I stared at the System panel floating before my eyes.
For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
System Notification
Name: Alice
Class: Fighter [Holy Light]
Core: 2 Stars
Title: White Moonlight
Potential: ∞ Infinity
Passive Abilities: [Protected from Darkness], [Anti-Life Equation — Mana Control]
I carefully examined every line.
Holy Light.
Protected from Darkness.
Mana Control.
These abilities were almost the complete opposite of mine.
Worse, they were perfect counters to my powers.
If Alice and I ever became enemies, she would be one of the most dangerous opponents I could face.
Her abilities might even be capable of neutralizing my greatest advantages.
I stared at her for another moment before a faint smile appeared on my face.
Good thing I made that Soul Contract with her.
Otherwise, she might have become a serious obstacle in my path someday.
And I hated obstacles.
I didn’t care whether someone was a friend, an enemy, or a complete stranger.
If I discovered that a person would eventually stand in my way, I would rather eliminate the problem before it had the chance to become dangerous.
Of course, there was no reason to kill someone who could still be useful to me.
Especially someone as valuable as Alice.
I dismissed the System panel and turned toward her.
“From now on, you belong to me.”
Alice didn’t react.
She simply looked at me with those calm, ocean-blue eyes.
“In this world,” I continued with a faint smile, “people with pure hearts are the easiest to turn into puppets.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“And now, you’ve become mine.”
Alice lowered her gaze.
“I made this decision after thinking everything through.”
“Oh?”
“You want to do something terrible to me.”
Her voice remained steady, but she lowered her head a little further.
“You’ve taken away whatever dignity I had left.”
She paused.
“But I won’t regret it.”
I watched her silently.
“The only thing I want from you is help,” she continued.
“I want to finish the Seven Continents once and for all.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“What will you do if I refuse to help you?”
Alice smiled.
“You’ll help me for two reasons.”
My expression changed slightly.
“What reasons?”
I stepped closer.
“It would be better if you told me.”
Alice nodded as if she had expected that response.
“Fine.”
She raised her head.
“First, you want a peaceful life where nobody bothers you.”
I said nothing.
“And second…”
Her blue eyes met mine.
“The Seven Continents are connected to the deaths of your parents.”
For a moment, the world seemed to fall silent.
Alice continued speaking as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb in front of me.
“You and I have the same ultimate goal.
But there’s one difference between us.”
She smiled faintly.
“You want peace.”
Her expression became colder.
“I don’t.”
I froze.
The next instant, I grabbed her by the throat.
“How do you know all of this?”
My fingers tightened around her neck.
Alice didn’t scream.
She didn’t beg me to stop.
Even as my grip made it difficult for her to breathe, she continued looking at me with that infuriatingly calm expression.
It was as if she had expected this reaction.
“I know more than that,” she managed to say.
I tightened my grip.
“What else do you know?”
Alice struggled to draw a breath.
Then she spoke.
“You have a younger sister, don’t you?”
My mind went blank.
My fingers tightened instinctively.
For a moment, I wanted to squeeze until she could never speak again.
Then I realized what I was doing and released her.
Alice dropped to her knees, coughing as she desperately pulled air into her lungs.
I turned away.
My hands were trembling slightly.
Not from fear.
From anger.
How does she know about my sister?
I walked toward the other side of the wall and stopped.
I needed to calm down before I did something stupid.
Behind me, Alice gradually recovered her breathing.
After a while, she spoke.
“Do you want to know everything I know?”
I turned my head.
“Yes.”
Alice slowly stood up.
“Okay.”
She took a breath before beginning her explanation.
“Your parents were good people.
They cared about their family and tried to live ordinary lives.”
She paused.
“But one day, they discovered something that could get them killed.”
My fists clenched.
“And your little sister was somehow connected to it.”
I stared at her.
“My younger sister lived with me for ten years.”
The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.
I hadn’t spoken about her to anyone in a very long time.
“After our parents died, she was sent to an orphanage.
I didn’t have any relatives, so I went somewhere else instead of staying with her.”
I swallowed.
“A year later, I returned to see her.”
My voice became quieter.
“But when I arrived, they told me she didn’t exist.”
Alice listened without interrupting.
“Nobody remembered her.
Not the people at the orphanage, not the people who had known our family, and not the people who had seen us together.” This story is hosted at g.com.
I lowered my head slightly.
“Everyone had forgotten about her.”
I paused.
“Everyone except me.”
The memory still irritated me more than I wanted to admit.
