Chapter 2. Who Are You?

Where am I?

When Grace regained consciousness, the only thing that existed around her was darkness.

It felt as though she had awoken from a long, endless sleep, yet when her eyes opened, there wasn’t a single glimmer of light to be found. Only her blinking eyes moved in the pitch-black void.

“…No idea.”

She looked around for a moment, trying to make sense of her situation, but soon gave up and slumped down onto the ground.

She simply couldn’t be bothered.

I really must be dead this time.

Her certainty came from one simple fact—there was no pain.

That terrible agony that had clung to her body without pause, refusing her even a moment’s peace… it was gone. Completely gone.

That alone was enough to convince her of her death.

“Hah…”

A long sigh escaped her lips.

She had struggled so desperately, clawing her way through life. For what glory? For what reward?

When she’d first learned her disease was incurable, part of her had actually felt relieved.

I must’ve been more exhausted than I realized.

Because holding other people’s lives in the palm of your hand… that was a burden that drained you far more than anyone could imagine.

“In the end, it’s all because of that damned Black Forest.”

The Black Forest.

That cursed phenomenon, when monstrous trees would suddenly rise from the ground and form a closed-off wilderness teeming with creatures.

The sizes varied, but the rules were always the same: anyone trapped inside couldn’t leave until every last monster was slain. The forest itself would not vanish until then.

But from the outside? People could walk right in. Which meant mercenaries and soldiers were often dispatched to rescue those trapped within.

And that, of course, meant endless casualties.

The worse the wounds, the more likely they came seeking her instead of an ordinary healer. It had left Grace perpetually overwhelmed, running herself ragged day after day.

“If someone asked me to do it again, I’d never manage it.”

Faces—so many faces—flashed through her memory, one after another.

Pride? Satisfaction?

No. What she felt most of all was…

Weariness.

Crushing, bone-deep fatigue. So thick it made her stomach churn just remembering it.

It’s not like I lived that long, either.

A short life, yet all she felt at its end was relief.

No regrets. No lingering attachments.

“Does that even make sense?”

If that was all she had to show for it, then her life had surely gone wrong somewhere along the way.

[ …help me. ]

“Hm?”

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by a faint whisper.

And just like that, a beam of light pierced the far-off darkness, spilling across the void.

Am I supposed to go there?

Almost against her will, Grace rose to her feet and began walking toward it.

[ Please… ]

The closer she drew, the clearer the voice became.

[ Please, someone… help me. ]

She stopped short.

That plea—it was all too familiar.

Save me… please…
Help me! Someone, please!
Please save my child—please!

Hadn’t she spent her whole life drowning in those cries?

“Hah…”

So why now?

Wasn’t she dead? Why was she still hearing them, even here?

“This is a hallucination. That’s all.”

[ Please… ]

“….”

With another long sigh, Grace forced herself to keep walking.

Whatever this place was, the light was the only landmark. If there was an answer, it would be there.

[ Please, help me. ]

Before long, she saw her: a girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, sitting on the ground and weeping.

Pitiful, yes. But Grace felt… nothing.

It’s not like I haven’t seen this a thousand times before.

Tears, begging, desperation—she’d lived her whole life surrounded by it. Her emotions had long since run dry.

[ Please… ]

“What is it? Are you hurt?”

[ Help me. ]

“I said, with what? You don’t look injured.”

[ Please… please, help me. ]

Grace clicked her tongue.

…Useless.

If the girl wouldn’t even explain herself, what was the point? Grace turned to leave.

But then—

[ Please… please take my hand. ]

“….”

The girl’s pale hand reached toward her, her eyes shining with desperate hope.

Grace froze.

With another sigh, she gave in.

It wasn’t as if holding someone’s hand was difficult.

Stepping forward, she grasped the girl’s hand and pulled her up from the ground—because honestly, seeing her crumpled there had been bothering her anyway.

Whoosh!

“—!”

In the next instant, brilliant light exploded from the girl, engulfing everything in a blinding radiance.

“What the—!”

[ Thank you… thank you so much. ]

Grace tried to demand an explanation, but her eyelids grew unbearably heavy.

The last thing she heard was the girl’s fading voice.

[ And… I’m sorry. Truly sorry. ]

What the hell is this now?

Was death supposed to be like this? Why would someone who’s already dead faint all over again?

Ugh.

Not that she had any prior experience to compare it to.

All she remembered was taking the girl’s hand, being swallowed by light, and then… nothing.

So how long is this going to last?

Most irritating of all was the sensation itself.

Her whole body felt pinned down, as though crushed beneath something unbearably heavy. She couldn’t move a finger.

So this is what being dead feels like?

Then what came next? Shouldn’t a reaper, or a demon, or someone be showing up to collect her soul by now?

How long was she supposed to lie here in limbo?

This isn’t what I imagined at all.

Wasn’t she supposed to drift out of her body, watch her own death from above, maybe observe the grieving loved ones, and then get whisked away?

This stifling void was nothing like that.

“…res…”

Her ears twitched.

“…Sere…”

What was that?

“…Sis!”

The oppressive weight pressing her down vanished, as if shattered by the sound.

Grace felt strength returning to her eyelids and forced them open.

Her blurry vision cleared with a few blinks, and then—

“You’re awake?”

The voice came again, sharp and youthful.

She turned her head toward it and found herself staring at a boy—eleven, maybe twelve—gazing at her with wide, worried eyes.

When their eyes met, he let out a small, relieved sigh.

What on earth…?

Was he supposed to be the reaper? A demon?

Definitely not an angel.

She’d sold her conscience a long time ago—she wasn’t arrogant enough to think she’d earned heaven.

So then… what was this kid?

“…Who are you?”

“…What?”

“I said, who are you?”

“Have you lost your mind?”

The boy’s face twisted with exasperation, and Grace let out a dry laugh.

It had been a while since anyone called her crazy to her face.

“Well, I’ve done plenty of mad things, sure. But asking a kid I’ve never seen before who he is—does that count as insanity now?”

“You’re asking your little brother who he is? Then what am I supposed to say?”

…Little brother?

“…Excuse me, what?”

Her? With a younger sibling? Impossible.

Her parents had died long ago—they certainly hadn’t gone and produced another child in the meantime.

Grace’s brows furrowed as the boy’s expression darkened further.

What the hell is going on here?

Click.

Just then, the door burst open, and several people rushed inside.