「<(￣︶￣)↗ Spoilers are not allowed, hmm?」
"No—!" Si Hon immediately shouted.
Arven staggered, eyes wide with shock as her body refused to listen to her. Her knees hit the ground.
"Stop it!" Si Hon yelled at the window. "That's enough!"
「ಠ_ಠ Hmm?」
The window tilted slightly, as if curious.
「This is merely corrective action, Si Hon.」
Si Hon moved without thinking.
He grabbed her wrists and slammed them down.
Arven's eyes rolled back, she was turning pale, showing as her body convulsed— then the invisible grip shattered. She sucked in air like she'd been dragged back from drowning, coughing once, hard.
Si Hon didn't let go. His grip tightened.
He lifted his head and frowned, eyes fixed on the floating window.
"Don't touch her," he said.
There was no anger in his tone— just certainty.
"If you want to punish someone—"
He tightened his grip on Arven's wrists, grounding her.
"…punish me."
The air around them trembled.
The window went silent.
Then—
「(￣ヘ￣) …Interesting.」
Arven collapsed forward to his chest, coughing weakly as Si Hon held her steady.
The window slowly pulled back.
「ಠ_ಠ Very well.」
The pressure vanished.
Arven slumped against him, breathing hard, shaken but conscious.
「We will talk about this later. Bye, bye Si Hon. (~￣³￣)~」
The window faded.
Gone.
Only the echo of its presence remained.
Si Hon didn't let go of Arven.
His jaw clenched.
"…So that's how it is," he muttered.
The System is scared of him knowing.
"W-what was that…?" Arven whispered, still slumped against his chest. Her fingers clenched weakly into his clothes. "W-why are you—"
She stopped herself, breath hitching, fear flashing across her face— as if even finishing the sentence might trigger something again.
"Don't talk," Si Hon said quietly.
His eyes flicked toward Sixxy and Hana.
They were still asleep.
Completely still. Undisturbed, even after everything.
Before he could think further, a familiar presence stirred behind him.
A window popped into existence.
「ಠ_ಠ It's because I created a sound barrier around you two.」
"Agh!?" Si Hon flinched.
"Uwaa!" Arven yelped, grabbing unto him again.
"Why are you here again?" Si Hon snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose.
The window hovered, unimpressed.
「ಠ_ಠ …What else. I already knew you were about to ask why they didn't wake up.」
"…I wasn't…" Si Hon muttered. "Now go away. For now."
The window tilted slightly.
「 (~ ‾▿‾ )~ …Alright.」
And just like that—
It vanished.
Si Hon and Arven slowly sat down against the cave wall, not saying a word. They didn't look away from each other either— both clearly afraid that if one of them spoke, something would happen again.
After a long moment, Arven broke the silence.
"…Will it punish me," she asked quietly, "if I ask something you already know?"
"I don't know," Si Hon replied. His voice was flat. "Just… don't talk."
"But we need to," Arven said, turning to him. "We need information."
"Don't worry," Si Hon said, eyes fixed on the massive, open cave entrance. "Let's just not."
"…We can't just—"
Her lips parted. "Si Hon, where do you—"
He moved instantly.
Si Hon lunged forward and slammed her back against the cold rock floor, one hand covering her mouth, the other bracing the back of her head before it could hit stone.
"I said don't," he whispered sharply.
Arven froze.
Not from fear—
but from how desperate his voice sounded.
Si Hon let out a slow breath and removed his hand from her mouth.
Arven was visibly flustered— cheeks warm, breath uneven, but he didn't notice. Or rather, he didn't know what to notice.
…That probably hurt, he thought.
He took one of her wrists and guided her back into a sitting position, careful this time.
Silence.
Only then did it register.
Si Hon pulled his hand back immediately.
"…Sorry," he muttered, gaze shifting away. "I just— I can't let it hear you."
Arven stared at him, thoughts spiraling.
What was that? What just happened.
Why is my heart doing that?
Si Hon, meanwhile, frowned slightly.
Did I scare her…? Or— did I hurt her?
After that they worked through the night without talking. Si Hon carried the heavy parts and held the tent in place, while Arven stitched and fixed the torn fabric. Neither of them spoke, and they just kept working until the night passed.
***
"Do you want to sleep in the tent together?" Arven asked— then immediately waved her hands. "N-not like that."
Si Hon glanced past her and pointed flatly toward Sixxy, Hana, and the two massive Ursa Canis curled together.
"Nah, I'll sleep there."
"Oh. Okay. Goodnight."
