When Si Hon woke up, there was no light waiting for him.
Not darkness either— something deeper, pitch-black in a way that didn't just hide things but swallowed them whole, like the world had wrapped a blindfold made of night itself around him and decided to stop existing past a few inches.
"Night already?" he muttered, voice dry and rough, pushing himself up slow and sluggish, immediately catching the faint warmth still trapped inside the tent.
It wasn't comfortable, not even close, but it was enough to remind him he wasn't actively freezing to death anymore.
Definitely not out of kindness on the tower's part.
Outside the red barrier, the blizzard still roared like some distant, patient beast. Inside, the air stayed still and heavy and cold, but tolerabl… barely.
Si Hon rubbed his face slowly, exhaling long. "Okay… once there's light…" his voice cracked slightly before he steadied it, "then I guess I'll make a fire."
He nodded to himself like he was sealing a contract.
A reasonable plan.
A smart plan.
The system appeared instantly to ruin it:「HAHAHA. NO YOU WON'T. YOU'LL PROBABLY JUST LIE DOWN AGAIN.」
Si Hon's eyes narrowed into a flat glare. "You're laughing now? Behind my back?"
「Yes.」
"Traitor."
He crawled toward the entrance, fingers brushing the fabric before pushing it open just a crack.
Cold air slipped in immediately, thin and sharp, but something else made him pause.
"Why is it so quiet?"
The storm wasn't. But something beyond it was— still, watching.
He leaned forward slowly and peeked outside, where the red circle glowed faint against the ground, casting a dull, ominous light, the tent's shadow stretching unnaturally long behind him.
And beyond the barrier, shapes stood— tall, broad, unmoving, dozens of them crowding the very edge of the circle like children pressed against glass, except these children were massive, breath steaming heavy into the cold, eyes reflecting faint white dots in the dark like predators simply waiting for permission.
"The hell?" Si Hon whispered.
One of them leaned forward, its head lowering until glowing eyes hovered inches from the invisible barrier, staring straight at him, breath curling upward against the unseen wall like smoke off dry ice.
Si Hon blinked once, twice. "Erm, what the hell. Systemy, what is that."
The window appeared immediately: 「Hostile entities have located you. They cannot enter the Safe Zone. However… they are persistently curious. And don't call me that nickname.」
"Sure," Si Hon muttered, pointing lazily, "but that one's drooling."
Another creature pressed a massive hand against the barrier, claws dragging faint sparks across the surface.
Si Hon stared at them.
They stared back.
A long second passed.
"Yeah, no." He zipped the tent shut, the sound cutting through the silence like something offensive.
Inside, darkness wrapped around him again, the fabric trembling faintly as something brushed against it— not breaking through, not even trying, just touching.
Si Hon sat cross-legged, slow and stiff. "They're still out there, aren't they?"
「Yes.」
"Waiting?" 「Yes.」
"For me?" 「Yes. Of course… you dumb?」
He ignored the other part and inhaled quietly. "Okay." He lay down, pulling the blanket over himself like someone accepting a fate with mild inconvenience. "Wake me up when the sun magically appears."
The system twitched.
「I hate you.」
Outside, the creatures kept breathing, slow and patient, watching the small tent in the center of the safe zone like it was the only warm thing left in a frozen world.
***
The world brightened eventually, but not with sunlight— that pale, empty glow snow made on its own, light reflecting from nowhere in particular, a fake morning bright but lifeless.
Si Hon crawled out of the tent like his body had already been cracked, whvkh yea… it's true.
He then stretched, and immediately his joints cracked, ribs cried. "Oh right," he groaned, wincing hard. "That wolf tentacle dragon thing… punched me."
He stretched on instinct, then instantly regretted it. "UGH— okay, okay, I get it. No stretching, why did I even do it again… am I secretly a masochist?"
The blizzard had calmed some, though the air still bit at his skin, snow crunching under his boots as he scanned the treeline.
The shapes were gone.
Thankfully.
But the silence they left behind didn't feel comforting— it felt hollow, like something had merely stepped out of sight rather than actually disappeared.
Si Hon stood there a moment, half expecting one of those silhouettes to lean forward out of nowhere, and when nothing moved, he exhaled and called out, "Systemy?"
「Yes?」
"Gotchu— Ahem… I mean. Food. Water. Those exist here, right?"
A pause.
「Technically, yes. But not inside the Safe Zone, duh.」
Si Hon's expression flattened, processing at half speed. "ಠ_ಠ… So where?"
「Outside. With the hostile monsters.」
The system giggled.
Si Hon let out a quiet breath, eyes half-lidded. "You're evil."