I had searched for answers, but I was too weak to do anything meaningful.
I couldn’t force people to remember someone they insisted had never existed.
I couldn’t even prove that my own sister had been real.
“So I decided to become stronger,” I continued.
“I would find her again once I had enough power to uncover the truth.”
Alice remained silent for several seconds.
Then she spoke.
“Your little sister carries a secret so important that the Seven Continents wouldn’t hesitate to destroy one another over her.”
I didn’t respond.
My thoughts were moving too quickly.
If Alice was telling the truth, then my sister’s disappearance wasn’t an ordinary incident.
Someone had deliberately erased her existence—or had done something that made the entire world forget her.
And whatever that person had done, it was connected to the Seven Continents.
I slowly looked at Alice.
“Is that everything?”
“No.”
She lowered her eyes.
“If you had known who I was back then, you probably would have left me to die in the desert.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“I was given a prophecy.”
Alice paused.
“It said that you would become blind.”
I stared at her.
“That was why I didn’t recognize you when we first met.
I didn’t know who you really were, and I didn’t understand how the prophecy was connected to you.”
She looked directly at me.
“Now I understand why you became blind.”
Her voice grew quieter.
“It was because of what I did.”
For the first time since our conversation began, I couldn’t immediately think of a sarcastic response.
Alice continued.
“That is why I made the Soul Contract.
I wanted to take responsibility for my actions.”
I studied her face.
“So you think you’re doing this because you feel guilty?”
Alice shook her head.
“I’m not a fool.”
Her eyes were steady.
“I knew exactly what I was doing when I made the Soul Contract.”
I remained silent.
She was dangerous.
Not because she was strong, beautiful, or possessed an infinite potential.
She was dangerous because she could make a decision that would ruin her own life without even hesitating.
And the worst part?
I still couldn’t tell whether she was telling me the whole truth.
This woman really is troublesome.
I exhaled slowly.
“Then I understand everything now.”
Alice tilted her head.
“Do you?”
“You think I lost my eyes because of you, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“That is why I said I would become your eyes.”
I rubbed my forehead.
“Fine.
Stay here tonight.
We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow.”
Alice suddenly asked, “Will you stay with me tonight?”
I froze.
For some inexplicable reason, my face began to feel hot.
“Take care of your thoughts.”
Alice smiled.
“You’re the only person in my thoughts.”
I immediately turned around and walked away.
What a crazy woman.
She looked completely normal on the outside, but there was definitely something wrong with her on the inside.
And somehow, that made her even more dangerous.
I returned to the camp where Noctis was waiting.
He glanced at me, then at the direction I had come from.
“So?
How did your little conversation go?”
I sat down beside him and told him everything that had happened, including Alice’s abilities, the Soul Contract, and what she had revealed about my family.
For once, Noctis listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“That’s actually good for you.”
I glanced at him.
“How?”
“She’s powerful, has infinite potential, and possesses abilities that directly counter your powers.
Now she’s bound to you through a Soul Contract.”
He grinned.
“That’s practically a gift from heaven!”
“But she also made a fool out of me.”
Noctis burst into laughter.
“HA-HA-HA!
Anyone can fool you!”
I glared at him.
“Keep laughing.
One day, I’ll find a way to shut that mouth of yours permanently.”
“Really?
I’m terrified!”
He laughed even harder.
I gave up.
Arguing with this lunatic was a waste of time.
I stood up and walked away from the camp, eventually finding a quiet place where I could sit alone.
The night sky stretched endlessly above me.
After a while, I reached up and removed my blindfold.
The cool night air brushed against my face.
For the first time in what felt like ages, I looked directly at the sky without anything covering my eyes.
The moon was beautiful.
Its pale light spread across the distant mountains, turning their jagged silhouettes into dark shadows against the night.
For a few precious moments, I forgot about Alice, my sister, the Seven Continents, and the endless list of problems waiting for me.
I simply watched the moon.
Then I noticed someone sitting beside me.
Noctis.
He had arrived without making a sound and was now gazing at the same moon.
I didn’t bother asking when he had come.
With him, such questions were usually pointless.
Instead, I asked, “What do you want to do?”
Noctis didn’t answer immediately.
He continued watching the sky.
I glanced at him.
“Then why are you always acting as if you know everything?”
He smiled.
“But I’ll find out someday.”
I sighed.
“What a pain.”
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then Noctis broke the silence.
“It’s a good time to rest for a while.”
His voice sounded different from usual.
