At the peak of a towering mountain, a large wooden house stood firmly against the vast expanse of sky. The cold mountain air drifted gently, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. In the yard outside the house, an adult man sat calmly on a large moss-covered boulder. His long, pure-white hair swayed softly in the breeze. Both of his eyes were hidden behind long bangs.
Not far from where he sat, a ten-year-old boy was practicing throwing something at a target.
The boy was named Haise—a child with eyes the color of a full moon, starkly contrasting his jet-black hair. His long bangs nearly covered those unusual eyes, giving him an appearance unlike any other child his age.
Srak!
Missed again. He had tried so many times that he was starting to feel bored.
Haise let out a long sigh, then glanced toward his teacher. He fell silent for a moment, as if weighing something in his mind. Finally, he summoned the courage to speak.
"Teacher," Haise called, lowering his hand. "What's the outside world like? And… who exactly are you?"
The teacher did not answer right away. He remained seated in calm silence, as though savoring the quiet of the mountains.
Haise went on. "You've never told me anything about it. But… I'm sure you were someone incredibly strong in the past, right?"
Several seconds of silence passed before the teacher finally spoke. His voice was deep yet tranquil, like the steady flow of a river.
"The outside world?"
He lifted his face slightly, though his eyes remained concealed behind his white bangs.
"It's a harsh place. Far too harsh for a child as young as you. If you ever wish to descend into that world one day, you must first become strong—very strong. That place has no mercy for the weak."
The teacher continued, his tone shifting slightly—there was a trace of pride in it, yet also an unshakable confidence.
"And if you're asking who I was in the past…"
A faint smile curved his lips.
"I was the strongest person of my era. There wasn't a single soul stronger than me. I stood alone—no one in that world was like me."
Haise stared at his teacher with a flat expression. His face looked… skeptical. Those white eyes seemed to say, *Really?*
The teacher noticed the look and was quietly amused.
"What's with that face?" he asked, half-teasing. "Don't you believe your own teacher? You've already seen a glimpse of my power, haven't you?"
Haise shrugged casually, then answered in a calm, honest tone.
"I can't be sure. I've never seen the outside world with my own eyes. So… I don't know whether I should believe you or not."
The teacher paused, then let out a soft chuckle.
"An honest boy. Very well—one day you'll see it for yourself. And when that day comes, you'll know I wasn't lying."
Haise merely nodded, then resumed his training.
◇ ◇ ◇
At the foot of the mountain, hidden behind dense forest and rarely traveled paths, lay a small village. It was simple, home to dozens of families who lived off farming and hunting. Life there was peaceful, far removed from the chaos of the outside world.
But that peace shattered in a single night.
It began when a village hunter killed a strange creature he encountered deep in the forest—a small shadow-like being with glowing red eyes. The creature had appeared weak, nearly dead already, so the hunter easily finished it with his spear.
He brought the body back as proof and even showed it off to the villagers. They laughed, mocking how pathetic the "cursed thing" was.
That very night, something terrifying happened.
One by one, the villagers began to weaken. Their breathing grew labored, their skin turned pale, and within hours they lost consciousness. By dawn, nearly everyone in the village was dead—passing silently in their sleep, as though their souls had been drained by something unseen.
It wasn't only the people.
Trees around the village began to wither and die. Leaves blackened and fell as if scorched. Animals that once roamed freely—birds, deer, even insects—perished in the same way. The village became a land of death, a cursed place.
And in the midst of that devastation, only one boy remained alive—Haise.
Haise stood inside his simple wooden house. The floor beneath his feet felt cold; the air inside was stifling despite the utter silence.
He stared toward his parents' bedroom.
There, his father and mother lay on the bed, their bodies cold, their faces pale as wax. They had died in their sleep—peacefully, without struggle, without a chance to say goodbye.
Haise should have been crying.
He should have felt shattered, devastated, lost.
Yet all he felt was… emptiness.
A void so deep and vast that he didn't even know what to do with himself.
"What am I supposed to do now?" he murmured, his voice barely audible.
"Everyone is gone… in just one day."
He looked down at his own hands.
"Shouldn't a kid my age cry when both his parents die? But… why don't I feel anything?"
"My heart is empty. An emptiness I don't even understand myself."
After standing motionless for a while, Haise finally stepped outside. He walked slowly along the village path, passing bodies of villagers scattered everywhere—some collapsed in front of their homes, some near the well, some slumped beside their cooking fires.
All dead.
Nothing left.
The village that once rang with children's laughter now held only oppressive silence.
