Watching the sun go down beyond the endless horizon,
Satya felt the cool wind caressing his face.
It felt the same as the gentleness of his mother.
It brushed against his burn marks as if telling him that it was all over now.
"Hey, Shadow."
The Shadow moved as if looking in Satya's direction.
From the way it shifted, it seemed as though it too was staring at the ethereal glow of sunlight falling into the endless horizon.
"Do you have a name?"
Satya asked the Shadow.
Suddenly, the surroundings grew colder.
"Names...
Names hold a lot of power, lone Traveller.
So it would be better not to ask about them."
The Shadow sounded immeasurably cold, as if it were giving some kind of warning.
Satya felt fear—fear of the amount of knowledge this ancient Shadow possessed.
So he agreed to the Shadow's demand.
"Then what should I call you, or should we talk using synonyms for each other?"
"Call me whatever you want, Traveller, for words don't hold much value unless they are true."
"Agreeing with you, I should call you a synonym befitting of you."
Satya began thinking.
He looked around at the endless horizon,
then at the lone figure of the Shadow standing out in the open.
Satya thought of a name befitting his situation.
"Then I shall call you... Shadow.
Shadow of a Lonely Horizon."
As if interested by the synonym given to him,
the Shadow spoke.
"Oh, human, for bestowing me with such a synonym,
I shall do the same for you.
You shall be called Traveller...
Traveller of a Fiery Trail."
Connected by a mutual understanding,
a Traveller and a Shadow found themselves companions in the endless lonely plains.
As the final rays of sunlight disappeared from the sky,
Satya lit a fire and made a bed from the branches of the tree.
Satya hadn't slept on a proper bed for a long while, so even though it was just a makeshift one,
to Satya it was a source of comfort.
So he fully enjoyed that comfort.
In Life, you have to make the most of every situation,
of everything you have,
to truly live to the fullest.
The next morning, Satya woke up at dawn.
The sky was filled with the heavenly glow of golden melancholy.
Looking at this melancholic view,
Satya thought about his situation.
It truly was hopeless.
He didn't know the direction or way back home.
There was danger lurking in every direction of the evergreen forest.
And now there was a Shadow with him.
Even though he had shared a moment of understanding with the Shadow,
his heart had never strayed from his ambition.
So he was still wary of it.
He couldn't find any way to get back home.
So did that mean he should stop looking?
If a person in life doesn't have a reason to live,
does that mean they should stop living?
No.
He would not stop looking, even if in the end he never made it back home.
As the rays of sunshine poured onto Satya's face,
his expression was determined, yet his eyes carried a look of exhaustion.
Tears began forming in them.
No matter how much he convinced himself,
without danger around him and in a moment of peace,
his true feelings surfaced.
He was tired...
Tired, hurt, and broken from the constant danger the world had thrown at him.
Even if he was as solid as a rock,
even a rock can break if chipped enough times.
So he needed to embrace himself.
He too was human and required warmth.
The Shadow wasn't anywhere near him,
as if allowing him this moment to himself—to finally be true to his feelings.
As tears started rolling down his face,
"Huh... why am I crying?"
But as more tears slithered down his face,
his facade of courage finally broke,
and he became true to his feelings.
{In the vast horizon
A person found his companion
Though it was his own Shadow
There was no companion
Greater than it}