Chapter 280


    “Don’t underestimate me. I can do it, you know!”


    “Don’t make meugh, Cain. What are you going to catch, a whale?”


    The man scoffed and ruffled Cain’s hair. Imposing with his bushy beard and thick arms, he was Cain’s father and the vige’s top hunter.


    At twelve years old, Cain was like most boys his age, trying to prove his worth through heroic feats.


    “So what if I catch one?”


    “Hmph… If you do, I’ll give you the golden dragon’s egg from the storage. It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”


    “There are only dried fish and firewood in the storage! Do you think I’m a fool?!”


    “Well, it sounds as absurd as a ten-year-old boy catching a whale. Ah, I’ll also give you a fairy I caught at sea recently. Hahaha!”


    The manughed heartily, hisughter echoing through the house. Cain, red-faced and fuming, spoke up.“Just you wait. I will definitely catch a whale bigger than our vige.”


    “Cain. If such a thing gets caught on a fishing line, we’re all doomed. Dear, talk some sense into him.”


    The man stoppedughing and looked toward a corner of the room. There, a heavily pregnant woman was sitting by the warm stove, caressing her swollen belly every time the rocking chair creaked.


    “You don’t need to be so tough. You’ll be a great older brother, Cain.”


    “Ugh…!”


    The woman smiled kindly. Inside her crescent-shaped eyes, her scarlet pupils glimmered. Cain furrowed his brow, clearly hit by her words.


    “That’s not it. How can an unborn baby have anything to do with me…?”


    “Everything has its time. In a few years, you’ll surely be as good a hunter as your father. Even now, your skills in preparing game are the best among your peers.”


    “…Hmph, even if you brought everyone in the vige, they wouldn’t be able to match me.”


    Cain bit his tongue. In reality, his knife skills were exceptionally sharp for his age. He could finish preparing a seal faster than his father.


    “True. I’ll admit that. I saw you sneakily once and you looked like a little devil. You handle a knife better than yourte grandfather.”


    His father, who had been teasing Cain, nodded in agreement. Cain red at him with his cheek puffed out.


    “What’s with calling me a devil, Dad?”


    “Hahaha, when your little brother is born, teach him well. By the way, have you picked a name?”


    “Ah…”


    The mother asked, having previously granted Cain the right to name his sibling. Cain, who had been silent, finally spoke.


    “…Abel.”


    “Abel. That’s a beautiful name… Oh.”


    The woman suddenly stopped, feeling something nudging inside her belly. Her husband’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw her reaction.


    “Did it kick?”


    “Yes. I guess it likes the name. Cain, what does it mean?”


    “I don’t know. I just came up with it on the spot.”


    Cain quickly turned away. In truth, he had spent day and night pondering the name ever since he heard the suggestion. Feeling embarrassed, he grabbed a harpoon that was lying by the door.


    “Anyway, I’m d you liked it. I’m going fishing now!”


    “It’s sote, where are you going?”


    Bang! Cain fled the house, pretending he didn’t hear. His mother sighed as she looked at the closed door.


    “That child…”


    “Let him be. He probably doesn’t want to look weak in front of his sibling. I wonder who he takes after.”


    “Well, he may not be honest, but he definitely takes after you in that regard.”


    “Hmph… Is that so?”


    The man awkwardly stroked his beard. Leaning over, he caressed his wife’s belly.


    “Well, despite all this, your brother will be a great person. Abel might even catch a whale bigger than our vige someday. After all, he’s my son.”


    “Look at that.”


    The woman smiled. The howling north wind could be heard through the wooden walls. Cain, trudging through the snowyndscape, looked up.


    “My little brother.”


    The starry sky, clear and devoid of clouds, shimmered like a sea of stars. The Milky Way, stretching from east to west, scattered colorful nebe in a mystical disy.


    asionally, falling meteors drew slender streaks across the sky. Although the northern lights were absent, Cain, who loved stargazing, preferred nights like this. He nced back at the vige, now quite far away.


