Prologue: The Village of Red Eyes (Part 9)

The wind howled between the towering walls of the northern district, carrying snow through the air like white ash.

Kaien stood silently before the colossal gate of the North Wall.

The black stone loomed high above him like an ancient monster, its surface carved with countless deep gouges.

Some had clearly weathered the passage of time.

Others looked disturbingly fresh.

Kaien noticed them immediately.

"Those aren't ordinary marks."

No one answered.

They didn't have to.

Everyone already knew.

Yun Yun instinctively pulled her scarf tighter around her neck.

She hated this place.

Not because of the freezing cold.

Because of the feeling it left behind.

Everything about this part of the village felt wrong.

As though the very air itself were watching.

Several guards stood before the gate, wrapped in heavy coats with long spears in their hands.

Their red eyes looked hollow.

Drained of life.

None of them seemed truly awake anymore.

They looked like men who had spent far too long standing watch beyond these walls.

One of the guards suddenly took a closer look at Kaien.

His expression changed.

"Wait a second..."

Another guard followed his gaze.

"That's the boy."

"Yeah."

His eyes lingered on Kaien.

Then his voice grew quieter.

"The kid Magnus sent."

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Yun Yun noticed the guards looking at Kaien differently now.

Not with hostility.

With pity.

Kaien noticed it too.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

The guards exchanged uneasy glances.

None of them answered.

A burst of loud laughter suddenly echoed from behind them.

A large man staggered out of the nearby guardhouse.

Broad shoulders.

A filthy beard.

The stench of alcohol clung to him.

A half-empty bottle dangled loosely from one hand, swaying with each unsteady step.

His red eyes looked exhausted.

But they were still dangerous.

The captain.

"HAHAHAHA..."

Still laughing, he stopped directly in front of Kaien.

He looked him up and down.

"So this is the new recruit?"

Kaien grimaced.

The smell of alcohol was overwhelming.

"He looks like a stiff breeze would kill him."

A few of the guards let out uneasy laughs.

Not because the joke was funny.

Because no one dared disagree with the captain.

Yun Yun immediately stepped in front of Kaien.

"He's not here to be insulted."

The captain slowly turned toward her.

A heartbeat later, he burst into even louder laughter.

"The little one's got claws."

Lyra observed him quietly.

As expected, she calmly reached for her diary.

Scratch... Scratch...

The captain stared at her in confusion.

"What the hell is she doing?"

"Trust me," Kaien said.

"You don't want to know."

Without even looking up from the page, Lyra replied in her usual composed voice.

"Subject displays clear symptoms of chronic alcohol abuse."

"...Excuse me!?"

Yun Yun immediately buried her face in one hand.

Kaien had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling.

For several long seconds, the captain simply stared at Lyra.

Finally, he let out a loud snort.

"The kids in this village get more screwed up every year."

He raised the bottle and took a long drink.

Then, without warning, he pulled an old knife from his belt.

He tossed it toward Kaien.

Clink.

The blade landed at his feet.

Kaien looked down in surprise.

The knife was rusted.

Old.

Its edge was covered in countless scratches.

"Here."

Kaien bent down and picked it up.

"Do your job."

He frowned.

"That's it?"

A wide grin spread across the captain's face.

An ugly grin.

"Not quite."

Before Kaien could react, the captain grabbed him by the shoulder and hurled him toward the outer gate.

"HEY!" Yun Yun shouted.

Kaien stumbled through the snow before catching himself.

The captain laughed.

Then he pointed toward the forest beyond the wall.

"You don't come back until you bring me the corpse of one of those beasts!"

Every guard froze.

One of them immediately stepped forward.

"B-But... C-Captain..."

The captain's grin never wavered.

"You can't do that."

The young guard looked at Kaien.

Then back at the captain.

"He's just a kid."

The wind swept across the wall, carrying away every other sound.

The captain slowly turned toward him.

The grin vanished from his face.

"If the boy's life means that much to you..."

His voice turned ice-cold.

"...then you're more than welcome to join him."

The young guard froze.

Every pair of eyes turned toward him.

The fear on his face was impossible to miss.

