Prologue - Under Snow

In the frontier villages of the Empire’s northern borders, there were three unspoken laws of the land that no prospective settler had the right to violate.

First, respect the farmers, the healers, and the hunters of your village no matter your station. With the work they do for the community, the least you can do is be respectful.

Second, treat your neighbors like family, no strings attached. With how cold the winters were in this part of the country, such was the way of the frontiersmen. Everything must be done for the common good of the community, as to do otherwise would lessen the chances of survival of everyone in the village.

And third, no one messes with a Sunbear.

Named after their fur that made them glimmer incandescent like gold under the morning sun, Sunbears were the apex predators of the north, often dwarfing fully-grown men the moment they stand on their hindlegs, with conservative estimates placing adults at a size larger than even full-sized carriages. And with the frigid climate of the north combined with its scarcity of food, they were ferocious predators as well, having no qualms about devouring a man whole with their razor-sharp teeth and powerful claws as much as they would a large salmon or a bushel of snow berries.

While he knew not of the laws of this land, Mifune Irori knew the danger of Sunbears very well, considering he was face-to-face with one right after it had taken down a fully-grown deer in front of him with ease.

Young as he was, as well-built as he was, the raven-haired teenager had no hope of contending with a bear; much less a bear that was bigger than anything he had ever seen in the zoo.

As its amber eyes shone dangerously under the specks of light that pierced through the tree cover, the beast just several meters away from Irori’s position as it huffed and snorted, the young man let out a strangled cry in despair.

Despite its thick fur, the tensing and coiling of its muscles remained perceptible nevertheless as the bear trudged closer and closer, its claws dirtied with snow and muck.

The teenager took a step back, paling as he did so.

Irori had no other options.

To fight was to die. So, as shameful as it may be, he had to—

“—run. Shit, I-I need to run.”

As the bear stood up on its hindlegs, towering over him by several feet, Irori immediately turned back and started running, twigs and dead leaves crunching under his every bound.

Outraged, the Sunbear bellowed, its guttural issue of challenge reverberating across the sea of dead trees and almost deafening the unlucky young man that had so foolishly wandered into its territory.

Like a lumbering behemoth, its gait was slow at first, its girth hampering its acceleration. After all, it was no lean wolf or mountain lion which could accelerate at speeds far outstripping even the most fleet-footed of hunters. It was a bear, and it was built for battle, not a footrace.

But against some random teenager? It wouldn’t even have to break a sweat.

“Shit, shit, shit!” The teenager swore, cold sweat trickling down his back.

Before today, he was walking down the street after his Kendo Club’s morning run, having thought of buying something light for breakfast before going on with the rest of his day.

Before today, his biggest problem was trying to decide between an egg sandwich or a salmon rice ball, and if Shinohara Yuri, the cute girl in the class next door, would ever like him back.

Before today, the closest he had ever gotten to death was the time he almost got hit by a truck while he was trying to cross the street; his eyes firmly affixed to the screen of his smartphone as he used up all his allowance to order shoes he would never really wear.

But here he was, about to be mauled by a bear in the middle of some forest he had no memory of ever stumbling into.

The bear growled, its every grunt growing even more and more audible with every passing second as its paws dug the earth with relentless drive.

Irori continued to run, his gaze darting from dead tree to dead tree before he looked back, his eyes widening in alarm.

The Sunbear was close. Really close.

Close enough that he could smell the faint scent of rotten offal and musk, and see rivulets of saliva and blood trickle down its jaw, its yellowed canines bared in anticipation for its next meal.

He needed to find a way out, and fast.

With a quick change in direction, he turned to the right and ran, launching himself towards the nearest deadwood with a mighty leap and began to climb as quickly as he could; the bear crashing into the tree with a grunt.

It may not be as graceful as he would like, but it would have to do. First, he’d climb up the tree. Then he’d wait the bear out until it got tired or thought he wasn’t worth it. A simple plan, but it was the only one he had.

With a single swipe of its gigantic paws however, the Sunbear proved just how wrong he was as it broke the former athlete’s outstretched leg in an instant with a sickening crunch of its jaws.

