"How fares your time, dear souls?"
Is the rising sun merely yesterday's echo, and is today nothing more than a replica of tomorrow?
Am I the only one adrift in this monotonous landscape, sinking into boredom?
Is this listless emptiness solely my burden?
No, perhaps similar shadows dwell within the hearts of all.
Moments when dreams fade and familiarity breeds weariness.
Yet, people live on quietly, like stars tracing their unwavering paths.
The person who has cooked the same dish for decades,
The one who always presents goods with the same smile,
The blacksmith's bent back, echoing only with the sound of hammering…
Faced with their steadfastness, my own being felt infinitely small.
But now, I dimly understand.
That within their silence lies a cry, a yearning.
That living with unseen cracks might be the reality for all of us.
"Everyone else is living silently, so why am I the only one…"
The blade of self-reproach was sharp.
But now, I intend to lay down that blade. Instead of wounding myself, I will listen to the voice within.
Now, I shall depart.
To seek the true joy in my life.
To find the lost spring of vitality.
To awaken the excitement that slumbered within the ticking clock,
To fold the predetermined map,
And set out to find my own treasure.
Though the road may be unfamiliar, and fear may surge like waves,
I will move forward. For I deserve to savor joy in every breathing moment.
I will no longer confine myself to the shadow of helplessness.
"At least, I will."
**Prologue**
"Just a little further, Pre, and we'll be at the summit."
How long ago was it that I heard those words? Judging by the time I'd been climbing the winding mountain path, it must have been well over an hour. Sweat clung to the tip of my chin, refusing to fall, and my breath came in ragged gasps.
"You said we'd get to the top soon…"
Just as I was about to unleash my pent-up complaints, my father's large hand suddenly reached out, gently cupping the back of my head and slowly lifting it.
"Open your eyes and look around you. Engrave everything you see deep within you."
In that instant, I felt my narrow field of vision widen as if by magic. It was as if the world was endlessly unfolding outward, centered around me.
Beneath the boundless blue sky, a landscape where hundreds of thousands of trees were packed together like a vast green carpet unfolded with overwhelming grandeur.
It was the same sky I always saw, but the blue I encountered in this unobstructed view, free from anything that could obscure it, possessed a depth and breadth unlike anything I had experienced before. Looking down at the world stretching far below my feet, a wave of emotion washed over me from the depths of my heart.
*Did I really overcome all this way?*
Breathtakingly beautiful nature, an indescribable elation, and the sense of accomplishment at finally reaching the destination. All those emotions mingled together, causing my chest to resonate deeply.
It was a clearer and deeper resonance than any stimulus I had felt in my life thus far.
It was an intense experience, as if some tightly closed door within me had burst open.
"Whoaaaa…"
Overwhelmed by the surging emotion, all the pain I had felt while climbing the mountain vanished without a trace beyond the vast sky. Only the majestic scenery unfolding before my eyes sank deeply into my heart.
Just as I was looking around, a particularly striking mountain caught my eye.
"Dad, what's that mountain?"
I pointed to a silver mountain that rose much higher and sharper than the one we were on. A thick fog cutting across its middle made it impossible to gauge its height, adding to its mysterious feel.
"That place is dangerous and rugged; you could die trying to climb it. So, you absolutely can't go there now."
"I see."
My head drooped with disappointment, but then I heard my father's voice, which held a strange emphasis.
"But."
"But what?"
"It must be magnificent."
Looking at my father's face as he laughed heartily, showing his teeth, the anticipation in my heart grew.
My heart began to beat rapidly for that silver mountain.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"When will I be able to go to that mountain?"
The answer that came back was simple.
"When you become the best mountain climber."
**Part 1**
*Creak…*
As the wooden door opened, the sunlight that poured through the gap was unusually intense. Stepping over the threshold, my bangs were scattered by the wind, and a cool sensation brushed against my cheek.
I turned my head at the touch of the passing breeze. There stood a mountain with white, sharp peaks like fangs, commonly known as the Devil's Fangs.
