Prologue: The Village of Red Eyes (Part 6)

The fire in the fireplace crackled softly, bathing the walls in flickering orange light.

Yun Yun lay in bed with her back to Lyra.

The blanket was pulled up to her shoulders.

Sleep was out of the question.

Lyra still sat by the window.

Her book lay closed beside her.

Her red eyes remained fixed on the snowy night beyond Asterveil.

Silent.

Thoughtful.

Unusually thoughtful.

Yun Yun noticed immediately.

Lyra wasn't someone who spent long dwelling on things.

She analyzed.

Calmly.

Quickly.

Precisely.

But this time...

...even she seemed unsettled.

"You're unusually quiet."

Lyra didn't answer immediately.

Outside, the wind whispered through the night.

Only after a long moment did she speak.

"That creature..."

Yun Yun immediately felt that familiar tightness return to her chest.

Lyra slowly turned toward her.

The firelight reflected in her eyes.

"It was different."

Yun Yun pushed herself up slightly.

"Different how?"

Lyra was quiet for a moment.

As though she was searching for the right words.

"It didn't have a real body."

Yun Yun frowned.

Lyra looked back into the darkness.

"It looked like..."

She paused.

"...a black mass."

The fire crackled softly.

"Almost as if the shadow itself were alive."

A cold shiver ran down Yun Yun's arms.

"And in the middle of it..."

Lyra's voice grew quieter.

"...there were eyes."

"Red?"

Lyra slowly shook her head.

Yun Yun's heart skipped a beat.

"Golden."

The room fell quiet once more.

Yun Yun sat up completely.

"Not human."

Lyra continued calmly.

"More like..."

She frowned slightly.

"...a snake's eyes."

Outside, the wind howled louder.

Without meaning to, Yun Yun thought of her father's stories.

Those old tales no one in the village spoke about anymore.

A creature with golden eyes.

A creature that could speak.

A creature that knew names.

Yun Yun swallowed.

"Has Uncle Eryndor ever mentioned a creature like that?"

Lyra glanced at her.

Then she gave a slow nod.

"Only once."

Yun Yun froze.

"But only when he was drunk."

That genuinely surprised her.

Eryndor almost never spoke about the world beyond the walls.

When he did...

...it was always in incomplete sentences.

Like someone who didn't even trust the walls themselves.

Slowly, Lyra drew her knees up.

"He once said..."

The fire in the fireplace flickered softly.

"...that there are things beyond the walls that are older than our history."

Yun Yun felt her stomach tighten.

"I really can't deal with something like that right now."

She lay back down.

Turned onto her side.

Away from the window.

Away from Lyra.

Away from all those thoughts.

"I just want to sleep."

Lyra watched her for a long moment.

Then, without warning, that small, dangerous grin appeared on her face.

The exact grin that immediately made Yun Yun suspicious.

"Interesting."

Yun Yun let out a weary sigh.

"What is it now?"

Slowly, Lyra got to her feet.

Her long white hair shimmered softly in the firelight.

"I think I'm starting to understand."

Yun Yun blinked.

"Starting to understand what?"

A knowing grin spread across Lyra's face as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Far too close.

Yun Yun knew immediately.

This was going to be exhausting.

"You really do care about him."

Yun Yun instinctively pulled the blanket a little higher.

"Of course I do."

Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm... very interesting."

She opened the drawer beside the bed and pulled out a small notebook.

Her diary.

Without another word, she flipped it open and began writing, glancing at Yun Yun every few seconds.

"What are you writing in there? And stop looking at me like that."

Lyra's grin widened.

"You're using that voice again."

"I DO NOT HAVE A VOICE!"

A quiet laugh escaped Lyra.

Yun Yun stared at her.

Lyra almost never laughed.

"You know you're kind of creepy when you laugh like that?"

"And you're obviously in love."

Yun Yun shot upright.

Her face flushed bright red.

"WHAT!?"

Lyra remained completely calm.