She stepped inside the tent, then poked her head back out. "Turn off the torches, please."
"Will do."
The light inside the tent vanished.
Si Hon moved through the cave. Each torch had a bucket beside it— smart, I don't need to go to the ponds each time I turn off the torch, he thought.
One by one, he lifted the buckets and drowned the flames. Fire hissed. Shadows collapsed. Darkness settled in layers, heavy and complete.
When the last torch died, the cave felt larger.
Quieter.
He walked toward Sixxy and Hana, lowering himself carefully between fur and warmth. He pulled Hana closer, gentle, instinctive, and rested against Sixxy's side as the Ursa Canis breathed around them.
Only then did he speak.
"System," he murmured, eyes half-closed. "Is it really true that nothing will happen… if someone says something I already know?"
The blue window formed slowly this time.
「˵ ° ~ ° ˵ …Yes. That is correct.」
A pause.
「And… I apologize for earlier. Spoilers are prohibited, Si Hon. If too much is revealed, T#e A#d#3#c# become displeased. Entertainment must be preserved.」
"Huh? OH, well, then don't do that again," Si Hon said quietly.
「Understood.」
The window faded.
As his eyes finally closed, another flicker appeared— brief, silent, watching.
[The Vault Above has taken interest in Si Hon.]
[A Producer has expressed interest in your earlier actions.]
[Another Producer has expressed interest in your earlier actions.]
The message vanished.
And beneath the White Graves, Snowfall mountain, or whatever its called, surrounded by beasts and silence, he slept.
***
"Dad."
A small voice called out. "Dad, wake up. Let's eat."
Si Hon slowly sat up. He was lying at the massive hay bales where the Ursa Canis slept, now a blanket draped over his lap.
"…Eat?" he muttered groggily.
"Yes! Eat!" Hana said excitedly, tugging on his arm. "Arven cooked something. And It smells really good!"
"Okay, okay," Si Hon said as he stood.
The moment he did, Hana pulled harder.
"Agh?' He sighed and let himself be dragged along.
As Hana pulled him forward, his gaze drifted to the far end of the cave. Near the wide entrance, Arven sat on a flat stone with a small campfire crackling in front of her. She held a spatula in one hand.
When she noticed him, she looked up and waved.
Behind her, Sixxy sat with her parents, the three Ursa Canis calmly grooming one another.
By the time they reached the fire, Hana dropped down immediately and patted the spot beside her.
"Dad, sit here."
Si Hon sat down.
The rich aroma of stew rose from the pot, warm and heavy, filling the cave.
He slightly leaned closer and looked at what Arven was cooking.
The stew bubbled quietly over the fire, thick and dark, the surface rolling in slow circle. The smell reached him the moment he leaned even closer— warm, rich, almost oily, with something sharp underneath it that made his stomach twist.
Si Hon frowned.
It wasn't a smell he recognized. Not meat, not soup, not anything he could put a name to. It just felt… heavy. Like food that actually filled you. His mouth watered before he could stop it.
…Good food, he thought.
He watched Arven stir, the spatula scraping the bottom of the pot, bits of meat and vegetables surfacing before sinking again. Steam clung to her hair and clothes.
For a second, an old thought slipped out.
…Back then, I could just eat whatever I wanted.
No hunting. No counting rations. No wondering if tomorrow meant nothing but cold.
Si Hon looked away from the fire.
"Is it done yet?" Hana asked, leaning forward, eyes shining.
"Almost," Arven replied. She glanced at Si Hon, hesitated, then smiled a little. "You're okay with stew, right?"
"ಠ_ಠ Yeah, of course," he said quickly. "Anything's fine."
The pot gave a deeper bubble, thick and slow, and the smell grew stronger.
His stomach growled.
Si Hon sighed quietly.
…Guess I really am hungry.
Then Hana spoke up.
"Anything's fine for me too! Me and Dad once ate something called m-mo… Rat?" She tapped her chin, thinking hard.
Arven stared straight at Si Hon.
"…What? Seriously? You mean a mole rat?!"
Hana dropped her hand and nodded repeatedly.
"Uh-huh! It was really delicious. Dad cooked it."
Arven pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
"How could you make your—" She stopped. "…Wait. Dad?"
Her head snapped up.
She looked at Si Hon, eyes wide.
"She's your daughter?!"
Si Hon blinked once.
"…Kinda. Well— let's talk about that later."
Then his expression shifted. He turned back to Arven, face serious.
"First," he said, "there's something important I need to tell you."