The Shadow Hidden Beneath the Light
Shadows hidden beneath the light. The House of Gingerbread, a barrier created by Circe—or rather, Tinkerbell—relied on cognitive interference to compensate for its vulnerability to external impact. While it was true that Circe had created it without realizing she had weakened it due to the constraints Tinkerbell had placed upon herself while trapped in the dark prison of her own heart and soul, the structure wasn't so flimsy that a single bullet could shatter it. It was simply that one of the bullets fired by Pinochia had been so incredibly unlucky as to strike the caster, Circe—or more accurately, Tinkerbell, who had returned after her curse was lifted. It had become a monument to the history of embezzled construction funds and shoddy workmanship, collapsing from a single shot.
"Didn't you say you were going to do that stuff after you escaped into the forest?"
"We didn't. How could we drag you that far away in the blink of an eye? We were trying to finish quickly, but it took too much time."
"Why on earth would you make such a stupid decision? I thought you had already left the forest and run off somewhere far away to do your business."
"It’s thrilling, isn't it?"
Pinochia was left speechless by Hansel’s brazen answer and the sight of Gretel giggling beside him. They were siblings who had lived in a dangerous forest, befriending cold blades and sharp arrowheads, possessing the judgment to identify and deal with threats. Yet, their actions, tainted at the edges of their souls by carnal desire, were not always rational. The irrationality born of lust was enough to make anyone sick. However, the imperfect human heart is always multifaceted; perhaps that is the natural state of humanity. If such things were truly natural, they would be nothing but ugly, but what could she do? In the end, it was Pinochia herself who had chosen to play the role of the third sibling, a hunting dog for this beautiful yet hideous pair, all to gain a heart of her own.
"Ha, why did it have to be you two who made me realize what a heart is? It doesn't look like you're going to let us go from here, so we have no choice but to fight and win or run away. I don't want to die with a heart I've only just realized, filled with nothing but grief and resentment."
"Then I’m counting on you, little sister."
"Be careful not to get hit by your sister's arrows."
The two accepted the creature wearing their father's skin with such cheerfulness, deciding to fight together against the crisis. Perhaps it was because Tinkerbell’s eye for talent had chosen children with a certain boldness, or perhaps it was simply because they were mad heroes suited for a mad world. Or maybe the human skin made from the remains of Robin Hood was creating some kind of bond with his children. In truth, the reason didn't matter. If they didn't join forces, they wouldn't be able to survive the owner of the forest, who must be seething with rage beyond the crumbling barrier. And so, the three of them fought together.
Koo-goong!
As the outer wall of the House of Gingerbread shattered completely, the barrier vanished. New figures appeared in the place where Pinochia, Hansel, and Gretel had been fighting moments ago. The first to be seen were those who, at least, held the form of humans. They were the unfortunate adventurers who had ventured into a dangerous place, only to be caught by the Sleeping Witch—who had awakened in a murderous rage due to the fire caused by the clash between Robin Hood and the Queen’s subordinates. No, they were those who had been adventurers.
Have you heard the story of an old couple who turned into trees together at the moment of their death? If there is no disaster, a tree that stands tall in one place for centuries—standing firm until the rise and fall of a nation—can signify eternity. It sounds quite romantic, the story of turning into a tree to guard a place forever. However, if you were to see those turning into trees here and now, the dreams and romance you once held from those old tales would be crushed into dust.
The adventurers, who had been fleeing in terror after seeing the fire started by Robin Hood’s battle, were captured by the forest. They followed the common trope of the innocent being framed and punished simply for being in the wrong place when something terrible happened. One of them had transformed into a horrific sight.
"Ki... kill me..."
A man whose body was entwined with thorny vines had reached a point where his clothes, skin, and the brown bark of his mutated body were indistinguishable, and his hair was turning into green leaves.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Bang! Bang!
Gretel’s two arrows didn't just pierce their targets; they flew with a light that shattered everything they touched, striking the head and chest of an adventurer-turned-tree-monster, causing him to explode. Perhaps because they still held the form of a human, body parts like the head and chest still held meaning. The two arrows didn't bring eternal romance, but rather shattered the prison of the adventurer's body, liberating him from his eternal suffering.
"Those who harm this forest... it was you."
