Beyond the Eternity

The Void House.

On the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than an unremarkable mansion, modest in size, standing quietly with its three floors. Even stepping inside, one would find nothing unusual—its subdued and ordinary interior seemed to hold no secrets.

But could an ordinary house drift aimlessly through an endless sea of nothingness?

Once, it was merely a home nestled in the English countryside, as mundane as any other. Yet, when cast into the void, it underwent a sinister transformation, reshaped by the gigantic power of the Witch of Darkness and the boundless properties of the abyss.

Like a living, demonic tree feeding on human blood to sustain itself, the Void House consumed the souls of unwitting visitors who met their end within its walls.

Once devoured, escape became an impossibility.

The bodies of the dead were completely eradicated, leaving behind only fragments of their souls. These remnants were bound to hollow vessels, transforming them into "Furniture" — eternal servants trapped within the House.

However, not all who perished were granted even this grim purpose.

The House itself was voracious, swallowing its victims in one insatiable sweep. Had it not been for the intervention of the Sisters of Darkness, the House would have devolved into a mindless nightmare, driven solely by its unending hunger and madness.

The furniture performed basic tasks such as cleaning and maintaining the mansion. But they also served the Housekeepers, providing sustenance when required. On occasion, the Sisters used them to fulfill their hidden and twisted desires.

But that is a story for another time.

Now, the Void House had become the stage for Devil's Roulette, a deadly game of life and death. While the furniture remained in its original positions, the participants were imprisoned in fragmented dimensions scattered throughout the House.

The Sisters had orchestrated this design to prevent the participants from allying with one another and turning their combined strength against them.

Even so, the match was far from fair.

The Fable required a specific number of participants, but one had fallen victim to his own carelessness, leaving the group reduced to just five.

Even if the Sisters of Darkness split themselves, the imbalance was evident. To ensure some semblance of order, they left the division of roles to the roll of the dice.

The maximum number of people allowed to face a single Sister was two. If a Sister rolled a higher number than desired, they would simply roll again until the result suited them. In the worst-case scenario, they resolved disputes with a quick game of rock, paper, scissors.

Thus, after much deliberation, the final division was decided:

Kim Jakga would face Superbia, the Flame of Pride.

Soo Jinyoung would confront both Invidia, the Flame of Envy, and Avaritia, the Flame of Greed.

Moon Jiyeon would battle Gula, the Flame of Gluttony.

Yoo Rin was pitted against both Ira, the Flame of Wrath, and Acedia, the Flame of Sloth.

And as for Miyuki Kuroi...

"Nobody is really here," Miyuki muttered under her breath as she continued her stride.

Since the start of the Hidden Fable, she had been exploring the house alone. For reasons unknown to her, they had vanished without a trace.

She scoured the house for any sign of them, but no matter how desperately she searched or called out, her pleas were met with only silence.

To be precise, she had heard voices, but she was certain they did not belong to her party members.

"Miyuki~ Are you there?"

The voice was light, almost playful, bearing a faint resemblance to her Ahjussi's tone. But it lacked the warmth, the familiarity, a hollow imitation of the original.

"Please open this door~"

A soft knock resonated from a nearby room. Miyuki cast a brief glance at the door, before she resumed her stride without hesitation.

"Miyuki~ Miyuki~ Miyuka~"

Voices continued to emerge from the surrounding space, drifting through the gray fog that clung to the air like a shroud. She didn't know where the fog had come from, nor what it concealed, but she kept walking straight.

It had been like this for a while. Maybe something was trying to lure her into a trap—or something even worse.

Fortunately, she wasn't curious enough to take the bait. The enemy was underestimating an eleven-year-old far too much.

She will not be tricked by such hollow traps!

How long am I going to keep walking like this? My feet are starting to ache. And why is it so dark? If not for the flashlight Ahjussi gave me, I'd be stumbling around completely blind.

She glanced at the flashlight in her hand. It still seemed to have enough power to stay lit for a while, but its beam was growing dimmer with each passing second.

If this kept up, she might soon find herself stumbling in the dark without a light source.

"I can manage, I guess. But what is this... thing?"

Miyuki frowned, spinning around sharply. She raised her flashlight like a weapon, aiming its flickering beam directly at the 'thing' lurking behind her.

A black shadow.

It had no facial features, no eyes, nose, skin, ears, clothing, or mouth.

What was the perfect description of a shadow?

It would look exactly like this. Yet, there was something off about it—something that even Miyuki couldn't ignore.

The shadow was unusually short. To be precise, it seemed to take the form of a child, not much younger than her, perhaps around eight or nine years old.
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That was the only noticeable detail, aside from its hollow, white eyes.