After a long moment...

...he lowered his gaze.

"...Never mind."

He quietly stepped back into line.

Yun Yun clenched her jaw.

Anger burned in her crimson eyes.

"You're sick."

The captain laughed again.

This time, however, Lyra spoke before anyone else could.

"Interesting."

Every head turned toward her.

She calmly opened her diary once more.

Scratch... Scratch...

"Humans sacrifice those weaker than themselves to soothe their own fear."

The captain frowned.

"What exactly is wrong with you?"

Lyra finally looked up from the page.

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself."

Kaien couldn't help letting out a short laugh.

That only made Yun Yun even more frustrated.

"WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING NOW!?"

A faint grin tugged at the corner of Kaien's mouth.

"Because she's somehow creepier than this guy."

The captain merely snorted.

Then he pointed toward the forest beyond the wall.

"Get moving."

Kaien silently turned his gaze toward the wilderness.

Beyond the gate, there was nothing but snow.

Mist.

Darkness.

Yet deep inside, something felt wrong.

Terribly wrong.

Yun Yun slowly stepped closer.

When she spoke again, her voice had softened to little more than a whisper.

"You don't have to do this."

Kaien glanced at her briefly before looking back toward the forest.

"I do."

"Kaien... please..."

"If I back down now, I'll never be able to change my life."

Yun Yun bit her lip.

Lyra quietly watched the exchange.

A moment later, she opened her diary once again.

Scratch... Scratch...

"LYRA!"

"Emotionally driven self-destruction caused by pride."

Kaien let out a quiet sigh.

"That somehow sounds insulting."

"That wasn't my intention."

"...Somehow that makes it worse."

A faint smile crossed Yun Yun's face.

It lasted only a heartbeat.

Then the worry returned.

"Just... come back, okay?"

Kaien didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he held her gaze for a moment.

Then he gave a slow nod.

"Of course I will.

Have I ever lied to you?"

The wind picked up, sending curtains of snow swirling through the air.

Without another word, Kaien turned away.

He walked through the gate.

Beyond the safety of the wall.

Into the forest.

Behind him, the massive gates of the North Wall began to close.

BOOOOM.

The thunderous sound rolled across the frozen landscape before slowly fading into the distance.

As the echo died away, an unnatural silence settled over the forest.

Kaien came to a stop.

An endless forest stretched out before him, buried beneath a blanket of snow.

The trees were black.

Twisted.

Almost lifeless.

Mist drifted lazily between their trunks.

Creeping through the forest like a living thing.

Kaien pulled his coat tighter around himself.

His breath lingered in the freezing air, and the rusty knife in his hand suddenly felt laughably small.

"...This is going great."

Snow crunched beneath his boots as he took another cautious step forward.

By now, the North Wall had almost disappeared behind him.

Reduced to nothing more than a dark silhouette swallowed by the mist.

His heartbeat gradually quickened.

Not because of the cold.

Because that feeling had returned.

The feeling of being watched.

It had been growing stronger for days.

The forest was unnaturally silent.

No birds called from the branches.

No animals stirred beneath the snow.

Nothing.

Only the wind.

And the endless fall of snow.

A sharp crack echoed between the trees.

Kaien froze.

Slowly, he raised the knife.

Another crack.

Closer this time.

Something was moving out there.

Its footsteps were heavy.

Unhurried.

Kaien swallowed.

The mist weaving between the trees began to shift.

Not because of the wind.

As though...

...something were moving through it.

Then he saw them.

Eyes.

More than one pair.

Glowing crimson from deep within the darkness.

A low growl rumbled through the forest.

The creature slowly emerged from the mist.

It was a wolf.

But far too large.

Almost the size of a horse.

Its fur was black.

Its body grotesquely twisted.

Crimson veins pulsed beneath its skin like burning embers.

Thick strands of saliva dripped from its jaws, splattering into the snow.

Its red eyes...

...locked onto Kaien's.

For a heartbeat, he couldn't move.

The demon wolf let out another deep growl.

Its muscles slowly tensed.

Ready to pounce.

Far in the distance...

...the bell of the North Wall rang once more.