"Let's head to the Velmora," Johan said.
"While there's still daylight."
I nodded.
We set off together.
When we arrived in Velmora, the first thing I noticed was the damage.
Several buildings along the street were still broken, their stone walls cracked open as if something had smashed straight through them. Wooden scaffolding clung to the sides of houses while workers climbed ladders, hammering new boards over shattered windows and repairing damaged roofs.
Piles of broken beams and rubble had been pushed to the edges of the road.
The city clearly hadn't fully recovered from Velmorth's attack.
Yet despite that—
the marketplace was alive.
Merchants had already reopened their stalls beneath patched cloth canopies. Crates of vegetables and fruit were stacked along the roadside, and baskets of bread sat on wooden tables beside jars filled with honey and spices.
Travelers walked through the streets again, carefully stepping around construction tools and cracked stone.
Hammers struck wood.
Voices called out prices.
Coins clinked in quick exchanges.
Life had returned faster than I expected.
Velmora was wounded.
But it wasn't broken.
I swallowed slowly.
The city was still standing.
—
Rosa walked ahead of me, clutching a small pouch that held her letter. Shadow padded quietly beside us, his heavy steps soft against the stone street as curious glances followed the massive beast wherever he went.
She stopped in front of the modest post office at the edge of the market. Her expression turned unusually serious, and I noticed her fingers trembling slightly as she slipped the letter into the wooden box.
She watched it disappear inside as if she were entrusting something far more precious than paper.
Shadow sat down beside me while we waited, his crimson eyes scanning the busy street while his tail flicked lazily against the ground.
After that, Johan and Rosa headed toward a nearby stall to sell their harvest.
Before leaving, Johan patted my shoulder.
"Stay here, Vein."
"Okay," I replied quietly, nodding.
Johan and Rosa disappeared into the rows of vendors, leaving me standing near the edge of the street.
Shadow remained beside me.
For a moment, the two of us simply watched the busy marketplace together
Merchants called out to passing customers. Workers carried crates through the narrow paths between stalls. Children ran across the street, laughing as they chased each other around the scattered scaffolding.
My eyes wandered across the walls and wooden posts around the square.
That was when something caught my attention.
A poster.
It had been nailed onto a wooden pillar near the edge of the market.
I stepped closer without thinking.
The paper was slightly wrinkled, its edges worn by wind and rain. But the drawing on it was clear enough.
A large, dark beast with glowing eyes.
My breath caught.
It was Shadow.
The words written beneath the drawing were simple.
Missing.
If found, please report to the address below.
For a moment, I just stared at it.
Slowly, I turned my head.
Shadow stood beside me, completely unaware, his tail lazily swaying behind him as he watched the people passing by.
"…Shadow," I murmured.
The beast tilted his head slightly when he heard his name.
My eyes drifted toward the collar around his neck.
I crouched down and gently lifted the small metal tag hanging from it.
The engraved name caught the sunlight.
Shadow.
So the poster was real.
Someone out there was looking for him.
Someone who had probably been waiting a long time.
I slowly released the tag.
"…We should find them," I said quietly.
Shadow blinked at me.
The decision felt obvious.
I couldn't let the person who had put up that poster keep waiting forever.
Yet as I stood there…
Something inside my chest tightened.
For some reason, the thought of returning him made my steps feel heavier.
It was strange.
I had only known Shadow for a short time.
But somewhere deep inside—
I didn't want to let him go.
Still…
If I were the one who had lost him—
I would be waiting too.
I exhaled slowly.
"Come on, Shadow."
I glanced once more at the address written beneath the poster.
"Let's find the person who put this up."
Shadow rose to his feet and followed beside me as we left the market street together.
But with every step—
the quiet feeling in my chest only grew heavier.
—
Following the address written beneath the poster, Shadow and I eventually arrived in front of a small house near the quieter edge of Velmora.
It looked… ordinary.
A wooden fence surrounded a modest yard. A few flower pots rested along the windows, and the roof had clearly been repaired recently, fresh boards still lighter in color than the older wood around them.
I stopped at the gate.
This was the place.
My hand lifted slightly… then hesitated.
For a moment I simply stood there.
It wasn't fear that stopped me.
It was something else.
Because once I knocked on that door—
Shadow would no longer be mine to walk beside.
Even though he had never been mine to begin with.
I glanced down.
Shadow stood beside me quietly, unaware of the thoughts running through my head.
I shook my head slowly.
"…Don't be stubborn," I muttered to myself.
Then I stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
No answer.
I waited a moment before knocking again.
