When I opened my eyes, a feeling of emptiness surrounded me. The cold air pierced my skin, yet strangely, I couldn't remember if this was normal for me. My head felt heavy, as if I had just woken up from a dream I couldn't recall. Above me was a sky I did not recognize. I saw seagulls flying in flocks.
As I tried to rise from the tall grass around me, my eyes were drawn to a single flower. A flower that captured my focus. And I wondered why I was so mesmerized by it. The flower was a dandelion.
Right beside me, on my right, stood a tree of extraordinary beauty. It grew alone in the middle of the tall grass. It was beautiful because of its lush foliage and the striking red color of its leaves, contrasted by its white bark.
Little by little, I finally managed to stand upright, and I wondered why my clothes were stained with blood. Whose blood was it? I didn't know. I couldn't remember.
I started looking around. All I saw was endless grass... but to my far left, I could see a dense forest. Meanwhile, on my right, just a bit farther beyond the tree beside me, there was a steep abyss. Without thinking twice, I walked to my left, heading toward the forest.
"Ohhhh yeah… what's my name?""Where did I come from?""And where am I?"
I questioned myself, and the more I tried to remember my identity, the more pain I felt in my heart and head. As the headache intensified, blood suddenly trickled from my nose.
"Damn…"
I wiped the blood away with my sleeve and kept walking toward the forest. My eyes remained fixed straight ahead.
...…
And without my knowledge… my necklace… began to glow…
...…
I finally entered the forest, stopping for a moment to look at the path before me.
"Dark…"
The dense forest ahead made everything seem shrouded in darkness and eeriness. But like it or not, I had to go in.
Just as I was about to take a step, the tree beside me—the one I had woken up next to—felt as if it was calling to me.
I quickly turned around.
And there it was, standing in its place.
"I clearly heard something calling me, but…"
There was no one. I was truly alone.
...
As I blinked, the tree's red leaves started drifting toward me.
Closer,Closer, closing in on me.
When they reached right in front of my eyes, I blinked again.
And as I opened my eyes…
...…
I froze.
Right in front of me…
A woman—an incredibly beautiful woman—floated before me. She smiled as she gazed into my eyes.
Fear gripped me. A deep, paralyzing fear.
Just as I tried to move my feet to run—
I was shocked…
That woman—or whatever she was—
She was crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks, yet her eyes were empty, as if she was mourning something she could no longer even grasp. Despite her tears, she tried to smile at me.
She was crying… for me.
And I was shocked to see it.
I questioned in my heart—why? Why was she crying?
Suddenly, her hand moved, gently stroking my hair before pointing at my necklace.
"If things become more difficult, use *********."
"What?" I muttered.
Then, with that same smile and those tear-filled eyes… she vanished.
The woman disappeared.
"I don't know who you are… but my heart tells me that whatever you may be, you mean well… so…"
"Thank you."
I placed my hand over my heart, showing my sincerity. Then, I turned around and started walking into the forest. My steps were unsteady, my body felt unbearably exhausted.
I asked myself—why? Why does my body feel so heavy? I stumbled, barely managing to catch myself on a tree beside me. My breathing was shallow. My head felt unbearably heavy. My eyes longed for sleep.
I collapsed, losing consciousness.
I drifted into an empty space, where nothing could be seen, as if I were floating in a limitless void. I turned my head left and right—only endless darkness stretched before me. Then, I tried to stand—and succeeded.
I walked, without direction. As I moved forward, countless fragments of golden light collided with me. I gazed at them. I reached out.
And somehow, they brought a faint sense of peace to my heart.
As I turned forward,
I saw the silhouette of an event. A curly-haired child running through a flower garden, playing with the dirt as if it were his toy. And when he turned, he saw me. He froze, staring at me.
Then, as he opened his mouth, he asked, "Why are you crying?"
I was shocked. My eyes widened.
When I saw the tears streaming down my cheeks, I finally realized—I had been crying without noticing it. But why was I crying? For whom was I crying? I didn't know why.