The young man screamed as his grip loosened, falling face-first into the snow.

—He forgot one crucial fact in his attempt to keep himself alive.

No matter how big they were, bears were known for being good climbers.

His plan was doomed from the start.

Having been silenced almost instantly by the pillow of frost he had fallen face-first into, he was immediately engulfed by the bitter chill, the snow almost overloading his senses and sending icy fire hurtling through his sinuses as he took a shaky breath and stifled a gasp of pain.

For a brief moment, all he could focus on was the cold. Not the pain, not the fear, not even regret. Just the cold.

It almost made him glad.

Almost.

—With a short grunt, the bear bit down on his shoulder with bone-crushing force as it bore down on Mifune Irori with all its mass, its jaw squeezing and crushing his collarbone with the ease of a baker breaking a baguette in half for breakfast.

“AAARGH!”

Freed from the snow for a brief moment as his body contorted in pain, Irori’s scream was deafening as the bear continued its relentless attack with animalistic glee, swiping unceasingly at the young man’s body with its paws and further battering it with every slam and growl.

Curling into a fetal position, he choked back a rising sob that would’ve no doubt turned into a vomit as the smell of bear musk, rotting flesh, and the iron-tinged scent of his own blood traveled through his sinuses.

Every strike sent searing pain flaring across his system, with every growl followed by the dull pain of broken bone chipping away at his very soul.

The bear grunted, pawing at Irori and leaving gashes in its wake as it tried to force the teenager prone.

Yet it found no success.

Despite the countless wounds Irori had incurred in the face of the monster, he clutched the back of his neck with trembling hands, pulling it as close to his body as possible as he continued to be barraged by devastating blow after devastating blow and savage bite after savage bite.

Tears left his eyes as he desperately tried to brace himself.

“...I…I-I don’t wanna die.”

Irori mumbled.

“—You won’t.”

Suddenly, he heard it.

A voice, clearer than tinkling bells, yet colder than even the biting winter chill of Hokkaido, unwavering and resolute as it competed with the animalistic grunts and growls of the Sunbear.

The whoosh of a sharp blade as it cut through air like butter, followed by the coarse chafe of a limb falling and being dragged across fresh snow.

And a deep roar of pain from the Sunbear that was abruptly silenced as quickly as it had rang out.

“Hey. Hey, you. You okay?”

The voice asked.

For a moment, he dared not hope.

He’d heard that when near death, some people started hallucinating. Some started dreaming about the life they’d be leaving behind, some, of the afterlife that they believed would soon come after.

But all these shared one common element: an increasing numbness and the gradual loss of any feeling in the body,

If that was the case though, then why was the pain still there?

Trembling, Irori tried to turn, the overbearing weight of the bear now gone.

He was expecting a grizzled hunter, a veteran of the trade, wild and unkempt after years of hunting bears in the brush.

He didn’t expect someone this beautiful.

Wrapped in fur, she seemed ethereal as she stood above him, her delicate, almost-childlike face the color of alabaster as she stared at him unflinchingly.

“W-Who?”

“Shush. Hold still.”

Tucking her platinum blonde hair behind her knife-like ears, she took a knee and started inspecting his injuries, her warm breath tickling his ear.

She smelled like berries. He didn’t know what kind, but she smelled like them all the same, with a hint of sweat and iron.

He blushed.

He needed to know her name.

“…you… beautiful. Fairy?”

Irori croaked out.

Even fairies were depicted with elven ears these days.

Maybe she was one?

She sure looked like one.

Shit, did he say that out loud?

“H-Huh?!”

She blushed violently, purple adorning her nose and cheeks as her mouth went slack with surprise before it contorted into a concerned frown.

Why was she frowning?

Come to think of it, everything was going dim.

And he was getting a bit sleepy.

Maybe a little bit of sleep would be fine.

“Hey, d-don’t fall asleep! C’mon, stay with me!”

Even as his mind began to shut down, craving the solace of slumber, he understood one thing.

If it was with her, he’d be safe.

So, he’d stay with her if he could.