Chirpâ! Chirpâ!
The sound of birdsong tickled my ears.
The sunlight warmly poured down,
and the breeze, carrying the essence of the season, was refreshingly cool.
Leaves full of life gleamed, their colors beautifully transforming in welcome of the coming autumn.
Just looking at them made my heart race.
It was beautiful.
Truly, an incredibly beautiful place.
If I were walking here alone, I mightâve stopped without realizing it, simply to take in the scenery.
It was that breathtaking.
But...
âWhat is this place?â
I couldnât just marvel at the scenery with a carefree heart.
Just moments ago, this world had been nothing but the sound of burning ashes.
Why had it suddenly transformed into this?
And more than that...
âWhy does this feel...?â
As I looked around, an earthquake seemed to shake my mind.
This place was unfamiliar.
Or rather, I had wandered so many places that it might be somewhere I had passed by at some point.
Even so...
âWhy does it feel so familiar?â
It wasnât the kind of familiarity you get from passing through a place once.
This was something deeperânostalgic and sorrowful, all at once.
An incomprehensible wave of emotions surged through me.
âWhat is this place?â
Why did I feel like this?
Though it seemed like I was seeing it for the first time,
the coexistence of strangeness and longing made no sense.
It was a sensation I had never felt before.
Thudâ!
The sound of a waterwheel turning snapped me back to my senses.
I turned to face forward.
Right now, what I needed to focus on wasnât the sceneryâit was the figure in front of me.
âNameless?â
Nameless.
That was how the woman had introduced herself.
As I recalled that, I looked at her again.
But...
âI canât see her.â
Her appearance was still indiscernible.
She was hazy.
Despite her presence being so overwhelming, for some reason, I couldnât perceive her clearly.
It was as if my mind was refusing to recognize her.
âWhat is she?â
I knew there was a lot going on inside me,
but right now, both Noya and Keureung were absent.
So there were only two possible candidates I could consider.
If she wasnât a blood demon spiritân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âAnd not the Divine Sword either...â
Then what on earth was she?
I had no answers.
At that momentâ
Hoo-hoo.
I heard the woman chuckle softly.
âYou have the same expression.â
âWhat...?â