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Somewhere in a realm far, far away…

Mountains reached towards the firmament, while blanketed underneath the layers of clouds. Light from the moon overhead painted the snow-covered peaks a faint silver. Birds swam between the sea of clouds, whereas beasts howled underneath. Between two such mountains lay a valley, housing a settlement of humans, a village sharing the same name as the mountain range housing it — The Village of Cephir.

It was in the middle of the scale — neither too large, nor too small. Despite its size, the population of the village was sparse, ranging only around the hundred mark.

Because of ample space, they made the buildings rather spacious. However, the frequent downpours, furious gales, scorching heat and chilling cold resulted in them being composed of stone and wood, making them durable yet easy to replace.

And currently, around the corner of the village, within one such house, a kid was lying on a bed. Half-covered beneath his messy black hair, bandages wrapped from under his ear to over his forehead, covering his left eye.

A clear stream of liquid flowed down the right side of his face, glistening beneath the moonlight. On the left side, the bandages wrapping around his eye had a distinct crimson spot growing ever so slightly, giving a faint, metallic scent.

As a fresh breeze blew across the room, a dull scent of rot drifted out, warding off anyone and anything which drew close.

Alongside the sound of the clock ticking from the corner, a faint yet audible thumping, like someone tapping against the membrane of a drum, sounded throughout the room. Reaching for the source, it came from the boy’s chest.

Beads of sweat dripped down his body, bouncing the light from the moon spilling in through the window off of his skin, revealing a complexion as white as snow. Yet, despite his erratic heartbeat, his body was icy to the touch, lacking any signs of heat that a human should possess.

His breath was anything but calm, coming in ragged pants. With fists balled tight, his wilted body spasmed occasionally.

Beneath the layer of bandages around his eye, black veins crawled out to the surface of his skin, drawing various net-like designs against his pale skin.

As for the boy…

Spinning his head around, the boy found himself in a world made of darkness, with barely enough light for him to make out his surroundings. Rather, a lack thereof.

Looking at his feet, his eyes widened as his face turned beat red. From head to toe, he found himself in his birthday suit, lacking any and all clothes whatsoever. Instinctively, his hands reached for his crotch. With a wry smile, he looked around.

‘Phew, there was no one around me.’ The boy sighed with relief as his hand wiped his brows.

However, in the next instant, ‘Wait a second… Am I… falling?’ The boy shuddered before rocking his head from side to side, looking for something to grab onto. But a few restless moments later, he calmed down.

Despite any lack of a visible floor, he could feel a surface, smooth yet cold to touch, through his feet. A feeling similar to a floor made up of stone. Although still restless, he was a lot calmer than before.

Taking in his surroundings, on either side of him, he could make out two doors.

One of the two doors was pure white, as if made of marble. Golden carvings ran down its surface. Even at a distance, it appeared tall enough to allow at least three goliaths to pass through when stacked atop each other.

The other door was its replica, yet a total opposite. In a completely opposite direction, a door darker than the depths of the abyss, stood tall. It reflected no light that fell on it, causing it to appear as an outline. Even then, the set of golden patterns running down the black door’s surface, identical to the white door were undeniably present.

A strong current kept pulling him towards the door shrouded in black. However, it was not like a strong wind, as it didn’t make him breathless or made him feel as if something was pushing against him. Instead, it was like he was being pulled from every part of his being.

Something more than just a primal instinct kept telling him to reach out for the door made up of white and to stay as far away from the black door as possible. He had a feeling that if the current dragged him along, he would end up on the other side, never to see the light of the day ever again.

Like a drowning man, he tried his best to hold his footing.

Struggling to stand straight, he did his best to maintain balance. His gaze wandered around as he took in his surroundings. ‘What is this place? Where am I? But this place… it doesn’t feel forigen. As if I have been here or something.’

His head stopped moving as his gaze landed on the white door. An intense desire filled him as he wanted to go forward. Tearing his gaze from it, he looked at the door behind. His body turned icy as beads of cold sweat formed at his back. Mechanically shifting his gaze forward, he looked at the white door again.

After a few minutes, he took a step forward, towards the white door.

On trying to take the step towards the white door, he found the pull on himself gradually becoming stronger.

After only a few steps, he stood still. The pull rendered him unable to take another step. Rather than to risk his footing and get swept along, he stood there motionless.

Hours passed with barely any change in his position. Yet, beads of sweat dripped down his chest while his legs occasionally wobbled.

‘H-how long do I have to hold on?’ the boy thought.

Like a freezing drop of water, his meek struggles to keep holding on were coming to an impasse. He had a vague feeling that his body was growing transparent bit by bit. Shaking his head, he dismissed it as his imagination, but the cold sweat lining his brow betrayed his calm.