IHRYS is out now on ko-fi for only £9.99

I.

Chapter 1

The Black Forest was like an endless maze with no end in sight. No matter how much he walked and walked again, there was no sign of people, let alone traces of anyone having passed through. It was as if he had become the first person to be dropped into an unfamiliar world.

Young Luke paused for a moment and brought his frozen solid hands together to his mouth. As he blew on them, white breath enveloped both hands before quickly scattering into the air. It was the work of the wind flying through the gaps between the branches.

The chilly air made Luke’s footsteps slower and slower. His fine hairs stood on end from the cold energy seeping into his bones. Even though he wore a fur coat and hat, the forest’s winter was terribly cold.

“Dad.”

Luke called out for his father while wrapped in his own arms. But the only thing that returned was the hoot of an owl, as if waiting for the child to weaken.

“Luke, you must never lose sight of Dad. The Black Forest is a very dangerous place.”

Despite his father earnestly pleading with him before entering the forest, Luke lost sight of him. It was because an incredibly cool-looking stag beetle suddenly entered his vision while he was following along without losing focus.

He could already picture how jealous the village kids would be if he caught it and brought it back. Greed arose, and Luke let his eyes wander for just a moment, and by the time he called out to his father to show him, his shadow had already disappeared somewhere.

Luke hated himself for not taking his father’s words to heart. If he hadn’t let his mind wander over some stag beetle, he would have been eating boiling hot rabbit stew in a warmly heated house full of firewood by now.

But now, he had even lost the stag beetle he barely managed to catch while panicking, so not a single trophy remained in his hands.

Would he lose his way like this and be trapped in the forest forever? Unable to even return home?

As anxiety crept in, his breath caught in his throat. Luke had always thought of himself as very brave. But being left alone in the unfamiliar darkness spread out before him made all his courage feel shattered.

“Dad!”

He shouted for his father in a loud voice, trying to overcome his fear. He moved his hesitant feet again and announced that he was here.

He called for his father until his throat felt like it would burst, hoping that he was in the direction he was heading. Hoping that he too was desperately searching for him.

It was around the time his voice was gradually growing smaller at the lack of a returning answer. Luke miraculously discovered a single ray of light in the pitch-black darkness. The light seeped through the gap between two trees that seemed to be quite old.

He had finally found a way. Luke immediately ran toward the light.

“Ahk!”

Luke, who had been running only looking at the light and failed to see properly ahead, tumbled across the ground. He had tripped over a tree root hidden beneath the snow. Tears welled up in the corners of Luke’s eyes from the harsh fall.

“Saying it hurts and crying is something only weak bastards do. The only times you’re allowed to cry are when your mother dies or when your wife dies.”

He could almost hear his father’s stubborn voice telling him not to even cry if he himself died. Luke held back the tears that had welled up so they wouldn’t spill over and slowly got up from his spot.

He belatedly noticed that his chin was burning hot. The skin had scraped off from the friction and was bleeding. His leg was also causing trouble. Thinking it hurt, he looked down to see a hole torn through his pants.

“Saying it hurts and crying is something only weak bastards do.”

Cold and in pain, Luke took a deep breath as he repeated his father’s words.

Barely holding back his tears, Luke limped slowly toward the light. The closer he got, the more a sweet fragrance tickled his nose. It was similar to the smell he would catch when passing by Mr. Creven’s sweets shop.

But it was strange for a smell from a sweets shop to be coming from a place like this forest. Luke peered between the trees with curiosity.

“Whoa….”

The child’s eyes widened at the wondrous sight. The sweet scent he had just smelled was not his imagination. A house large enough for a person to live in was made entirely of sweets.

Luke approached a bit closer. Then he could tell that the white roof was not snow but slightly melted marshmallow. Not only that, cookies were stuck closely together all over the biscuit walls.

Growl.

His stomach automatically made a sound as his sight and smell were stimulated. With a house made of sweets right in front of his eyes, Luke absolutely could not hold back. He frantically reached his hand toward the nearest cookie.