episode_0186

A scene that, despite the passage of time, had not faded. Even the scent of spring carried by the wind had settled deeply within the girl’s heart. Now, it was a moment rarely remembered.

“Always remember, Irene.”

A hand gently stroked her head. Teacher-nim was quietly smiling. Back then, she had turned her head away, disliking the nagging, but now even that had become a cherished memory. The girl, feeling the burning sensation in her fingertips, continued her reminiscence.

The voice continued. “As you live, there will come a moment when you want to give up.”

A gently echoing sentence. Words that had lifted her up every time she faced a frustration that threatened to shatter her life. Beyond the aged echo, lay the life of a certain fox. And it often proved her youth at the time.

“Irene.” “The world is a dawn where storms rage.” “No matter how desperately you try to run, misfortune will eventually find you.”

Tenderness welled up in the wrinkled eyes. The old man, lying on his sickbed, struggled to sit up and continued speaking. “It will hurt. You’ll be scared, sad, lonely… perhaps you might even want to collapse.” “You might even be forced to kneel before the raging storm.” “Life is like that.”

“But, Irene.” “This Teacher wishes for you not to yield.” “Be a person who does not bow.” “Keep your head held high, even in the face of a raging storm.” “Be a person who can wield a sword.”

“It’s fine if you are blocked by an unreasonable existence.” “It’s fine if everything about you is denied, and only wretched trembling remains.” “Just do not bend what you believe is right.” “Be a pine tree that fiercely resists, rather than a reed that bends with the wind.” “This is the sword I taught you.”

“Swing your sword towards the storm.” “Leave behind spineless comfort and be the first tree to break.” “This is your Teacher’s final lesson.” “What is most important cannot be seen with the eyes.” “You must always see with your heart.”

“Even at a dawn of crashing waves, life continues.” “Just as ancient navigators found their way by looking at the stars, life needs a direction to move forward.” “Therefore, Irene.” Teacher-nim said so. That voice still remained in a corner of her memory. It became a landmark on a path filled only with wandering, supporting the weak girl.

It was an eternal moment. “Find your own star.” Only after night had passed. The fox lived her own star.

***

Silence. ‘······.’ As if night had fallen over the entire world. In the center of a serene stillness, Irene stood alone, treading on darkness. A dawn where even the blue moonlight was obscured by hazy clouds. Her vision seemed to sink entirely into pitch black.

“Hah, hah…!” Rough breaths could be heard. Short, gasping breaths repeated as if they would give out at any moment. However, those wretched breaths were not the girl’s. They belonged to the hounds.

“Cough…!” Suddenly, a hound collapsed onto the floor. Its upper body, separated from its lower half, drew a graceful arc. Following that, a splatting sound occurred, and blood burst forth. The chunks of flesh stained the corridor red, and the metallic scent of blood violated the spring fragrance. Flames blazed.

“······.” Irene shook off the blood soaking her sword. Her gaze was unwavering. Around her, several assassins had already fallen. The grand, wide corridor was blocked by the sword of a single girl. Her black eyes gazed indifferently at the opposite side. There, were.

“Damn it! Where did such a monster come from…!” “Don’t approach carelessly. You’ll die.” “There are already seven…!” Hesitantly. The hounds, unable to approach, maintained their standoff. They all seemed to be crushed by the atmosphere. The fox’s presence was that intense.

“······.” And the man hiding behind the hounds. The businessman was biting his lip. “Damn it…!” It was understandable that he was fuming. Mere beasts, just hired for money, dared to block his path. Furthermore, his escorts were losing their grip, so his sense of humiliation must have been even deeper. Irene uttered no words towards his contorted expression. She merely fixed an indifferently serene gaze upon him. As if looking down on a piece of trash.

“How dare, a mere lowly commoner…!” Knowing that her gaze was a greater insult than a hundred words. Irene looked down at the man with cold, indifferent pupils. As if no one feared him. As if he was nothing. The businessman’s shoulders slumped under the weight of humiliation.

‘This is strange.’ Irene showed no particular reaction. She felt no need to. It was a peculiar sensation. The girl’s heart was utterly peaceful. Even in her sword path, which would normally waver, only gentle ripples shimmered. She simply breathed.

