"So cold..."
A soft murmur escaped from her small lips, breaking the silence ever so slightly.
The sound was hoarse, delicate, and dissolved into the empty air, leaving behind nothing but a suffocating stillness.
A silence maddening enough to drive someone insane.
She jolted awake within that endless void, a place of nothing but pure white, infinite space—and herself.
She couldn't feel anything except the overwhelming loneliness and the piercing cold that seeped deep into her bones, numbing both body and soul.
In that boundless void, space and time seemed to have decayed.
It felt like she existed, and yet didn't.
As if the girl was nothing more than a fading mirage.
Drifting in that eternal stillness, she let out a sigh—one of helplessness and sorrow.
"So... this is what it feels like to die..."
Just as the words faded, a brilliant light shone down upon her.
So bright, so intense that for a moment, she instinctively squinted.
And from deep within her soul, something stirred.
An impulse, a yearning—an urgent pull toward that radiant light.
But—
Just as she was about to step into it, a voice rang out.
"Kyouno... Kyouno...!"
"...Huh?"
A breath escaped her lips, followed by a bewildered expression.
She blinked, disoriented, feeling like her soul had just returned to her body.
Lifting her gaze, her eyes—clear and radiant like aquamarine—swept across her surroundings, taking in the vast, frostbitten world.
Beneath her feet lay a frozen ground, a smooth, icy carpet with no footprints.
Snow blanketed everything in sight, occasionally speckled with glimmering stones encased in frost.
Towering trees stood around her, their limbs twisted and brittle under thick layers of snow, clinging to a thread of life.
The air was dense, frigid, and dry—every breath she took turned into a faint mist.
Dim sunlight filtered through the branches above, casting faint silver patches on the snow.
Snowflakes drifted slowly down, like tiny crystals, fluttering past the gnarled branches before melting into the frozen earth.
The wind howled, each gust sharp as blades, slicing against her skin.
Her emerald hair billowed behind her, shimmering like precious stones under the faint light—a vivid green, wild yet graceful, like a hidden spring deep in a forest.
The girl—Kyouno—wore a look of confusion on her flawless face, a beauty so delicate it seemed sculpted by an artisan.
Draped in a pale blue winter coat that brought out the hues of her eyes and hair, she looked otherworldly under the cold light, like she didn't belong in this world.
Before she could make sense of anything, she realized she was riding on some kind of creature, which was galloping frantically.
Suddenly—
"Watch out!"
A panicked shout rang out from behind.
Kyouno instinctively turned to look—and saw—
A monstrous beast charging straight at them!
It was massive, covered in jet-black fur, with crimson eyes burning with murderous rage, and claws sharp as blades.
The creature lunged at them, terrifying their mounts into a desperate sprint.
Despite their beasts' speed, they were no match for the monster that hunted them with relentless hunger.
It quickly caught up.
"GRAAAH!!"
The beast roared, revealing a jaw full of jagged fangs—just the sight was enough to make one imagine the pain of being torn in two.
"Looks like we've got no choice but to fight, huh?"
Kyouno muttered to the girl riding beside her.
As she spoke, both of them instantly took battle stances.
Kyouno extended her hand toward the creature.
A moment later, a glimmering ice bow formed in her grasp.
Drawing back the bowstring, she shouted:
"Ice Arrows!"
In the silent air, thousands of glacial arrows materialized, then shot forward with fierce speed, piercing the monster's hide and drawing a furious roar.
But it wasn't enough.
The beast only grew more enraged, charging harder toward them.
"Sister Mana!"
Kyouno called out to the tall girl riding beside her—Mana.
With the same vibrant hair and eye color, Mana looked every bit the older sister—taller, with a mischievous charm.
Mana, catching Kyouno's signal, raised her wooden staff and aimed at the monster.
"Wind Blast!"
A powerful whirlwind burst from the staff's tip, launching the creature high into the air.
"GRRRAAHH!!"
It howled in panic, thrashing helplessly.
In that very instant, Kyouno didn't hesitate.
"Fire Cannon!"
