The silence was like a knife, carving an eerie shape into Nicole's mind.

As she passed the first cross-shaped gravestone, she noticed the eroded surface that resembled a decaying face. The expression of agony twisted into a terrifying shape, as if screaming, as if accusing.

She turned her head away, not wanting to look anymore.

White mist coiled around her feet, bringing a piercing cold that urged her to keep moving.

Kuro, in his black panther form, followed closely behind her, his deep purple eyes vigilantly observing their surroundings.

The chilling mist made him sneeze. He realized that it was colder here than the last time he came alone.

Something ominous was gathering here. Kuro couldn't sense what it was exactly.

At that moment, Nicole suddenly stopped.

They were standing next to an open space that looked like a small plaza.

In the center of the plaza was a damaged fountain, its stone sculpture completely collapsed, leaving only two moss-covered legs standing amidst the rubble.

"Nicole?" The black panther looked up at the girl, seeing sweat trickling down her cheeks.

She stared at the dry fountain as if she had seen something terrifying.

It wasn't the swirling white mist, nor the wandering ghosts.

It was living people.

Under the flickering light, a few figures passed by the fountain, accompanied by cheerful laughter. More and more people appeared around the fountain—children playing, couples snuggling for a rest, travelers hurrying by.

In that moment, the burst of sunlight seemed to tear through time and space. The clear water in the fountain reflected the brilliant light, answering the call of the sky.

The aroma of roasted meat and honey wafted through the air, and the plaza was bustling with activity.

Nicole was stunned by the scene before her, at a loss for words, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"Hey, Kuro... I see... What is this..."

Kuro did not respond to her.

Nicole turned her head and discovered that Kuro, who had been by her side, was nowhere to be seen. She stood alone in the bustling plaza, overwhelmed by the noise of the crowd.

Panicking, she began to search the plaza blindly for any sign of Kuro. Unable to find him, she bumped into two strangers in quick succession.

Nicole apologized repeatedly, but the others paid her no mind, as if they couldn't see her at all.

It was then that she realized the people around her weren't really people—they were more like some kind of projection.

She couldn't touch them at all.

Suddenly, a woman's voice caught Nicole's attention.

"Stop following me!" the woman cried sharply. The harsh rejection made the boy standing in front of her look even more desolate.

"Why?" the boy asked, unwilling to give up, looking up at her. "I promised your father I would always protect you."

"Your duty ends today. Why can't you understand?"

"That's not for you to decide!"

The argument between the two grew louder and louder. Nicole unconsciously walked toward them until she saw the faces of the boy and the woman.

It was the familiar face of the boy she had seen many times in her dreams. At this moment, his deep purple eyes were filled with confusion and anger.

The woman had a face remarkably similar to Nicole's own. The only difference between them was the span of years.

This can't be... Nicole couldn't believe that the woman was herself.

But...

Their argument broke her train of thought. She knew she couldn't stop what was happening and could only watch helplessly.

"Go with your father and leave this place," the woman finally commanded, but it wasn't enough to sway the boy.

"I don't want to go with him. I know you're going to Northsail, and I'll go with you."

"Northsail is not a place for werewolves. It's not like this remote town. The people who reject you there will have the strength to kill you. You won't be able to protect yourself there." The woman seemed to lose her patience. "And do you know why I'm going to Northsail? To get married! I'm getting married!"

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The word "married" was the only thing that shook him. His two decades of living in the human world had made him fully understand the meaning of this word. But he had never thought that this ceremony would happen around him, and certainly never thought it would happen to the person he liked, with the groom not being him.

He froze, his mind filled with images he couldn't imagine and didn't want to see.

Just then, a third voice appeared beside them.

"Irene?" A refined man walked toward them, gently calling out a name.

The woman called Irene turned her head. When she saw him, she seemed to relax slightly, but then spoke with a hint of reproach, "Volker, why are you so late?"

"Sorry, there were some matters to attend to at the merchant guild," Volker apologized, feeling a bit guilty as he removed his round hat. Then, he met the boy's hostile gaze.

Volker didn't back down. "Hello, young man, nice to meet you. I'm Irene's fiancé. My name is Volker Edis, president of the Black Reef Merchant Guild."

His tone was courteous, yet as cold as ice.

The boy remained silent, just staring at Volker, cautiously taking a step back.

Irene was too familiar with this action, as several times before he had stepped back, transformed into a panther, and launched an attack. She sensed that he might do something dangerous to Volker, so she stepped forward to stand in front of Volker.

This protective gesture pained the boy. What she said next was even more heartbreaking.

"Leave this place, go where you belong." There was a hint of pleading in her voice. "Don't come to see me again, I beg you."

"Where I belong... isn't it supposed to be by your side?" The boy's voice trembled slightly. "Irene, don't go, don't leave me."