"Hello?"
Still nothing.
I exhaled slowly.
"…Well," I murmured, scratching the back of my head. "I guess we'll come back tomorrow."
Shadow looked up at me.
For some reason, the beast almost looked… disappointed.
I turned around, ready to leave.
Then—
The door creaked open behind me.
"Yes? What is it?"
I turned back quickly.
A man stood in the doorway, looking slightly confused.
"Uh… that is… um…"
My words tangled awkwardly in my mouth.
The man blinked.
His eyes moved from me… to Shadow… then back to me again.
"…Who are you looking for?" he asked.
He didn't look surprised.
He didn't look relieved.
If anything—
he looked like he had no idea what was going on.
My brows slowly furrowed.
"…You don't recognize this Nightbound Beast?"
"Huh?" the man replied.
"What are you talking about?"
I blinked.
Then slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out the poster again.
My eyes scanned the paper once more.
The address was correct.
This was the house.
I looked up at him again.
"…Weren't you the one who put this poster up?"
The man took the paper from my hand.
"…Poster?"
He stared at it for a few seconds.
His expression slowly changed as he examined the drawing carefully.
Silence stretched between us.
He read the poster slowly.
"Missing… Shadow…"
For a moment, he stared at the drawing.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
"Oh… that dog," he said.
He looked at Shadow again, studying him more carefully.
"Shadow… I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you."
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"It's been a long time since I last saw you."
My brows furrowed.
"How long?"
He shrugged.
"About a year."
"…A year?"
"Yeah," he replied. "Shadow disappeared about a year ago, not long after my son and I moved to Velmora."
He crouched down and gently patted Shadow's head.
"You've grown a lot, haven't you?"
Shadow wagged his tail excitedly, letting out a happy rumbling growl as if he understood every word.
"So your son was the one putting up these posters?" I asked.
The man nodded.
"Yeah. He puts up a new one almost every day."
He let out a tired sigh.
"I keep telling him we should just adopt another dog… but he gets angry every time I say that."
He shook his head.
"Kids these days can be really stubborn."
I glanced down at Shadow.
A year…
That was a very long time.
Had Shadow really been trapped in Velmorth's dungeon for an entire year?
My hand slowly clenched.
Velmorth's face surfaced in my mind again.
That twisted smile.
A face I would never forget.
"Oh—there's my son," the man suddenly said.
He pointed behind me.
I turned around.
A boy stood several meters away.
He looked younger than me—maybe around fifteen. His clothes were simple, a little worn, and his brown hair was messy as if he had been running.
The moment Shadow saw him—
The beast tensed.
Then he started forward.
But before he could run—
My hand moved on instinct.
I grabbed Shadow's collar.
The boy froze.
Shadow looked back at me in confusion.
Of course.
I knew it.
He was Shadow's real owner.
But still…
I…
My chest tightened.
And then—
What are you doing?
This isn't yours.
You can't take something that doesn't belong to you.
I heard a voice in my memory.
Annoyed.
Protective.
Anna.
Slowly, I loosened my grip.
My hand dropped away.
"…Go," I said quietly.
For a brief moment, Shadow hesitated.
Then he ran.
The Nightbound Beast sprinted across the yard, letting out a joyful roar.
"ROOOOAR!"
The boy's eyes widened.
"Shadow?!"
His voice cracked.
He ran forward too.
Tears streamed down his face as he threw his arms around Shadow's neck.
"Shadow!"
The beast leaned against him happily, rumbling loudly as if answering.
Boy and beast held onto each other tightly.
After being separated for an entire year—
They had finally found each other again.
—
I remained seated on a small bridge.
Alone.
The river flowed quietly beneath my feet, moonlight shimmering across its surface. The water moved gently, reflecting the stars above like scattered fragments of light.
But my thoughts weren't here.
They drifted somewhere far away.
A different place.
A different time.
"That's not yours."
Anna's voice echoed clearly in my memory.
I looked down at the crumpled bill in my hand.
"But it's been lying here for a long time," I argued. "No one's even looking for it."
Anna sighed.
The kind of sigh that always meant she was disappointed with me.
"What if the owner is searching the entire school for it?"
I frowned.
"That's impossible. It's just one dollar."
Anna looked at me quietly.
"You don't know other people's situations."
Her voice softened slightly.
"What if that's the only money they have?"
Before I could reply, she suddenly snatched the bill from my hand.
"Hey!"
But she had already turned around.
She ran toward the crowd of students gathered near the school gate.
"H-hello!" she called out loudly.