The owner of the murderous voice heard earlier felt no emotion even when the tree monster she had led to the front was destroyed. It was, after all, merely a disposable item. She was the owner of that voice, one of the two witches in the Eternal Forest. The princess of a kingdom cursed and buried in greenery, the witch sleeping in the castle at the deepest part of the ruins buried under bushes and thickets.
Riding atop a giant lizard born from the layering of rotten trees, she stared at the three intruders with an expressionless face. She wore a crown of black thorns, and a blood-red jewel embedded in the center of her chest emitted an ominous light; veins like those of a living creature spread from the jewel beneath her skin. She was a princess with orange hair fluttering in the wind, wearing an elegant, light-green dress. With eyes of a deep, murky gray-blue, she first looked at the mechanical doll wearing human skin with undisguised disgust, then lowered her gaze to the blonde siblings beside her. A subtle emotion flickered in her eyes. It was a question.
"What... are you?"
"Humans."
If she had seen through the identity of Pinochia—a non-human pretending to be human—it was only natural for her eyes to be filled with disgust. It was a question worth asking even if she had only vaguely sensed it. But the question was strange, coming after she had scrutinized Hansel and Gretel, who were ordinary humans—blessings of Tinkerbell aside. After Hansel’s answer, the Sleeping Witch did not attack immediately, though she remained full of hostility, observing Hansel, Gretel, and Pinochia in turn.
"The starlight shines brightly. Bright enough to hide the black shadows beneath it. What exactly are you hiding under the light that wraps around you?"
When the Sleeping Witch spoke those words, the target of her gaze was not Pinochia, but the two siblings.
"Hiding? What?"
Hansel replied with a look of complete ignorance. Gretel looked back and forth between Hansel and Pinochia with a look that asked if they knew anything, but seeing that they were clearly oblivious, she turned her gaze away, contemplating whether to shoot the Sleeping Witch’s lizard or the witch herself first. A being that was disgusting but whose nature could be accurately grasped. A being that looked bright but hid something unsettling beneath it. The latter didn't even realize they were hiding something, nor did they seem to know what it was.
The forest had told the Sleeping Witch: a non-human was walking through the forest, pretending to be human. She had thought there was only one thing to eliminate, but there was something else. The Sleeping Witch, 'Caroline Roselia,' who had finally awakened to the forest's turmoil, could not remember most things, including her own name. She could not even distinguish the colors of all things; if one were to call the ability to recognize only outlines 'vivid,' then there were only two vivid things. The sneer that came from amidst a blizzard colder than any winter wind, and the sense of duty to protect the forest—the tomb and territory where her people slept. Aside from those two vividly shining things, all other memories had long since been shattered and fragmented in the crevices of oblivion.
When a broken stone tablet is first shattered, it is easy to piece together the large fragments, but as time passes, the large fragments become small pieces, and those pieces gradually weather into gravel-sized grains. If sunrise and sunset repeat and the clock hands turn a few times, they turn into fine sand that can never be restored to its original form. Even if it possesses color, it is impossible to know what was originally recorded on the tablet. If you do not gather the sand scattered by the wind with your hands, it mixes with the sandstorms blown by the wind, making it difficult to even recognize its original color. Even if you try to fix the tablet of memory in vain, sweeping up and collecting the sand of broken memories, it can never be restored. It had long since been scattered by the wind.
In the sandstorm of Caroline’s weathered memories, awakened after several years, the sand miraculously drew vivid colors, hues, and lines. What the flowing sand drew was not her father, the King, who had been stern but loving in her old memories, nor the wizards who had taught her magic with kind smiles, contrary to the serious content of preventing some impending disaster. It was a pitch-black shadow. It clung stickily, darker and blacker than the black mold that settled in damp corners. It is a natural phenomenon that the brighter the light, the darker the shadow in the places the light cannot reach, but a shadow that uses the very brilliance of the light as a shield to hide itself? This was not merely an enemy threatening Caroline’s kingdom. It was undoubtedly the sprout of an evil that might extend its claws beyond the kingdom to other countries, and eventually, even threaten the entire world. It must be eliminated, without fail.
She hadn't intended to let them live anyway, as they were the ones who had dared to set fire to the forest she guarded; she had intended to use them as nourishment for the dead forest to revive. But she realized they were the source of an evil that should not even be used as nourishment, but rather ground down and scattered to the wind, leaving no trace behind. The assessment of the opponent and the conversation ended there.
"Strike them down!"
The cursed lifeforms of the twisted forest began to swarm and attack the three siblings.