Syle, the caravan leader, was waiting at the forest’s edge.

Apparently, he had considered entering the forest but was stopped by Harwin hyung, who warned that splitting up could make regrouping much harder.

Semna seemed a bit disappointed, but Harwin’s judgment was sound. If we’d missed each other in the forest, it would’ve been even more difficult to reunite.

In any case, I was relieved that we returned without any major incidents.

“No incidents? You’re injured, and you’re grinning like an idiot...”

Semna muttered as she applied ointment to my ear.

I have no idea why she’s the one upset when I’m the one who got shot.

Maybe her habit of complaining rubbed off on Syle too because he chimed in from the side.

“I set off three fireworks! Three! Do you have any idea how expensive those are?”

“Alright, alright, we get it, old man. My dad will cover the cost when we get back to the village.”

Semna snapped, her words cutting sharply. Syle deflated and quietly backed off.

“I’m seriously so upset. What if it leaves a scar?”

Semna examined the edge of my ear for a while before suddenly flaring up again.

“Solaire, what on earth were you thinking saying those things to the elf? Have you completely fallen for her?”

“What… what things?”

“‘I’ll return the forest to you.’ ‘I’ll raise the sun for you.’” She mimicked me in a mocking tone.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing—it was so embarrassing I wanted to crawl into a hole. 

You’re such a liar, you know that?”

Semna reached out to pinch my ear but decided to grab my lips instead, tugging playfully.

“That’s not what it was about…”

It wasn’t that I was enchanted by the elf herself—it was the light of the fireworks that captivated me. It was the possibility of what that light revealed in the forest that entranced me.

“Yeah, sure. You fell for her because she’s pretty, didn’t you?”

Semna didn’t believe me at all.

Even Syle joined in, teasing me.

“So this precocious little brat said all that? Men often promise to bring the stars down from the night sky for a woman they fancy, but the sun? That’s a bit much, don’t you think? Hahaha!”

Everyone laughed, except Harwin. He was deep in thought, flipping through an encyclopedia until he stopped on a page with a satisfied nod.

“Solaire might be aspiring to become an adventurer.”

“An adventurer?”

“Someone who enjoys danger, seeks out the new and unknown, and takes on challenges. That’s what an adventurer is.”

Semna nodded in agreement.

“That’s so you, Sol.”

“Hmm. Then, I guess I’m…”

“A sun-seeking adventurer? Hahaha, now you’re just making stuff up!”

Semna clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably, but her laughter eventually faded.

Then she grabbed my face, held it still, and studied me carefully.

“…Are you serious?”

I paused, holding back my answer as I tried to gather my thoughts.

I left my village because I wanted to see what lay beyond the snowfields.

But… what is beyond the snowfields?

Could it simply be the road beyond the snowfields?

No, I don’t think so.

What I wanted to see wasn’t just the road—it was a world I hadn’t seen yet. A new world where I could leave my footprints.

The moments I spent sparring with Semna while keeping the embers alive.

The conversations I had with the village elder, braving the biting wind as we discussed the paths I wanted to take.

The nameless travelers lying forgotten along the roadside, the Brown Spruce Forest, and the last elf.

The more I thought about these experiences, the clearer my thoughts became.

Yes. What I desire, the goal I want to reach—

“A world like the one before the sun fractured. Warm and bright. A world where all the beauty buried under ice and darkness can be uncovered, explored, and celebrated. That’s what I want. To achieve that, I want to retrieve the fragments of the broken sun, one by one, and raise them back to the sky.”

When I finished speaking, no one said a word.

The only sound was the occasional crackle of the campfire.

After a long, long pause, Syle, the caravan leader, finally spoke.

“Changing the world with your own hands… That’s a lot of arrogance for someone who hasn’t accomplished anything yet.”

His blunt remark made my shoulders slump slightly.

But then he patted me on the shoulder with an almost fatherly warmth.

“Still… it’s the kind of thinking only a greenhorn could come up with. I’ve never had thoughts like that myself. But my late grandfather used to tell me stories about the world before the sun was divided.”

Syle began to recount his grandfather’s tales in a soft, nostalgic voice.

“Even back then, the Ice Dragon was already rising, and the sun’s warmth was fading. But if you looked up at the sky, the sun was still there. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to have sunlight pouring down, so I asked him about it.”

The feeling of sunlight.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for his next words.

But Syle paused, drawing out the moment to savor our anticipation. What a tease.

