After what happened that day, life became a living nightmare for us.
Father had woken up, but with both arms broken he could barely move.
Mother, despite her own injuries, had to go out with my brother to search for food, while I stayed behind to take care of Father.
Everything we owned... food, fur, even the little we had to keep warm had been taken by the villagers.
Winter finally arrived in full force.
Snow fell every day.
Mother would return with whatever small fruits or scraps she could find, but it was never enough to feed all of us.
Finding anything in the snow was nearly impossible.
Days passed as we struggled to survive.
Then one morning,
Mother said she had heard that the merchant group was arriving.
She decided to go and beg them for food or fur.
She knew it was almost hopeless, but our situation had become so desperate that the merchants were the only remaining chance we had.
At the center of the village, several carriages were being loaded with fur by the villagers and a group of black-cloaked men.
The black-cloaked man who appeared to be the leader spoke to the village chief.
"As agreed, this is the payment."
He gestured, and one of his subordinates brought forward a chest filled with gold.
"Sir Ozul, it's a pleasure working with you," the village chief replied with open greed, clearly believing he had struck gold.
He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Please transfer the remaining amount to the place we agreed upon."
Ozul, wearing a black cloak and a mask that covered the upper half of his face, smiled strangely.
The lower half of his face was marked by a distinctive snake tattoo.
"Don't worry. We will honor the agreement," he said in a gentle tone.
"However… please gather all the villagers. We have some gifts to distribute in celebration of our first successful cooperation."
The village chief's eyes lit up at the word "gift."
Knowing how wealthy this man appeared to be, he immediately ordered his subordinates to summon every villager.
Before long, nearly the entire village had gathered.
Once the crowd settled, Ozul raised his voice.
"Everyone! I am Ozul of the merchant group. I wish to express my gratitude for your hard work. Gathering this amount of fur would not have been possible without your cooperation!"
His subordinates began handing out small chests to each villager.
When they opened them, they found a small, black, egg-like object inside.
Confusion and surprise spread through the crowd... none of them had ever seen anything like it.
"I know you are all wondering what this is," Ozul continued with passionate excitement. "But do not be surprised… for this item will change your fate!"
The villagers, including the village chief, looked doubtful.
"Sir Ozul, forgive me for interrupting… but what exactly can this thing do?"
Ozul raised a hand to silence him and spoke in a mysterious tone.
"Do not worry. You will understand soon enough."
Suddenly, the black objects in every villager's hand began to crack.
From within each one emerged a strange worm with a sharp beak, no larger than a finger.
As if sensing prey, the creatures leapt forward and burrowed into the villager's bodies.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
Screams erupted across the square.
People tried desperately to tear the worms away, but it was useless.
The creatures moved with terrifying speed, drilling into flesh and wriggling deeper inside the chest.
Even the village chief was not spared, he clutched his chest in agony as one forced its way in.
Ozul watched their suffering with visible enjoyment.
Raising both arms toward the sky, he declared:
"Do not resist! This is the trial of our god! Those who pass will be reborn!"
His words fell on deaf ears.
The villagers continued to scream as their bodies turned purple and black, veins bulging grotesquely as if they were about to burst.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
One after another, bodies exploded, staining the pure white snow a deep, eerie red.
Ozul stood covered in blood.
He looked rather disappointed... not because of the gore, but because of the result.
"Hmm… not even a single successful transformation," he muttered.
The excitement drained from his face, replaced by cold indifference.
He turned to his subordinates.
"Go gather any remaining villagers, and—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes locked onto an ugly woman who had just arrived and was now turning to flee.
"...Do the same to the rest," he ordered.
"I have something to take care of."
"Yes, Lord Ozul!"
Ozul began following the woman.
As he walked, a faint sense of recognition tugged at him, though he could not yet place her appearance.
_
_
_
"What's going on…?" the woman muttered in horror as she witnessed the bloody scene.
Fear overtook her.
She spun around and ran as fast as she could, her only thought being the safety of her children.
After running for some time, she reached their small house and burst inside.
"Honey! Lance! Gwen! We have to leave right now!"
The three people inside looked at her in shock.
Before any of them could speak, a calm voice came from behind her.
"So you have a family, do you?"
Ozul appeared silently in the doorway, his gaze fixed on the family he had been following.
A strange sadness crossed his face as he took in their tattered, ugly appearances.
"All of you must have lived difficult lives," he said.
"But do not worry. If you pass our god's trial, your lives will change. You will become valuable assets in helping our god reshape this twisted world."
He produced several small black eggs from within his cloak.
The moment Mother saw the black objects, panic flooded her face.
She had already witnessed what they could do.
She spun toward her children and screamed—
"Run—!"
Her voice was cut short as one of the eggs cracked open.
A worm shot out and burrowed straight into her chest.
She screamed in agony and collapsed to the floor.
Ozul continued walking toward the remaining three.
The injured man, despite his broken arms, suddenly lunged forward and slammed into Ozul, trying to stop him.
"Lance! Gwen! Run!" Father shouted.
Ozul paid him no attention.
He produced another black egg and forced it toward the man.
The brief struggle, however, bought just enough time.
The two children managed to escape through the back of the house.
Just as Ozul was about to pursue them, he suddenly stopped.
He turned around slowly, eyes widening in surprise.
"You are…"