"Awooo—"
With a pitiful, lingering wail, the goblin collapsed, its body breaking apart into scattered flecks that drifted away into the surrounding desolation.
"That should be… the last one, right?"
Ellen wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve, forcing herself to stay upright. Her head was already spinning, her eyelids drooping again and again without warning.
"No… can't sleep yet…"
Just as the wave of exhaustion threatened to pull her under, Ellen suddenly bit down hard on her tongue.
The metallic tang of blood spread through her mouth, barely jolting her awake. She dragged her body over and slumped against a broken wall.
The Doll immediately floated over, pressing its fluffy body against her face like a towel to wipe away the sweat. It then nudged Ellen's giant scissors aside and wrapped its tiny toy fists around her ice-cold hands, warming them bit by bit.
After that, the Doll dropped down and sat on Ellen's lower abdomen—according to Ellen, that spot helped her feel warmer.
[Miss Shark, shouldn't we find a narrower place to rest for a bit?]
[Like a single room in a building. If we lock the door, the other Ethereals won't know you're inside. That way you can actually sleep.]
As it spoke, the Doll tilted its head up toward the sky. Judging by the moon's position, it was already the latter half of the night.
Throughout the entire first half, Ellen—who had been fighting nonstop all day—hadn't had a single chance to rest.
Ethereal night assaults came wave after wave. More than once, Ellen had barely lain down, the floor not even warm yet, before she was forced back up to fight again.
One group fell, another immediately followed.
By the end, even the Doll had been wrung completely dry by Ellen. It dropped straight down on the battlefield, face-first into the dirt, covered in dust—like a worn-out toy no one wanted anymore, casually discarded.
Only Ellen, clinging to the last thread of her will, kept pushing past her limits, holding on until the final Ethereal fell.
"No… Little Black-White…"
Ellen gave a faint nod, her head slumping against her shoulder.
Fatigue had already sealed her eyes shut. With the last bit of strength she had left, she murmured in a voice no louder than a mosquito:
"Hollow Zero is already hard enough to search… If I hide somewhere and stray from the original route, it'll be even harder to find Phaga."
[But your body…]
The Doll panicked. Its gaze swept over the fine cuts on Ellen's arms and thighs, anxiety tightening in its chest.
It could heal those injuries to a degree—but healing only meant restoring the wounds.
The pain when they first formed. The blood lost before they closed.
All of it turned into weight, piling up on Ellen's future self like invisible lead.
The farther she went, the heavier that burden became.
She had no room left to breathe.
And then, suddenly, Ellen wrapped both arms around the Doll and pulled it into her embrace.
The Doll's thoughts went completely blank.
When it came back to itself, it was already buried in warmth and softness, its agitation melting away without it even realizing.
"Alright… Little Black-White, you sleep too," Ellen whispered. "Just… I'll need to borrow you as a blanket."
Her faint voice drifted gently by its ear.
By the time the Doll reacted, it heard the soft, shallow sound of breathing.
Ellen was already asleep.
[Seriously… don't fall asleep out in the open like this.]
The Doll muttered under its breath. It struggled a little, trying to slip free so it could make a fire for her.
But maybe Ellen felt the cold more than she let on—her grip was tight.
If the Doll forced its way out, she'd probably wake up.
[…Tch. Fine. If you want to hold me, then hold me.]
As if finally giving in, the Doll abandoned the idea of a fire and wriggled deeper into her arms.
[Lord Black-White Doll has plenty of fur anyway. Fire or no fire, it's all the same.]
[Just hope no Ethereals show up tonight.]
Fortunately, the long night passed without wind, and the bright moon had no visitors.
Not a single Ethereal came to disturb them. Ellen finally got a proper rest.
By the next day, it was around eight in the morning.
The sun climbed over the mountains, warm light spilling across Ellen's frost-stiffened face.
Her brows twitched, and she sneezed the moment she opened her eyes.
Rubbing her nose, Ellen pushed the Doll aside, sat up, and pulled a compressed biscuit from her backpack.
She took a bite—and immediately stuck out her tongue.
It tasted awful. Barely better than chewing on a candle.
Luckily, Ellen wasn't eating it for enjoyment. She finished her portion in a few quick bites, washed it down with water, then stretched her body.
After a night in the cold, she needed to warm herself up as fast as possible.
[Miss Shark… you're up…]
The movement woke the Doll. Rubbing its eyes, it slowly climbed up, dazed for a second before suddenly patting itself all over.
[I'm fine—hey, I'm totally fine! No damage at all!]