I couldn’t stand it and blurted out, “What did he say? Was it like fireworks?”

“No. It’s nothing like fireworks. It’s incomparable to lighting a fire or tending embers. The sunlight was endlessly warm and bright, drenching every part of you. The whole world would be bright, and if you closed your eyes and tilted your head toward the sun, ripples of light would dance across your eyelids. That, he said, was the sun.”

Syle added that in Gloria, the royal capital where one of the sun’s fragments hangs, you can experience a faint echo of that feeling, though it’s a shadow of its former glory.

Harwin hyung flipped through his encyclopedia again and nodded in agreement.

“As Syle said, the sun shone brightly until it fractured. While the Ice Dragon dimmed its light, historical records indicate that before the division, even villages without embers could sustain life.”

I turned to Harwin and asked, “Then, if the fragmented sun shards were brought together and raised back into the sky, what would happen? Could we create the kind of world I’m dreaming of?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer…”

“Then let me take a guess. Using the methods you’ve taught me.”

Harwin smiled warmly at me, his gaze filled with expectation.

Encouraged by his look, I began speaking with confidence.

“When you combine things, they become stronger. People, strength, emotions—all are more powerful when united. Fire is no different. So the same must apply to the sun, don’t you think?”

“You’re right,” Harwin agreed. “Yes. I dare to imagine that a reunited sun would burn hotter and shine brighter than ever before.”

Harwin hyung’s voice grew more impassioned.

“If the sun were to rise high into the sky, the ice would shatter, the snow would melt, and villages would reconnect while cities would be freed from their walls. Humanity could finally look forward to tomorrow.”

Syle, the caravan leader, scratched his head.

“That would be wonderful… but the division of the sun wasn’t caused by kings or their petty squabbles. If you say you want to reunite the sun and raise it into the sky, neither the Eastern Sanctuaries nor the Southern Subterranean Cities would welcome it. And even His Majesty, the King of Gloria, would…”

“Likely scoff,” Harwin interjected nervously. “If he doesn’t label us as fire thieves and have us executed, we’d be lucky.”

Syle nodded and added cautiously, “The ones who currently hold the three sun fragments are the most noble and powerful in this world. Let’s say, by some miracle, you manage to obtain the fragments—whether through battle or persuasion. Even then, how would you raise the sun back into the sky? To do so, you’d have to face the Ice Dragon, which has claimed its throne above the frost clouds. Do you think that’s something a human can accomplish? Even the heroes of the Five Star Citadel couldn’t achieve that.”

Harwin fell silent, unable to answer.

But Syle had directed his question at the wrong person.

“Well, greenhorn, let me ask you instead. Do you really think it’s possible to find the sun and raise it into the heavens?”

“Hmm… probably not.”

“What? Probably not? So you’ve been spouting nonsense without even believing in it yourself?”

“I don’t know if it’s possible. But I want to try. Because I want to see the world bathed in sunlight.”

I couldn’t be sure if it could be done. But I did know that I wanted to try.  

So why not give it a shot?

… I half-expected to be laughed at for my foolish words.

But for some reason, the faces of those gathered around the fire seemed flushed, almost energized.

“Ah, the drunken ramblings of an overconfident greenhorn,” Syle chuckled. “But greenhorns grow into men by making grand, foolish claims like this.”

Syle laughed heartily.

“It’s part of the caravan’s business to support promising adventurers. This sounds entertaining, so I’ll help you as far as I can. Of course, if it gets too dangerous, I’ll pull back immediately.”

Harwin nodded in agreement.

“I’ll help too. I want to see the world lit by the sun just as much as you do. Perhaps, in the distant future, I’ll even add your name, Solaire, to the encyclopedia under the entry for adventurers.”

The unexpected support made my chest swell with emotion.

I turned slowly to look at Semna, my dear childhood friend, hoping for her encouragement as well.

Instead, she was glaring at me sharply.

I thought maybe, just maybe, she’d join the others in cheering me on.

“Of course not, you idiot!”

“I’m not an idiot!”

“Only an idiot would try to reshape the world to fit themselves. You’re still such a kid. Kids think the world should revolve around them. Adults learn to adapt to the world instead! You’re so naive it’s painful.”

And yet, she was only a few days older than me.

Semna launched into a full-blown lecture, her voice rising with every point she made.

Syle and Harwin chuckled quietly as they watched the scene unfold.

As for me, I half-listened, letting her words drift by.

