The forest changed long before we reached the village.
The trees thinned.The light grew warmer.The glow didn't float around randomly anymore — it followed a rhythm, like the forest was breathing.
Even the air felt different.
Less wild.Less dangerous.But not exactly safe either.
More like… supervised.
Kira walked slightly ahead, but she kept glancing back at me every few minutes.Not checking if I could keep up — checking if I'd collapse or get possessed or explode.Typical stuff.
"You're staring again," I said.
"I am watching you," she corrected.
"Same thing."
"No. If I were simply staring, you wouldn't notice."
"…Wow."
Kira: master of insults without emotion.
We kept going until the trees finally broke open into a wide clearing — and I saw it.
Lumina Village.
At first glance, it didn't look like a village.It looked like someone took a handful of stars and dropped them onto the ground.
Floating lanterns drifted between homes like living fireflies, each one shining a soft blue.The houses themselves were grown — not built — shaped from living wood bent into spirals and arches.
Thin threads of light connected rooftops like constellations.
Spirits moved freely among the people — tiny floating ones like glowing seeds, medium-sized ones shaped like cats or foxes, and bigger ones drifting lazily like jellyfish made of mist.
People greeted them casually.
Like neighbors.
And not one person looked surprised or terrified to see Kira dragging a half-bruised, half-dying outsider behind her.
If anything, they stared at me like I was a problem no one wanted.
Fantastic.
I barely stepped into the clearing when a small child, glowing freckles on her cheeks, pointed at me.
"Unniiiie—! Who's that?"
Kira didn't answer.Another villager — tall, braided hair, carrying a basket — answered instead.
"A stray human," she muttered."They always bring trouble."
I blinked.
"Stray?"
"Yes. The kind that wanders in from who-knows-where."
"That sounds rude."
She shrugged."It's accurate."
Alright.Fair.
Still rude, though.
Kira grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward.
"We go to the Elder. Don't talk to anyone."
"I literally breathe too loudly for these people."
"Yes. I noticed."
"…Was that necessary?"
"Yes."
I sighed.
Tired MC life: never respected, always dragged around.
The Elder's Home
It wasn't a hut or a shrine.
It was a giant tree — hollowed out, but alive.Its trunk was wide enough to fit three buses inside.Glowing symbols moved across its bark like fireflies trapped in patterns.
Standing guard outside were two spirit wolves — transparent, awake, watching me like dinner on legs.
Fantastic.
Kira bowed slightly to them, then motioned for me to follow.
Inside the tree, the air was warm and still, like stepping into a quiet church.
The Elder sat on a raised platform.Old, grey-haired, and wrapped in robes made of woven spirit-light.His eyes were normal — human — but something in them shimmered as if reflecting starlight.
Kira straightened."Elder. I brought someone from the boundary zone."
He didn't react immediately.His gaze drifted to me and settled there like a weight.
"So," he said.His voice was calm, but deep."Another one."
My stomach sank.
"Another one… what?" I asked.
Kira shot me a look like, Don't talk to him.Too late.
The Elder stood, leaned slightly on a staff carved with moving runes, and approached me.
He reached out a hand and—
Instinct kicked in.I flinched.
But he only touched my shoulder.
Warmth spread instantly.Not painful.Not pleasant either.
Just… revealing.
He took a slow breath.
"Your soul is cracked."
That was a sentence no one wants to hear.
"Cracked? Like… broken?"
"Not broken. Split."He tapped his staff once."It is why the spirits follow you. You carry echoes of many lives."
I swallowed.Hard.
Kira's expression shifted — confusion mixed with dread.
"Elder… does that mean he really is…?"
He nodded.
"Yes. He is a Voyager."
The word hung in the air like a curse.
I blinked."What does that even mean? Some special title?"
The Elder's eyes softened with something between pity and warning.
"Not special," he said."Unfortunate."
…That felt personal.
"Voyagers do not belong to a single world," he continued."They pass through them… one lifetime at a time. Never settling. Never anchoring."
"That's—" My voice caught."That's literally my life."
"Exactly."
I exhaled slowly.
"So what now? You tell me I'm cursed, then what? Do I explode at age thirty?"
"Most Voyagers do not reach thirty."
"…Cool. Thanks."
He ignored my sarcasm entirely.
"You arrived in the boundary zone," he said."That is no coincidence."
Kira stiffened."Elder… you don't mean—"
"Yes."
He turned toward her.
"The Forest of Stops… has begun to move again."
Kira's breath hitched.
My brain: What the hell does that mean?
But before I could ask, the Elder stepped closer to me again.
"Jaemin."
Hearing my name from him felt wrong.Heavy.Like a judge calling a criminal.
"You must not leave this village for three nights."
"Why three?"
"Because something is following you."
Fantastic.Absolutely fantastic news.
I spread my hands.
"Okay. Then we fight it. Or run. Or—"
"You do not understand," the Elder interrupted gently."It is not a creature chasing you."
"Then what is?"
He leaned his staff against his shoulder.
"A memory."
…
"…I'm sorry, what?"
"A memory from one of your past lives."
I blinked."That… can't be real."
"It is very real."His tone was final."As real as the train that carried you here."
I shut up.
Because the second he mentioned the train —the hair on my arms stood up.
A flicker of sound.A whistle.A door sliding shut.
For a split second, I was back there — inside the dim compartment, staring at the endless landscape rushing by.
Then it was gone.
The Elder's gaze sharpened.
"You see? It follows."
I inhaled sharply.
Kira watched me with wide eyes, gripping her spear like she expected the memory to materialize and stab me.
"…So what do I do?" I asked quietly.
"For now?" The Elder nodded toward Kira."You stay with her."
Kira flinched so hard I heard her boots scrape.
"E-Elder, that's—"
"You brought him. You will watch him."
"I'm not— babysitting—"
"You will."
Kira clenched her jaw, looked at me, then looked away like she regretted every life choice.
Great.Now I was her problem.
Lucky her.
Lucky me.
We left the Elder's tree.
The moment we stepped outside, I exhaled a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.
Kira didn't speak.Not until we reached the edge of the village's lantern-lit path.
Then she stopped, turned toward me, and said:
"I don't like this."
"Same."
"No. I don't like you."
"…Wow."
She sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Not you specifically. Just— this situation. Voyagers attract danger. Always."
"Because of memories?"
"Because your presence disturbs things that should stay asleep."
That line didn't help my anxiety at all.
"So," I said slowly, "you're stuck with me."
"Yes."
"For three nights."
She groaned like I said three years.
Kira's home was small.
One room, wooden, with a window overlooking the glowing river.
She pointed to the floor.
"You sleep there."
"No bed?"
"You're lucky I'm letting you inside."
"Wow. Hospitality level: negative."
"Jaemin."
"Yeah?"
She met my eyes.
Her usual calm expression had cracked — just a bit.
And she looked… genuinely uneasy.
"Stay close.If that memory comes, we need to know immediately."
I nodded.
Slowly.
Because behind her words, something settled onto my shoulders.
Something real.
Something heavy.
Something coming.
Not a monster.Not a spirit.
Something older.
From a life I didn't remember.
But that remembered me.
And it was already walking toward this village.