He lay in the exact same spot he'd been thrown down to. Alone. Again. Countless snakes covered him, coiling around his body like it was some kind of mating ritual.
"Get off me," he said dryly.
They obeyed, slithering away with irritated hisses, clearly offended. He was too broken, too empty to argue back, especially with a bunch of snakes.
He just lay there, an arm draped over his eyes, letting out a quiet, pathetic whimper.
"Get up, Shiro."
It was the voice of a little girl. His eyes drifted toward his side, and it was the cute snake he had picked up earlier. It hissed again, and he could understand it clearly.
He picked up the snake and wrapped her around himself, embracing it, curling into a ball.
For the first time in years, he felt this type of aloneness. His head felt empty, soundless, only the buzzing noise of the quiet darkness. And this was far worse than what he had felt in that empty darkness before. Far worse.
When he lifted his head, his eyes wandered around. He wasn't in the well anymore, but in the small storage room he used to sleep in every night.
He tried to push himself up, but he couldn't, as if he were rooted to the floor. His eyes darted, his breathing growing uncontrollable as the walls around him seemed to close in. His mind filled with a faint popping sound, like bubbles bursting one after another, and with each one, it became harder and harder to breathe.
Suddenly, he felt a pinch on his arm, and he was back in the well.
He bent forward on all fours, eyes wide as he tried to breathe, but it came out in a massive gasp, like his body had forgotten how to breathe properly.
His gaze drifted to his arms. He couldn't remember when they'd thinned so much, reduced to little more than sticks. He pushed himself to his feet, his hands moving over his body. Only then did he realize how much of a mess his body was. His ribs were visible beneath his skin. Somehow, he had lost all his muscles. Yet he didn't feel weak, just drained.
He took a step. Then another. Each one clumsy, like he was learning to walk all over again.
He followed the tunnel until he came across a metal door. It was rusted, so worn it looked like it might fall apart with a breath. That alone told him how long he'd really been down here.
He pulled it open with ease, or rather, it was already open. Maybe it was because it was rusted, he thought, and started up the stairs.
Once he made it to the top, at the corner of his eye, he noticed a pair of neatly folded clothes next to the door. They were slightly dusty, like they'd been waiting there for a while.
'Someone had been here.' His gaze swept the stairway. 'More than once.'
He pressed his ear against the door, trying to catch any kind of sound, any sign that someone might be on the other side.
Nothing.
After a moment, he pulled back and opened the door.
For the first time in years, sunlight struck him, burning into his delicate crimson eyes. He flinched but couldn't look away from the fiery sphere.
It spilled over him, brushing his pale skin like a long-lost touch, as if the world above had waited all this time just to welcome him back.
Yet somehow,
it didn't feel like a welcome at all.
He felt incomplete, like something vital had been ripped from him.
His eyes filled as he looked up at the sun. He couldn't tell if it was grief or just the sun burning his eyes. Either way, it all felt strangely meaningless.
But even up here, even with real sky above him, he still felt dark inside.
Like the shadows were slowly swallowing him whole.
Then the tiny snake peeked out from his pocket.
The little creature licked his tears away, pressing its nose against his bony cheek in quiet comfort.
He lay there, motionless, his forearm draped over his eyes, while the little snake basked in the sunlight beside him, just as quietly as he did. They lingered together beneath the open sky, surrounded by mountains and trees.
His finger brushed against its small head. "I'm going to call you Ari."
Her head rubbed against his finger before she coiled up on top of his chest and fell asleep.
Time passed. The sun sank into the horizon, and the moon rose in its wake, two souls bound to follow one another, but never able to embrace.
He lay still under the pale glow of the silver moonlight. The cold breeze brushed over his skin, almost too gentle, something he hadn't felt in years.
He glanced down, seeing how peacefully the baby snake slept on his chest. He let his eyelids drop, only for a moment.
The howling of the wind grew louder, waking him up. He rose slowly to his feet and slipped the adorable snake back into his pocket.
The man's final words echoed in his mind.
"Goodbye… Shiro. My precious—"
Shiro frowned.
He didn't know why, but those words felt familiar. Too familiar. Like he'd heard them before, maybe more than once. And every time, that last word blurred out, slipping away just when it mattered.
Figures.
He let out a slow sigh.
"Wow," he muttered. "Talk about suspense."
He materialized the last thing the man had given him, a white shard resting in his palm.
⸻
[Divine Artifact: Nocturne]
[Rank: Divine]
[Type: Weapon]
[Status: Active]
Description:
A weapon born from the authority of the Moon.
It embodies silence, reflection, and the certainty of the end that follows light.
[Passive Effect:]
[Lunar Dominion]
The power of Nocturne increases in proportion to moonlight.
Full moons grant maximum amplification.
New moons suppress visible power but enhance concealment.
[Secondary Passive Effect:]
[Lunar Accumulation]
Nocturne absorbs and stores lunar energy while exposed to moonlight.
Stored energy may be released for fatal strikes.
⸻
He smiled softly.
"You damn parasite."
With the slightest force, it shattered.
In its place, a sword formed.
It was medium in length, perfectly suited to his size. He unsheathed it slowly.
The blade was gorgeous.
The hilt settled naturally into his grip, like it had been made for his hand alone. The balance felt right. Comfortable. Familiar.
The blade itself was pale, almost translucent when it caught the moonlight. It reflected the glow softly, staining the metal with faint shades of silver and blue, like moonlight trapped beneath glass.
He embraced the blade. It radiated a soft, cooling calm, like moonlight on still water, easing the emptiness in his chest just a little, just enough for his eyes to finally close.
And for a moment, it felt… okay. He and Ari basked under the sun, the wind not too cold, just right. The blades clanked softly.
He froze.
"…Wait. Sun? Blade? Since when?"
He opened his eyes and noticed he was in a different place again. His back was pressed against a massive tree trunk. In front of him stood two kids, a boy and a girl.
And in the girl's hand was the sword that had been given to him.
He sighed, already dripping with annoyance as the familiar realization settled in. This was one of those situations again.
Pushing himself up, he decided to play along with whatever joke the universe was trying to pull on him this time.