Prologue - Severed Fate

This is a story of human nature.

In a small town, there was a young boy who was born without a family. He was abandoned at an orphanage near the outskirts of the town.

Whether it was due to the town's scrutiny or his own loneliness, as time passed, the boy started to care greatly for the members of the orphanage. In a way, they had become his real family.

The boy did everything for the sake of his family's love. To see his younger sister smile, he plucked flowers in the midst of the cold and bleak midwinter, and to assist his troubled older brother, he would handle the most strenuous tasks. With the price of simple gratitude, he would act solely in the service of others.

But human nature was intrinsically selfish. With a limited lifespan, humans try to fulfill their desires and satisfy their instincts as best they can. For this, they would even sacrifice their own kind.

The boy became a scapegoat by his own volition. For something as distant as "love", he abandoned his own future.

Unknown to the others, there was a different reason behind his foolish behavior. Only in the following day did his true colors unfold.

"Yuze is missing?"

The orphanage director was awash with concern upon hearing the news of Yuze's disappearance. The boy was like the glue that kept the children together. With his sudden disappearance, the anxious orphans began fighting amongst themselves.

Especially the oldest, whose violent tendencies were exposed for the first time. As if fed up from the incessant crying of the children, he started to beat the younger boys with his bare hands. The orphanage director yelled in panic and hastily held him back.

More wails came out like a waterfall gone loose. The quiet hill became awash with the sound of sorrow. Only the youngest girl, holding a bouquet of white lilies, stayed silent. She pointed her finger towards the forest beyond the orphanage walls. The children finally quieted down upon seeing her red eyes quivering behind the flowers. She was the child who spent the most time with Yuze.

"Is he in the northern forest? I know the trail there, so I'll go find him."

The oldest boy, as if ashamed of his previous actions, now offered to go. As the orphanage director was beyond her years, she couldn't navigate the complicated woods anymore. The director appeared concerned with the proposal at first, but seeing his confident appearance, and fearing further conflict with the children, she allowed the oldest boy off to venture into the forest with two others. The trio crossed the orphanage walls and entered the dark forest together.

For the first hour, everything was fine. The sunlight shone brightly, indicating that it was still early in the day. The trio followed the path laid down in the woods until they reached a junction with footprints. They belonged to a young boy, presumably Yuze.

Only, as they continued, these footprints strayed from the trail and went deeper into the forest. 

The two boys following the oldest asked in concern.

"Woo Hyun hyung-nim¹, should we really go?"

"Is it worth doing all this for Yuze? He's probably already gone."

Listening to their hesitance, Woo Hyun scoffed. Yuze gave everyone at the orphanage help without asking for anything in return, yet when he was in crisis, no one would step forward but himself. Leaving the two scared children behind, Woo Hyun followed the trail of footprints. The morning sun was starting to set. The vibrant chirping of birds faded away into the background. When night approached, the forest fell silent.

Woo Hyun could hear the sound of his own heartbeat. If he was being honest, he was nervous. There was a strange feeling like eyes were staring at him from behind the trees. The shadows seemed to come alive under the moonlight.

Fortunately, the trail of footsteps finally ended at an open clearing. There was a flower field hidden beyond the forest. A shower of white lilies opened their petals to face the night sky. Stars glittered resplendently around the glowing moon, as if responding to the scent of blossoming flowers. For a moment, Woo Hyun's breath was taken away by the scenery.

Standing in the middle of the flower field was the familiar figure of Yuze. He appeared to be mesmerized by the moon. His pupils were wide open, as if he was trying to imprint the image of the night sky onto his eyes.

Woo Hyun ran over and shook Yuze by the shoulders. Immediately, the boy broke out of his dreamlike trance. Upon seeing his kind older brother, Yuze beamed with a familiar smile. Woo Hyun couldn't help but nag the boy as he sighed in exhaustion.

"I finally found you."

"Come home, Yuze. The director must be worried sick by now. The youngest won't speak to me, and the other children are uneasy without you."

Hearing Woo Hyun's heartfelt words, Yuze wore an even brighter smile and replied in a cheerful voice.

"Yes, I knew you would be worried."

"I knew the youngest would be sad."

"And I knew the children would be scared."

"But did you know?"

Yuze spread open his arms. From the night sky, strands of red threads dangled like crimson nooses. With the sound of a piercing wail, the moon shed tears of blood, falling onto the pure white flower field. 

There was a bloodcurdling scream, followed by a sound like the world was collapsing. As Yuze's eyes reflected an endless abyss, the nooses wrapped around his neck. Woo Hyun felt the crimson threads extending out to latch onto his still beating heart.

"None of it matters if we're already dead."

***

I opened my eyes. It was still dark outside; the moonlight rippled in the hall like flowing water.

A sunken memory floats from the surface of the moonlit floor. The red threads reconstruct a bloody night from under the moon.

The child in the memory asked me, "What is a human?"

And from the wavering darkness, I respond.

"Humans are those with the ability to follow fate."

The red threads curve into a twisted smile.

"Then what do you call a person who has abandoned their fate?"

"...A nonhuman."

This is the beginning of the first evil. The Lord of Severed Fate, a nonhuman known as Shin Yuze.