「Thank you (◍•̀⤙•́◍)」
He didn't dignify that with a reply, just stepped closer to the edge of the red circle, boots crunching soft against the snow, staring down at the faintly pulsing boundary like it might change its mind if he stared long enough.
"What if I just step out a little?"
「I recommend you don't.」
He lifted his foot anyway.
「STOP.」
He stepped forward.
For a brief, almost imperceptible moment, reality seemed to hesitate— a skipped frame in something far too large to notice properly, and then the red circle shrank, flickered once, and disappeared.
Gone.
Just like that.
Si Hon froze mid-step, the shift immediate and undeniable, the air turning sharper, colder, heavier, like the world had been holding its breath and suddenly let it all out at once.
"Uh."
The system appeared beside him, no longer playful in the slightest.
「You. Are. So. Stupid.」
"Wait— wait—" He stumbled back fast, nearly slipping in the snow, and the moment both feet crossed back into where the circle had been, the ground lit up again, the boundary reforming in a smooth pulse, humming faintly like a machine restarting after being forcibly shut down.
Si Hon blinked down at it, then back up. "…Oh. So it only works when I'm inside?"
「Yes. You are the anchor. Without you, it does not exist.」
"Why?"
「Why not?」
He dragged a hand down his face, pressing into his eyes like he could physically squeeze out some patience. "ಠಗಠ i'm gonna die here."
「Statistically? Most likely. And don't you want that?」
"That was yesterday."
He let out a slow breath, forcing his shoulders to relax. "Okay… plan. Food, water, fire…" his voice steadied as he spoke, like saying it out loud made it more real. "Simple. Manageable. Not dying immediately."
Then a low growl rolled through the forest— not loud, but it didn't need to be, the sound carrying deep and vibrating through the snow like something large reminding the world it was still very much there.
Si Hon went still. "Why does that sound familiar?"
「Reminder: The creature that broke your ribs is still on this floor.」
"Cool. Love that." He turned back slowly, choosing not to think about it further, and froze.
The cube was closer. It sat half-buried beside the tent, dark surface peeking through the soil like it had always been there, except it hadn't, he was sure of it— the distance had changed, not dramatically, not in a way that screamed danger, but enough to feel wrong. "Why is it closer?"
「Maybe something carried it.」
"Ha. Ha." No humor in his voice at all. He crouched down anyway, brushing dirt off its surface, and the moment his fingers touched it he paused— it was warm.
Warm in a way that didn't belong anywhere near this place.
"Okay," he muttered, staring at it now with real focus. "Cubes aren't supposed to be warm."
「It's not a normal cube. And you didn't even check it yesterday. So ask yourself— why is it buried?」
Si Hon didn't look up from the object in his hand. "Thanks, assistant."
「I will delete your lungs.」
"Try me."
He turned the cube over in his palm like it might react. It didn't— just sat there, dense, quiet, wrong in a way that didn't need to announce itself.
"Useless rock box," he muttered, tone lacking any real conviction.
Then he paused. "Wait. That quest."
The system appeared instantly, like it had been waiting for exactly that thought.
「> QUEST: Have a Nice Day.
Objective: Spend a peaceful day outside with Ivy.
Reward: ??? STATUS: COMPLETE.
Ohoho. I thought you forgot. Nya~ )(◡ ω ◡)(」
"Yeah, yeah."
「Accept / Decline」
Si Hon's eyes flicked over the options, unimpressed. "…Why is decline even there."
「its bec—」
He didn't wait for an answer, tapping accept without hesitation.
「Mean. (｡•́︿•̀｡)」
Something dropped into his palm— a button, black, too black, not glossy, not matte, just absence, swallowing light instead of reflecting it, heavier than it should've been, cold in a way that didn't match the environment, like it carried its own private temperature.
Si Hon turned it slowly between his fingers. "What's this for?"
The system hesitated. 「Unknown Item registered. Data access restricted. And… I don't even know why the reward was that… (´ . .̫ . `) what the heck? Bugged? I'll check something」
"Right. Well… maybe same as yesterday." His gaze shifted between the cube and the button, something quieter settling behind his eyes, not excitement, not fear, just a slow creeping curiosity refusing to stay buried. "What if I combine them?"
The system came and jerked, like something had struck it from the inside.
「WOAH! LET'S DO. NOT. I JUST CHECKED IT AND WOW…..」
Si Hon blinked, tilting his head. "Why?"
「We might regret it. No I mean YOU might REGRET IT.」
"So it's probably useful."
「STOP.」
He ignored that completely, thumb tracing the edge of the button while his thoughts drifted just enough to justify the whole idea.
