The path stretched deep into the forest, swallowed by towering pines whose tangled branches clawed at the sky, blotting out the sun like a curtain of shadows. The air was thick, still, and humming with a silence too heavy to be natural—like the forest itself was holding its breath.
Only one thing defied the darkness: a narrow beam of light, breaking through the canopy like a divine intrusion. It struck the forest floor with eerie precision, illuminating a small patch of earth where no footsteps dared linger. Dust motes floated within it, slow and delicate, like frozen ash suspended in time. Around that halo of pale light, the woods stood unchanged—mute, ancient, and watchful.
Each tree seemed to lean inward, as if listening. The deeper you looked, the more the shadows moved—not with life, but with memory. This was not a place you stumbled into. It was a place that allowed you to enter… and decided whether you were allowed to leave.
But despite the terrifying description of this place, there was one daring woman who ruled over it. She made it her lair and even brought along a very close friend, whom she had come to regard as a younger brother.
"Did you make sure no one followed you?" Her face showed no emotion, matching the tone of her voice as she asked her younger brother that question.
The young man quickly nodded.
"Of course! No one can follow me. They can't match my speed and skills in luring away those pests trying to track me down just to find you," he said proudly to his older sister. "And I'd never put you in danger, sis."
The young woman nodded, but a strange feeling stirred within her. It was as if something was warning her of an impending danger—especially when her younger brother called her sis.
She tried to brush it off. Maybe it was just the exhaustion catching up to her. She turned her gaze sharply toward the corpse lying before her. If it weren't for this fool, she could've been resting already. Hunting him down had been such a pain. She almost lost the payment promised to her because of this.
"Should I burn Mr. Lim's body now, sis?"
She nodded in response to her younger brother and signaled him to begin. He poured gasoline over the corpse, a wide grin forming on his lips before tossing the lit lighter onto the body.
The body caught fire instantly. Her brother laughed like a madman as they both watched the flames devour the corpse until nothing remained but ash. They waited until it was completely reduced to ashes before leaving.
Indeed, the soil in this place thrived on the remains of the people she was hired to kill—fertilizer for the towering trees that surrounded them.
"Mission accomplished," the young woman said with a smirk.
She took the lead, her younger brother following close behind. But as they walked away from that dark, desolate place, she couldn't shake the unsettling feeling creeping inside her.
"Sis, are you okay? You seem... troubled."
Her brother's question pierced through her thoughts. She tried not to show anything was wrong, but she could feel he sensed it. After everything they'd been through, she had come to see him as her real brother—so she allowed him to read her like a book.
And she wasn't wrong—not even before they reached the edge of the forest, she could already feel the eyes surrounding them.
"GET DOWN!" she shouted, yanking her brother to the ground just in time to avoid the rain of bullets fired at them. Swiftly, she pulled out the gun strapped to her thigh and returned fire. She heard pained groans from their attackers, but she didn't care.
"Ugh…"
She turned toward the sound of the agonized groan and was shocked to see her brother clutching his bleeding abdomen.
"Damn it," she cursed under her breath, then unleashed a furious spray of bullets in the direction she suspected the hidden enemies were.
She was too focused on shooting to realize that the brother who had just been writhing in pain from a bullet wound to the side was now standing straight beside her. His mouth was close to her ear.
"Sis, are you okay?"
A chill ran down her spine. There was something deeply off in his voice. She spun toward him abruptly—only to be stunned by the devilish grin stretched across his face.
Earlier, he'd laughed like a madman while burning Mr. Lim's corpse—but now, this was something else. Far worse. Something unhinged.
The woman froze for a moment, unable to believe what she was seeing. She always knew her brother had a few screws loose, but she never imagined he could go beyond that.
"What the fuck are you doing, Caine? Get back in cover and treat your wound. I'll handle them."
Thanks to her skill in masking emotions, she managed to keep her voice calm, hiding the tension clawing at her chest.
