Chapter 46
Somewhere along the mountain’s foothills, a young woman’s eyes slowly opened as she once again took in the familiar ceiling of the makeshift hut she had built.
Rising to her feet, she moved to the mirror and studied her reflection. She appeared perfectly human, save for the pair of horns protruding from her head.
She took a few strands of her hair, holding them absentmindedly as her thoughts drifted to how she would pass the day. The longer she stared, the more a quiet loneliness began to coil tightly around her chest.
She let out a soft sigh and stepped outside.
Beyond the hut lay nothing but vast solitude, stretching as far as she could see. Above her, dark clouds loomed along the horizon. She no longer knew how long she had been here, she had lost count.
While she had been living here all alone, she found herself yearning for someone to keep her company. It was something she had always wanted—yet back in her homeland, people had looked at her only with fear and disgust.
The same curses echoed in her mind, as they always did.
‘Ugh, disgusting.’
‘Better stay far away from her… she’ll bring nothing but ruin.’
She had never understood why they looked at her that way, why even those closest to her recoiled as if she were dangerous. It was suffocating, to the point that she began to question why she had even been born into this world.
There was only one person who was willing to stay by her side—the only person who had ever treated her as normal, while also being the reason she was here in the first place.
She could still vividly remember her grandfather’s parting words as he pushed her through the portal, his eyes filled with deep sadness.
“Silvia… I truly hope that in this life, despite everything that will happen, you find happiness and a life worth living.”
And just like that, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar land. Yet despite the new world around her, she never ventured beyond the forest and mountains. A part of her feared being rejected again, so even as she felt the emptiness inside growing, she still chose to stay.
…
She made her way to a nearby stream, watching the fish swim lazily through the clear water.
SPLASH
Her hand shot forward, snatching one as it flailed. She killed it swiftly, placing it on a flat stone by the water’s edge. Gathering sticks and broad leaves, she conjured a small flame at her fingertip, setting them alight. Soon, the fish started cooking slowly over the fire.
When it was done, she began to eat, peeling away small pieces one by one and savoring the taste in silence.
The nearby bushes suddenly rustled, catching her attention, and a cat’s head poked out from within. It must have smelled the aroma, as it cautiously made its way over. She watched as the cat nuzzled its head against her, meowing softly, as if begging for food.
Silvia let out a small smile and handed the leftover fish to the stray cat. It took the fish in its mouth but didn’t start eating immediately. Moments later, three kittens emerged from the bushes, following close behind.
The cat brought the fish to the kittens, who mewed softly and nuzzled against it, eagerly tugging at the morsel. She continued to watch them with a gentle smile, a subtle ache lingering somewhere deep inside her.
Once they had finished eating, they slipped back into the bushes, leaving her alone once more.
Her smile faded as she stood up, brushing the dirt from her thighs, her gaze drifting toward the distant horizon.
‘How long do I have to keep living like this…?’
The hollow ache began to gnaw at her heart again as she tried to push it aside, but it sat heavy, refusing to budge. In the end, she decided to venture into the forest to clear her mind.
She stepped carefully over gnarled roots and fallen branches, the only sounds were the crunch of her footsteps and the rustle of the wind through the trees.
Following the same path she had taken many times before, she made her way deeper into the forest. For a while, everything was the same as it always was—then it wasn’t. In the distance, she noticed sword marks etched into several trees, along with craters scattered across the forest floor.
She tilted her head, puzzled—as far as she knew, only low-tier wraiths roamed this area, so marks like these shouldn’t have been possible.
Up ahead, she could barely make out the faint clash of metal, accompanied by terrified shrieks. Her heartbeat quickened as she drew closer to the source of the sound.
Amid the trees, a figure wielding a sword moved with effortless precision, cleaving through the wraiths as he dashed across the fallen trunks.
She froze, her eyes locking onto him. For the first time in years, she wasn’t looking at a reflection—she was looking at a person. The sight was so foreign, so human, she couldn’t look away.
It was as if he were someone she had known all her life.
