Chapter 2

Suji lifted her head. Behind the tree stood a lizard the size of a house. Its forked greenish tongue flicked in and out as it stared at the red fire. A strange scent wafted from the split tongue. Suji froze in place. Just then, a rabbit hopped by her side. The lizard’s gaze shifted to the rabbit, and it lashed out its tongue. The moment the tongue touched the rabbit, it stiffened, paralyzed. The lizard’s tongue wrapped around it and pulled it into its jaws.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of bones breaking and being chewed echoed. Suji felt completely paralyzed, unable to move. Her only possession was the metal lighter in her hand. The lizard’s swirling eyes briefly scanned Suji before it turned its attention back to the fire. Without a sound, its massive body slithered forward. The lizard crawled onto the spot where Suji had lit the fire, its scales glowing faintly in the heat as it smothered the flames. The smoke vanished in an instant.

The lizard flicked its tongue rapidly, as if pleased by the warmth, and then slid away, pressing its belly to the ground. Suji could only watch in shock as it disappeared. The ground where the lizard had been was left ruined, coated in a slimy residue. Even if she gathered more dry branches, the damp surface wouldn’t let the fire reignite. Suji sighed and began looking for another spot.

Deeper into the forest, she found a patch of green grass that looked promising. Carefully avoiding the thorny vines, she made her way over. But she soon realized her mistake. The green grass was growing atop a sandy swamp. The moment Suji stepped onto it, the ground shifted, and she began to sink.

Panicking, Suji struggled to climb out. But the pull of the sand was relentless, and her grip on the grass slipped. With a gasp, she was dragged under.

“…!”

Beneath the sand, the ground was solid. It was an ancient, compacted pit, deep and firm. Suji felt a moment of relief as her back and feet touched something stable. She fumbled for her lighter, desperate for light in the suffocating darkness. Striking the lighter, she illuminated the reddish-brown walls of the pit. The sight gave her a fleeting sense of reassurance—at least she wasn’t falling further—but despair soon followed. She had no idea how to climb out.

Time passed, though Suji couldn’t tell how much. She began to feel the cold seep through the walls. Pulling away from the wall, she curled into a ball, sitting in the dark.

Did anyone see the smoke? she wondered. If they did, they’d be searching for me now, right? They’ll find me in a few hours.

Her optimistic thoughts wavered as pessimism crept in. What if they don’t find me for days? What if they can’t hear me calling for help from this pit?

Her head spun, and her vision began to blur. A terrifying thought struck her—she might die here, dehydrated and alone, her body never discovered.

Was the boy this scared too?

A long-buried memory surfaced, one she had tried to forget. Her first love—the boy they never found. The thought of him brought a fresh wave of fear, making her curl into herself even tighter. Her entire body felt cold and rigid, as though her fear had turned her to stone.

Rustle.

A faint sound broke the oppressive silence. Suji’s head jerked upward. A shadow passed over the narrow opening above her, the only visible link to the outside world.

“…!”

Her heart leapt with hope, and she tried to call out. But then something began slithering through the opening—a writhing, slimy snake. Suji’s breath caught in her throat, her hope giving way to terror.

Suji let out a loud scream, waving her lighter wildly in an attempt to ward off the snake. However, the serpent fixed its predatory yellow eyes on her, as if thrilled by the prospect of prey in its pit. Suji swallowed hard. Even when faced with ghosts, they say keeping your wits about you is the key to survival. Yet the snake before her was far more real and terrifying than any ghost could ever be. She struggled to maintain her composure as the snake slithered closer, hissing and zigzagging toward her.

Then, without warning, it lunged.

Suji instinctively threw herself to the ground. Thud! The snake smashed into the wall of the pit, missing her by mere inches. She quickly turned her head to see it dangling, stunned from the impact. Gritting her teeth, she nudged the limp body with her foot. It didn’t move. Relief washed over her for a brief moment, but it was short-lived.

From above, objects began falling from the ceiling like projectiles.

“…!”

The blood drained from Suji’s face. More snakes. Dozens of them, thick and thin, writhing as they descended. They slithered over one another, their tangled bodies advancing toward her in a grotesque wave. Suji instinctively waved the lighter again, the small flame flaring defiantly. The snakes, seemingly provoked by the movement, raised their heads higher, their bodies tense as they lunged.

“Get away—!”

For the first time, a desperate shout escaped Suji’s lips. She tried to dodge the snakes launching themselves at her, but one finally sank its fangs into her neck.

“Ahhh…!”

