The World Dyed in Gray
The world is dyed in gray.
That was how the girl understood this world.
….
A village market teemed with countless passersby. Footsteps threaded between bodies while the sharp cries of haggling filled the streets. Yet even that vibrant atmosphere could not color every corner. Narrow, shadowed alleys lay embedded like forgotten carvings in the gaps between stalls. In a nook where no human light reached and even the clamor faded away, a silver-haired girl huddled alone.
Her clear blue eyes were empty, as though she had already set down every burden life had given her.
“Hey, you. What are you doing here?”
The alley’s silence shattered. A girl the color of spring blossoms had popped out from nowhere.
“…….”
“Huh?! Can’t you hear me? Hey~!”
“…Go away.”
“See? You heard that just fine. I was actually worried we couldn’t communicate!”
Despite the silver-haired girl’s icy rejection, the other child’s lively smile never faltered.
“Listen, won’t your butt get cold sitting on the ground like that? You’ll catch a chill. Or are you one of those people who never gets cold?”
“….”
The silver-haired girl looked up at the pink-haired child with eyes that clearly said disappear from my sight.
“I told you to go away. I won’t answer even if you keep talking.”
“…Hmm.”
As if the refusal had finally landed, the silver-haired girl buried her face between her knees once more. Soon the sound of retreating footsteps pattered away.
This should do it.
A bright child like that doesn’t belong with someone like me.
She repeated the words to herself, building a stubborn wall inside. A person with nowhere to go, just like her, needed no ties to anyone. She could simply vanish as she was. With that thought, she carved at her own heart and painted her world in deeper shades of ash.
—Flutter.
“…?!”
Sudden warmth touched her. The startled girl jerked her head up. A thick, cozy blanket now wrapped her small shoulders. When she peeked through a gap in the fabric, silver-white hair spilling out, the pink-haired child she thought had left stood there grinning.
“This should keep you warm, right? Ah, Mom might scold me if she sees how dirty the blanket got…”
“Wh-what are you doing…?”
Before the silver-haired girl could process the unexpected kindness, the other child thrust her face close.
“I’m Lien! What’s your name?”
“…?”
“Hey, I told you mine. It’s only fair.”
That sunlit energy showed no sign of tiring. Realizing it would be harder to push her away than to answer, the silver-haired girl finally parted her lips.
“…Abel— …Asera.”
“Your name is Abel Asera?”
“…Just Asera.”
The moment she heard the name, Lien plopped down on the ground so their eyes were level.
“Asera, what are you doing here? The sun’s about to set—don’t you need to go home?”
At the question, Asera’s unfocused gaze drifted.
“…I don’t… have a home to return to anymore.”
It was true. There was nowhere left for her. On a night when rain poured down, she had fled her family. And no one had come looking. It was as if they were relieved she had finally disappeared.
Lien fell quiet for a moment. The silence didn’t last long before she asked, carefully.
“…Why? Did you fight with your family?”
Family. Did she mean that household? If only someone had grabbed her by the collar and shouted, if only they had scolded her at the top of their lungs—perhaps her chest wouldn’t feel so crushed. Instead the family had treated her like a person who did not exist.
A trace of moisture crept into Asera’s voice.
“……Because I was the only one who was different.”
The black heroes. Abelleo. Every child born to that bloodline arrived with hair the color of the night sky. That single shade was both a badge of pride and proof of their lineage. Their fame was known across the continent.
But Asera had been different.
Like a lone star blooming in a pitch-black sky, she had been born with hair that shimmered silver-white. The strict, rule-bound family rejected her very existence, viewing it as an ill omen. Whispers about her mother’s infidelity or tainted blood filled her cradle. The family’s needle-sharp gazes grew harsher as she grew. They treated her as if she were invisible, yet the daily rules were enforced on her with cruel precision. Not only had she failed to inherit the family’s traits—she could not even wield their signature black sword energy.
Was my birth truly a mistake from the beginning?
Sword training consisted of swinging a blade in the same posture without rest, day after day. It was pressure that told her to give up everything and disappear. With ash clouding her eyes, the girl whispered to the empty air.
“…Lien.”
“Y-yes? What is it…?”
It might have been the first time she had spoken the other girl’s name first. Lien looked slightly flustered but leaned in quietly to listen.
“If there is someone in this world that no one will ever look at… does that person have any reason to exist?”