Haise stopped in the middle of the path and looked up at the bright sky. The painful contrast—the heavens so clear, the world below so dark.
Then…
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps.
Someone emerged from the dead forest.
Haise turned sharply, his body tensing.
The figure was an adult man with long white hair flowing freely. Long bangs hid his eyes, but his presence radiated immense power—power Haise could feel even if he didn't understand what it was.
The man paused, surveying the village with a calm expression.
"Even though I've lived on the mountain a long time," he said flatly, "I never imagined there was a village here."
He raised one hand, sensing the air around him.
"I felt something strange while coming down earlier. This place… it's been struck by a curse. More precisely, a curse virus."
His hidden eyes seemed to perceive things ordinary eyes could not.
Then, suddenly—
WUUUUSH!
He raised his right hand and—
BRAK!
—struck the empty air as if swatting a fly.
BOOOOM!
A tremendous blast of wind swept through the entire area.
Dead trees toppled, wooden houses shook violently, dust and dry leaves flew everywhere. Haise nearly staggered backward, digging his heels into the ground to stay upright.
*Insane!*
*What the hell is this guy?!*
*He's… unbelievably strong!*
Haise stared at the man, eyes wide, breath caught in his throat.
The man lowered his hand casually, as though he had done something trivial.
"It's finished," he said with satisfaction. "I've killed the source of the curse. The village is cleansed now."
He turned to Haise.
"But… the dead cannot be brought back."
A moment of silence passed.
Then, in a softer tone, the man asked, "By the way… what's your name?"
Haise hesitated, still processing what he had just witnessed. Finally he answered, voice slightly stiff.
"H-Haise."
"Haise?" The man nodded slowly. "A fine name."
He stepped closer and asked again.
"So, Haise… what do you think caused all this in your village?"
Haise thought for a moment, then answered honestly.
"One of the villagers killed a small creature in the forest. Then… the next day, everyone here died."
The man's brow furrowed—or seemed to.
"It happened in just one day?"
He studied Haise more closely.
"And… what's with your eyes?"
Haise instinctively touched his face.
The man continued, tone curious.
"I've never seen eyes that white before. Very strange… And how are you still alive? That's far too strange."
Haise had no answer. He didn't understand it himself.
The man fell silent for a moment, then a faint smile appeared.
"Hey," he said lightly. "Want to come live with me on the mountain?"
Haise flinched.
"Why?" he asked warily. "My mother always said not to trust strangers too easily."
The man chuckled softly.
"Haha, wise words. But think about it—do you want to stay here alone in this village? Can you find food by yourself? Can you handle all the chores on your own?"
Haise fell silent. The man was right. He didn't know how to cook, how to properly clean, how to survive alone.
The man's tone grew more serious.
"And… if you come with me, I'll make you very strong. What do you say?"
Haise looked at him with an empty gaze.
Deep down, he knew he had no other choice.
After thinking for a while, Haise finally replied.
"Fine. I'll go with you."
The man smiled.
But Haise added, "There's one condition—you have to help me bury all the villagers' bodies first."
He hadn't done it earlier because his small body and weak strength made it impossible to dig graves and bury dozens of people alone.
The man nodded seriously.
"Of course. We should do that."
The task took nearly an entire day.
The man—with impossible strength—dug massive graves at incredible speed. His hands moved like giant shovels, lifting earth effortlessly, as if weight meant nothing to him.
Haise helped however he could: bringing cloth to wrap the bodies, placing small stones as markers, and silently praying for everyone he had known.
His father.
His mother.
The neighbors.
The children he used to play with.
All were laid to rest properly.
As the sun began to set, the work was finally complete.
Haise stood before his parents' grave, staring at the fresh mound of earth with an empty expression.
The man stood beside him in silence, giving the boy time.
After a while, Haise turned.
"I'm ready," he said softly but firmly.
The man nodded.
"Then let's go home."
The climb to the mountain peak took several hours. The path was steep, rocky, and overgrown with thorny brush. Yet the man walked with ease, as if it were nothing.
Haise followed behind, breathing heavily.
When they finally reached the top, night had fallen. A full moon shone brightly, illuminating a large wooden house standing solidly in a wide clearing.
Haise gazed at it in awe.
"This will be your home from now on," the man said, opening the door. "Since I'm the master of this house, you'll naturally follow my rules."
Haise nodded.
The man gave a faint smile.
"Welcome to your new home, Haise."
And that was the day Haise became a disciple.
The day his destiny changed forever.
The day that, in the future, he would become someone extraordinarily strong…
…and extraordinarily arrogant.