Chapter Text
Outside her cabin, rain fell from clouds laden with heavy water, as if it had been filling up since the beginning of the year and hadn't rained yesterday. The trees swayed and the wind blew like a storm, making sounds like wailing, and with every strong gust of wind, the branches made an annoying creaking sound...
In fact, she wasn't really sure if that sound belonged to the trees, but she classified it as such for now...
-....
She swallowed the saliva in her throat for the fifth time in that minute, pulling the blanket up over her shivering body.
Well...
How did she end up like this?
She was a great warrior in flesh and blood, whose adventures spoke more about her than she did herself.
Now she was hiding under the blanket from...
She wasn't quite sure what to call it...or what to call it.
*Squeak-*
An annoying creak came from outside for the second time, and her suspicious mind began to tell her that it was the sound of her front door.
Oh no.
She clutched at that idea and felt her body freeze, even though the blanket was warm.
Maybe it's the branches creaking.
Yes.
It must be.
I'm sure I locked the door, didn't I?
She calmly talked to herself, it was the best thing she could do now.
Check the door behind me... as if I would do that.
She swallowed the saliva that had been stuck in her throat for a while and lifted the blanket a little this time.
Is he still here?
She moved her eyes slowly toward the glass, as if he would punish her if she looked at him too quickly, to be met by the pitch darkness outside and a few raindrops hitting her window.
Only God knows what a terrible idea it was to make the windows of my house so huge that I could contemplate the beauty of the forest from above.
Now I look like nothing more than a plate of meat in a display window.
She slowly moved her eyes around the room and then......
Not a thing..
Nothing to see in the literal sense, since the lamp hanging in the room was the only means of seeing, and outside the cabin it was pitch black.
Her heartbeat began to slow down a little, followed by her breathing, as she finally exhaled after holding her breath for a while.
I think he's gone...
Her legs were numb, though, and she couldn't get up to check the door of her cabin. ....
-huf...
She let out a sigh mixed with uncertainty and reached her hand out a little while her back was still pressed against the bed to grab her sword.
-Is that sword even effective against him?
She lowered her eyes in despair and furrowed her eyebrows.
How did she get herself into this situation where she became his target?
She finally got up when her feet were steady enough to stand, then moved with quiet steps toward the stairs.
She had to check the door, now or never.
Leaving it open was truly a death wish, and death now... even if she were to be revived, was the last thing she truly desired.
She took light steps, one after another, down the stairs with her bare feet, feeling every inch of the house freeze.
Or maybe it was her who was freezing...
She finally reached the bottom and grabbed her sword, ready for anything that might be lurking, and then—
Oh
.....
There was still nothing.
haha, I'm getting really paranoid.
The words came out with relief, even though part of her wasn't entirely convinced by what she was saying.
Her eyes scanned the entire house, but nothing out of the ordinary stood out.
Had she just trembled and almost wet her bed over... nothing?
That's really embarrassing...
If Morin and Dasfi found out, they would make a laughing stock of me...
She joked with herself a little as her heartbeat began to slow and her adrenaline and cortisol levels also dropped a little
-Meow~
Her body jumped slightly when she felt a tiny furry creature wrap itself around her foot.
-Oh...my little darling, you scared me...
Siena squatted down to pet her cat, calling her cute names while rubbing her face.
-How did you get in here, you little troublemaker? Hmm?
-Meow~
Siena rubbed the cat's back, listening to its purring as if she needed it herself, before lifting her head to look at the small entrance she had designed for Nini to come and go as she pleased.
But hey,
The small entrance was closed, and memory came flooding back as she placed a box in front of it to move it to another spot and then scattered.
Her hand froze in place and she heard drums beating in her ears.
So how did Nini get in?
She looked up again to look at the door, and saw that the lock was open.
oh...
She wasn't alone.
She slowly moved her hand from Nini to her sword again.
That fucker.
Siena finally got up, as if she had gotten used to the fear, before advancing to the living room, grabbing a candle from the wall.
She illuminated the place here and there and found no trace of anything.
It was as if the door had unlocked itself.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
The successive knocks shook her body, and she turned the light around, panic creeping into her veins and hands.
There he was...
Unintentionally, the light shone on the window next to the door, and there she saw him.
His eyes were curved like a crescent moon, and a black smile split his white face in stark contrast to the rest of his body.
She swallowed the saliva that felt like a rock in her throat and clenched her teeth.
If she hadn't seen him before, she would have sworn it was just a face without a body, so intense was the darkness outside.
It seemed that whatever it was had noticed her looking at it, and its pupils dilated as it tilted its head.
"Let me in."
It placed its palm on the glass, and the blackness of its smile widened.
Her whole body trembled in response, and her mind froze, like a defense mechanism. She didn't really know what to do...
"Are you going to leave your guests out there to get completely soaked? Oh i could never..."
She tried to swallow again, but there was nothing to swallow.
Her mouth was dry.
Don't just stand there.
Say something.
-You shouldn't do that...
-O..or -what?
She tried to speak to sound brave, but the words came out funny.
His smile seemed to widen in response... Was he mocking her, or trying to look scary?
-I'm not afraid... of you.
She grabbed her sword and held it in an attacking position.
"Oh, what's this? Are you going to stab the glass?" ...
...
He really had the nerve to mock her.
She tightened her grip on the sword, trying not to look at his face.
He was disgusting...
-What I wanted to say was... your guests may learn to enter without permission, but given your condition, you'll destroy the house before anyone tries. ....
What kind of creatures would develop the intuition to mock the player in order to provoke them anyway?
-I see what you're trying to do... I won't let go of my sword, go away...
His face froze a little and his pupils shrank as his smile faded. ....
The entity was silent for several seconds, but the howling wind and the creaking of the branches made it seem like it lasted for hours.
"I'm never leaving."
Before she had time to respond,
he disappeared into thin air like dust. ....
Siena finally breathed a sigh of relief and her legs stopped working, causing her to fall to the ground.
He was finally gone.
....
...
..
For now.