But the boy only grinned wider—and burst into crazed laughter, deepening the furrow in her brow.
When his laughter finally died down, he pointed directly at her.
"I didn't think you could be this stupid. Even now, you still haven't figured it out? Are you really that dumb, hmm? Aether?"
And with those words, the truth struck her like a slap to the face. The unease she had felt wasn't just instinct—it was a warning. A sign that the person who would eventually stab her in the back had been right beside her all along.
She aimed her gun at him without hesitation. But instead of fear, he laughed again, then calmly sat down on the ground.
"I'm sorry, sis, but you have to die. If you don't, she'll live—and suffer for a very long time."
This time, he wasn't smiling like a maniac. His voice was steady, sincere even—but there was one thing she was sure of: the person in front of her wasn't her brother. This was someone else entirely.
"Where is Caine? What did you do to my brother?" she growled, furious.
Instead of cowering when she fired a warning shot just inches from him—close enough to graze him if he moved—he simply laughed again and clapped his hands.
"Impressive. You figured out I'm not your brother," he said in mock admiration. He stood, casually dusting himself off, then looked back at her with that maddening grin she wanted to rip off his face.
"Don't worry—your brother is safe. But still, you'll die tonight. Whether you want to or not."
She smirked in return. If what he said was true—if she was really going to die tonight—then she'd take him down with her.
"If I'm dying tonight, you're coming with me," she said coldly, opening fire without mercy.
She watched the bullets pierce his body—again and again. She saw them hit. Saw them land.
But not a single drop of blood fell.
Her eyes widened. She wasn't an idiot—she knew exactly what this meant.
The man in front of her wasn't human.
Even if she didn't believe in the supernatural, what other explanation could there be? She'd unloaded an entire clip into him—and he was still standing. Upright. Laughing like a lunatic. Eyes glowing with sick delight as they stared straight at her.
"You cannot kill someone who can bring the dead back to life, Aether. Now, it's time for you to sleep forever—and wake up in the place where you were fated to live for a very, very long time."
As soon as he said that, a sudden brightness engulfed the area. Her eyes followed the trail of black smoke rising from the man's body, leading toward the corpses she had just killed.
She swallowed hard when she saw them rise—now standing, holding their weapons, and with eyes that burned with rage.
Shocked, she turned to look at the man—but what she saw made her blood run cold.
He was no longer there.
In his place stood the very people she had killed and burned alongside her brother—now fully restored, and very much alive.
Their eyes glowed with fury as they stared her down. She emptied her gun, shooting at them relentlessly, but the bullets simply passed through their bodies—like they were made of smoke.
They were untouchable.
When her bullets ran out, only her katana remained. Gripping it tightly, she charged at them without fear. She fought for hours, slashing through what felt like wind. Her blade didn't even scratch them. They would flinch, retreat slightly—but she was the only one bleeding. She was the only one breaking.
Especially from those who still had guns.
Her stamina was high—always had been. But she was still human, and her strength had limits. Eventually, she weakened. Her movements slowed.
And then it happened.
A bullet struck her—right near the heart. She clutched her chest, blood spilling from her lips. Her knees buckled. She collapsed.
Before her vision could fully fade, the one who pretended to be Caine reappeared—standing before her, smiling like a devil.
With a wave of his hand, all the revived corpses vanished into thin air.
He knelt beside her, casually ruffling her hair like an older sibling would.
"It's time, Aether. You need to sleep now."
She cursed him in her mind.
And with the last ounce of strength she had, she raised her middle finger at him—clear, defiant.
He laughed, rolled his eyes.
"Before you sleep, let me introduce myself. I'm the most handsome witch of Elarion. See you when I see you, Aether."
Before darkness took her, she thought bitterly to herself:
What an idiot. "Let me introduce myself" but all he did was brag. Most handsome witch of Elarion? What the hell even is Elarion? Witch? What is he, a child? Who even believes in witches anymore? Joke. And he doesn't even look like a witch… he looks more like a rabid dog.