“There’s something strange written on it!”

Something strange?

With a suspicious title, Kün stopped for a moment.

“Unbelievable, blood, blood…!”

“What is this, not a self-harm letter! Disgusting!”

Adults who rushed over to check the paper bird after hearing the child’s cries began to express their shock one by one.

Kün, who had been listening to the story, treated it as a trivial matter.

‘This must be something the back-alley guys made.’

His hypothesis, relying on experience, seemed quite plausible.

When his interest in the incident waned, he shifted his gaze.

“I-I’m still alive, so don’t worry!”

The deep voice from behind once again grabbed his ankles.

“I’m still alive, so don’t worry.”
Normally, it would be considered a signal sent to the leader of the Dark Guild. A note written in blood, such a gruesome idea that one could hardly think of unless they were someone associated with that place.

However, strangely, Kün became curious about the note.

“Let’s read it.”

As he walked briskly forward, he snatched the note that people were passing around and read it.

“I am still alive, so don’t worry.”

The stroke length of the alphabet, the spacing between words, the tone that seemed to ooze the voice… Although written in blood and messy, it was undoubtedly hers. Clóe Fried. Clearly, it was a trace left by her.

“Where did you find this?”

“Uh, we-well?”

Grabbing the shoulders of the distracted child, Kün abruptly asked.

Based on the child’s tearful explanation, Kün headed for the back mountain of the village.

According to the child, he found it in the back mountain and played with it. Therefore, he decided to start searching from the discovered location of the paper bird in the back mountain.

Mocking his relatively easy harvest of clues, in fact, Kün found no other leads in the back mountain. Despite searching everywhere as if turning the mountain upside down, he couldn’t find any trace of Clóe, let alone another paper bird.

As Kün climbed to the top of the mountain, he finally took a thorough look around.

While checking if there was anything else to observe, a sudden sandstorm obscured his vision.

“Oh, yesterday, hic, the wind was blowing, hic, and a bird flew towards me, so I thought it was real and… Hic!”

The child said he thought the toy flying towards him through the wind was a real bird and approached it.

While pondering the story, Kün turned his head in the direction of the wind. Beyond the fluttering eyelashes that endured the fierce wind, another mountain came into view.

A forest made up of dense trees. The sun, high in the sky, did not seem to penetrate through the dense leaves, creating a profound space where no light seemed to reach.

“I am still alive, so don’t worry.”

At that moment, Clóe’s voice struck Kün’s eardrums as if inevitably pulling him towards that place.

Standing still in a daze, Kün clenched his fist as his palm closed.

The forest in front of him looked almost the same as the distant view. The reddish glow visible through the thick trees ate at his heart. It seemed to emphasize the limited time left as the setting sun gradually signaled the approaching darkness.

If Cedric’s designated ‘that time’ extended until midnight, this forest would be the last place Kün would search. In other words, this place was the last hope Kün could expect.

“I am…”

He gently held the paper bird he had carefully stored in his jacket pocket.

“I am still alive, so don’t worry…”

Having reached the edge of the forest, Kün started walking the path. It was an unfamiliar path, and the sun was not shining well, making it difficult to find the way. It was a challenging place to explore in various ways.

Considering the possibility of losing his way, Kün tied torn pieces of his cloak to the branches as markers.
This time, he approached the trunk of a large tree to tie the fabric. Thanks to the elaborate embroidery, it was discernible even from a distance.

As he tied the handkerchief and came down, something caught his foot. It felt much lighter than leaves or branches.

Suddenly, as he lifted his head, he saw a familiar pattern in front of him. It resembled the indoor dress that Clóe often wore.

Kün picked up a piece of fabric that seemed to bear traces of being tied somewhere. Carefully removing the overturned soil, he unfolded it, confirming the inside with the folded shape.

“There is a village under the forest. From there, you can hear the bell mixed with bird sounds.”

Familiar handwriting.

Coincidence overlapping twice, now he wanted to believe it was the truth.

The owner of the note in front of him must be Clóe, so he should follow this mark.

Tweet, sporadic bird sounds echoed in the silent forest. It was a clear chirping sound that did not blend with the rustling scenery.

Left in neglect in the silence, his ears, which had been muted, regained their function. Thanks to this, he immediately detected the clock sound that followed right after.

Dong—Dong—Dong—

It was the hourly alarm sound of the village clock tower.

Perhaps because of the note stuck in his hand, he instinctively leaned towards the clock sound.

Dong…

Beyond the gradually diminishing alarm sound, a beautiful bird song was heard again.

‘There.’

Finally.

‘From there, you can hear the bell mixed with bird sounds.’

Kün found the last clue.

Huff, huff, huff…

He couldn’t tell how much he had run.

Thump, the sound of a large heartbeat pounding into his brain interfered with his movements. In the dry mouth, a metallic smell rose. Even though he swallowed saliva, there was a nauseating smell.

Due to running without stopping, his ears were so hot that they felt like they would burst. The well-trained thighs and calves now complained of pain as if they were exhausted.

Having run tirelessly, he couldn’t find her in the forest. Whether she had dug into the ground or soared into the sky. Even after carefully inspecting for several hours, not a single strand of hair was visible.

Unable to devote everything in the remaining time, he left the forest.

The area welcoming him as he left the dense forest was so clean that it seemed strange. It was a barren wasteland, as clean as it could be in stark contrast to the forest he had just crossed.

Beyond a hill, a cabin came into view.

‘Clóe.’

Was he drawn by instinct again this time?

He crossed the hill as if convinced that Clóe would be there.

Only when he finally crossed the hill, when the cabin seen from afar became closer.

Dong!

The midnight alarm announcing his birthday rang loudly.

“Clo…”

And at the same time, the cabin was engulfed in flames.

“Cloé…!”