A blazing sphere of fire shot through the sky at incredible speed—
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion lit up the sky, utterly obliterating the beast.
Not even dust remained.
"Phew..."
A sigh of relief escaped Kyouno's lips.
Her tensed body finally relaxed.
Sweat dotted her forehead, her cheeks flushed from the cold and the recent tension.
"Bonk!"
"Ow...!"
A sharp but playful knock landed on her head.
Surprised, she turned to glare at the culprit.
"Sis! What was that for?! I'll tattle to Mom!"
She pouted, voice full of mock indignation.
But Mana, unfazed by her sister's look, raised her hand as if to strike again—causing Kyouno to quickly dodge out of reach.
Then, Mana scolded her with a trembling voice:
"You... you spaced out all of a sudden—do you know how dangerous that was?!"
Despite her stern words, Mana's voice wavered with fear.
Just remembering that moment, when her little sister nearly met death, was enough to send shivers down her spine.
"Do you know how worried I was about you?!"
Her voice cracked, nearly breaking into sobs.
Seeing her sister's trembling expression, Kyouno's heart tightened.
The pout vanished from her lips.
"I'm fine now... you don't have to worry so much," she said, offering a weak, reassuring smile.
Mana calmed down slightly.
"And besides, it wasn't my fault! That stupid dream popped into my head again!"
"A dream?"
"You know, that weird dream I told you about… I don't know why, but lately, it keeps showing up in my mind over and over again.
Sigh…"
Kyouno let out a long, troubled sigh.
Seeing the worry etched across her younger sister's face, Mana's voice grew more serious.
"Do you know anything about the dream? What it means?"
Kyouno fell silent for a while, then replied vaguely,
"I'm not sure either.
But for some reason… that dream gives me a strange feeling.
Like it's something oddly familiar — like something I've forgotten."
She lapsed into thought, clearly troubled by the recurring visions.
Sensing the mood growing too heavy, Mana gently broke the silence to steer things away from that somber air.
"Anyway, let's not dwell on it. We had a good hunt today, right? Just this one beast alone is enough to keep us fed for weeks. Time to head home."
At that, the gloomy expression on Kyouno's face vanished. She puffed out her chest and lifted her chin with exaggerated pride.
"Hmph, but of course! If I'm the one taking action, this much is no big deal at all!"
"Yeah, yeah. My little sister's the best, alright?"
Unable to resist, Mana reached out and pinched Kyouno's cheek fondly.
Suddenly—
"...grrrrgle…"
A very untimely noise rumbled from Kyouno's stomach, freezing the moment in place.
Her cheeks flushed red in an instant, burning with embarrassment.
When she looked up, her sister's teasing smile was already waiting.
Kyouno's inner monologue:"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
The smug pride from earlier vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but an adorably embarrassed little sister.
And so, with that quiet self-loathing swirling around her, the girl walked the entire way back home, lost in her thoughts.
.....
"Come on now, don't space out like that. Help me unload the stuff — we're home already,"
Mana's voice jolted Kyouno out of her daze.
Only then did she realize they had arrived.
Their wooden cabin sat quietly on the snow-covered mountainside, like a warm low note in the cold, vast symphony of nature.
Towering pine trees surrounded them on all sides, their branches heavy with snow, hanging low like white canopies.
The house was built from sturdy, weathered logs, dark brown wood standing out against the blanket of white.
Its pointed roof was carefully thatched with straw, layered tightly beneath a thick coating of snow that resembled whipped cream. Occasionally, a gust of wind would knock down a chunk, sending it tumbling gently to the ground.
A thin stream of smoke drifted lazily from the chimney — a whisper of warmth, a quiet promise that someone was waiting inside.
Just as Kyouno was basking in the comfort of being home—
A sound came from behind the house.
It immediately caught the sisters' attention.
Voices.
Kyouno perked up.
"Mom…?"
Wait — not just her mom.
There were other voices too —
Strangers !
Without hesitation, Kyouno bolted toward the source of the noise,
a vague, unsettling feeling rising rapidly in her chest.
....