[CHAPTER-1] The silence

Someone sat at her left, quiet and still. Timmy wasn’t looking at the water. His eyes were fixed on her, unable to turn away. The silver light softened her face, and he thought, not for the first time, that she looked like something not meant for this world.

“Beautiful…” The word slipped out before he realized it.

Yui turned her head. “What?”

Timmy’s eyes widened, his cheeks bursting red. He waved his hands nervously. “Th-the moon! I meant the moon!”

Yui tilted her head, then laughed softly. “Yes. It really is a beautiful night.”

Her laughter rang lightly, blending with the quiet splash of water. Above them, the sky stretched wide and endless, painted a deep bluish black. Stars dotted the heavens in thick clusters, clearer than usual. The moon hung heavy and bright, larger than it should have been, as if leaning closer to the world.

Their hands rested near each other on the cold stone platform. Without thinking, Yui let her finger brush against his palm.

Timmy’s heart leapt so hard it hurt. The touch was nothing more than a whisper, yet it echoed through him like a thunderclap.

“…Everyone thinks I’m cursed,” he said suddenly. His voice was low, uncertain.

“Aren’t you afraid of me, Yui? Afraid of what people say about me?”

Yui looked at him carefully. The moonlight gleamed in her eyes, steady and unshaken.

“Don’t be silly,” she said. “You’re kind, Timmy. Kinder than anyone else I know. Don’t let their words eat at you. They don’t know who you really are.”

For a moment, the weight in his chest loosened. His lips curved into a small smile — the kind he rarely let anyone see.

Yui stood, brushing dust from her skirt. “It’s late. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Timmy blinked. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes. I have something to give you.” She smiled, her eyes playful.

“A… gift?”

“You’ll see.” She turned, then leaned down and pressed her lips gently against his cheek. The warmth lingered even after she pulled back.

“Good night, Timmy.”

She walked down the lantern-lit street, her steps light and certain.

Timmy raised a hand to his cheek, trembling. His heart raced as though it would break free from his chest.

“…Tomorrow,” he whispered to himself. “Tomorrow, I’ll tell her. No matter what… I love her.”

But they were not alone.

In the shadows of a nearby alley, a cloaked man stood still. His eyes glimmered coldly as he watched Yui walks away and Timmy sit there, lost in his thoughts. The man’s lips twisted into a smile. He turned and melted into the darkness.

Timmy didn’t know it yet, but his quiet night of hope had already been stolen.

Timmy’s life had always been marked by tragedy. He was found as a baby beneath the roots of the Sacred Tree — a colossal being of wood and bark that pierced the heavens with its branches and reached into hell with its roots. Nobody knew where he had come from. Nobody knew his parents. He simply… appeared there one night, crying under the tree’s shadow. The family who raised him died in an accident after two years. Their relatives took him in, but they perished mysteriously five years later. When he was twelve, the orphanage that accepted him burned to ash in a single night. Everyone died — except

Timmy. The city whispered of him with fear. Survivor. Monster. Death Crawler. A cursed child who brought death wherever he went.

But Yui had never cared. Since childhood, she had stood by him, her hand in his, her smile undimmed by the words of others. To her, he was not cursed. He was Timmy. A boy who laughed softly when he thought no one heard, who tried to help stray cats, who carried more kindness than anyone else dared to see.

And to Timmy, Yui was everything. His proof that he wasn’t what people said. His one and only light in the darkness.

The cloaked man hurried through the quiet streets, heading for the great church at the heart of the city. Its spire loomed tall, its bells silent in the night. The doors creaked

open as he entered, the heavy scent of incense spilling into the air. Inside, rows of candles burned before the altar. And in the center, dressed in white robes, stood Father Edward.

To the people of the city, Father Edward was a man of endless kindness. A guide. A leader of faith. He was loved, respected, even adored.

But in truth, his heart was darker than anyone dared to believe. Behind his holy smile was a man who held power through fear, who accused, punished, and killed in the name of God. The cloaked man knelt. “Father… I saw them. The cursed boy. The girl was with him.

Under the moon, like lovers.”

Edward’s lips curled into a smile that did not reach his eyes. “So. The cursed child has found love.” 

The priest walked toward the altar, his shadow long and jagged in the flickering candlelight. His voice was calm, yet it dripped with venom.

“Perfect. Tomorrow, we will put an end to it.”

He touched the cross that hung above the altar, lowering his head as if in prayer. But his words were far from holy. “At dawn, the girl will burn. We will call her a witch, a servant of the devil. In front of the city, she will scream. The boy’s spirit will break. His hope will die. And then… he will follow.”

The cloaked man bowed his head. “Yes, Father.”

Edward smiled wider, his teeth glinting in the dim light. The bells tolled midnight, their echo rolling through the sleeping city. And with that sound, Yui’s fate was sealed.