“That’s…”
The family that should have been her first sanctuary had utterly denied her existence. If even those who shared her blood refused to acknowledge her, who in this world could she rely on?
“…Asera.”
Lien spoke her name softly after listening in silence.
“Do you want to know why I spoke to you?”
“…?”
Asera slowly turned toward the girl sitting beside her. It was a look she had never seen before. There was no contempt, no indifference—only eyes that held her completely. That gaze reflected in Asera’s own.
Lien pointed toward the market beyond the alley as if inviting her to look.
“It’s really noisy out there, isn’t it? So many people, it makes your head spin.”
Then she turned back to Asera.
“I was walking along thinking about that when I glanced into this dark alley—and something went spark! I saw a light shining.”
Lien’s eyes held a glow. That ‘light’ overlapped with Asera herself.
“So I walked over like I was possessed, and it turned out to be a person! I was so surprised!”
Lien drew her knees up and scooted another inch closer.
“And do you know what I thought the moment I saw you?”
Those sunset-red eyes and the smile that seemed to carry spring breezes.
“Wow! There are people with hair this pretty—! That was it. Hehe.”
“……Huh?”
Something inside her trembled. It was the sound of her heartbeat. The words echoed in her ears again and again.
“If no one in the world looks at you… was that what you said? Hmm, I’m not good with difficult ideas, but—”
Lien gently covered Asera’s hand with her own and smiled with tender warmth.
“Then I’ll watch you. Just like how I found you in this noisy, chaotic place.”
“…!”
The gray world. It had always filled Asera’s entire existence. She had believed the world had always been that color—nothing but black and white, only pitch darkness and silver. But those few words, that warmth spilling from small lips, completely shattered the ash that had coated her world.
The broken fragments scattered on the wind. Beyond the shattered pieces, colors she had never once experienced began to seep in—warm, gentle hues.
Asera’s eyes trembled with emotion. Her clear gaze now held only Lien.
“Wh-why…”
“Hm?”
“Why would you do this for me… I—I haven’t done anything…”
A natural question. She had tried so hard to be seen by her family. No one ever had. Why would now be any different? She had nothing to give the girl in front of her—
“Does a person need a reason to be loved?”
“—!”
“Who said that? No matter how late it comes, every person will meet someone precious who will stay with them for a lifetime.”
Lien moved even closer.
“Asera. If it’s all right with you… can I be that person?”
“…….”
Plop.
A large teardrop slid from the corner of Asera’s eye and fell. Immediately after, tears she could no longer contain poured down.
“Hic…!”
“W-wait, why are you crying?! S-sorry?! Did I say something wrong?!”
“Sob, hic…! Huuu…!!”
“Ehh?! D-don’t cry, Asera…!”
Flustered, Lien flailed for a moment before simply watching the girl weep. Then she wrapped her in a quiet embrace. It was a small embrace, yet warmer than anything Asera had ever known.
“Silly. You were hurting enough to cry like this—why didn’t you just say so from the start?”
“…Hic, sorry… sob…!”
“Ehh, you’re even apologizing? Asera really has a kind heart.”
Lien’s gentle whisper tickled Asera’s ear.
“You’re so kind that even after all that pain, you never turned bitter. You endured everything all by yourself and made it here.”
Those sincere words began to color the empty gray world.
—How much time had passed?
When Asera’s sobs finally quieted, Lien slowly leaned down until their eyes met. Then she smiled with the warmth of spring sunlight and spoke.
“Asera. Have you ever heard the word ‘journey’?”
“…! ……?!”
A shout echoed through the darkness. Who was that voice calling to?
“…!!?”
The abyss was not long. Asera realized whose voice it was.
“—Asera!!!”
“Hic…?!”
“Aah…! Thank goodness! Oh, thank goodness!!”
Suddenly a warm touch enveloped her. Only then did Asera realize how ice-cold her own body had become. When she lifted her heavy eyelids, a familiar face appeared.
“Lien…?”
“You! What on earth were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been searching?!”
“Wh-what do you…”
Her blurred vision returned. Asera looked around with trembling eyes.
“…!!”
At the two knights’ feet lay a gruesome tangle of crimson embers and black mucus. The scorched grass told the story of a desperate battle.
Only then did her final memory surface—the sensation of being swallowed whole by an unidentified black monster without even a chance to resist.
She lifted her head. The vast black sea still dominated her sight. Yet something was different now. The enormous darkness seemed to fear only the flames; it flowed in grotesque curves around the burning area.