    At this distance, it shouldn’t be audible. Closing his eyes and sping his hands, he whispered to the sky.


    “Stars, please. Let my sibling be born healthy. Also, let Mom give birth without any problems, and even though Dad can be a bit annoying, he’s a good person, so please let his hunting go well.”


    It was a wish he made every day since his mother became pregnant. Although he acted tough, Cain loved his family more than anyone. His kind mother, strong father, and soon-to-be-born sibling were all part of that love.


    ‘I’ll be the first to teach him how to handle a knife. I’ll teach him fishing and how to find his way by looking at the stars.’


    Cain smiled as he imagined the near future. Although he didn’t show it, he was ready to be a respected older brother. His secret stash already contained small tools he had made for his sibling.


    “…Shall I head back?”


    After a long period of praying, Cain stood up. As he brushed the snow off his knees, suddenly the world became intensely bright. He looked up, puzzled.


    “What’s that…?”


    Cain’s eyes widened. A bright, zing object was descending at an angle. The fiery mass, burning through the atmosphere, resembled a star from the night sky.


    “Oh, no!!”


    The problem was that the strange star was falling straight toward the vige. Cain’s face turned pale. He threw the harpoon and began to run, but the star was already rmingly close to the vige.


    The shadow of the long houses stretched to his feet. The vige engulfed in light was disintegrating. Cain tried to shout.


    Kwaaaang—!!!


    The deafening explosion felt like the world was turning upside down, and Cain’s consciousness faded.


    ****


    “…Did everyone die?”


    Ronan, who had been listening to the savior’s past, couldn’t help but ask. Even in front of the giant’s corpse, he was engrossed, losing track of time. Perhaps due to his long life, his storytelling skills were exceptional.


    “Yes. No one survived. Except for me, who was far from the scene.”


    The savior nodded. Although it was a distant, truly distant past, he still felt as if he could vividly see the situation when he closed his eyes. His eyes, shimmering between hisshes, were filled with sorrow.


    “Damn.”


    Ronan twisted his lips. Even though it was a past event, he couldn’t shake off the unpleasant feeling. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.


    “Wait a minute. How does this Abel rte to everything? He ims to be a twin with his father?”


    “It’s both true and not true. By the way… it feels quite strange to hear it now.”


    “Huh? What do you mean?”


    “You just called me ‘Father’ for the first time.”


    “Ugh.”


    The savior smiled. Ronan furrowed his brow. It wasn’t intentional, and it was just a slip of the tongue. Embarrassed, he muttered.


    “Damn it, so what happened next?”


    “I was about to tell you. So…”


    ****


    “Huff…!”


    Cain opened his eyes. His body felt as cold as if he had juste out of the water. He remembered the falling star colliding with the vige but couldn’t recall what happened afterward.


    “Th-the vige… Ugh.”


    Suddenly, Cain, trying to get up, gritted his teeth. Unbearable pain, especially in his legs, red up like fire. With his head slightly raised, he gasped.


    “My legs…!”


    His legs were twisted in grotesque directions. White bones, presumably from his shin, were sticking out through his pants. Even though it was his own body, he felt nauseated. Overwhelmed by intense pain, Cain screamed.


    “Kaaaaah!!”


    The agony was so severe he couldn’t even breathe properly. Every time he twisted his body, the pain intensified. Urine leaked from his weakened dder, staining his pants.


    “Huff, huff…”


    Cain regained some semnce ofposure after repeatedly fainting and waking up. His body, reaching its limit, had numbed to the pain. His parents’ faces shed before his eyes.


    “Mom… Dad…”


    Cain cried out the names of his family, but there was no response. Despair enveloped his face as he looked around.


    “No, no…!”


    He had fallen into a wide, deep pit. It didn’t take long for him to understand the situation. This was precisely where the vige had been. Starlight seeping through the tiny hole showed just how deep the pit was.


