The Fateweaver's Whim
It was 11:02 PM. For any ordinary company, the workday would have ended long ago. For Black Star—a company famous for never requiring overtime—the idea was laughable. Yet the building that Black Star’s president had brought us to blazed like a lighthouse against the night, even as midnight rushed toward us. The sight left me momentarily overwhelmed.
But the feeling passed quickly.
“Let’s move,” the president urged. I snapped out of my daze and followed him, only to be surprised once more.
The interior looked nothing like Black Star’s own building, nor like the sleek corporate towers typically shown in dramas. Unidentifiable sculptures and dolls filled the space—clearly characters from games or comics. Upon closer inspection, the art styles refused to unify. It was as if someone had gathered characters from dozens of different works and simply crammed them together.
The president had explained it to me once. “Many vampire clans operate companies the way Bloodycore runs Black Star. The place we’re visiting tonight is one of them. The difference lies in scale and history. Iplaybon is a true megacorporation. Novels, manhwa, dramas, films, games—they create stories in every possible medium.”
In short, a cultural content empire. Compared to Black Star, whose business stayed within the relatively narrow lane of women’s fashion, Iplaybon dominated a far vaster domain. With that kind of presence, it made sense that the company would hold significant weight in the background lore of Under the Blue Moon.
“The clan behind Iplaybon is Fateweaver. The person we’re meeting tonight is their master. Their tradition and legitimacy dwarf anything Bloodycore can claim. They aren’t the first clan, but they are the oldest still in existence.”
Just from the setting, the Fateweaver clan seemed to carry even greater importance than Bloodycore. Yet I had never heard either name before. As far as I remembered, the oldest clan in Under the Blue Moon was the Moonchaser clan in England. Even they existed only in lore and never actually appeared in the game, though their name came up often. In three full playthroughs, I had never once encountered anything called Fateweaver.
Should I treat them like Samgunhoe—a faction created exclusively for the werewolf scenario? The setting felt too detailed, the weight too heavy for that.
…Overthinking it wouldn’t give me answers. I stepped into the elevator after the president. He pressed the button for the twentieth floor and straightened his clothes.
“Let me be clear beforehand. Do not act insolent in front of her the way you do with me. She may look like a child, but she is more than a hundred years older than I am. Her influence in this world dwarfs mine. And… her personality is severely twisted. Watch yourselves.”
Complex emotions threaded through the president’s voice and eyes. I couldn’t list them all, but they clearly leaned toward displeasure.
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Good.”
The elevator climbed swiftly. When the doors opened on the twentieth floor, we were greeted not by a typical office but by something resembling a luxury hotel lobby. A deep red carpet stretched toward an ornate, antique door. On either side stood medieval plate armor that would make any man stop and stare, marble busts, and—scattered among the fine art—the same chaotic mix of character figurines I had seen downstairs.
The scene felt simultaneously luxurious and vulgar, welcoming and distant.
“Follow me.”
The president strode forward. We walked across the red carpet—which somehow made me feel as though we should have removed our shoes—and he pushed open the massive door.
Creeeeak—!
Even the sound of the hinges carried an antique weight. Inside the darkened room, a single girl sat waiting. She had hair of an unreal purple. When she saw us, her lips curved into a smile.
“I have been waiting, children. My name is Norn. Norn Fateweaver.”
She looked fifteen or sixteen at most. Racial features made it difficult to guess precisely, but her appearance was clearly that of a teenager. She simply looked young. It wasn’t only her face—her entire frame was petite, not gracefully slender but underdeveloped, as though she had never fully matured. Gentle curves suggested she had entered puberty, yet they remained modest. Her waist was strikingly narrow, and above it her chest—
“Why do you stare so intently, child? Do you wish to look upon my body?”
“…Pardon? I-I’m sorry.”
Because she was who she was, caution had made me observe too closely. I quickly looked away, only to meet Go Yu-jin’s sharp glare. I hurriedly shifted my gaze to the president instead.
“My apologies. It seems he grew overly tense after hearing my explanation of the situation.”
“Exactly how did you introduce me?”
“I spoke only the truth.”
The president wore a smile unlike any I had seen from him before as he lifted the glass on the table to his lips.
“You have a silver tongue.”
“I merely stated facts.”
“Hmph. They are your underlings, after all. I suppose they would not answer honestly even if I asked.”
“Underlings? What are you saying? These two are not servants. They are employees I have hired. We are not equals, but we share an equal relationship.”
“You always speak that way. Still… a magician is one thing, but a werewolf? You have acquired quite the rare specimen.”
Norn’s eyes began to study me. The gaze felt distinctly unpleasant—like I was being measured, evaluated, and judged all at once. After a long moment, she spoke again.
“Your name is Rin, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Where is your tribe?”
“…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I have no memories of it.”
It wasn’t a lie. I had possessed this body the instant the character was created and the game began. Instead of the proper cutscene explaining my race’s background, the gameplay knowledge, or the tutorial that should have given me an objective, I had been dumped straight into a back alley.
The president had accepted my honest admission with the words, “A werewolf? It’s like a golden pumpkin rolling in on its own vine.” Of course, he had probably investigated my background thoroughly. That was precisely why he chose to use me.
Since I had been truthful, I hoped he would explain on my behalf. The president obliged.
“That is what he says.”
“I see.”
Norn accepted the answer with surprising ease. Perhaps the president’s word carried enough weight.
“Next question, then. Do you have a mate? A female.”
She wiggled her pinky finger.
“…Excuse me?”
