Chapter 4
“Over there! Soha, is that you?”
At the faint sound of slipping dirt, the trader reacted.
“Run.”
This time, it was Ihwan who responded quickly.
He grabbed the wrist he had been holding all along and started to sprint. Soha was dragged along, forced to run beside him.
“Where do you think you’re running? Do you know how much you’re worth?”
The trader, now sure the girl was Soha, shouted as he chased them down.
‘Reckless.’
If she were alone, Soha would’ve stayed behind the rocks, hoping the trader would simply pass. But Ihwan was different.
Soha watched the back of the boy charging forward, so eager and determined, and couldn’t help but think he was strange.
“I’m an expert at running away, you know. You saw it for yourself.”
“Do you really have the luxury to chatter right now?”
The two used their small bodies to slip through narrow paths beneath low branches. The trader, though long-legged, was forced to struggle and slash through brush with his blade.
“Get back here!”
Even while the trader fought the thicket, Soha kept her eyes on Ihwan’s chosen path. He really did know how to run. The trails he picked favored children’s small frames.
But after a while of frantic running, a massive gorge opened before them.
‘Dead end.’
They were trapped.
“So, the little rats have nowhere left to run?”
The trader had clawed his way through the hard path and now cornered them.
Soha slowly peeled away Ihwan’s desperate grip from her wrist. He panicked and tried to hold on again, but she shook her head.
“This child has nothing to do with me. I won’t drag him into my circumstances.”
The trader scoffed.
“You think I care about that brat?”
“But I promised I would return him to his family.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“I’ll go quietly. Just let him go.”
If escape was impossible, then stalling for another chance was the only option.
Ihwan, however, glared suspiciously at the trader.
“Who are you, anyway, that you’re taking her?”
“I’m just running an errand.”
“Is it money you want? I’ll give you money—just stop this dangerous—”
Before Ihwan could finish his bold bargain, the wind surged through the gorge, brushing their backs.
Soha immediately shoved Ihwan down flat against the ground.
“Wha—what? Aaaah!”
The trader’s scream pierced the night. Soha lifted her gaze and scanned the darkness.
-
Puhuhuhuhu…
That chilling sound reverberated, clawing through their ears and into their skulls.
“What—what is that?”
Ihwan, forced down so suddenly, lifted his head and froze.
“A gh—ghost!”
The spirit he had encountered earlier had returned. Its wild mane of hair lashed about like a lion’s, its body bristled with fur, humanoid yet unnatural.
Nine feet tall, with hollow black eyes, it radiated murderous intent.
“Damn it!”
Terrified, the trader bolted, abandoning all thought of profit.
But the ghost ignored him. Instead, it lumbered toward Soha and Ihwan.
‘It has no physical body…’
The ground it walked upon remained undisturbed. It wasn’t truly corporeal.
“Don’t—don’t come closer!”
Ihwan scrambled backward on his hands, shouting. The massive ghost suddenly surged forward with impossible speed.
In the blink of an eye, its face was right before Soha, neck grotesquely elongated like a giraffe’s.
-
You…
Soha met its empty gaze without flinching. Threatening stares were nothing new to her.
-
You…!
Its wide mouth stretched into a horrifying grin, revealing jagged fangs.
“Run!” Ihwan shouted. But Soha stood her ground.
If provoked, it could be more dangerous. Without a body, it couldn’t actually harm the living—yet.
-
Puhuhuhuh…
The mocking laugh scraped against her mind, as though it knew her every thought.
The ghost raised a clawed hand larger than her face and extended one finger skyward.
Soha’s eyes followed.
‘The moon…’
The thick night clouds parted, revealing its silver glow.
Soha immediately drew the dagger—the Gwigu—from her robes.
Shhhk—!
She slashed at the spirit’s arm.
-
Gyeeeaaaagh!
The ghost howled, beastlike rather than human.
“What’s happening?” Ihwan gasped.
“Run.”
The word came from Soha’s lips this time. Yet instead of fleeing, she stood firm, dagger ready.
“You’re staying?”
“Once it bathes in moonlight, that ghost will gain a body. When that happens, we’re both dead.”
“You want me to just leave you?”
“I have this weapon. But if you stay, you’ll die. Don’t be a burden—go.”
The icy tone in Soha’s young voice made Ihwan flinch.
“Do you think I, heir to the Geum clan, will be a burden?”
If he left now, he knew he’d never see her again.
“…You already are.”
Soha never took her eyes off the ghost.
“How can I just leave you with that thing!” Ihwan shouted. His voice drew the spirit’s attention, and it lunged.
“Go!”
It was the loudest she had ever yelled. Behind her, footsteps pounded away—relief washed over her. At least the child wouldn’t have to see the end.
-
Delicious scent.
The ghost’s raspy voice curled in her ears. It looked ready to devour her whole.
Soha tightened her grip on the blade.
‘No chance like this… unless I use the Gwigu’s power.’
But doing so was dangerous, its effects unknown. Still, better than slavery… better than death by the ghost’s fangs.
-
Fox!
Bathed in moonlight, its shape solidified, turning into a monstrous beast on four legs.
Soha infused the blade with energy.
Vrrrmm. The dagger trembled, glowing with blue light.
-
Screeeeeech!
The ghost’s eerie cry filled the air as it charged.
“Haaah!”
She waited until the last instant, then drove the blade into its heart.
The towering form froze mid-lunge.
Crrrk, crrrkk.
Its body made sounds like breaking machinery.
Soha’s body remained unscathed, but another danger bloomed.
‘Cold…’
From her fingertips, frost spread along her veins. Her breath came out white, her skin paling, frosting over with ice.
‘So again… the same ending.’
Even after turning back time, the path led to death.
Tears welled, crystallizing into tiny shards that dropped from her lashes.
‘So this is it… I’m dying.’
Her vision blurred. She thought she heard someone calling—
“Soha!”
But who would know her name here? Surely it was only a hallucination.
Her consciousness faded.
And then—warmth spread across the back of her frozen hand.