The surrounding mountains, which embraced the village warmly, boasted lush greenery in the summer, their summits revealing even faint green grass and brown soil.
However, only those Devil's Fangs, as if rejecting the changing seasons, remained perpetually covered in cold snow and ice from halfway up.
That unfamiliar scenery was deeply etched in the hearts of the villagers like an old tale.
The summit, beyond the white curtain of fog, did not easily reveal its true form.
From ominous rumors that a devil resided there, to stories of dreamlike treasures slumbering within, and even unbelievable legends of a secret door leading to another world.
All sorts of tales would rise and vanish like mist.
That enigma planted endless questions in people's minds, and for not a few, it ignited a hope for the unknown, compelling them to set foot on those rugged peaks.
However, the stories told by those who had climbed the mountain were all the same: they had given up before reaching the halfway point.
Because no one who had gone beyond the halfway point had ever returned alive…
As time passed, and the number of non-returning injured and missing people increased, our village forbade anyone from climbing the Devil's Fangs, except for special circumstances.
And so, that mountain was left as a place untouched by human feet, where only a long silence and a cold aura lingered.
I had decided to climb that mountain.
Ever since I was a child, I had loved following my father up mountains, and the memory of my first climb was still vivid.
The unfamiliar smell of earth, the steep uphill path, the tension of having to focus all my attention on even a small pebble. All of that was a huge challenge for me as a child.
The scenery at the summit, which I encountered when I was out of breath and sweat was dripping from my forehead, was the fruit of my efforts.
The world spread out below was more beautiful than any painting, and a deep sense of satisfaction washed over me. After that, I went to the mountains countless times, and they were definitely happy moments.
However, the more I climbed, the fainter the emotions I had first felt became.
What was the problem?
The conclusion I came to was challenge.
It wasn't just the result of reaching the summit that mattered.
The exhilaration I felt in the process of pouring in effort and overcoming countless obstacles was the power that made the result special.
Familiar paths, increasingly skilled physical strength and technique were no longer a challenge,
They were just repetition. I needed new stimulation, a challenge that would make my heart race.
As a solution, I began to climb mountains by setting conditions for myself.
At first, it was limiting the time, then gradually increasing the weight I carried or choosing dangerous cliffs where people didn't go.
When I imposed conditions, the mountain climbing took on an unfamiliar vibrancy. It was a fleeting pleasure.
Before I knew it, the villagers called me the best climber, and my skill made any conditions meaningless.
Now the mountain was just a space for labor, carrying other people's burdens and guiding the way. Only a numb sensation remained in the place where joy had once been.
"I need a stronger stimulus."
The moment those empty words spilled from my mouth with a blank expression, I stopped walking and looked back at myself.
'What was I chasing, climbing these mountains so relentlessly?' The unanswered question echoed in my empty heart.
Perhaps similar moments permeated the lives of others as well. Perhaps the light of their dreams faded, and they felt a faint weariness in the familiar repetition. Yet, did they silently walk their predetermined paths in their respective places?
"Everyone else lives like this, so why am I the only one…"
Unable to find the source of this desolate feeling, I could only turn the sharp blade of self-reproach against myself.
"Yeah, I must be the one who's wrong."
On the way home with a heavy heart, a cool breeze suddenly blew beside me. It was a clear and refreshing touch, as if sweeping away my worries and frustration. I turned to where the wind was coming from. There, the final stage of the mountain, which I had consistently turned away from, unfolded before me.
"Ah."
An unreached, unknown territory, a place where a faint possibility of rediscovering my lost passion might lie.
That place, which had taken the precious lives of someone's loved ones and concealed scattered 'red' traces beneath the white snow, was ironically shimmering faintly in the sunlight. Even its cruel narrative approached me as a hazy beauty.
It was as if the silver-shining mountain was offering a sweet temptation, like the whisper of a devil.
You are not wrong. Come here quickly.Aren't you wasting the strong physique and skilled techniques you've honed in the mountains all this time? A deep resonance echoed within my heart.
'Maybe, just maybe, I can do it.'
Just as the many outstanding climbers of our village had eventually headed there, I too decided to leave.