The bizarre question and gesture caught me off guard. While I fumbled for a response, Norn tilted her head.
“You do not?”
“No, this—”
“He does.”
Go Yu-jin answered for me.
“He does?”
“It’s me.”
“Truly?”
Norn looked at me for confirmation.
“Yes. She is my woman.”
“Oh-ho. In that case…”
Norn rested her right elbow on the table and sliced the tip of her index finger with her thumbnail. Blood welled up. It hardened instantly into the shape of a blade.
Blood Blade
“If I were to kill that woman, what would you do?”
Shocked, I shot to my feet and stepped in front of Go Yu-jin. I transformed into werewolf form at once. I felt her retreat behind me and grab my tail.
“If you lay so much as a finger on my woman, I’ll tear you to pieces!”
I glared at Norn and roared. The moment she spoke of killing Go Yu-jin, uncontrollable fury had exploded inside me. Norn merely watched with an amused smile, blade still raised.
I prepared to activate my only offensive skill—Shred. That was when the president spoke.
“Enough with the games.”
Two blood beasts now stood behind Norn, fangs bared at her neck. They looked ready to tear her throat out. A glance at the president revealed blood dripping from his own fingertips.
“I did not answer your summons simply to waste time on childish pranks.”
“The instant you attack me, war will erupt between our clans.”
“You struck first.”
“That is irrelevant. Besides, these two do not even belong to your clan, do they?”
“They are my people.”
Norn looked at him as though I had ceased to exist. A game? Trying to lay hands on my woman was a game?
“Grrrrraaaah!”
I could hold back no longer. I unleashed Shred at Norn—an attack that blended slashing and striking attributes. Simple, yet more than twice as powerful as a normal strike.
The attack never reached her.
She moved one finger. My swinging arm was severed mid-motion.
Slice—!
Burning pain flared as blood sprayed.
“Rin!”
Go Yu-jin snatched up my severed arm. “Y-your arm…!”
She looked lost, panicked, then bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
“Stop.”
I restrained her as she tried to charge forward, still clutching the severed limb. “Do as I said. Don’t think about anything else—just pick up my arm and hold it against the stump. My race has strong regeneration. It will reattach.”
With the president’s added instruction, Go Yu-jin crouched, trembling, and lifted the severed arm. Her hands shook violently. I lowered my stance slightly to make it easier for her. Even then, I never took my eyes off Norn.
The exchange had shown me the overwhelming gap in our power. Yet I had no intention of retreating. I simply focused on protecting Go Yu-jin rather than giving in to rage.
“Did you stop because of rational judgment? Or because you are afraid?”
“…”
“If you continue provoking these children, I will assume you desire conflict.”
The blood beast pressed its fangs against Norn’s nape.
“I understand, I understand. I may have gone a little too far. I apologize. I am truly sorry.”
Norn smiled and bowed her head toward me.
“Do not worry. I had no real intention of touching your woman. Consider it nothing more than an old crone’s spite—seeing happy young ones and wanting to tease them a little.”
Having said her piece, she turned her gaze back to the president. After a long stare, he sat down once more. The blood beasts dissolved back into liquid and vanished.
“We have taken up a great deal of time. Let us proceed directly to the main topic.”
“Very well.”
The discussion that followed was surprisingly mundane. Iplaybon wished to promote their magical girl properties and sought Black Star’s cooperation. Joint shows with their cosplayers, cameo appearances in commercials, adapting Double Melon’s story into manhwa, or adding her as a playable character in games—these were among the proposals.
No final decision was reached. The president said he would review the options positively. Norn replied there was no hurry and that he should take his time. That was all.
“It has grown quite late. We will take our leave.”
“Farewell. I hope we meet again, Angel. You children as well.”
“If the opportunity arises, we shall. Until then.”
We followed the president out of Iplaybon. Just before we reached the car, he asked,
“Is the arm all right?”
“Yes.”
It had already reattached. After leaving Norn’s room I had released my transformation and returned to human form. There was no pain, no loss of mobility. I demonstrated by flexing my fingers and rotating my wrist in front of him.
“It seems to have joined cleanly. Good. Perhaps thanks to your wife’s devoted nursing?”
The president’s voice carried a teasing lilt.
“Is now really the time for jokes? That bitch tried to kill Rin!”
“She did not try to kill him. If she had truly meant to, you would have died without even realizing death had come. Naturally, I would have intervened in such a case. Now get in. Let’s go home.”
I climbed into the car after the president.
“Why did that woman do something like that?”
The president, seated in the passenger seat, met my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Who knows? I don’t understand her either. I told you—she’s a nasty old hag more than a hundred years my senior.”
“Do vampires really dismiss cutting off someone’s arm as a mere prank?”
“There are humans who, out of spite, burn down houses, assault strangers, or throw acid. It is the same sort of thing. That old woman simply occupies a position where she faces little consequence for such behavior.”
“…”
“Still, I am sorry about today. I never imagined she would go that far. I allowed you to have a terrible experience.”
I did not tell him it was fine. He did not ask me to accept the apology. Silence stretched between us all the way back to Black Star headquarters. It continued as we stepped out of the car and entered the building.
“Given how today turned out, you will have some time to rest. We cannot know when another long break like this will come again, so rest thoroughly while you can. Enjoy yourself. That is all.”
“President.”
I caught him as he turned to leave. While he pivoted back toward me, I spoke.
“I want to become stronger.”
I had jumped straight to the conclusion without any preamble. The president looked at me and smiled. It was not mockery. The joy in that smile was so clear I could feel it in my chest.