My heart felt unbearably heavy and pained. My throat felt as if it could not let out a scream. My head throbbed in agony.
Suddenly, everything turned dark. And then, I was awake, my eyes opening to the sky—now replaced by night.
"Did I lose consciousness until late at night?" I asked myself.
In the darkness of the night, I was hungry and thirsty. With what little strength I had left, I struggled to stand, walking at a painfully slow pace.
Then, from a distance, a white deer stared at me.
We locked eyes. The deer lowered its head, then turned away as if giving me a sign to follow. Slowly, I followed.
It led me back to the white tree with red leaves—the first tree I had seen when I awoke. The deer stopped walking, and I stood beside it.
It looked at me, then turned its gaze toward the tree.
I understood its intention.
I walked forward.
But the deer— It did not follow me. As if it was not allowed to step any further.
I stood before the white tree with red leaves. Up close, the tree was breathtakingly beautiful. Its bark was white, and along its surface, streams of light pulsed like the veins of a living being.
The leaves were unlike any I had seen before—not quite like ordinary foliage, yet not quite like bird feathers. They shimmered, glowing like flames in a deep crimson hue.
As I admired the strange leaves, my eyes caught sight of its fruit. I was stunned—then relieved. Something I could eat. I reached out, hesitating. Would it be safe to take it? Could this fruit even be eaten?
Just as I was about to withdraw my hand, the fruit fell—landing gently in my palm. At that moment, I remembered the woman I had seen yesterday. Was she the one helping me now?
Why?
The white lights from the tree swirled around me, illuminating the darkness of the night.
Holding the fruit with both hands, I gazed at it and whispered, "Thank you… again." Tears welled in my eyes as I ate, savoring every last bite.
I sat beneath the tree, looking across the abyss.
A great chasm stretched before me, separating where I stood from a distant land beyond.
Glancing left and right, I saw no end to this abyss.
Looking down, I saw nothing—only darkness.
"What is this place? A canyon so vast… and so deep?"
The chasm yawned open like a wound devouring the light. Its darkness was so profound that shadows and emptiness became indistinguishable. Occasionally, wisps of mist curled within it, swirling slowly—like something breathing. Beyond the darkness, something immense shifted.
Not a sound. Not a shadow.
Just a slow, unnatural movement that did not follow the rhythm of the night wind. A silhouette, darker than the abyss itself, glided ever so subtly—watching from the depths. Yet Kelfin only stared ahead, unaware of the colossus stirring in the void.
Silently.
I held my head, trying to process the enormity of what lay before me. Tilting my gaze toward the sky as I took a breath, another shock awaited me.
The moons… there were two.
I stumbled back, falling against the tree, eyes fixed on the heavens—bewildered yet in awe of their beauty. Fragments of blue light drifted from the tree, wrapping me in a soothing glow.
My eyelids grew heavy.
Sleep overtook me.
And in the end…
"Damn it… The only thing I remember… is my name.
Kelfin."
…
…
…
And from afar, hidden within the trees, someone was watching me…
Their eyes widened in shock.
"Impossible!!"
"So he… is that…"
The figure who had been watching Kelfin from afar suddenly moved. With swift and resolute steps, he ran toward the young man sleeping beneath the white tree with crimson leaves. Without hesitation, he bent down, lifted Kelfin's body, and carried him on his back.
Among the dark trees where he had emerged, another figure was already waiting. A young girl stood firm, holding a freshly hunted rabbit, the silhouette of arrows crossed on her back. Her sharp eyes followed her father's approach as he carried someone unfamiliar.
"Father… who is this?" her voice was barely a whisper, laced with both surprise and doubt.
The man did not answer, only tightening his grip on Kelfin as he continued his steps into the darkness of the forest. Heading toward the village.
"If this is true… then the time has come."
[ Kelfin has lost his memories once again. What of the people he left behind? And what awaits him next? ]