Elestar

I opened my eyes in my room.

The pain still lingered, but it was bearable.

As I sat on the bed, my mother entered the room, her face stricken with panic from worry.

"Are you okay? You scared me. What happened?"

"I'm fine. Nothing happened to me," I replied, trying to calm her down. But even as I tried to ease her worry, a question popped into my head.

"How did I end up here?"

My mother sat beside me and started explaining everything.

"Hans brought you here. You had been gone for a long time, so I went to him to ask if he knew where you were. He said you'd gone toward the river to collect firewood. The two of us went looking and found you unconscious. Hans carried you back. He said he'd come by tomorrow to check on you. But what actually happened?"

Hearing her question, I told her everything that had happened by the riverside. She was visibly shaken and deeply worried.

"Are you feeling okay now? Can you see? We'll go visit the healer tomorrow…"

The mention of the healer was enough to force a full recovery out of me right then and there.

And I had good reason—because I knew very well who she was.

That woman wasn't a healer. She was a full-blown witch.

Why do I call her that?

One winter, I had gone to her with a cold and a cough. She invited us in and made me drink a cup of her "healing tea."

And after drinking that tea… I came to realize something: the illness I had before was nothing compared to what her "cure" did to me.

She proudly gave me a bundle of herbs, promising that I would never cough again, and that I'd be fully cured.

Well, she was right.

Thanks to those herbs, I got so poisoned I spent the next day suffering through diarrhea.

Sure, I didn't cough again. I didn't even sneeze.

Because I knew what would happen if I made a single sudden movement.

I spent nearly the whole day in the bathroom.

So when my mom said we'd go to the healer, all I could picture was a witch with a bundle of poisoned herbs, reaching out to me with one hand while stirring some toxic brew in a pot with the other.

[I'd rather stay sick than drink her "miracle tea" again. I have to convince Mom I'm totally fine.]

"I'm good! I'm really okay—perfectly fine! If I just get a little sleep, I'll be back to normal. There's no need to visit the healer. Please don't worry! And why bother the poor healer anyway?"

"Maybe I'll still call her, just in case."

[No, please not the healer. Anything but that.]

"I told you—I'm fine!"

"…Alright, then."

[Finally… I'm saved. Thank the gods. But just how long was I unconscious? I need to ask Mom.]

"By the way… what time is it now?"

"It's already nightfall."

[Night? No way... Was I really unconscious that long?]

"Then get some rest. If you need anything, let me know," she said gently, and left the room.

After she left, I decided to try sleeping again.

—

Some time passed.

As I lay in bed, I began to hear strange, disturbing noises.

At first, I thought it was just a family in the village having an argument.

To ignore the noise, I covered my ears with pillows.

But even with my ears blocked, the sounds didn't stop.

They only grew louder.

Unable to endure the noise any longer, I got up and went outside to see what was happening in the village.

And what I saw outside was horrifying.

Houses were ablaze.

Women and children were screaming in terror and pain.

Men were fighting off monstrous, terrifying hounds.

The worst part—some of the villagers' corpses were already being torn apart and devoured by those beasts.

I stood frozen, paralyzed by the nightmare unfolding before my eyes.

—

Earlier That Day — Noon

Three hours had passed since Attu met with Hans.

Suddenly, a young man came running toward Hans.

"Hans!"

The boy was out of breath, barely able to speak through the gasps.

"What happened? Why the rush? Breathe—deep breaths!"

"A demon attacked the neighboring village!"

"That's serious. Go warn the villagers—no one should be outside tonight. Gather as many of our men as you can."

The young man nodded and ran toward the village. Hans was about to leave as well when Aurora, Attu's mother, appeared.

"Hello, Aurora."

"Hello. Hans, have you seen Attu? He's been gone for quite a while."

"He went to collect firewood near the river this morning… hasn't come back yet? Want me to help look for him?"

"Yes, please!"

The two of them headed toward the river together.

Hans was still thinking about the demon attack and realized he should probably warn Aurora as well.

"Aurora, if you can, don't go outside tonight. One of the demons breached the border. It attacked a nearby village."

"But… demons aren't supposed to be able to cross the barrier. How?"

"I don't know the exact reason. Sometimes, they slip through. I can't say whether it's heading our way or not. What I do know is this—we need to be ready. For our own safety."

"Demons don't attack during the day. That gives us some time to prepare." — Hans thought.

—

Soon, they reached the riverbank. And there, lying on the ground—was Attu. Seeing her son in that state, Aurora screamed in panic and rushed toward him in tears.

"My son!"

Hans's heart jumped. "It looks like a wild animal attacked him," he thought.

But strangely, there were no signs of animal tracks around. No blood nearby either. They knelt beside Attu, gently turning his face upward. Aurora's fear intensified when she saw the blood leaking from his eyes. Hans checked for a pulse at his neck. Feeling a heartbeat, he exhaled in relief.

Then he opened Attu's eyes—what he saw made him freeze.

He didn't say anything to Aurora, but those eyes weren't normal. Hans had never seen Attu without his blindfold before.

"What… what are those eyes?" he thought, stunned.

But that wasn't all. Hans also sensed something else—something emanating from Attu's body. Mana. That energy—he remembered it from the academy, when he met a real mage. But Attu's mana… was even stronger. Wild. Unstable.

"This isn't the time," Hans thought to himself. "Aurora's in shock. We'll talk later when things calm down."

He gently lifted Attu and helped Aurora return home.

"Aurora, he's alright. He's just unconscious. I don't know what happened to his eyes, but his condition is stable. We just need to wait until he wakes up. Then we can ask him directly."

"What should we do? Should I call the healer? Maybe she can help!"

"The healer's not in the village. She went to the mountains this morning to collect herbs. She won't be back anytime soon."

"Then what do we do?"

"All we can do now is wait. He'll be fine."

—

They reached the house.

Inside, they laid Attu down gently.

Aurora sat by his side, holding his hand, unable to stop crying.

Hans rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down. He just needs rest. When the healer returns, I'll tell her to come check on him. But for now—try to stop crying."

"…Okay," she replied, sniffling.

"I'll come back tomorrow to see how he's doing."

Aurora stayed by her son's side for a long time.

She didn't eat. She didn't leave his bedside.

Eventually, as night approached, she realized he'd need food if he woke up.

So she stepped out to prepare dinner—just in case.