"What if it summons something helpful? A healer?"
「No.」
"A cook?"
「No.」
"A friend?"
「Absolutely not…」
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Good enough."
And before the system could react— click.
The moment the button pressed into the cube, the world [FROZE.]
Snow froze midair, each flake suspended like a painting caught between frames.
The wind disappeared entirely. Even the cold stopped moving, settling into something fixed and unnatural.
The cube shifted— not physically, not in any way the eye could properly follow, folding inward and outward and somewhere in between, becoming hollow, becoming open, becoming something that refused to be described with shape alone.
Si Hon instinctively stepped back, breath catching despite himself. "Okay," he murmured. "That's new."
Then something stepped out.
Small.
Bare feet pressing light into the ground.
A thin white dress drifted around a fragile frame, entirely untouched by the frozen wind.
Long white hair fell soft around her shoulders, and her eyes— clear, reflective, no glow at all, just a quiet depth mirroring back whatever looked into them.
She stopped a few steps away, looked at him, tilted her head, and smiled. "Hello."
Si Hon blinked, caught somewhere between confusion and disbelief. "Hi?"
Her gaze stayed steady, curious in a way that didn't quite read as human. "Are you my summoner?"
"Me?"
She nodded once, gentle and certain. "Then I will follow your first command."
Behind him, the system completely lost its composure.
「YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!!! AND WHAT THE FUCK???? WHY IS THERE A CUTE KID THERE!!!!」
Si Hon ignored it, focus staying locked on the girl, studying her the same careful, quiet way he'd studied the cube, like he was trying to work out exactly what kind of problem she represented.
"Uh," he started, voice slower now. "Can you make water?"
"I can."
"AYOOO!!! Nice!!!!!"
She smiled. "But I won't."
The word landed clean. Simple. Final.
Si Hon blinked again. Grited his teeth. "ಠ_ಠ Huh?"
She stepped closer, movement light, almost weightless, the dirt shifting around her feet like it was avoiding contact rather than reacting to weight.
Her smile didn't change, but something underneath it did.
"I do not grant requests." Her voice softened. "I grant consequences."
Si Hon went still. "What? The FUCK does that mean? Wait… like what?"
She blinked once. "Random."
"Random good?"
"Random."
"Random bad?"
"Random."
"Random deadly?"
"Random."
"Random… goods? Heh…"
"Random."
He dragged a hand down his face, exhaling through his fingers. "Alright… nevermind, she doesn't even have humor."
「Yes.」
Silence hung a second. Then, slowly, Si Hon smiled.
"Alright. Let's try something small." He pointed lazily at a stick half-buried in the soil.
"Pick that up."
The girl glanced at it, lifted her hand slightly, and the stick vanished— no movement, no transition, just gone.
Si Hon's mouth opened, then closed. "Huh?"
"I followed your command."
"That's not what I meant."
"It is what happened."
The system chimed in, almost pleased with itself.
「Reminder: You chose this.」
Si Hon stepped forward, crouched briefly to where the stick had been, then straightened back up, a faint grin forming slow and deliberate, like something clicking into place. "Then let's try again."
She tilted her head, watching him with quiet interest.
"Command me." Si Hon straightened fully, eyes sharpening just a touch, the earlier laziness burning off into something more focused.
"I command you," he said, voice steady now, testing the shape of the words before he committed to them, "to bring me something to eat. Anything. I don't care what it looks like, I don't care where it comes from, just—" he paused, glancing sideways at the tower still humming patient behind them, "—not from in there. Please."
The girl considered this for a long moment, head tilted at an angle that felt almost… wow, scary, like she was running the request through some internal filter only she could see.
Then she smiled again, softer this time. "A reasonable request. Consequences will still apply."
"Yeah, yeah, random, I got it,"
Si Hon muttered, already bracing himself for whatever came next.
She raised one hand, fingers curling slightly inward, and the air around her rippled once, quiet and small, nothing like the violent tearing of the portal from before— just a soft displacement, like a held breath finally released.
Something dropped into the snow at her feet with a wet, unceremonious thud.
Si Hon leaned in to look and immediately regretted it.
It wasn't food, exactly— more like the idea of food that had gotten lost somewhere on the way there, a lump of something pale and faintly steaming that smelled, against every possible law of nature, like fresh bread and old socks in equal measure.
"…What is that."
"Sustenance," the girl said simply. "Random."
Si Hon stared at it for a long, silent moment, weighing hunger against dignity, before he finally reached down and picked it up anyway.
Stared at it. Then threw it away far in the woods. "Yea… no… yep… haha… the fuck am I doing."