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It was a night when the crescent moon shone brightly.

The endlessly sinking clouds felt unusually close.

The grassland below, illuminated by the moon, felt somehow clear and shining.

It was that kind of day.

The moon was so clear.

The sky was so beautiful.

The wind was so lovely.

And.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

Because you liked it.

That day, the two of us gazed at the moon together.

That was today.

“Yeah, it’s pretty.”

But it wasn’t a comment aimed at the moon.

To be precise, it was a remark made while looking at the night sky.

A sky filled with blooming stars.

In the fields, the flowers blossomed with vitality.

And in the sky, stars bloomed like flowers too.

Then, what blossomed on your face?

It was a thought I had as I often gazed into her eyes.

“Oh my?”

The woman smiled at my comment.

“…You’re still saying mean things, huh?”

“What mean thing did I say?”

Even after thinking it over, I couldn’t find any.

I looked at her with an innocent expression, but she spoke to me with her characteristic smile.

“It’s mean.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The words you speak keep me alive. That’s really cruel and mean.”

I didn’t understand.

She often said these incomprehensible things.

And she said them with a painfully sad expression.

“Why are you crying?”

I asked, touching her white cheeks.

“I’m not crying.”

She replied while holding my hand.

Her touch was cold.

Her body was always like that.

So sometimes, she would come and hug me.

Because I was hot to balance out her coldness, being wrapped in her arms would bring a semblance of comfort.

She said that was how she could live for tomorrow.

“Hey.”

“Speak.”

The woman in my embrace pointed at the sky.

“What do you see?”

I looked up at the sky. Should I say everything I see?

After watching quietly, I spoke.

“I see the night.”

“And?”

“I see the stars contained in the night. And the clouds that wrap around them.”

“And?”

“I see the moon that has risen above.”

“And what else?”

“I don’t know.”

I said all that was visible. If asked to find more, honestly, I couldn’t.

Hearing my response, the woman rolled her eyes.

It was a gesture she often made when deep in thought.

I was so captivated by it that I just kept staring.

“Then, it has to be the night.”

The woman said something totally unexpected.

Frowning at her words, I asked.

“…What do you mean?”

“You saw the night first, right?”

“…”

That’s something you see as soon as you look up.

I was about to say that, but.

“Then, let’s go with what you first saw.”

The woman sometimes said strange things, so I considered this yet another instance.

“…What on earth do you mean?”

What on earth does the night sky signify?

I couldn’t comprehend it.

“I’m going to be your night from now on.”

“…What?”

“If that happens, you’ll think of me every time you see the night.”

“…”

“Perhaps you’ll think of me just by looking at the sky itself.”

What does the night signify, and what does the sky mean?

The woman continued to spill forth words I couldn’t grasp.

“Please don’t forget me, even if it’s like that.”

“…”

Listening to her, I gazed blankly at her.

The reason I didn’t nitpick her nonsensical dialogue was likely because her expression seemed so sincere.

“…Okay.”

So I made a promise.

“You are my night.”

I promised to think of her whenever I looked at the darkened sky.

And so, I promised that.

“Really?”

The woman smiled at my words.

But even while seeing that smile, I felt something was off.

“Why?”

“Why are you still crying?”

I thought while looking at the woman’s strained smile.

“I’ll trust you.”

I said, hugging her trembling shoulders gently.

“Just like always.”

Yet somehow, I didn’t feel like I was actually holding her.

It felt like I was cradling an empty fog. Sadly, it seemed like it would scatter away.

The deeper I held on, the more it felt like it would break.

And letting go felt as if it would vanish.

“…This time, I’ll trust you.”

The woman spoke beneath the sky.

“…Okay.”

To that, I could only respond.

There was nothing else I could do for the woman in my arms.

As we embraced for a brief moment.

“…Hey.”

The woman spoke to me.

“Call my name.”

“…”

Caught off guard by the request, I smiled slightly.

Is this all it takes to ask for something?

This much was more than easy. Whether it be a moment or an eternity, I’d gladly do it whenever she wished.

I attempted to express that thought.

“…”

Suddenly, my mouth felt dry and tight.

I couldn’t remember.

What was the woman’s name?

Why couldn’t I recall it? Feeling strange, I looked desperately into my arms.

“…Huh?”

There was nothing left in my embrace.

The woman I had just held had vanished somewhere.

“…Huh…?”

What is this?

What was I just holding? I was surely holding something.

Why can’t I remember anything?

With trembling eyes, I looked up at the sky.

“…”

And all I saw was the night, devoid of everything.

“What the heck are you?”

I gripped the small shoulders tightly and spoke.

“What happened here?”

I looked down at her chest.

Her clothes were torn in various places, and blood flowed from the side.

‘…A scar?’

Looking at the condition, it seemed to be a knife wound. A precisely carved one at that.

‘What’s going on?’

Where on earth did she get such an injury?

How did it come to this, when she said there was something to see?

Focusing intently on the Heavenly Demon’s body.

“…It hurts….”

The Heavenly Demon crinkled her face slightly as she spoke.

Hearing that, I snapped in annoyance.

“Of course it hurts, you idiot. You’ve ended up like this, how could you not be in pain?”

“…No… my arm… it hurts.”

“What?”

Upon hearing that, I looked at the Heavenly Demon’s shoulder.

My hand had been gripping her shoulder tightly.

Realizing that, I quickly released it.

“…”

Why was I holding onto this?

I frowned.

“…Why did you get hurt?”

What on earth had she been doing to end up like this?