Volker could no longer tolerate the drama unfolding before him. Abandoning his earlier gentleness, he mocked harshly, "I've heard you're over forty years old, right? Because you're a werewolf, you still look like a child. I expected you to have the maturity that comes with age, but it turns out you're just a little brat. It seems you've lived for decades and still haven't weaned. Do you not understand what Irene is saying?"

These words enraged the boy, his anger spreading like the mist around him. He looked up, glaring at Volker with hatred.

His gaze was as fierce and venomous as that of a furious beast, sending chills down Volker's spine. Yet he still refused to back down.

Irene had seen that mist before—it was a sign that he was about to transform. She couldn't allow a fight to break out here. Even if it meant breaking his heart, she had to sever their relationship completely.

Clenching her fists, her nails dug into her palms, causing sharp pain.

Without hesitation, she stepped forward and, before he could transform, delivered a resounding slap across the boy's face.

It was the first time she had ever truly hit him.

She donned her coldest mask, her voice low and resolute as she commanded, "Get out of here and disappear from my life. I don't want to see you again."

The boy looked at her in disbelief, his eyes welling up with tears.

That cold and unfamiliar gaze pierced his heart.

He fought back the tears, and before they could fall, he disappeared from her sight.

Irene watched his retreating figure, tears streaming down her face.

"Go on, to the world where you belong... back across the Black Jade Sea, back to your people..."

Volker watched her, feeling a pang of sadness. "It seems you care for him more than I thought."

Irene's eyes flickered at his words. "To me, he is nothing more than family."

"What kind of family? A brother? A son?" Volker speculated maliciously. "Or is he a forbidden lover, someone you can never touch?"

Irene wiped the tears from her face and turned to him, her expression serious and displeased. "He and I have never been in that kind of relationship."

"What kind of relationship? Which one are you denying?" Volker gave a bitter smile, then embraced Irene, his voice filled with deep frustration. "Irene, tell me, why do you like him more than me? Even agreeing to marry me was just to drive him away. It doesn't feel like I've won at all."

"You have already won, Volker." Irene gently hugged him back, as if the world in her eyes had lost its color. "He will never come back. I will go to Northsail with you and be your bride."

The plaza remained bustling and noisy, with no one noticing the couple embracing there.

The man's deeply affectionate embrace concealed the woman's desolate sorrow.

Only Nicole saw this, her heart churning with tumultuous waves.

The tides of memory washed against the empty shore, bringing countless fragments that had once disappeared into the sea of time...

A long-forgotten name took root and sprouted from the buried soil of her memory, quickly growing into a towering tree. Every swaying leaf tugged at her nerves, and every vein seemed to flow with those two syllables.

[Shinya...]

"What's your name?" The little girl leaned in close to the little boy, curiously observing his beautiful purple eyes, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Such a beautiful color."

The black-haired, purple-eyed boy uncomfortably pushed her face away from his, "Can you not get so close to me? Besides, didn't I just tell you my name a few days ago? You forgot already?"

The little girl smiled sheepishly, "Your name is a bit tricky to remember. Say it again, please."

[Shinya...]

"Wake up!!" The girl mercilessly yanked the boy's blanket off. "Get up, you lazy cat! Don't you remember there's class at the academy today?"

She tugged the pillow from his arms, trying to pull him out of bed.

"I'm not a lazy cat, I have a name, you know? Dare to call it out so I can hear?" His deep purple eyes opened slightly as he lay in the soft morning light, gently gazing at her. He looked very much like a cat seeking attention.

The girl was momentarily entranced.

[Shinya...]

At the funeral, the girl stood at the front of the crowd, dressed in a black dress that seemed too mature for her age. Her red, swollen eyes were lifeless, seemingly watching the coffin being slowly buried by the earth, yet also seeing nothing at all.

Suddenly, a warm right hand tightly grasped her cold left hand.

"From today on, I will protect you in his place."

The boy stood shoulder to shoulder with her, making this vow.

She turned her head, staring blankly at the boy's handsome profile, while he seemed to be looking at something far beyond.

"Thank you."

[Shinya...]

"What is the meaning of kuro?" she asked curiously, lying beside the boy.

The girl had grown into a graceful young woman, while the boy looked more like a younger brother.

The boy lay on the grass, hands behind his head, gazing at the deep night sky. "In the language of the werewolves, it means black."

"Like the color of your hair," the girl said, rolling over to lie next to him, their heads touching.

"And your name? What does Shinya mean?" she asked.

"Shinya," he said, reaching out toward the night sky. "It means midnight, the pitch-black night."

[Shinya...]

Nicole snapped out of her past memories, her heart calling out the long-lost name.

Shinya, Shinya!

She started to run, frantically searching through the crowd for the lost figure.

"...Shinya!"