The pain was sharp and immediate, sending her sprawling to the ground. Her sudden movement startled the snakes, making them momentarily recoil. Suji’s vision began to blur. In the haze of her fading consciousness, memories of her late parents, her uncle handing her the lighter, and the boy who had disappeared so long ago swirled around her, spinning like a disjointed reel.

Clutching her neck, Suji fell to her side, her mind clouding. Is this it? she thought despairingly. Am I going to be eaten alive by these snakes? Just as that grim realization began to settle, a loud crash echoed from above.

What?

It was as if the ground above had collapsed, sending vibrations through the pit. It left no trace, like the fleeting ripples of rain on water, save for the sound of air being sliced and the unsettling noise of something tearing through flesh. A cacophony of uncomfortable sounds followed, and Suji, though barely lucid, realized that the snakes’ yellow eyes had disappeared from the darkness.

Her vision was too dim to make out much, but in the shadows, one thing became disturbingly clear—a single pair of eyes stared back at her.

They were sharp, vivid, and utterly chilling, brimming with an ominous promise of death. Suji found herself frozen, unable to speak, as those haunting eyes became the last thing she could focus on.

“**** ***** ***.”

What is he saying? Suji couldn’t understand a word. All she could do was stare at him, resigned to her fate, before her consciousness faded entirely, and she collapsed.

“…”

As Suji lay unconscious, the man shifted his gaze. He inspected her neck briefly, then turned his head upward. Through the large hole in the ceiling of the pit, the dense thicket of the forest canopy was visible. The height of the opening wasn’t much of a challenge for him—laughable, even.

“…”

But for the woman before him, it was a different story. She looked fragile, incapable of surviving even a moment in this harsh environment.

Her slender limbs seemed ill-suited for hunting or foraging; they looked more appropriate for embroidery or arranging flowers. Even her dirt-smudged, scratched face held a refined elegance, as though it belonged at a ball or soirée rather than in a rugged wilderness. The only hint of sturdiness was the curve of her hips, which balanced her otherwise frail frame. The man observed her with a cold, calculating gaze and came to a conclusion.

“Certainly not a predator.”

If anything, she ranked at the very bottom of the food chain, vulnerable even to herbivores. His eyes traced the wounds on her cheek and neck, and he let out a faint laugh.

“And yet, you’re supposed to be my death?”

The corners of his lips curled into a crooked smirk. Ridiculous. According to the warnings of the alchemists, she was the one destined to bring about his demise. But in his judgment, she seemed incapable of surviving without him in this brutal ecosystem. Alone, she would perish.

“Either those so-called wise men were wrong…”

Or his instincts were.

The man maintained a smile devoid of warmth and pressed lightly with his legs. Effortlessly defying gravity, he leapt upward and began walking with the graceful ease of a predator who had secured his hunt.

“W-Water…”

Suji regained consciousness a day and a half later. Her throat burned with an unbearable thirst. The night before, she had endured freezing cold, only for relentless heat to take over afterward. The extremes of cold and heat had sapped her strength, leaving her unable to lift a finger. Once again, she murmured for water, though she couldn’t tell if any sound actually left her lips or if it was merely the motion of her mouth.

But even that faint movement elicited a reaction.

“…”

Suji could feel someone watching her. She wanted to ask for help, but her body refused to cooperate. Her hands wouldn’t move, her lips barely parted, and her eyelids felt heavy. With great effort, she half-opened her eyes, just enough to catch a glimpse of him. She noticed his eyes—black as the void.

For some reason, the sight brought her a strange sense of relief. Perhaps it was because she recognized them as the eyes she had seen earlier. Or maybe it was simply the comfort of the dark color, which seemed less menacing. Holding on to that small solace, Suji waited for him to respond.

“**** ****.”

What’s he saying? She still couldn’t understand. It was a language she had never heard before. Frustrated by her inability to comprehend, she frowned slightly.

The man noticed her expression and stopped speaking. He seemed to realize that crafting a language bridge in this place—some kind of potion or tool to enable communication—was nearly impossible. There were other ways, of course, but they required considerable effort, more than he was willing to expend.

With a faintly annoyed look, he furrowed his brow, his irritation evident in the slight crease between his dark eyes.

Should I ignore her? The thought lingered, but something about her gnawed at him. The man couldn’t tell if it was simple curiosity about this unfamiliar being or if it was the way her unfocused eyes seemed to drift, as though teetering on the edge of consciousness.

‘Twisting that fragile neck would be easier than snapping my fingers,’ he mused, the idea crossing his mind as naturally as breathing.

Yet, he didn’t act. Something held him back, a faint, inexplicable hesitation that he couldn’t quite name.