I couldn’t comprehend the situation, but she remained silent.

She just stared at me intently.

“What are you doing? Don’t you have to hurry up and answer?”

I pressed her as they looked at me with a puzzled tilt of her head.

“Why?”

“What?”

Her response made my frown deepen.

“Why, you ask.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“What do you mean, why do I want to know about that?”

At that moment, I fell silent.

Why was I asking this? The question was slightly misplaced. This wasn’t it.

Instead of asking why she was injured, I should have asked what she had experienced.

Realigning my question, I spoke again.

“What kind of trouble did you—”

“Are you worried?”

“Who, me?”

I paused mid-sentence.

The Heavenly Demon was looking at me intently.

Staring into those purple eyes, I felt my features crinkle in confusion.

“Stop saying crazy things.”

“…”

“Not that I’m worried about your body, I just don’t want to deal with the trouble that comes from something like this.”

The truth is, I’m not worried.

Now that there’s a job to be done here, I need to finish everything as quickly as possible, if this mess gets out of hand, it would be a hassle.

That’s just how it is.

“So just speak properly—”

“You’re worried about me.”

“Talk like you know what you’re saying.”

Why is she interpreting things so freely? My temperature was rising.

Amidst all that, the Heavenly Demon seemed as if she was enjoying herself, with the corners of her lips slightly lifting.

That was even more absurd.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I’m not smiling.”

“Clearly, you’re smiling. Look at the state you’re in and tell me you aren’t.”

“I’m not smiling.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Just as I was about to grab her by the collar, I hesitated. I can see her body was in no state to be touched.

“Damn it.”

I withdrew my hand, pulling back, I glared at the Heavenly Demon once more.

“Stop rambling. Speak clearly. What happened?”

“…”

She briefly opened and closed her lips.

“Hurry and say it.”

“I went to see someone.”

“What?”

Who did she go to see? It was an absurd statement.

“Who on earth could you find around here?”

Does anyone even exist near Mankye that the Heavenly Demon would recognize? It was nonsensical.

But the fact that she returned hurt implies.

‘That means she fought with someone.’

Who in the world did she engage with to become like this?

Curiously, when I posed the question, the Heavenly Demon replied.

“It was that guy we saw last time.”

“…Last time?”

An image flashed in my mind.

I recalled when she had gone to catch someone circling Hwasan Sect.

“But did that guy even come around here?”

“Yeah.”

“So, you ended up in this state after a fight with him?”

“I messed up.”

The Heavenly Demon said that as if feeling wronged.

Sure, I thought the same.

The fact that the Heavenly Demon got hurt seemed strange to me.

“I won’t lose next time.”

“…Next time, huh….”

I brushed my hand through my hair.

Frustration rose.

‘What’s going on?’

Both here and around Hwasan, it’s been bothering me that outsiders keep appearing.

Furthermore.

“How did you even know to go there?”

How did she find the watcher?

“Ah.”

At my comment, the Heavenly Demon clapped her hands and responded.

“I found them while following you.”

“…Following me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Just for fun.”

“….”

What do I do? Should I actually hit her? Could I even hit her?

I really pondered that.

“…Anyway… so you went looking for the watcher and ended up fighting, is that it?”

“Not really.”

“What do you mean? Just now you said that was true… what’s going on?”

The Heavenly Demon pointed her finger at me.

At that of all moments, I found myself perplexed.

“What’s this about?”

“It’s you.”

“What?”

“I’m watching you.”

Upon hearing that, I turned to look behind me. There was Gu Bong, who was struggling in the current situation.

‘So.’

What the Heavenly Demon was saying was that while she was with Gu Bong, the person being watched was solely me.

“How can you be so sure?”

Gu Bong had stayed right next to her.

As expected, I couldn’t tell from where the surveillance and stalking had begun.

In this case, it would mean either the Heavenly Demon was lying to me or.

‘Or I’m just too good at hiding that I don’t even realize I’m being followed.’

It had to be one of those two.

If it’s the former…

‘She’s someone I can’t trust anyway.’

If she were to fabricate lies about me… that would complicate matters.

And if it were the latter…

‘That just sounds annoying.’

That means she might possess some abilities I couldn’t even detect or simply far surpasses me in skill.

Just that alone complicates things further.

‘Even more so.’

I stared at the Heavenly Demon.

‘The fact that she got hurt.’

She said it was a mistake, but that doesn’t mean she lacks ability.

Who could this be? What group are they from?

As I pondered, a certain figure came to my mind.

‘…Mother?’

A mother I didn’t recognize.

Could this have been her doing?

“Tch…”

As I was lost in thought, biting my thumb, the Heavenly Demon spoke to me.

“By the way.”

“There’s something wrong?”

“That guy felt a bit strange.”

That was an unexpected statement.

In a forest far from Yawolgung.

Among the thick woods, a woman leaned against a tree trunk, staggering as she walked.

Plop.

Each step the woman took left drops of blood behind.

What was strange, though, was that the blood was not red, but rather scarlet.

“Hoo.”

After staggering for a while, the woman finally leaned against the tree and sank to the ground.

“Huff… huff….”

She exhaled heavily, trying to calm her breathing.

Her ears and tail sagged, expressing her fatigue.

Then, feeling the black mask she wore was stifling, she pulled it off with her hand.

As the mask came off, heat surged out.

At the same time, her previously hidden face was revealed to the world.

“Huff… ugh….”

As the woman drooped her head, her long brown hair obscured her face.

And through that gap, the woman’s golden eyes flickered, even if just briefly.

 

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