In the Umbral Forest
The snow did not fall here during winter.
Instead, the snow settled as if it was already here before winter and cloaked the hills in silence. Even the centuries-old trees seemed too weighed down to shiver.
This was the Umbral Wilds.
Technically, it was called the Umbral Forest, but no one who actually ventured this far used that name.
"Wilds" suited it better.
Untamed.
Uncharted.
It sprawled across nearly half of the Seventh Continent.Yet, for all its size, only 37% had ever been mapped, and the rest remained a mystery.
Seven stood there as he stared into the dense wall of trees.
The horizon vanished behind a snarl of frostbitten branches and smoke-colored fog along with his breath that formed a mist before disappearing back to the air.
'If the only way to save what's precious is to destroy it first… will you hate me for doing it?'
But inside his mind, he still remembered those words clearly, just as he remembered the way she carved out and pinned it to the wall.
His fingers brushed his chest unconsciously.
'Is she going to kill me again?'
He would not put it past her. But Eden was not reckless. She never did anything without calculation and purpose. If she wanted him dead again, she would not be wasting time standing here beside him.
Still…
It was strange. She had never once asked how he came back to life.
"Seven days."
Seven muttered to himself as he dragged a hand through his blackish-brown tousled hair.
"The grand expedition plan is to dump me here and hope I don't die?"
"I was younger than you when I survived a month alone, with nothing but a sword."
He stared at Eden like she had just told him to marry a bog hag.
"...Fudge. That's easy for you to say. I'm not—"
"You need to save yourself. Because one day, someone's going to try to take your life and I can't help you."
"You…"
He let out a slow scoff.
"You're the only one who wants to take my life under the pretense of protection."
His words drifted between them, and for a moment, he searched her face for anything: softness, regret, guilt.
But Eden's gaze remained cold, just like the snow around them.
"If you die out there, and it's not by my hands… I'll kill you."
Eden did not look at him as she said those words.
"...What?"
He received no response, as Eden crouched near the base of an old tree and brushed away the brittle layer of snow and loose leaves until her fingers found something embedded in the roots.
It looked like a floating bubble, about the size of a clenched fist, translucent and tinged with a faint blue light.
"A liquified zaen."
The bubble floated just above her palm.
"It forms when pure zaen collects and condenses in old roots. It's not much, but it's enough to keep your body from shutting down if your reserves dry out about twice."
Seven took it hesitantly, turning the strange floating bubble in his hand.
"But it won't last."
Eden continued.
"The moment you leave the Wilds' threshold, it'll evaporate. No one's been able to take it out."
He nodded absently. After all, it made sense: what was made for the Wilds would stay in the Wilds.
"Put it in your pocket. Drink it only when your throat burns."
Seven frowned and stared at his pocket.
"Won't it… pop inside?"
He asked the question with such a flat seriousness that, for a moment, Eden almost believed it was sincere.
Then again, with Seven, it was hard to tell.
She did not answer, thus silence settled between them once more; or at least, until Seven lifted both hands slightly with that same impassive look still painted on his face.
"Do I get a sword?"
That made her pause.
To be a Hart without a sword was unthinkable. For her, the sword was an extension of her breath and will. It slept beside her. It bathed with her.
It existed with her as necessary as her own heartbeat.
But Seven…
Seven treated it like an accessory like something you picked up when it was convenient.
'Who are you…?'
For a moment, she questioned Seven's identity.
Ever since that day— the day she killed him— he had notbeen the same. The voice was still his, the way he scratched his head still familiar. But the person beneath that skin kind of felt unfamiliar.
'Do you resent me?' is what she wanted to ask, but did not.
Instead, she said…
"How can you be a Hart without a sword?"
Step.
A group of five mercenaries emerged from the treeline ahead. Their formation was lazy with four that carried weapons, and one staggered behind with all the luggage like a porter.
Seven watched them.
But.
Eden suddenly hugged him.
It was not warm. It was not gentle. It was way too different from the first time she hugged him, where she could clearly feel her heartbeat from her chest.
This time, it was as if she had no heart.
And just as suddenly as she hugged him, she pulled away.
"See you in a week, my… lovely little brother."
"…Y-Yeah."
Step.
With a single step, Eden turned away and walked toward the northeast.
According to their rough maps, they were somewhere within the 10% explored zone of the Umbral Wilds right now.
In theory, there should be no serious threats here aside from beasts too wounded or weak to return deeper into the heart of the forest.
Grrr—
As if summoned by his thoughts, a wounded hyena limped out from the underbrush and positioned itself in Eden's path.
It growled, but its body shook with more fear than aggression. Its flank was gashed, and one of its legs dragged behind it uselessly.
But it did not matter.
It made the mistake of standing in her way.
Shrlk—!!
With the flick of her finger, a blade of frost shimmered into existence and cut clean through the hyena's body, slicing it in half so fast that it did not even cry out.
Eden did not flinch.
Step.
Instead, she stepped through the bisected corpse as if walking through tall grass.
"...Fudge."
Seven mumbled as he looked at Eden, whose the word 'mercy' seemed like not applied to her vocabulary. But technically, there's no way a frost empress would have any warm emotions.
Still, he smiled.
After all, given that there was no real threat in this area, he could just sleep and wait for seven days.
But just as he did, the group of mercenaries approached him.
"Hey, kid!"
The one with a massive axe sneered as he gestured to the bisected hyena.
"Didn't your elders teach you not to steal other people's hunt?"