“Find your own star.” Clink. She readjusted her sword. Her palm gripped the hilt. A tingling sensation spread through her entire arm. If she closed her eyes, a faint voice soon shimmered. It was the voice of the star that had come to protect the fox’s side at some point. The star asked.

“My fox.” “Do you truly intend to end your story?” No. The girl shook her head. Her own story was not over. It was merely about to begin.

‘I will simply return the night to the night.’ The fox welcomed a morning filled with light. Even at dawn, life continues. If she did not lose the meaning she cherished, the cherished scenery would never break. She would simply step on a handful of will and move towards tomorrow. The girl was no longer a seventeen-year-old trapped in a cage. She was neither weak nor fragile.

“Then I ask.” “If this moment is the beginning, in what direction will your story proceed?” “After wandering through a terrible night, experiencing frustration, and falling… even returning it in the end.” “What was the star you found on your long journey?” “What do you wish to make your star?”

Star. It was a word that had made her ponder for a long time. And now, it was a question for which she had formulated a complete answer. The girl silently pronounced herself. She spoke of life. ‘I am…’

She had gone through countless answers over time. What is a star? At first, she thought it was those by her side, the things she wanted to protect. At another time, she defined it as life and the sword itself. To the same question, the fox had given a different answer every time. And this answer, too, was different from before.

“Irene-yang.” “Because I will never abandon you.” A star, is life. More precisely, the guiding point that life looks up to. My star, to me, my star was you.

The fox held a soft whisper. ‘Yuda Snakers.’ She savored that tender resonance. Ominous, sometimes mischievous… but always a kind boy. The savior of her world, or her life, which had been blocked by iron bars. A gentle smile like spring seeping into winter. ‘He is my star.’ The fox chose him as the light she would fully gaze upon. Her unhesitating answer satisfied the star. The star affirmed the fox’s star.

“That is your answer.” “To the light nestled in the night sky, reverence.” “Dawn will remember your constellation.”

Crackle-! Sparks flew from her fingertips. Following the tingling thrill that spread, a faint glow enveloped her sword. The halo of light spreading beyond the flames colored the night brilliantly. The sense of omnipotence grasping the sky gradually deepened.

“And, I pray.” “That you may live fully in your dawn.” The next moment. The fox lifted her closed eyelids. Sacred light resided in her pupils. The clouds parted, and the world praised the birth of a new star. The enveloping pure white traversed the scene of falling stars.

“What is that, now…?” “Shit! Everyone, don’t just stare, run!” “It’s too late, already…!” An overwhelming scene. Before long, the blood color faded, and pure white stained the surroundings. Even the blazing flames now pulsed with the pure white. That flawlessness left its name in the high heavens. A constellation drawn in the night sky.

“······Ah.” Someone’s exclamation spread. Following the flames, her hair was similarly stained pure white. The fox’s eyes shimmered with white. Finally, it was the light of the star she had reached. Its name was.

‘White Phosphorus.’ The chorus of stars protected the fox. Her focus was solely on the sword. The sword blade, burning white, brightly illuminated the dawn darkness. The girl walked amidst the scattered fragments of starlight. As if telling the beginning, she parted her lips. Towards the strangers standing before her. “Welcome, to my star.” A softly whispered single phrase. No one could resist. However, even the sky, splintering into tens of thousands of pieces by the starlight, was merely beautiful. The raging flames melted flowers and seasons, bringing an intact tomorrow into today.

Subsequently, a white thread-like line cut through the strangers. —–! It was the same as before. A strike that produced no sound. But for a moment, the world split. The businessman and the hounds, who had unilaterally met the straight line. They remained momentarily dazed, only belatedly realizing they had been cut. Simultaneously, the sky divided into thousands of pieces.

“······Vanish, into your night.” Her lips barely trembled. Only then did the belated slicing sound resonate grandly. Swish-! Subsequently. Pure white flames engulfed the strangers. Leaving not even the slightest trace. So that they would no longer exist in the girl’s night. A vivid euphoria settled with the overheated stillness. Irene faced.

“······.” The silence. The dawn that had returned at the end. In the girl’s world, no past remained. Only the starlit dawn beyond the horizon existed. The fox simply stood motionless. Whoosh-. In the wind-swept field. Pure white. Sword. Life. You. Flames. Charring. Fox constellation. And, with the star. The girl welcomed the morning.