    Surviving the fall from such a height was a miracle. Even though he had barely survived, there was no sense of joy.


    Around Cain were remnants of what once made up the vige and its people. Broken beams, charred bone fragments, his father’s harpoon, and a familiar-looking box.


    “What’s this…?”


    Cain’s gaze fell upon the box, and he clenched his fists. Inside the half-open box were small fishing rods and pocket knives—tools he had prepared for his younger brother.


    “Ah… Aah…”


    His vision became clouded with tears. He buried his head in the ground, his voice breaking as he cried out:


    “Abel…!”


    His heart felt as though it were shattering into pieces. His younger brother was denied the right even to be born. He would never get to teach him how to fish or show him how to skillfully butcher game.


    ‘Stars. Damn stars.’


    The sound of bones cracking filled Cain’s mouth as he bit down in anger. The sadness that had given way to rage consumed him. The days he spent praying to the stars now felt like a cruel joke.


    “Ah.”


    While Cain was scratching the ground with his nails, suddenly his vision spun and his strength ebbed away. It seemed he had lost too much blood.


    So, this is it. If it took my family, then it will take me too.


    At this point, a bitterugh reced his tears. Cain closed his eyes. With his legs so damaged that he couldn’t move, he saw no hope for survival. As his consciousness grew dim, a voice suddenly spoke to him.


    “Such bitterness.”


    “What?”


    The voice was deep and rumbling, like that of a whale. Cain hadn’t noticed the presence of anyone else in the pitch-ck depths of the pit until now.


    “Is someone there?”


    He asked, but there was no reply. After a moment’s hesitation, Cain turned his body. Though his legs were useless, he managed to crawl with his arms. As he moved, the broken bones in his legs scraped against the ground, making a sickening sound.


    Blood from his wounds left a crimson trail behind him, but his numbed senses didn’t hinder his movement. He didn’t understand why he was making the effort; he knew there was no hope left.


    “What is this?”


    Soon Cain arrived at the source of the voice. His eyes widened in disbelief. He seemed to be seeing things, as if in a hallucination. A giant, human-shaped figure was embedded in the ice wall.


    The giant, with its snow-white skin and four pairs of wings, bore signs of burns and injuries. Cain instinctively realized that this giant was the same as the falling star he had seen.


    Blood, an unusually deep blue, flowed from the giant’s wounds. It created arge pool beneath it, almost like a hot spring.


    Cain, still breathing heavily, managed to speak.


    “…What is this?”


    The pool of blue blood, steaming even in the freezing cold, resembled a hot spring. As he looked up at the giant’s body, his vision suddenly darkened, and his body tilted forward.


    “What?”


    Before he could react, Cain fell into the pool with a ssh. The warmth of the blue blood was overwhelming, far hotter than anything he had ever experienced. He found himself sinking deeper into the pool.


    His thoughts briefly flitted to the desire to return.


    As his vision faded, he felt himself slipping away.


    “Brother, wake up.”


    “Umm…”


    He opened his eyes, feeling as if he had just woken from a long sleep. The air on his cheek smelled of the sea. As he sat up, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.


    “···What?”


    His body no longer ached. Looking down, he saw that his limbs werepletely healed. The wounds that had covered his body were now gone.


    Before him was the pit where he had been lying. Its bottom was out of sight, and its depth was impossible to gauge.


    Everything that had happened felt like a dream. Suddenly, a young voice spoke next to him.


    “Brother, I’m cold.”


    “What?”


    It was the same voice he had heard before. Cain quickly turned his head. A young boy, no older than ten, was squatting nearby and staring at him.


    “You… you are…”


    “What should we do now? Hmm?”


    Cain was frozen. The boy looked exactly like him. The white hair and crimson eyes were unmistakable—traits only a sibling could share.


    His heart raced. Cain, still catching his breath, spoke without thinking.


    “···Abel?”