So."

He took another swig of beer.

"Where were you this time?"

"Out."

"Out."

A dry laugh escaped him.

"You already sound like a useless drifter."

Kaien didn't answer.

"Others your age have been working for a long time."

"I'm starting work at the North Wall tomorrow."

The room fell quiet.

Eren slowly raised his gaze.

His expression shifted.

Barely.

"...Who decided that?"

"Magnus."

Mireya's hands froze as she tended Kaien's wounds.

He noticed immediately.

"The... North Wall?"

Her voice had lost its certainty.

"Yes."

Eren slowly set his beer bottle on the table.

"What did you do?"

Kaien frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Magnus doesn't send people to the North Wall without a reason."

Kaien immediately remembered Yun Yun's words.

"Then he wants to see if you die."

An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach.

"I just asked questions."

Eren let out a loud, bitter laugh.

Bitter.

Broken.

"Of course."

He pushed himself to his feet.

"Of course you had to ask questions."

"What's your problem?"

Eren stepped closer.

His breath reeked of cheap alcohol.

"My problem is that you're just like that brat's parents."

The words lingered in the room.

They hit Kaien harder than the bottle had.

For a moment, he couldn't move.

"Eren, stop."

Mireya's voice was quiet.

Eren ignored her.

"Always the same stupid questions."

Kaien met his gaze.

"You knew Yun Yun's parents?"

Eren didn't answer.

Kaien felt his heartbeat quicken.

"ANSWER ME!"

Without warning, Eren grabbed him by the collar.

"Stop digging."

His voice turned serious.

Deadly serious.

"Some truths consume people."

Kaien stared at him.

For the first time, Eren didn't look like a drunken fool.

He looked like a man who was afraid.

Truly afraid.

Then he let go of Kaien.

"You'd better find yourself some real work."

He walked back to the window and picked up another bottle of beer.

"Or do you want to end up like the rest of those lunatics?"

Kaien remained still.

His thoughts wouldn't stop racing.

Yun Yun's parents.

The red-haired woman.

Magnus.

The North Wall.

Why was everyone reacting like this?

Mireya looked at him sadly.

Then she gently brushed a hand through his hair.

"Just promise me you'll be careful."

Kaien lowered his gaze without a word.

Outside, the wind howled through the night once more.

Somewhere in the distance...

...the bell of the North Wall rang again.