Which only made everything worse.

"Interesting."

Without hesitation, Yun Yun grabbed the nearest pillow.

Lyra caught it effortlessly.

This time, she didn't even look.

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE!"

For several long seconds, Lyra simply studied her.

Then she said, completely deadpan,

"You scream pretty loudly for someone who supposedly doesn't feel anything."

Yun Yun froze.

"You're just cruel."

The faintest smile touched Lyra's lips.

"Thank you."

With an annoyed sigh, Yun Yun flopped back onto the bed.

The blanket nearly covered her entire face.

"He's just my friend."

Lyra was quiet for a moment.

Then she said calmly,

"Your first."

Yun Yun immediately pulled the blanket back down.

"He's NOT my only friend!"

Lyra simply looked at her.

That dry, expressionless look she had mastered so well.

Finally, she spoke.

"If you say so."

"I DO SAY SO!"

"Of course."

"Lyra."

"Yun Yun."

"I hate you."

A faint smile appeared on Lyra's face.

This time, it almost looked warm.

"No, you don't."

The room grew quiet again.

Only the soft crackling of the fireplace broke the silence.

Yun Yun pulled the blanket a little closer around herself.

When she spoke again, her voice was noticeably calmer.

"Kaien is just..."

She stopped.

Lyra waited.

Yun Yun let out a quiet sigh.

"...different."

"Different how?"

Yun Yun let her gaze drift toward the ceiling.

Sshe realized...

...how difficult that question really was.

Kaien was loud.

Stubborn.

Annoying.

Impulsive.

He asked far too many questions.

He was constantly getting into trouble.

He trained alone in the snow at night like a madman.

And yet...

"He's just so much like them."

Lyra frowned slightly.

Yun Yun searched for the right words.

"It's like he refuses to accept this village."

She paused.

"Just like my parents."

Neither of them spoke for a while.

This time, Lyra gave her the time she needed.

"Everyone else here eventually becomes empty."

Yun Yun's voice grew quieter.

"But not Kaien."

The fire cast dancing shadows across the walls.

"He still looks at people as if they're people."

Lyra watched her quietly.

Then she spoke in an unusually gentle voice.

"You're afraid Asterveil will destroy him."

She paused.

"Just like it destroyed your family."

Yun Yun froze.

Because Lyra was right.

Of course she was afraid.

She had already seen what this village did to people.

To her parents.

To the villagers.

To Eren.

To almost everyone.

Asterveil slowly devoured people from the inside.

Until nothing but empty shells remained.

Yun Yun slowly closed her eyes.

"Maybe."

Lyra turned her gaze back to the falling snow.

After a long moment, she said something Yun Yun hadn't expected.

"I think Father is afraid of him."

Yun Yun's eyes flew open.

"What?"

"Not of Kaien himself."

She folded her arms lightly.

"More of what he might one day become."

The words lingered between them.

Yun Yun immediately thought of Magnus.

The North Wall.

The creature with the golden eyes.

And the woman from the book.

Elysia.

Suddenly, everything felt heavy again.

Bigger.

Lyra glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

Then that familiar grin returned to her face.

"Still."

Yun Yun let out a weary sigh.

"What do you mean, 'still'?"

"I want to meet him."

Yun Yun blinked.

"Your first friend."

Before Yun Yun could even grab the pillow, Lyra had already started laughing.

"LYRA!"

This time, the pillow hit its target.

It bounced off Lyra's shoulder before dropping to the floor.

Lyra only laughed harder.

A moment later, Yun Yun found herself smiling despite herself.

Then she laughed too.

The crackling of the fireplace blended with their laughter, filling the large room with a warmth it rarely knew.

Eventually, their laughter faded.

Lyra leaned back against the window once more.

Yun Yun snuggled deeper beneath her blanket.

Outside, snow fell soundlessly over Asterveil.

And for the first time in a long while...

...the two girls fell asleep with smiles on their faces.