It had been following her for some time now. No, it had been following her since the moment they first entered the Entrance Hall.

Every time she moved, it would move. Every time she stopped, it would stop.

It was like a person's shadow, except it could take physical form and walk on its own two feet, like a human being.

Needless to say, Miyuki wasn't exactly thrilled to have the shadow trailing her everywhere she went. She found it unsettling, even creepy.

She wanted to tell her Ahjussi, Kim Jakga, about this strange shadow, but it seemed nobody else could see it—not even Soo Jinyoung, who had the sharpest sensory ability in the group.

Maybe it had hidden Itself to avoid being detected.

Ah, that's right. It stops following me sometimes, usually when Soo Jinyoung-nim is around. Could it be... afraid of her?

Her line of thinking was close, almost. She didn't have enough of the bigger picture to draw a proper conclusion.

Ghosts and spirits can't be seen by the naked eye unless one channels magic into their vision.

In fact, there was a category within the archives of skills specifically for this, known as the Magic Eyes (魔眼)

On rare occasions, spirits would appear before someone they had taken an interest in. However, they would avoid those they disliked or perceived as a threat to their existence.

In this case, it was the latter. The shadow had avoided appearing when Soo Jinyoung was around because she had already seen through its existence, causing it to hide in order to protect itself.

It might even disappear for good if It was discovered again.

But Miyuki didn't know this. She simply thought of it as an irritating shadow that stubbornly followed her wherever she went.

What exactly was this shadow? Miyuki wondered.

At first, she had thought it was a "Yokai" (妖怪), influenced by the bedtime stories her mother used to tell her before her passing. Later, she even considered it might be a "Yūrei" (幽霊), a ghost, but the shadow had shown no signs of hostility so far.

'It' simply followed her.

That reminds me... Why does it feel so familiar? It's as if I've seen it somewhere before, but... nowhere.

Miyuki shook her head, dismissing the foolish thought in an instant.

Why would she see something like this shadow?

In her homeland, there was a myth that those who laid eyes on a spirit would be cursed. The very idea made her shudder, and she quickly pushed the thought out of her mind.

Clearly annoyed, she looked at the black shadow and asked. "Why are you following me? Go somewhere else already and leave me alone?"

There was no response.

The black shadow didn't respond to her. After all, 'It' had no mouth so it could not speak. After a moment, its white eyes seemed to lower, as if staring at the ground.

It was as though it was...sad.

Miyuki couldn't understand. Why was the shadow following her of all people in the group? Perhaps it was just a whim, something it did without reason. Or maybe it was waiting for something to happen.

She did not know.

Miyuki sighed as if the situation was ridiculous.

What should I do? It doesn't seem like it wants to cause me harm. It's just following me for some reason. Ughh... I don't know anymore. Would it be okay if I continued like this?

Considering that the shadow hadn't displayed any signs of hostility toward her or the others, Miyuki concluded it was likely harmless.

With a soft sigh, she resumed her steady pace down the dim path. Moments later, the shadow lifted its hollow gaze from the ground and silently trailed after her once more.

Tap! Tap!

Each time Miyuki took a step, the shadow mirrored her movement, matching her pace exactly.

Right leg, left leg. Right foot, left foot.

The shadow mimicked her movements with unnerving precision, its silent steps falling in perfect rhythm with hers.

Indeed, it moved and mimicked her actions perfectly, just like a true shadow.

Too bad there's no one around to give it a gold medal. Miyuki thought bitterly, absently scratching the side of her nose.

How long had they been walking like this?

Miyuki continued forward, step after step, until the shadow suddenly moved ahead of her. It raised a hand, silently signaling her to stop. The unexpected gesture made her freeze in place.

She blinked, tilting her head slightly in confusion. Huh? It stopped me? Why?

This was the first time the shadow had acted this way, and the unfamiliarity of the situation left her both puzzled and intrigued.

Curiosity got the better of her. "Is there something wrong?" she asked cautiously. "Why did you stop me? Is there something ahead?"

The shadow didn't answer. Instead, it turned and began walking forward along the empty path.

Miyuki's confusion only deepened. Nothing unusual had occurred—nothing out of the ordinary at all. For a moment, she even wondered if the shadow was playing some sort of prank on her.

Then—

Kakakakakakkakakakakaka!

Without warning, the shadow's neck twisted violently. Its head was ripped apart by an unseen force, flying down the path at incredible speed as its body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.

"?!"

Miyuki's eyes widened in sheer terror as she stumbled backward, collapsing onto the floor with a sharp gasp.