Her hand went to her face as tears sprang forth, a flood of long-suppressed emotion finally breaking free.
“H-huh…? Why am I…”
Joy, sorrow, and something undefinable pressed against her chest, as she struggled to steady herself.
After a few minutes, once she had calmed her emotions, her gaze returned to his figure as he continued deeper into the forest. Seizing the moment, she began to follow him cautiously from a distance.
She felt her mana stir, reshaping her aura and concealing the horns and other telltale signs of her true nature. Gradually, her presence contracted, leaving behind only the silhouette of an unassuming girl.
What am I doing right now…?
She knew it looked like she was stalking him, and yet something deep inside told her that if she let him out of sight now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
More wraiths soon emerged from the shadows, but just as before, the boy cut them down with ease. When the last of them fell, he moved calmly among the remains, salvaging what he could.
Suddenly, his head snapped in her direction. She ducked instinctively behind a tree, narrowly avoiding his gaze.
She knew she should step out and introduce herself.
Instead, she stayed hidden, eyes fixed on him, telling herself it would only be for a moment longer.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the forest as a group of ogres pushed their way between the trees. Lesser wraiths followed soon after, drifting out from the shadows and slowly closing in around him.
Silvia was about to step in—but froze. Her nostrils flared, picking up something unnatural. For a moment, she sensed a suffocating aura of death radiating from him, as if his very being had been shrouded in it.
But just as quickly as it came, the aura vanished. By the time she snapped out of her daze, all the wraiths had already been decimated.
Just as he was about to leave, she noticed a dire wolf slowly creeping up behind him. He seemed completely unaware. In an instant, it lunged at him. Without thinking, her body lunged forward, tackling him out of the wolf’s path.
As she pressed him down, she flicked her finger, and black flames erupted from the dire wolf, reducing it to black ashes.
She looked down at the boy beneath her, heart racing as she took in his features. He seemed much younger than she had expected—but her attention shifted as she noticed him squirming, his eyes darting away from her chest, ears flushing red.
For some reason, she found his expression oddly endearing, as she felt a strange sensation awakening deep inside her.
“Are you alright?”
The words appeared to snap him out of his daze, his eyes flickering back to meet hers.
“Huh? Y-yeah… I’m okay. Thanks for saving me back there.” He hesitated, and for a moment, they just stared at each other. “Uh…, how long are you going to stay on top of me…?”
Her eyes widened as she finally realized the position they were in. She scrambled off quickly.
“Oh—sorry about that!”
As he got up, rubbing the back of his head, he shot her a quick, wary glance.
“So uh… Who are you? And what are you doing in a place like this?”
“Well, I should be the one asking that,” she said lightly, brushing a stray leaf from her sleeve.
“After all, you’re the one wandering into my home.”
She watched as he blinked, momentarily at a loss for words, clearly unsure how to respond. A light, amused laugh slipped from her lips.
“Relax,” she added with a soft chuckle. “You look like I’m about to eat you alive. I’m Silvia, by the way.”
“Caelith,” he replied, his shoulders finally easing as some of the tension left him.
Above them, thunder rumbled in the distance, and a slow drizzle began to fall. Caelith lifted a hand, letting the raindrops run over his fingers, and let out a small sigh.
“Damn it… it’s raining now.”
“If you don’t mind, my place isn’t far from here,” Silvia said, offering. “We can wait it out there for now.”
He hesitated, glancing at himself as if questioning the very idea. “I appreciate it, lady—I mean, Silvia. But I just met you, and going to your home—”
Silvia let out a soft, amused hum and shook her head slightly. “It’s fine, really. Besides… it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to talk to someone.”
“Won’t you keep me company, at least, until the rain lets up?”
Then, a teasing glint appeared in her eyes. “Unless… you were thinking something else?”
“What?” He blinked, confusion crossing his features before the implication hit him. His face turned red as he frantically shook his head.
Silvia couldn’t help herself—she found his reaction far too adorable, and felt an irresistible urge to tease him a little more, but she managed to keep it to herself.
“Alright, let’s go. Looks like it’s about to pour.”
