Snow fell gently, painting the ground white. Animals crawled under caves and bushes for shelter. But one girl curled beside a tree, shivering.
"What are you doing here?" a voice asked.
She jolted, bumping her head against the bark.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you. Look—you're bleeding. Come with me." The girl extended her hand.
Rebecca hesitated, lips trembling as if she hadn't spoken to another human in years. "…Re…b-beca."
The girl smiled. "I'm Tracy."
From that day, the people were kind to Rebecca. But it was Tracy who stayed closest. Rebecca began to smile again, to feel things she couldn't name.
One afternoon, Tracy tiptoed behind her. "What are you making?"
Rebecca hid the object with her body. "Nothing important."
"Your hands are hurt—let me see."
Rebecca slowly revealed a heart-shaped stone, streaked with her own blood from carving it.
"For me?"
Rebecca nodded.
Tracy twirled with it, tears scattering as she danced. She pressed it to her chest. "Thank you. I'll never lose it. Do you know what this means?"
Rebecca winced as Tracy grabbed her hands.
"We're sisters now!"
Rebecca's lips curved into the smallest smile.
But that was before the stone broke.
Now Rebecca sat before the mirror, shards digging into her palms as she tried to piece it together. Blood smeared the fragments. She cursed her eyes for blurring her vision.
"I'm sorry, sis… please come back…" Her voice cracked, swallowed by sobs.
Blaze came often. He coaxed her to eat, covered her with his own blanket when nights turned cold, read her stories of Rapunzel and princesses. Each time, she turned away.
Still, he stayed.
Seasons passed.
One morning, Rebecca finally stepped out of the house she had once shared with Tracy. Sunlight stung her eyes, forcing her to squint. The air was fresh again—no longer the rot she had grown used to. Only she still felt rotten inside.
Blaze spotted her from afar, carrying food. His chest lifted with a smile—the warmest he had in months.
Rebecca ran toward him. Blaze opened his arms, ready to catch her.
But she passed him and threw herself into Bill's embrace.
Blaze froze, his smile trembling at the edges. His hands hung useless at his sides. His whole body shook—but he forced the smile wider, as if it could shield him.
As long as she's happy, he told himself. That's enough.
But behind his eyes, something cracked—quiet and unseen, like a heart-shaped stone breaking all over again.
Blaze walked into the forest.
He froze when he saw two children kissing beneath a tree. For a moment, he lingered too long, then cursed himself and turned away.
Later, voices drifted through the branches. A group of girls whispered under the shade.
"Did you hear? The boy Blaze punched… he died."
"He's such a monster."
"I heard Rebecca's next on his list." Giggles followed.
Blaze's fists tightened, but he kept walking, their laughter following like shadows.
The next morning, Blaze visited Tana.
She brewed him tea from the herbs outside, steam curling between them. "It's going to get cold if you don't drink."
Blaze's eyes stayed on the cup. "Do you think I'm a monster?"
The cup trembled in her hands. Tana forced a smile, but Blaze saw through it. He noticed everything—the twitch of a hand, the crack in a voice.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "For asking the obvious."
"No, no…" Tana's words stumbled. "I've seen men who were truly monsters—who did terrible things. You aren't one, Blaze. And even if you were… you're my son."
"But I'm not."
The words slipped out like knives. Blaze hadn't meant them to cut, but they did. Tana's breath caught, her eyes shining as she blinked back tears.
"Why was I even born?" Blaze whispered.
Tana lifted the cup to her lips, stalling. "Do you remember the stories I told you about God? He's the one who—"
"That was just a fairy tale. I'm not a kid anymore."
"Some fairy tales are real. His love is real."
"Then why doesn't He show it? Why everyone else but me? What did I do? Why can't they accept me?" His voice cracked. He turned away, not wanting her to see the tears rising in his eyes.
"If I ever found this so-called God who made me suffer, I'd kill Him."
Tana's hands shook. "He is who He is."
"Yeah, right." Blaze left, his footsteps swallowed by the trees.
Tana stayed behind.
Her hands—scarred, trembling—covered her face. "I'm sorry, Blaze. I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying…"
The tears came freely now, alone as they always did. The mask she wore for her children had slipped.
"I'm really trying… but it's not enough. Your mama is tired."
Rebecca had trained with Bill for weeks, determined to join the hunt. This was her first mission.
"Don't stray from the boys, alright?" Tana whispered, hugging her tightly.
Rebecca thought her mama had been crying, but she shook it off. Tana was strong. She always was.
Blaze walked ahead of them, silent. His eyes were empty, hollow pits that didn't belong to a boy his age.
"Blaze, stay safe!" Tana called after him through the icy wind.
He gave only the slightest nod.
"Don't worry," Bill reassured her. "I'll protect them all."
Rebecca walked beside Bill. Blaze marched alone, far ahead, as if the snow itself were pushing everyone away from him.
They killed a few goblowfls, their laughter echoing briefly. But Blaze didn't smile. He stood apart, eyes fixed on the horizon. Then, suddenly, his body stiffened.
He raised his hand for silence.
Rebecca held her breath. Even the wind seemed to pause.
Then it came — a growl that Blaze could never forget. His blood froze
The King Bear.
Blaze didn't hesitate. He bolted forward.
"Blaze, wait!" Bill shouted.
But it was too late.
The beast emerged, scarred and furious, the blackened gap of a missing tooth glaring back at Blaze like a wound that never healed. Recognition flickered in its eyes.
Blaze smiled.
The bear swung its claws, but Blaze vanished. A thunderous crack followed — his fist slamming into its jaw.
The animal roared, but Blaze pressed the attack, fists like hammers pounding its stomach again and again. The snow shook with each blow. The bear's ribs shattered. Its breath faltered.
For the first time in its life, the King Bear felt fear.
It stumbled, crashing through trees. It turned, desperate to flee.
Blaze sprinted after it, smiling like a predator. His voice tore through the storm:
"You're the monster. I'm nothing like you — and I'll prove it!"
He drove it into the ground, again and again, until the snow was red, until the forest itself recoiled from the violence.
But Blaze didn't stop. His fists kept falling long after the bear's eyes went dark.
"Blaze! Stop!" Rebecca cried.
He didn't hear her.
She ran forward, snow crunching under her boots, until she stood before him. His arms were dripping blood, his face painted in crimson rage.
"Enough!" she screamed, tears streaking her cheeks. "You're a monster!"
The word cut deeper than any claw.
Blaze froze. Slowly, he lifted his head. Rebecca's hand cracked against his face.
Something inside him snapped.
He struck her back.
Rebecca fell, wide-eyed, betrayed. Bill caught her just before she hit the snow, his own eyes burning with fury.
"What's wrong with you?!" Bill shouted.
Blaze's voice trembled, a twisted smile on his face. "Right… I was the monster all along."
Bill's rage erupted. He thrust out his hand, freezing Blaze in place with a wave of ice.
"Snap out of it, Blaze!" he shouted.
But Blaze melted the ice in an instant, steam rising off his body.
He dashed at Bill. Their fists collided, fire against frost, sparks hissing in the snowstorm.
Blaze's grin widened, teeth bared like a beast's.
"Save them, hero! Save the princess — and defeat the monster standing before you!"
The storm howled around them as fire and ice clashed, two brothers locked in a battle neither of them wanted, yet both were destined to fight.