In a deserted alley filled with filth and debris, in a remote area where almost no one ever passed, a small child slowly opened his eyes.
His eyelashes fluttered several times as he looked around in confusion, as if trying to understand what was happening. Nothing about the place felt familiar. The crumbling walls, the muddy ground, the heavy smell lingering in the air… everything seemed strange.
But the first thing the child noticed was not the place.
It was the pain.
A dull ache spread throughout his body, accompanied by a sharp hunger gnawing at his stomach. Slowly lowering his gaze, he examined himself and noticed the tattered clothes he was wearing—rags that could barely be called clothing, torn pieces that couldn't even protect him from a cold breeze.
The cold…
Yes. Only now did he realize it.
A bitter chill suddenly surrounded him, as if the air itself were biting into his skin. He raised his hands slightly and looked at his body with quiet curiosity. It was small… thin and frail… and looked sickly.
He kept examining himself for a moment before calming down.
Eventually, he reached a simple conclusion.
This was a dream.
Slowly, he stood up, leaning on the wall for a moment before beginning to walk. With weak and careful steps, he left the abandoned alley. Everything felt light and strange, just like in dreams.
Despite the cold… and despite the snow that had begun to fall from the sky…
That very thing brought a small childish smile to his pale face.
He had never seen snow before.
The child continued walking while snowflakes slowly drifted down, gradually covering the ground in pure white. The world seemed to slowly transform into a quiet painting of silence and white.
After a short while, he arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned park.
He stopped for a moment and looked around curiously before continuing until he reached roughly the middle of it. There, he stopped again and raised his head toward the sky.
He lifted his hand slightly, letting the snowflakes fall into his palm.
He watched them silently… then laughed softly, as if remembering a joke only he knew.
At that moment, the child realized something simple.
There was a very high chance he would die.
Or rather… this dream would end before the night was over.
So he decided to enjoy it a little.
He only wanted to see the snow… to feel it… before it covered him completely… until he and the snow became one.
—
Not far from there, Ki Song walked quietly through the outskirts of the city.
These places were home to rats… and to people who were destined to die.
Most of her daughters had been found here.
She wasn't entirely sure why she had started adopting them. Was it because of the flaw that prevented her from having a family of her own? Or because she saw herself in them… children rejected by the world?
Perhaps both.
In the end, it didn't matter.
What she knew for certain was that she felt comfort… even happiness… when she looked at her family.
She would give them her blood… the blood of the Beast God.
She would raise them in her castle and make them princesses of one of the most powerful clans.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an unexpected sight.
There was a place that could barely be called a park, its ground neglected and covered with snow. Standing right in the middle of it was a small child.
A girl, at first glance.
Perhaps five years old.
She stood quietly with her hands slightly raised toward the sky, touching the falling snow and laughing softly. She wore ragged clothes that could barely be called garments, and her blond hair reached her shoulders.
Ki Song stopped walking.
And continued staring at the scene.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
Perhaps half an hour… perhaps more.
Yet the child never stopped what she was doing.
She wasn't playing with the snow like most children would.
Instead… she seemed to be observing it.
Standing silently while the snow slowly piled on top of her.
Ki Song only realized how much time had passed when she heard a faint cough.
It came from the child.
Her brows slightly furrowed.
That was strange.
Those who lived in these outskirts—the rats—were used to the harshness of this place. They knew how to survive. In weather like this, no one with any sense would walk outside in the snow.
It was practically a death sentence.
No fire to keep them warm.
No clothes to protect them.
And certainly no medicine if they fell ill.
So why was this little rat ignoring that rule?
In fact, it almost seemed as if there was a strange separation around her… as if the whole world had disappeared, leaving only the child and the falling snow.
Ki Song approached quietly, her steps soundless—a habit formed after many years spent surviving the horrors of the Dream Realm and its corrupted creatures.
Soon she found herself standing beside the child.
But the child didn't seem to notice her.
She continued looking at the snow with a faint smile.
From where she stood, Ki Song silently observed her miserable condition. Her shallow breathing, her frail body weakened by malnutrition.
She couldn't see her face clearly, since her hair covered it.
Ki Song spoke calmly.
"What is beautiful about snow?"
Even though the child heard her voice beside her, she made no movement. She simply pressed the snow in her palm, touching it lightly before letting it fall.
Several minutes passed.
Then the child spoke quietly.
"It covers the world's flaws."
After a moment, she continued.
"When it falls, the world is quickly covered in white… making everything look pure… untouched. For a brief moment, everything seems good and right."
Finally, the child raised her head and looked at Ki Song.
"Don't you think so, miss?"
For the first time, Ki Song clearly saw the child's face.
She paused.
It wasn't a girl.
It was a boy.
His blond hair shifted slightly away from his face, revealing pale, delicate features… and two clear violet eyes that looked like small galaxies spinning in their depths.
Ki Song remained silent for a moment as she looked at him.
Then she said calmly,
"Perhaps."
A short silence followed.
The boy kept looking at her for a moment… as if studying her.
Then he finally said,
"It seems the world hasn't been kind to you."
Nothing appeared on Ki Song's face, but she felt a small hint of surprise.
But she couldn't respond.
Because the boy suddenly trembled.
Then he began coughing—a long, broken cough.
Only then did Ki Song truly notice how bad his condition was.
He would die soon.
His face was as pale as the snow covering him, and his breathing was shallow, barely catching air between fits of coughing.
She hesitated for a moment.
All the children she had adopted before… had been girls.
She had never considered adopting a boy.
A son…
The idea felt strangely unfamiliar.
Would he be different from the others?
Would he become a burden?
Or perhaps… it didn't matter in the end.
She looked at his frail body covered in snow.
If she left him here… he would die before morning.
Ki Song sighed silently.
Perhaps… it didn't matter if he was a boy this time.
After a moment, she asked calmly,
"Do you like snow?"
"Yes."
"Then… would you like to come with me?"
"To where?"
"Home."
He raised his head and looked at her with surprise.
"Home?"
"Yes. I have a very large castle. There… the snow never stops falling."
He was silent for a moment before asking,
"And what will happen after that?"
"We will become a family."
The boy quietly repeated the word.
"Family…"
As if tasting it for the first time.
Then he raised his head again and asked,
"Will you become my mother?"
"Yes."
He looked at her for a moment.
Then he slowly raised his small hand.
She understood what he wanted.
She took his hand.
The boy smiled faintly and said,
"Let's go home… Mom."
Suddenly, his body swayed.
He began to fall.
But Ki Song caught him before he hit the ground, lifting him into her arms.
At that moment, small sparks appeared near her neck.
The sparks slowly gathered… swirling in the air… gradually taking shape.
It was a Memory.
When the summoning was complete, a dark necklace appeared around her neck, emitting a gentle warmth that spread around the boy's body, protecting him from the freezing snow.
Ki Song looked silently at the boy's small face.
Then she began walking quietly through the snow-covered park.
On her way back to her castle.
With the first child…
She would adopt as her son.