[And nothing showed up last night either. That's really strange.]
"…Heh."
Ellen shook her head with a quiet chuckle, then picked up her giant scissors and backpack.
"Let's go, Little Black-White."
[Oh—coming! And it's Lord Black-White Doll!]
The Doll answered and quickly floated up to her side.
Under the brilliant morning sun, their shadows stretched long across the ground.
Drifting alongside her, the Doll suddenly remembered something.
[Oh, right—Miss Shark. Don't forget to take an anti–Ether corrosion injection.]
"Huh? Oh—right. I almost forgot."
Ellen paused, rummaged through her pack, and pulled out something shaped like a syringe.
Without hesitation, she pulled off the cap and drove it straight into her neck, her thumb pressing firmly down as golden liquid flowed in.
For a split second, a faint yellow sheen reflected in her red eyes—then faded just as quickly, leaving them their usual crimson again.
Ellen felt lighter immediately, the oppressive heaviness lifting from her body.
"Pretty effective," she muttered.
She pulled the syringe out, glanced at it once—
Then tossed it away like trash, straight into the golden sunlight.
Against the brilliance, it cast only a dull gray shadow.
Ellen walked forward in the light, leaving the darkness behind her.
Though countless Ethereals still lurked along the way, she would keep going—until she found Phaga.
She didn't notice that, back where the goblin had died and where she had briefly rested, thin strands of Ether crystals had already begun to grow.
From a distance, they looked like a low, clustered thicket…
...
Two days later.
[Miss Shark, take another one—now. Your injuries are bad. One injection won't suppress the Ether corrosion!]
"But we—"
[Don't talk. We still have plenty of anti-corrosion agents!]
"…Alright."
...
Five days later.
[The Ethereals are getting stronger. Are we really going to keep going…?]
"That just means we're on the right path. If Phaga and the others are heading deeper into Hollow Zero, the Ethereals are supposed to get stronger."
[But your body—]
"It's fine. We still have a lot of anti-corrosion agents."
[There are only ten left!!!]
...
Seven days later.
[Four left. That's it. Let's go back, okay? Don't go any deeper!]
"We don't have the option to turn back anymore."
[We do! I've got the recorder and Ether explosives Mrs. Meilin gave us in my bag. The recorder logs our path—if we retrace it, we can leave!]
"You actually brought that? Then what are the Ether explosives for?"
[For enemies we can't deal with.]
"Then we keep going. With those, there's nothing to be afraid of."
[You… sigh. Promise me, Miss Shark. When there's only one left, no matter what, we turn back.]
...
Ten days later.
[The last one! This is the last one! We have to leave now, Ellen! You can't keep being this stubborn!]
The Doll clutched the final anti-corrosion agent and refused to let go, waving its arms wildly at Ellen.
[If you don't agree to go back with me, you're not getting this injection!]
"Not getting it?"
Ellen lifted her eyes.
A faint violet haze had already crept into them.
She could feel it—her skin stiffening, her neck tingling and itching, like scales were about to be scraped free.
She kept touching her neck, over and over, convincing herself that the choking sensation was just because she wouldn't stop touching it.
Definitely not because she'd been rationing injections and was showing early signs of Ether corrosion.
Definitely not.
"Then forget it."
Ignoring the Black-White Doll, Ellen gripped her own throat and leaned on her giant scissors like a cane, inching deeper into the Hollow.
The deeper she went, the more intense the Ether activity became.
Her body suddenly felt unbearably heavy. The backpack on her shoulders was like a mountain, crushing her down. Her chest tightened, breath coming hard.
So Ellen twisted sharply and flung the backpack away.
It struck a nearby rock. The metal zipper tore loose and slid down limply.
Inside—half a bottle of water, and a small piece of leftover compressed biscuit.
Even counting the backpack itself, it couldn't have weighed more than five pounds.
Light enough to make an elementary schooler jealous.
"Still haven't found Phaga… keep going…"
Driven by nothing but stubborn obsession, Ellen leaned on her giant scissors and forced herself forward.
She couldn't see the path anymore.
She couldn't see the Ethereals.
Her exhaustion wouldn't let her open her eyes—there was only a vast white light ahead of her.
In her memory, Phaga looked the same as when she first met him—cold and distant.
In class, he always sat by the window, where he could pull the curtains shut whenever he wanted.
He didn't like socializing. Everyone got the same icy attitude.
Then one day, a Hollow disaster broke out at school.
Phaga led the entire class to safety.
And she took him home.
He had a home now.