The Golden Haze of Their Love
The day after Layna slew Bayater, the Dwarf Allied Kingdom erupted in celebration. At last they had cut down the ancient monster long feared as the Calamity of the Snow Mountains. Layna was hailed as their hero. The Conductor of Emotions that Dagran had forged was likewise exalted as a holy sword and enshrined as a national artifact and relic.
Dagran, who had lived his entire life without a single title, drifting through each day in idle debauchery, received the honor of Master Artisan in one stroke and became an overnight celebrity.
The Orserk Empire stood in that age as something close to what we might call America today—its economic power, military strength, and cultural influence dwarfed every other kingdom. Dwarves of the era therefore idolized imperial women. Trade with the empire was brisk, giving them frequent chances to see such women, so the dwarves’ longing for them had reached its zenith. When Dagran accomplished that dream-like feat in plain view of everyone, he rose in a single year as the greatest blacksmith of them all, the very ideal of a man.
“Are you truly feeling nothing right now?”
Amid the festive clamor, Dagran and Layna sat side by side at a table, talking quietly. The subject was Layna’s emotions.
“Yes. Yesterday they surged like crashing waves, but today everything has returned to the way it was.”
Layna’s face remained utterly expressionless. Dagran rose, moved to the seat beside her, cleared his throat, and gently took her hand. Her shoulder gave a tiny tremble.
“What about now?”
“……”
Her face stayed blank, yet Dagran caught the faint shift. The corner of her mouth had lifted, just barely.
“It feels good. Comfortable. My heart is beating a little faster.”
“…Then I’m glad.”
They sat holding hands, smiling softly at each other. Even after the festival ended they talked deep into the night. Back home they shared simple snacks and cold beer, speaking without reserve about everything they had carried in their hearts.
“……That is my whole story.”
Dagran had told her everything. She had asked, once she awakened to her own feelings and began to wonder about the man beside her.
“…It must have been difficult for you as well, Dagran.”
Having heard it all, Layna felt an ache bloom in her chest. His life, too, had been stitched together with boredom and helplessness.
Explorer Dagran. He had once dreamed of becoming an explorer. From childhood his curiosity had been so fierce he could scarcely stay indoors. Unlike other dwarves, he felt no calling for the forge. His sole ambition was to become the first dwarf to circle the entire world. For years he collected maps, studied foreign cultures and languages, and threw himself into travel preparations.
“I’ll need some practice runs first!”
Once his preparations were reasonably complete, he began exploring the regions bordering the kingdom—from human villages beyond the mountains to unexplored caves in the snow peaks. Any place his feet could reach, he went.
Then one day he stumbled upon a mysterious cavern. It was packed with a type of mana stone he had never seen. He had discovered the first Emerald Mana Stone in dwarven history.
“I have to tell everyone!”
Why had no one found a cave of this scale before? Dagran raced home and announced the news. With his father’s permission he led servants and laborers back up the mountain, only to find nothing. Where the cave mouth should have been stood only bare rock.
No one at the time understood that the cave was a magical singularity appearing only at certain hours. So they laughed.
“Perhaps the young master was only seeing things?”
“Hahaha, he must have gotten too excited about his travels.”
“An emerald-colored mana stone? There’s no such thing.”
In a single moment he became a delusional patient, a liar. And as if to drive the nail deeper, they were ambushed by the snow demons that appeared because of that same singularity. More than half the men he had brought died in the attack.
“Cancel the expedition at once!”
From that day forward Dagran lived like a prisoner. Bearing the brand of liar and madman, he spent his days drowning in self-loathing and rage at the vanished cave, sinking into a meaningless, lethargic existence. That was when he turned to gambling, wild parties, and a hot-tempered nature.
“But it’s all right now. Everything changed the moment I met you.”
In the middle of that darkness he had encountered Layna. His lingering adventurer’s spirit drew him to the woman who had lived like a wandering mercenary. He grew curious about her.
“Maybe it wasn’t you who was saved—it was me. I said I would make you smile, but the truth is I wanted to smile again myself.”
Dagran gave a self-mocking, bitter laugh. Layna watched him with that still, expressionless face.
Then she spoke.
“My heart aches.”
She laid her hand over his on the table. Mana circulated; a hazy mist rose from her body as she continued.
“When you hurt… I hurt too.”
A deep, melancholy blue radiated around her—sadness, tragedy, despair, gloom. Yet the blue slowly bled into brilliant gold. Love. Hope. Courage. Mercy. Comfort. The color of hope blazed like the sun.
“Can you see my heart?”
Layna offered the faintest, almost invisible smile.
“The wounded you… I want to heal from now on. For the rest of my life, at your side.”
……
Layna, who had lived so long as an emotional cripple, chasing only money. Dagran, who had survived on suppressed rage and self-hatred. For the first time in years, Dagran felt his heart truly beat again. The same heartbeat he had known as a boy collecting maps with dreams of exploration had returned. He could dream once more.