“Lien, don’t tell me you…”
“Who else would it be, you idiot!!”
Lien’s embrace tightened.
“You suddenly ran off and I chased after you, but you were gone! The forest was torn apart by that thing we don’t even know the name of!! I thought it was already too late and I really…”
“……I’m… sorry.”
Up close, Lien’s arms and legs were covered in wounds. The uniform and cloak she had been so proud of were torn to shreds. How long had she wandered through the great forest searching for her?
Asera gazed at her quietly, then gently stroked Lien’s hair.
“I won’t run off alone again. I’m truly sorry…”
“……”
“—And thank you. I’m alive because of you, Lien.”
“……Idiot Asera.”
Lien sniffled and slowly pulled back. She roughly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, then— as if she hadn’t been crying at all—hid her reddened eyes behind a bright, energetic smile.
“But how did you find me…? I was definitely…”
“Huh? I was just running around that thing when I saw something glowing inside its body. I thought, maybe? and dug in—and you popped right out.”
“Glowing…?”
Asera looked down at her own armor. Thick, oily mucus clung to it in places, yet her body itself was completely unharmed.
How is that possible…
Surviving at all could be called a miracle. But emerging without a single scratch was strange. Had something acted on her?
“—!”
Sudden anxiety surged through her mind.
“Lien! How long has it been since we separated?!”
“Uh, two or three hours…?”
“What…!”
Asera shot to her feet and scanned the surroundings.
“It’s already…!”
In the distance she saw a small village. It was too late. Traces of destruction and rising clouds of dust painted a wretched scene. The monster had raised its massive body and was continuously spewing something toward the village.
There was no time. They had to rush in and save the people immediately.
“Lien, we need to evacuate the villagers right now. Can you move?”
“Y-yeah! I-I’m fine!”
At her words Lien stood, but anyone could see the exhaustion weighing on her. The strain was clear.
“…You pushed yourself too hard because of me…!”
“N-no! I can still move, really!”
It wasn’t hard to guess she was lying. Lien’s arms were shaking far worse than when they had parted earlier. The fiercely burning embers around them were undoubtedly traces of her desperate fight.
“Lien, we should retreat for now and—”
“…Asera.”
Before she could finish, Lien pointed somewhere, stunned.
“Look over there……”
At the village entrance, a group of people was pouring out. Their equipment was mismatched. Rabble might have been the right word. Yet each of them gripped a weapon and charged toward the colossal creature without hesitation.
“The villagers…? No…! There’s no way that small a group can fight something like this—”
As if answering her doubt, a uniform red glow bloomed among the advancing crowd.
“Fire…?”
Torches, flaming arrows, unidentified projectiles wrapped in flammable material—though the forms differed, fierce flames flickered from every raised weapon. Moments later, dozens of streaks of fire drew arcs through the air and poured toward the black waves.
—!?
GUOOOOO—!!!
That must have been the answer. The creature that had loomed like an apocalyptic disaster began emitting roars that shook the earth.
~~!?
— —!!!
The flames that touched its body spread explosively. Its pitch-black hide twisted miserably in the fire, melting like candle wax and rapidly disintegrating. It was a wondrous sight. Fewer than twenty people were driving the monster back.
“…Lien, is that how you saved me too?”
“Huh…? It definitely reacted strongly to even a little fire, but… it wasn’t screaming like this…”
She too wore an expression of pure astonishment.
“Just what is going on…”
“Wait, someone’s coming this way.”
While they stared at the burning battlefield, a figure broke away from the distant group and ran straight toward them. It was an elderly soldier with snow-white hair. Deep wrinkles lined the back of the hand gripping an old weapon, and he was breathing so hard it seemed difficult for him to even hold the blade.
“Huff, huff… Are you the knights sent by the guild?!”
“Ah, yes…! And you are…?”
“Aah…! So it really was you! No wonder I heard there were people already fighting it. As expected of knights—you found the creature’s weakness first…!”
“Pardon…?”
What was this man talking about? That overwhelming monster had never appeared in the United Kingdom’s intelligence reports. Claiming they had known about it beforehand was a massive misunderstanding.
The old soldier proudly pointed behind him—toward the group that had rushed out of the village.
“Haha, we only just learned this ourselves. There’s a clever young man in the village who said—”
“If you shove flames down that thing’s throat, it’ll drop dead.”