This is a bonus AU[Alternate universe chapters] there will be many like this, which aligns with the novel plot, the book author had created. Next AU will be Alien.
Stay tuned!
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Min-jae had always been told to avoid the forest at dusk.
The elders called it the serpent's hour, when the great scaled ruler of the deep woods returned from hunting. When the wind grew still. When every creature fell quiet. When a pair of gold eyes could open between the leaves without a sound.
But Min-jae was not from this village.
He had no fear of old stories.
Only a patient with a fever so high his body trembled.
If the only cure was Moonroot, then he would find it. Even if it grew in the serpent's territory.
His boots pressed into soft moss. The deeper he went, the quieter the world became. Until the last birdcall faded, and the air shifted.
Something moved above him.
A coil of black scales, as smooth as polished obsidian, slid over a branch thick enough to crush bone.