“Now you are my dream.”
That night Dagran held Layna, and Layna held Dagran. They shared body heat and whispered every word of love they had stored up over time. Each kiss that confirmed their feelings felt like it melted away the hard knots inside their hearts. The broken parts of themselves that had never functioned properly could finally begin anew as whole people.
In this way they became each other’s dreams. The golden haze pouring from Layna’s body refused to fade. Just as the rising sun dyes the world in gold, their once colorless lives began to shine with the same warm light. They swore to cherish this small, precious world of theirs for a very, very long time.
It was a magnificent wedding. Three months later Dagran became the happiest man alive, and Layna the happiest woman. A natural smile now spread easily across her face; long effort had finally taught her to express emotion with some fluency.
“Stupid bitch…”
Yet among all the well-wishers, three faces remained twisted in displeasure: Kroto, Eguwa, and Arjie. They had been dispatched alongside Layna as escort knights for the Dwarf Allied Kingdom. While slandering her they had picked a fight with Dagran, beaten him, and received light discipline.
“Fuck. Because of that bitch we got our pay cut in half, and she’s over there living the high life.”
Beating Dagran had not been the true problem. At the time he was merely the flawed son of a dwarf chieftain, while they were sons of noble houses from the greatest nation on earth. The real offense was abandoning their duty and fleeing. While Layna faced Bayater alone, they had deserted their post protecting the dwarves. For that they suffered a fifty-percent pay reduction and stood on the verge of losing their knighthoods. Only their fathers’ lobbying had saved them from immediate discharge and a life of unemployment.
“Enough. We just need to finish the handover, pad our records, and leave. Don’t stir up more trouble.”
The only reason they had been allowed to return was the official “handover of duties.” They were to reside here three years, teaching young knights the geography of the snow mountains and the traits of its monsters before passing the mission on. No one knew the post better than they did, so under the pretext of a proper handover and a “sincere apology to the dwarves,” they had been permitted to come back.
“That bitch really lucked out. That short-statured oaf is the big man now. If he becomes king here, all she’ll have to do is wiggle her hips and keep him happy.”
On the surface they pretended remorse, but their malice had only deepened. To them it was absurd and repulsive that the very dwarves they had abandoned were now risking their lives to protect them. Worse, if Layna had died to Bayater they could have excused themselves by claiming it was an unstoppable monster. Instead her solo victory had made them look like cowards.
“Forget it. Just let it go. Fuck… it’s disgusting, but there’s nothing we can do.”
No amount of their anger changed anything. They had already been reassigned to a remote border garrison. Their only task now was to train imperial knights entering dwarf territory and send them onward to the capital. The now-famous Dagran and Layna were beyond their reach.
So they returned to the border carrying bitter hearts. No one at the time realized what tragedy their resentment would eventually unleash.
One year later, new life took root inside Layna’s womb. The love between Dagran and Layna had borne fruit.
“Hahahahaha! Layna! Thank you—thank you so much!”
Dagran was beside himself with joy. Layna, who had once believed she would live her whole life alone, wept happy tears at the knowledge that she would become a mother. Her emotional impairment had healed almost completely; she could now laugh and cry as naturally as anyone.
“But I’m sorry. Work is pressing at the moment, so let’s celebrate properly tonight!”
“Hehe. Of course, darling. I’m busy too.”
Both carried heavy responsibilities. Dagran had been appointed the King’s Advisor—a post every dwarf monarch passed through—and Layna had become commander of the dwarf knight order, teaching martial arts to the young.
“We must reinforce the border.”
Dagran repeatedly urged the dwarf king to strengthen their defenses. The king, however, remained skeptical.
“Hmm… Our budget is already stretched thin simply developing the mines. In this age of peace, isn’t border reinforcement a waste of funds?”
“……The empire is expanding its territory at a terrifying pace. Recently they have even drawn up plans to conquer the Shade Forest.”
“The Shade Forest…”
“The situation is gravely concerning. If they disturb that place, the sparks may fly to our own kingdom. At the very least we should prepare.”
The king nodded. From a conservative dwarf viewpoint, Dagran’s call for safety measures seemed reasonable.
“Very well. I appoint you supreme overseer.”
With royal approval, Dagran led a great host of laborers and attendants south. Layna accompanied him both to support her husband and to rest her body, settling at the border.
“Begin construction!”
Under Dagran’s direction the massive repair work commenced. Old wooden walls were torn down, new barriers rose, and siege engines were installed. Day by day the border grew stronger at remarkable speed.
“Monsters!”
But the empire’s advance was faster than anyone anticipated. And because a visionary like Dagran had risen to high office too late, they had far too little time. Before construction could finish, the monsters of the Shade Forest came flooding forth.
The tragedy began at that very moment.