Into The Exile

My eyes were still closed. My senses were still numb. But I could feel a cold shivering through and through, like tiny needles crawling under my skin. I tried to open my eyes but it was as if the eyelids were sealed with ice. I pressed harder and harder until eventually I managed to pry them open and… it was all snow around me. Endless white, like the world had been erased.

I staggered up from where I was lying. My head was still trying to process what had happened; my memories slipped away like water through my fingers. Nothing made sense. The silence was so heavy I could hear my own pulse. Then, ahead, a shape—someone else lying in the snow, just like me.

Sora? Sora?!

I stumbled toward her and dropped to my knees, pulling her out of the snow. The air was sharp and bit into my lungs, every hair on my body standing from the cold. But what froze me even more was Sora’s stillness, her body giving no response to my touch.

“Sora! Open your eyes! Sora!” My voice cracked against the empty sky.

Then, a faint sound: “Ahh… Oni…chan…? Where… are we?”

Her words gave me warmth even in the coldest of moments. A fragile smile tugged at my lips; it felt as if I had finally found my lost piece of a puzzle. I didn’t know why, but something deep inside me loosened, like a knot untying.

“I don’t know, Sora,” I whispered.

She looked at me with a confused face, her pupils searching. “Sora…? Who is that… Oni-chan?”

My stomach dropped. She didn’t know her own name.

“What do you mean? Did you forget your own—”

And then, like a thunderbolt, it hit me. A shock too heavy to carry.

Wait. What’s my name again? Huh? Who… am I?

“Who… am I then?” The whispers slipped out of my mouth without me even noticing.
Sora looked at me and said, “What are you saying, oni-chan? Your name is Ruu, oni-chan.”
I stared at her. The words, the name she spoke… it felt alien to me.
“…Ruu…?”
“Yes, Ruu Akaru. That’s your full name.”
I still couldn’t process it.
“And yours… Sora, isn’t it?”
She gave me the same kind of look I had when she said out my name.
“… I don’t… know…”
“I see. But I know you are Sora. That’s the only thing I know about myself.”

Sora then touched my face, sliding her palm slowly down with a warm look. “I also know one thing… that you’re my oni-chan.”

By then it was clear—we both had forgotten everything. Our memories, our past, all erased, except one thing: our names and the bond between us. I didn’t know why it was like this, but maybe it was mercy from someone.
The only thing I knew was Sora is my stepsister. Nothing else. No shared past, no memories, no nothing. Just this one thought beating inside me—that I had to protect her no matter what. Maybe that was my heart’s only longing.

Suddenly a strong icy wind blew over us, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I lifted Sora into my arms and stood up.
“Oni-chan, let me down. I can walk.”
“No,” I said firmly. “It’s too cold here, snow everywhere. You can’t walk. I won’t let you. Hold on to me.”

She didn’t answer. She just wrapped her arms tighter around my shoulders.
I felt her shivering, trembling, but she said nothing.
Our clothes were thin, useless against this cold. I started running, not even knowing what I was looking for. Just… running. After minutes of running, I stepped into a forest. I looked around, searching for anything, and then—I saw it. A cave in the distance.

I ran straight toward it. It wasn’t far. Finally, I reached and hurried inside. The cave stretched underground, long and narrow. I kept going until only a faint ray of light remained behind us. I didn’t dare go deeper since I had no idea what could be down there.

I laid Sora down gently. We were both trembling, shaking in the cold. I couldn’t bear to watch her like that. I pulled off my long-sleeve shirt.
“Here, Sora. Take it. You’re shaking too much.”
“…No… oni-chan… You’ll freeze… you wear it…” Her teeth trembled as she spoke.
“Don’t worry about me. Just wear it.”
“But… you—”
“No buts,” I cut her off, wrapping it around her myself. “I said it’s okay.”

I stood up. “Wait here a bit. I’ll go look for something.”
Just as I was about to leave, she grabbed my hand. “Wait, oni-chan. Don’t go. You only have that thin shirt left. You’ll freeze out there.”