"Did anyone lose some money?"
I could only stand there, watching her from a distance.
Her silver hair shining under the afternoon sunlight.
That stubborn expression on her face.
That warm, foolish kindness she always carried.
To me—
She had always looked like a small piece of light.
Always walking ahead of me.
Always doing what I couldn't.
My chest tightened.
"…I miss you."
"…Anna."
My voice was barely a whisper.
"Brother Vein?"
I blinked.
The memory faded like mist.
I turned my head.
Rosa stood in front of me, looking up with quiet concern.
"Why do you look so gloomy?" she asked softly.
She stepped closer and sat down beside me on the bridge.
"I'm not," I answered too quickly.
For a while, we just listened to the river.
Then I spoke.
"Rosa… are you going to write another letter to your mother tomorrow?"
She gave a small smile.
"Of course."
"I want to send one every day."
I nodded.
She lifted her gaze toward the moon. Her expression softened into something more serious.
"Do you think… my letter will reach Mother?"
"Of course it will," I said immediately. "The postman will deliver it."
Her eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
"…Even to heaven?"
My breath caught.
"…Heaven?"
"Mother left a long time ago," she said simply. "She's in a beautiful place now."
My chest tightened.
But I forced myself to smile.
"Yes."
"It will reach her."
"She'll read it."
Rosa jumped to her feet.
"Yay!"
"Mother will be so happy!"
I smiled too.
But inside—
I felt guilty.
I had just lied.
To protect her smile.
A few moments later, Johan approached.
Rosa immediately ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Father!"
"You look happy," Johan observed. "What were you two talking about?"
"Just chatting," I said.
"Yeah!" Rosa added quickly.
Johan gave a small nod.
We left the market together.
The sky had turned into a vast sea of darkness, scattered with calm, shining stars. Lanterns along the road glowed softly, like fireflies guiding us home.
The night air was cool.
Quiet.
Gentle.
Halfway back, Rosa's steps slowed.
Her breathing grew uneven.
"Tired?" Johan asked.
"A little…" she admitted honestly.
Johan stopped.
Without a word, he crouched in front of her.
"Get on."
"Huh? Really?" Her eyes widened.
"Quick."
"Yay!"
She climbed onto his back, laughing as she wrapped her arms around his head.
"Hehe~ Father's like a horse!"
"Don't get strange ideas," Johan muttered, though the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
I walked beside them.
Watching.
Johan's sturdy back.
Rosa's innocent laughter.
The quiet warmth flowing between them.
In this unfamiliar world—
I found something that felt real.
My chest grew warm.
I smiled without realizing it.
For so long, I thought I was alone in this world.
That I had no one beside me.
But I was wrong.
There was someone who believed in me.
And somehow—
I wanted to see them keep laughing.
Keep coming home together.
Keep supporting each other.
If I could protect this small happiness—
If I could preserve these simple smiles—
That would be enough.
I quickened my pace to catch up with them.
And for the first time since arriving in this world—
I truly felt
That I had found
A place to call home.
—
Far from the quiet roads near Velmora, a horse carriage lay completely destroyed along a lonely forest path.
The wooden frame had been shattered into splinters. One wheel lay several meters away in the dirt. The horses were dead, their bodies sprawled beside the wreckage. The guards who had been escorting the carriage lay scattered across the ground.
None of them had survived.
Silence filled the forest.
Then footsteps approached.
A woman slowly walked out from the darkness between the trees.
At first glance, she looked completely ordinary. Her clothes were simple, her face calm, as if she were nothing more than a traveler passing through the forest.
But her eyes were wrong.
They moved across the dead bodies with quiet amusement.
She stopped in front of the ruined carriage and pushed aside several broken boards. Beneath the wreckage was a heavy wooden crate.
The lid creaked as she forced it open.
Inside the crate lay a body.
Velmorth.
Split cleanly into two halves.
The woman tilted her head slightly, studying the corpse with interest.
"Well then," she murmured softly.
"Let's see what this clone managed to obtain."
Without hesitation, she grabbed the severed head of the corpse.
Then she bit into it.
The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the silent forest.
Blood dripped from her lips as she chewed slowly.
Then suddenly—
she burst into loud laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Her voice echoed wildly through the trees.
"So you're there, Johan!" she shouted into the night.
"It's been a long time since we last met!"
Then her gaze darkened.
"And Vein…"
She slowly stuck out her tongue, licking the blood from her lips.
"I can't wait to become one with you."
Her laughter exploded again, louder than before.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The forest trembled with the sound of her voice.