“… Do whatever you want.”

“Huh?”

“Solaire. You weren’t listening to me, were you?”

Uh-oh.

Semna let out a long sigh and repeated herself.

“I think it’s ridiculous, but… do what you want.”

“Really?”

“Not like you’d listen to me anyway. I’ll come with you, but if I think it’s too dangerous, I swear I’ll stop you—even if I have to chop your legs off while you’re sleeping.”

She always has a way of making even jokes sound terrifying.

… It was a joke, right?

Semna didn’t answer, but she casually gripped her twin axes.

I decided to assume it was a joke.

“Lastly, what about Zero?”

“Prrr.”

Zero, busy chewing on hay, wandered over and nudged his head against my shoulder.

“You’re cheering me on, aren’t you? Thanks, buddy.”

With that, I had the support of everyone in the group.

So, our next destination was Gloria.

Our ultimate destination hadn’t changed, but the goal had.

“Alright then, let’s find the first fragment of the sun. To Gloria!”

It wasn’t a well-thought-out plan; there was no strategy. But isn’t that how every journey begins?

If a shepherd from a remote frontier village could leave home and become friends with a caravan leader and a naturalist, surely convincing a king wasn’t out of the question.

And maybe, someday… even that elf…

We traveled down the icy path for what felt like an eternity.

Stopping briefly to nap, eat some soup, then set off running again—it was a monotonous journey.

The scenery around us remained cloaked in darkness, barely visible.

Occasionally, faint outlines of trees appeared on the horizon, suggesting we were taking a long detour around the Brown Spruce Forest.

The lantern light from the wagon barely illuminated the edges of the path, but as long as we stayed on the frozen road, there was little risk of losing our way. This road had been packed firm by years of caravan travel.

“Chelynville ahead!”

A scout at the front shouted the news.

Excitement rippled through the group at the prospect of resting in a village.

But… something felt wrong.

“This is strange.”

The village was eerily silent.

I first checked to make sure Semna was safe in the wagon before urging my horse forward.

Syle noticed my expression and nodded at me.

“You sense it too, greenhorn?”

“Yes. There’s no sound of life at all. No lights, either.”

“It’s not hard to guess what happened… Alright, greenhorn. Come with me. Drivers, guard the wagons! Naturalist, stay safe in the cart! And take good care of the young lady!”

Syle’s voice was deliberately light, as if to ease the tension. The others responded with uneasy laughter.

Cautiously, we entered the village.

The fence was shattered, and there were no sentries.

A dark stain caught my eye, and I moved my lantern closer. It was blood, frozen and splattered across an icy wall.

By now, even a fool could see what had happened.

Chelynville had been destroyed in a raid.

“Do you think there are survivors?” I asked.

“Unlikely. The embers must have gone out.”

As Syle and I fell silent, a chilling stillness settled over the village.

Syle coughed and clapped me on the back.

“Greenhorn, let me give you a riddle. Why do frontier villages fall?”

“Hmm… if their embers go out, if infighting breaks out, if disease spreads, or if the caravans stop coming…”

A low, mournful howl interrupted me. It was somewhere between a wolf’s cry and an owl’s hoot.

“No, it’s because of monsters like that—yeti.”

Syle licked his dry lips. Even this seasoned caravan leader seemed nervous.

“Circle the wagons, you fools! Unhitch the horses and form a defensive ring!”

The caravan workers quickly retreated from the village edge, surrounding the wagons in a tight formation. A few climbed on top with crossbows at the ready.

“What’s going on?”

Semna peeked her head out from behind the wagon curtain.

“Yeti raid. Stay inside the wagon.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll fight. We’re going to need all hands. Harwin hyung, take care of Semna!”

Without waiting for a response, I pushed Semna back into the wagon and closed the curtain.

I considered borrowing a sword but decided to stick with what I knew best—grabbing four or five ropes and tying them to my belt. I checked the blade of a small utility knife used for cutting leather and tucked it back into its sheath.

My heart pounded in my chest.

Yeti had attacked Greendal once before, but there were only one or two back then, and the village elder had handled them. I’d never had to fight one myself.

“They’re coming!”

Syle shouted sharply.

In the dim light of the wagon lanterns, shadows emerged.

Glowing blue eyes. Long, snow-white fur.

Massive creatures, each as large as two grown men combined, with strength that three couldn’t match.

The monsters of the snowfield—the yeti—roared ferociously as they charged in from every direction.