Chapter 0: Someone’s Story

Once upon a time, there was a person who wandered the world, traveling to various places.

He was a traveler who moved wherever his feet took him, but he was also a pioneer.

One day, he was passing through a village, he heard a rumor.

[ There is a forest somewhere where many creatures live, and in that forest, everyone is free, no one fights,

and everyone is happy; a peaceful forest. ]

It was a rumor.

Intrigued by the peaceful and beautiful ‘forest,’ he succeeded in finding its entrance after searching.

Even at the entrance of the forest, the warm and gentle sunlight that emanated from within brought a smile,

and the chirping of birds and soft sounds from inside soothed the heart.

However, his desire to enter the forest was blocked by three birds that lived there.

He wore a black robe that covered his face, and his clothes were torn like rags from his long journey.

His appearance was so wretched that anyone would think he was a suspicious person.

The three birds, who wished for many creatures to visit the forest but more than anything wished for the forest not to be ruined or

destroyed, considered them suspicious and did not let them in.

But did it seem unfair to him? Or did he despair at the fact that he could not enter the paradise before his eyes?

In the end, he left the forest, angered by the birds, and cursed them.

” Soon, tragedy will befall this forest. The forest will be stained with evil and sin, and the fighting will not stop.

The day the tragedy stops is the day a terrifying monster appears and devours everything.

The sun and moon will never again appear in the forest, and the forest can never return to its former glory.”

How much time had passed since he left the ‘Black Forest’?

As time passed and his anger subsided somewhat, he thought about returning to the ‘forest,’ but… Perhaps because he was so angry at

the time, he couldn’t remember what he had said.

He pondered for a long time whether he should return now and apologize, and then came to a conclusion.

He decided to continue his journey, pretending he never went to the rumored ‘forest.’

Some might call it a cowardly escape, but what could he do?

Even if he couldn’t remember, it was just a curse spoken by a mere traveler, so what could happen?

He buried this matter in his heart and continued his journey, seeing various places.

In one village, seeing the children dying helplessly from an epidemic, he left the village and wished the village chief well.

He said, ‘I hope the children will no longer suffer and will become healthy.’

In a traveling troupe, he shared drinks with the audience next to them and admired the dancer’s dance.

He said he wanted to be like that dancer because his dancing seemed even more free than his own traveling.

It was something he said in a drunken state, but at least he meant it sincerely.

The pleasant banter in the traveling troupe ended, and he continued his journey as usual.

As he continued his journey, the memory of the ‘forest’ gradually faded.

One day, in a village he visited, a strange rumor was circulating.

‘All creatures that enter the forest suffer terrible things.’

‘The big bird constantly watches the creatures in the forest, so he can’t be free for a moment.’

‘The long bird’s scales are not fair at all.’

‘The small bird’s punishment is too frightening.’

He knew what this rumor was about at once.

It was a rumor about [ the beautiful forest and the three birds ].

Who could have predicted that such a strange rumor would come from the forest, which was only recently called peaceful and beautiful?

It didn’t feel good to just dismiss it as a false rumor.

He decided to go back the way he came to reconfirm the rumored ‘forest.’

After passing through several villages… Upon reaching one village, his eyes widened in bewilderment.

That village, which had been full of sick children suffering from an epidemic when he had passed through,

had now regained its vitality, and laughter bloomed in the streets and squares.

It was something to be blessed, but a corner of his heart still had anxiety about the ‘forest,’ so he quickened his steps.

Thus, upon arriving at the ‘forest,’ he entered its entrance with tension.

But as he say, his uneasy feeling was not wrong.

The entrance, which had been bathed in brilliant sunlight, was now covered in pitch-black darkness,

and the warm, lush door had withered away, leaving no trace.

The three birds that had been there when he first came to the forest were nowhere to be seen, and he was not guarding the entrance.

Removing the wooden pieces that could barely be called the entrance, he entered the ‘forest,’ and a piercing scream began to be heard.

The soft chirping of birds turned into screams filled with terror and fear, and

the chatter of creatures filled with happiness was no longer heard.

The forest, which had once been a paradise, had become a mess.

‘What on earth happened?’ He was concerned about where the three birds, the guardians of the forest, had gone,

but now the escape of these pitiful creatures came first.

Then, he saw many lights moving inside the darkened forest.

“What… what is that…?”

No, it wasn’t light.

What he had mistaken for light was the eyeballs of a monstrous creature.

The sight of so many eyeballs moving in all directions was terrifying.

Even more, upon closer inspection, he could see a huge mouth with many teeth and legs as large as the monster’s size.

He decided to shout a warning for the other creatures still in the forest.

“There’s a monster there! A big, scary monster lives in the black, dark forest!”

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And so, no one was left in the ‘forest.’

No creatures, no sun, no moon, no monster.

All that remained was a single bird and a forest that had lost its light… Yes, only the ‘Black Forest.’

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” …I think you were in the wrong. ”

“There’s still a lot more to tell, so be quiet.”