I gently pulled her hand away, placed my palm on her head, and looked into her eyes. “We need food and firewood if we want to survive. At this rate, we won’t last a day. I have to go, Sora.”

I turned, but again she caught my hand, her pitiful eyes staring at me. I looked back and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. You must not leave this cave. There could be wild animals in the forest.”

She kept looking at me, and I didn’t want to leave her either. But I couldn’t take her with me, and I had no choice but to go.

I started walking, her hand finally slipping from mine.
Outside the cave, all I saw were trees—dark, blackened wood rising tall into the sky. Their trunks were thick, their branches hard and unyielding. Breaking them with bare hands was impossible; you’d need an axe to cut through. Still, I searched for other kinds of trees, something easier to use. But to my surprise, not a single one was different. Every tree was the same, stretching endlessly upward.

I didn’t find a single animal either. Not even the rustle of movement nearby—only a few birds flapping far away in the sky. The silence pressed in, heavy and strange. It felt unnatural, unsettling, to walk through a forest that held no life.

I kept searching, but there was nothing. No wood, no food, nothing to bring back to Sora. The thought made my chest tighten.
How am I going to face her like this?

Those doubts filled my head until I came across a fallen tree. But it wasn’t natural—it looked broken, like something had snapped it apart with brute force.

“What are these scars?” I muttered under my breath.

I placed my hand against the trunk. The marks cut deep, far too deep for anything ordinary. They weren’t made by human hands, and they didn’t look like claw marks either. They were massive, jagged, gouged into the wood with impossible strength.

“Claws…? No. Not possible. No animal could…”

Snow piled on my shoulders, the cold biting into my skin. The chill snapped me out of my thoughts.

“This isn’t the time to wonder about that. At least I have wood now, however it broke. I need to get back to Sora and start a fire. Food can wait.”

I hurried back to the cave.

“Sora! Sora!” I called her name. No answer. My chest tightened with worry. But when I reached her, I found her drifting off to sleep. Relief washed over me. Rest was what she needed most right now, so I didn’t wake her.

Then came the task of making fire. All around the cave were small stones scattered across the ground. I gathered two that looked sharp and placed the wood together, surrounding it with some larger rocks.

I didn’t know why, but it felt familiar—like I had done this before. My hands moved with a strange certainty, as though this wasn’t my first time. I struck the stones together. Nothing. The stones were too cold. I tried again, and again, sparks flickering weakly but vanishing before catching.

After many tries, a faint flame finally appeared, licking at the dry scraps I had found. Small torn pieces from the broken tree made it easier. With effort, the fire grew steady, glowing warmly against the cave walls. I sat beside it, breathing easier.

Then a thought struck me, one I had ignored until now.

Why wasn’t I trembling? Why hadn’t I frozen when I’d been out there in the snow, almost half-naked? It was snowing outside, yet I hadn’t felt as cold as I should have. By all reason, I should be frostbitten, unable to move.

How is my body resisting the cold? Is that even possible?

The questions circled in my mind, but no answers came.

“Oni…chan?”

Sora’s voice pulled me out of my sudden thoughts. I looked back and saw her sitting up.

“Oh, Sora, you’re already awake?”

She nodded sleepily, scratching one of her eyes with her left hand.

“Come here,” I said, patting the ground beside me.

She shuffled over to the fire and sat down. I patted her head. “Why don’t you sleep a bit more? I have to go get some food and water.”

“…uhh… but…” Her voice was still thick with sleep.

“It’s okay. Don’t think too much. Just rest. This fire will keep you warm.”

“…oka…y…” She drifted back into sleep as I gently stroked her forehead.

Okay. Time to go and bring some food and water.

I told myself with firm determination. Even in the hardest moments, something unexpected can still happen. Finding that wood had given me a tiny ray of hope.

I stepped outside the cave. Darkness was falling quickly, heavier here than it should be. The forest grew even more unsettling—the silence stretching in every direction, only the faint chirping of distant birds. The air felt dead, eerie, and my spine shivered as I walked.

