Water dripped steadily from the old irrigation system, each drop echoing across the ruins like a soft heartbeat.
But that calm rhythm shattered instantly beneath the sorrowful cry of Kairo.
He sat on his knees in front of the demolished potato patch, hands limp at his sides, eyes wide with disbelief.
"M–my potatoes…" he whispered, voice trembling.
The soil was overturned. Claw marks sliced through the earth. The little sprouts he had lovingly tended were simply… gone.
Kairo thought, (I planted them so long ago… I was finally going to eat them tonight… Why does the world hate me?)
Behind him, Lilian let out a long sigh. "Kairo… don't worry. They were just potatoes. We can always repla—"
"NO!" Kairo snapped, pointing at the ravaged garden like a betrayed father at a crime scene. "They were not ordinary potatoes! They were MINE! I grew them! I nurtured them! I was going to eat them!"
Theo crossed his arms, nodding seriously as he turned to Lilian. "You wouldn't understand. When something you grew yourself gets taken away… it hurts."
A single tear rolled dramatically down his cheek.
Kairo clenched his fist as tears welled in his eyes. "Why… why do these things keep happening to me?"
Flint slammed his fist into his palm. "Boss, don't worry! I swear—I swear—I'll find the bastards who did this! And I'll fry them alive with my fire magic!"
Theo stepped forward beside him, raising his hand in solidarity. "Count me in. We'll avenge your potatoes, Kairo. Even if it costs us our lives."
Kairo looked at them both, touched beyond words. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his expression hardened with burning determination.
"Thanks, guys… You truly understand me." He wiped his eyes. "Together—WE WILL FIND WHO DID THIS. And we'll get our potatoes back!"
"Yes!!!" Theo and Flint shouted in perfect synch, throwing their arms around Kairo.
The three of them embraced tightly, mourning, suffering, and rallying like heroes who had just lost their homeland instead of root vegetables.
Lilian stood a few feet away, staring blankly at the embarrassing display.
(They're acting like someone stole their firstborn,) she thought. (This is humiliating. These were JUST potatoes, for heaven's sake.)
She put her hand over her face, tugging her hat down to hide her reddening cheeks from pure secondhand embarrassment.
Kairo, Theo, and Flint quickly broke the group hug, clearing their throats and wiping away the tears they refused to admit were there. Kairo awkwardly sniffed, straightening his back as if nothing had happened.
"Ahem—so, gentlemen," he declared with forced dignity, "let's look for some clues."
"You got it, boss!" Flint said immediately.
"Yeah, whatever," Theo muttered, but he still stepped forward with determination.
Lilian exhaled deeply, brushing her hair back. "I guess I have to help as well… even if this is ridiculous."
They started at the ruined patch. Flint crouched first, his nose twitching like he was trying to smell the culprit out.
"These claw marks… not ordinary," he muttered.
Theo nodded, folding his arms. "Yeah. Too big to belong to those rat monsters we fought. And too deep. Something heavy was digging here."
Kairo crouched beside them. "Doesn't seem like a boar either… strange."
They tossed theories back and forth, stacking up wild guesses like children judging footprints in mud. Lilian watched them for a moment, her eye twitching.
Finally she sighed sharply. "You idiots are looking in the wrong place."
Kairo, Theo, and Flint turned at once.
Lilian pointed her staff toward a patch of dirt a few meters away. "There. Actual footprints. Not claw marks. Look properly."
The boys rushed over immediately, nearly bumping into each other. Lilian crossed her arms, annoyed.
Kairo examined the tracks, impressed. "Nice work, Lilian."
Lilian blinked, heat rising to her cheeks. "O-oh… thanks, I guess—"
But her moment of glory was instantly stolen.
"WOAH, LOOK AT THIS!" Flint yelled, sticking his face near the prints.
Theo knelt beside him. "These are huge. Whatever walked here was BIG."
Kairo nodded seriously. "And it went deeper into the ruins."
All four looked up at the same time, following the heavy trail leading into the dark, unexplored remains ahead.
Their potato thief was waiting.
Kairo, Theo, and Flint rushed forward the moment they spotted the footprints, practically tripping over one another in their excitement.
"Hurry up!" Kairo shouted, half-panicked, half-determined.
Theo and Flint echoed him with the enthusiasm of children chasing an ice-cream cart, "On it, boss!!"
Behind them, Lilian groaned loudly. "Seriously… all this for some roots? They're potatoes, not divine relics."
But she still followed.
They pushed deeper into the ruins. The cracked stone buildings gradually thinned, becoming more broken, more shredded — until finally, there were no buildings at all. Just rubble, dust, and eerie silence stretching ahead of them.
Kairo slowed, unease crawling over his skin. "Something feels wrong…"
"Maybe we should turn back," Lilian suggested quietly. "You know, like sensible people."
Theo dismissed her instantly. "You can turn back if you want. But no potatoes for you when we bring them home."
"I don't care about potatoes!" Lilian snapped. "I care about staying alive!"
But she still didn't turn back.
After several tense minutes of following the trail, the group arrived at the mouth of a large cave. A cold wind rolled out of it, carrying the scent of damp stone and something wild.
Theo's eyes lit up. "Whoa… this is cool."
"There are claw marks here," Flint noted, pointing at the stone. "Same as the ones on the patch. The bastard who took them is inside."
Kairo clenched his fists. "Then we're ending this."
Lilian tried one last time. "This is our last chance to turn back! Please, let's avoid the mysterious death cave."
But the three idiots walked in without hesitation.
Lilian groaned and followed.
They barely stepped ten feet inside before shadows shifted across the walls.
"Kairo!" Theo warned.
"Boss, get back!" Flint barked, raising his axes.
Figures crawled out of the darkness — dozens of them.
And then one rose…
lifting from four legs onto two.
A beam of dim light fell across its face.
A monstrous, fur-covered bear.
Red eyes burning.
A jagged scar twisting across its muzzle.
It stared into their souls —
and growled.
To be continued.....