There was no teasing in it, no exaggerated laughter, and no trace of the foolishness he so often displayed.
He looked at the moon.
“Nameless, you know what people are like, right?”
I didn’t answer.
He continued anyway.
“There was once a man who died believing that people would remember him.”
Noctis’s expression remained calm, but his voice carried a strange weight.
“He probably imagined that the people around him would mourn his death, remember his kindness, and speak of him with respect.”
He paused.
“But if you visit his home after his death, you might see something completely different.”
I listened quietly.
“People eat their fill while pretending to mourn.
They secretly criticize the dead.
Some complain about the food, while others stand beside the coffin, making sad faces for photographs.”
He let out a quiet breath.
“Some are already thinking about how many likes and comments they’ll receive.”
I turned my attention toward him.
“The body hasn’t even left the house, yet people in another room are whispering about his land, savings, and bank account.”
Noctis’s gaze remained fixed on the moon.
“Old mistakes and failures from his life are being counted.
People who barely spoke to him when he was alive suddenly have countless things to say about him after his death.”
He paused.
“Some cry loudly for a while, then wipe their tears and smile once nobody is watching.”
The night breeze passed between us.
“The funeral is no longer simply a place to say goodbye.
For many people, it becomes a disgusting performance of hypocrisy, food, gossip, and self-promotion.”
Noctis fell silent for a moment.
Then he spoke again.
“People like to say humans are the greatest creatures in creation.”
A faint, bitter smile appeared on his face.
“But sometimes…”
He looked down.
“They’re disgusting.”
I watched him without saying anything.
“To be human, you don’t simply have to be born from a human,” he continued.
“You have to become one.”
For some reason, those words lingered in my mind.
Noctis turned toward me.
“Nameless, I’ll tell you one thing.”
His eyes were unusually serious.
“If you want to live, don’t trust anyone too easily.”
He paused.
“And don’t let too many people into your heart.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because eventually, they’ll only give you pain.”
I looked away.
It wasn’t particularly surprising advice.
I had learned long ago that trusting people was dangerous.
The world had taught me that lesson through hunger, betrayal, and the countless nights I’d spent wondering why my parents had died.
Yet hearing those words from Noctis felt different.
Perhaps it was because he rarely spoke seriously.
Or perhaps it was because, for once, he sounded like someone speaking from experience rather than offering a meaningless lesson.
After a moment, I asked, “Noctis…
have you ever given someone a place in your heart?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
The silence stretched between us.
Then he quietly said, “Yes.”
His smile disappeared.
“I once gave someone a place in my heart.”
He lowered his gaze.
“But that person is no longer alive.”
I remained silent.
For once, I didn’t ask who that person had been.
Noctis continued staring at the ground.
“Relationships only bring pain.”
He paused before lifting his eyes toward the distant mountains.
“If you want to live peacefully, you need to become so strong that no one can stand against you.”
I understood that logic.
Strength meant freedom.
Strength meant never having to beg anyone for food, protection, or mercy again.
And, most importantly, strength meant that nobody could casually take away what belonged to you.
But Noctis wasn’t finished.
“Even then…”
His expression became difficult to read.
“It becomes difficult if you have someone beside you.”
I frowned slightly.
He pointed toward the mountain in the distance.
“If you climb all the way to the top of a mountain, people below can no longer reach you.”
He paused.
“But the higher you climb, the fewer people can stand beside you.”
For a moment, I couldn’t find anything to say.
The mountain stood silently beneath the moonlight.
I wondered how many people Noctis had left behind on his way to becoming the monster he was today.
And how many of them he still remembered.
Perhaps his strength had given him freedom.
Perhaps it had also taken something away from him.
I didn’t ask.
Some questions were better left unanswered.
For a while, we simply watched the moon together.
Eventually, Noctis stood up and stretched.
“Come on.
It’s getting late.”
I picked up the black cloth beside me and wrapped it around my eyes again.
The world disappeared behind darkness.
I rose to my feet and followed him back toward the camp.
As we walked, I thought about Alice’s words.
My parents.
My younger sister.
The Seven Continents.
So many secrets were waiting for me, and I still didn’t know where to begin.
But one thing was certain.
I would find my sister.
I would uncover the truth about my parents.
And if the Seven Continents were responsible for destroying my family…
I would make them pay.
No matter how many obstacles stood in my way.
No matter how many people I had to defeat.
I would reach the top of that mountain.
And when I finally got there, nobody would ever have the power to take anything from me again.