I went in a different direction than before. In my hand was a burning piece of wood to light my way. I kept walking and walking, but no signs of life appeared. No movement, no animals, nothing.

Then I came across a large, frozen pond. Fish were trapped beneath the ice, some so close to the surface I could see them clearly.

Finally. I’ve found something.

Relief and exhaustion washed over me at once. I looked for a stick or anything sharp to break the ice, but of course, there was nothing. The only thing I had was my torch. If I was careless, the fire would go out.

I struck the ice gently with the unlit end. When it cracked, I used my hands and feet to break it further. Carefully, I scooped out a few fish—only three. The rest were frozen deeper, and I wasn’t going to risk putting out my fire to get them. Without the right tools, I couldn’t carry more anyway.

I didn’t waste any more time. I hurried back to the cave and found Sora still asleep.

I set the fish on the ground and broke apart more of the tree branches I’d brought earlier.

Thank you, unknown species, for almost breaking it for me. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do this barehanded.

“Hm…hnnng…”

Sora stirred at the sound of the branches cracking.

I sharpened one piece of wood and used it to split the fish open, removing all the inedible parts. Then I rubbed the sides to scrape off the scales. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing.

I stepped outside, gathered some snow, and took off my shirt. I piled the snow onto the fabric and came back inside. Using a stick from the fire, I held it under the shirt, letting the snow melt and drip into shallow, bowl-shaped stones. One stone didn’t hold much water, so I had to repeat the process several times until I had enough.

I used some of the melted water to wash the fish, then skewered them on sharp sticks and placed them over the fire. Slowly, the smell of cooking fish filled the cave.

Sora stirred and opened her eyes. “Hnng… Oni-chan… what’s that smell?”

“Sora, you’re finally awake. Here—take these two. I caught some fish.”

She held one and looked at me. “Oni-chan… but there are only three. You need more strength than I do.”

“Oh, that’s what you’re worried about. Don’t worry—I already ate one before you woke up. I was so hungry, couldn’t control myself. Haha…”

I tried to brush it off with a laugh.

“Oh…” She began eating.

“And yeah, drink some water from those stone pots. One can’t hold much, but there are several, so it should be enough.”

She glanced at them with a look of wonder. “When did you find water, Oni-chan? Was there a source nearby?”

“Oh, that? I just heated up some clean snow.”

“Snow…?” She tilted her head. “But how did you catch the water?”

I scratched the back of my neck, eyes dropping to the floor. “Well… I used my t-shirt to hold it and…” I explained the process to her. “I didn’t want to tell you since it might creep you out… I mean, I was wearing that shirt…”

Then, a little desperately, I added, “But hey, I really washed it very well with the water I got, so you don’t have to worry. But if you still don’t want to drink then—”

Before I could finish, she pressed her index finger against my lips to stop me.

“What are you talking about, oni-chan?”

Then she hugged me briefly, resting her forehead against my chest.
“Why would it creep me out?”

I froze, startled, unable to respond.
“I… mean… uhh…” The words got stuck in my throat.

“You’re wrapping me in your clothes, keeping me warm, working so hard to find food, letting me sleep in peace… Why would I ever be creeped out by someone like that?”

I didn’t know what to say. My mind went blank.
“Ah… hahaha…” was all I managed.

She finally let go of me and moved away to drink the water.

Relief washed over me. At least the awkwardness had passed. I scratched the back of my head and just looked at her quietly.

I leaned my back against the cave wall, sitting with my legs stretched out. The fire burned a little to my side, its warmth just right at that distance.

Sora came over and sat beside me.
“What are you thinking?” she asked softly.

“Me? Oh… nothing…”

“I see.” She smiled at me.

I didn’t know why she smiled, but seeing that expression, even in a place like this, sent a strange warmth through me. For a moment, the tension eased. It felt like a tiny reassurance, a quiet proof that maybe I was doing something right. I didn’t know why, but for the first time since we arrived, I felt a little bit… worthy.