After Alice stepped down from Yuel, it was Yuel who spoke first:"T-t-then, I'll call you Alice from now on. You're practically the only one I can talk to during this journey... all the wendigos here are mind-washed. Honestly, if I had known it would turn out this way, I wouldn't have brainwashed them in the first place."
"As a wendigo, I don't really think about them. Why should you?"
"Alice, you wanted to become human, didn't you?"
"Yes, but I was the one who asked the ques—"
"Then listen, Alice. The biggest thing that separates humans from wendigos... is empathy. If you want to be human, then you'll need to learn how to do that."
"I don't know what empathy is. Is it really that important? I'll learn it if it is."
"Most likely, yes... but where would you even learn it from?"
"In the library, we've got piles of books stolen from humans. There must be at least a few things written about empathy in them."
As they spoke, something suddenly shifted. Yuel felt it—a kind of loss.
Another wendigo had vanished.
Yuel jumped out of bed, his expression hardening."Something important has come up, I need to go. See you later!" he said quickly, striding down the mansion's corridors with a chair in tow.
"Yuel, there's a chair behind yo—"
"Null, shut up! I'm in the middle of something important!"
He stormed out of the mansion and into the nearly empty streets. The air was freezing. They hadn't gotten far enough from the Endless Winter, so outside the crystallized mammoth, snowstorms raged. The greatest blizzard, though, was already behind them.
The moment Yuel stepped outside, he commanded all the white crystallized bears and the wendigos riding them: Find the one who has gone missing.
It didn't take long—within minutes, news came back.
The corpse was almost identical to the one found the other day: poisoned, burned, and most of the remains devoured by some massive creature.
This time, Yuel didn't even bother looking closely at the body.
Most likely, this route had fallen into a titan's hunting ground. Even though titans in the Frozen Hollows couldn't claim territory, they might still treat migration paths as if they were their own. The only sensible choice was to change course.
If their numbers kept dwindling, the chances of losing the coming war against Shiro would only increase.
He could try to slay the titan, but he didn't even know what phase it was in. Gambling recklessly wasn't an option.
The most rational move was to abandon this route.
Yet, if things continued like this, the wendigos he planned to use as soldiers would keep decreasing.
That would put him at a severe disadvantage when fighting Shiro. This was the worst-case scenario—and he had to move according to it.
Which meant... he needed something to strengthen himself.
The first step was simple: keep Swore alive until the right time.
The second: after Swore's death, either claim the corpse... or be the one to kill him.
He was standing at a critical turning point. Every decision mattered.
"Null, do you have any idea how I could find Swore?"
Yuel could have spoken inwardly with Null, but since no one was around, he chose to mutter aloud like a madman. It didn't bother him.
Null's voice, though only meant for Yuel's ears, always felt as though it came from outside anyway. When they returned to human lands, they would have to keep their words inward. But here, with no one around, it didn't matter.
"There is a way... but it's not tied to you."
"What do you mean? Be clearer."
"You don't have any magic that could track Swore. But Alice... she might. Ask her."
"...Makes sense. I'll try it."
With that, Yuel returned to the mansion. There were some matters he had to discuss with Alice.
That same day, fourteen wendigos who had been out hunting atop their crystallized bears came back. Even though the sky never darkened here, time was passing, and the wendigos weren't a race that stayed awake all day—they returned to rest.
All fourteen brought back dhune corpses as prey. Day after day, they combed these frozen lands for food and resources.
But one of them returned not just with meat.
A serpent slithered alongside him. Black-scaled, with eyes glowing faint green. It was no larger than a normal snake, yet it had wound itself around the wendigo's head as if it had claimed him as its master.
This wendigo's name was Gave. He gently stroked the serpent's head.
Gave stood about two and a half meters tall. His fingers were long and claw-like, his face hauntingly terrifying compared to a human's. Yet this snake had chosen him.
A single tear slid down Gave's eye. Though he had only met the creature that very day, he had grown deeply attached. Bound instantly.
Even if Yuel considered the entire wendigo race savage, there were still ones like Gave.
Gave gazed longingly at the mansion at the center. He wished he could live there, but it was reserved for the highest members of the cult—likely Lumen, and that strange human child.
Instead, Gave lived in a small apartment room, now together with his serpent.
It wasn't fair, but he lacked the strength to protest. A typical wendigo would've had the courage... but he dismissed the thought with a sigh.
All he wanted was to live happily with the serpent. Nothing more.
But now that he loved it so dearly, he needed to give it a name.
"I'll call you... Night. The sky I'll never see. The name of that thing I've only ever read about in books. Do you like it?"
The snake coiled tighter around his arm, raising its head. Gave met its green gaze...
"Then it's settled. From now on, you're Night. Nice to meet you, little friend."
Gave had been the one to discover the corpse yesterday. Afterward, he went hunting again, and it was there he had found this little serpent.
At first, it was aggressive, but once Gave offered it food, its hostility faded. Night had likely come to him only for more meals.
But Gave didn't care. He loved it regardless.
That was all that mattered.
He returned with Night to his apartment. Though the room was small, he felt content.
As long as Night was with him, he would be happy.
The next day, Gave awoke and headed toward his white crystallized bear with Night resting on his shoulders.
Thirteen other wendigos descended with him. The stairways down the moving mammoth were tricky, but they had done this countless times before.
When they reached the ground, two figures awaited them.
A pale-skinned boy with jet-black hair and eyes, and a rather ordinary-looking girl with brown hair.
Gave could guess who they were, but he wasn't entirely certain.
The pale boy spoke.
"My name is Yuel, and the girl beside me is Alice. We're setting out on a mission to kill a Phase Four titan. Some of you will come with us. Who volunteers?"
A heavy silence fell. Not a single wendigo stepped forward. Null chuckled darkly in Yuel's ear.
"Yuel... did you really think that would work? Who in their right mind would volunteer to slay a Phase Four titan? You should be proud, actually—your soldiers are determined to live."
He kept giggling even after.
Yuel's voice cut the silence again.
"If none of you will step forward, then I'll choose. You, you, you, you... and you. Come with me."
Five wendigos were chosen.
Among them was Gave.
He hid Night in his satchel, worried something might happen if the serpent was seen.
The rest mounted their crystallized bears—nine of them splitting off to hunt.
The chosen five followed Yuel and Alice, departing on the path to find Swore.