Prologue

At the time when an unexpected large fire was engulfing the village, she was inside it.  

“Everyone, wake up quickly! The fire has already spread to the neighboring houses! It’ll reach here soon! Head to the back door, the back door!”  

Her voice echoed loudly, followed immediately by the urgent clanging of bells. Normally, the bell was used to signal the arrival of freshly baked bread, but today, it served a much more critical purpose—to wake people up.  

She ran around busily, repeating the same warning. If a door was locked, she shouted from outside; if it was open, she burst in without hesitation. Her frantic words startled the people sleeping inside the inn rooms, and one by one, they hurriedly ran out into the hallway.  

Watching the last door open and the people rushing down the stairs, she prepared to follow them down as well. But then, another staircase caught her eye. The smoky smell seemed to be spreading from somewhere already, making her uneasy. Growing anxious, she grabbed someone passing by and asked, 

“Are there any more people upstairs?”  

One man, hurriedly running while haphazardly throwing on his shirt, shoved past her without a word. Another middle-aged man, however, who was also rushing by, answered her question.  

“It’s just the storage area, but who knows? Sometimes people sneak in to sleep there. Drunks, occasionally.”  

“Could you come with me to check upstairs?”  

She pleaded urgently. If there were indeed drunkards up there, she wouldn’t be able to get them out on her own. The man hesitated for a moment, frowning, before clicking his tongue in frustration and turning toward the stairs.  

“Fine, let’s go! Quickly!” 

They rushed up the stairs together. The narrow hallway already made her feel uneasy. It was so cramped that two people could barely pass each other.  

She silently prayed there would be no one there.  

The man ahead of her reached the door first. He grabbed the handle and shook it noisily, calling out into the room.  

“Hey! Is anyone in there? There’s a fire outside! You need to get out quickly! Answer me! Hurry!”  

Bang, bang, bang—he repeated his words three times while pounding on the door. But no response came from inside.  

“Looks like nobody’s there! Damn it! Miss, smoke is already coming up behind you! Let’s get down quickly! We can’t do anything more now!”  

The man grumbled and began striding down the stairs past her. She nodded, preparing to follow him down, when a faint crying sound suddenly reached her ears.  

“Huh…?”  

Startled, she turned back to look at the door and quickly ran back up. She rang the bell she was holding, then pressed her ear tightly against the door. Sure enough, the same faint sound came from inside. Alarmed, she shouted,  

“Sir! I think there’s a cat inside! I just heard it crying! It seems like it can’t get out!”  

“What? A cat?”  

The man, who was hurrying down the stairs, paused and asked in disbelief. He was already waving his hand near his face, grimacing, as if the smoke was indeed seeping in. His expression clearly showed he wanted to escape immediately. He continued down the stairs. Watching him anxiously, she saw that he couldn’t completely ignore her words. A few moments later, he returned, holding a long metal rod that looked like a fire poker.  

“Move aside! Let’s try opening it with this. Three tries, and if it doesn’t work, we’re leaving. Got it?”  

“Thank you!”  

The man inserted the rod into the gap between the door and the frame. Then, he told her to grab the remaining part and pull in the same direction.  

“On three! One, two, three!”  

The sound of gritting teeth echoed as they both pulled with all their strength. Sweat dripped down her face, mixing with the oppressive heat. She prayed it wasn’t because the fire was spreading toward them. They tried three times with all their might to widen the gap in the door. But the gap barely budged, and the door wouldn’t open.  

Eventually, the middle-aged man declared his surrender. Coughing heavily, he let go of the rod and stepped back, shaking his head.  

“That’s it! We’ve done all we can. Hurry down!”  

“But…”  

“Are we going to die because of a damn cat?”  

He shouted and stomped down the stairs. Moments after he disappeared, his voice echoed from below.  

“Hurry up! The fire has reached the back door now! The smoke has filled the place!”  

“Go ahead! I’ll follow soon!” 

She remained behind, pulling at the metal rod with all her strength. She couldn’t bear to leave, haunted by the pitiful cries of the cat. If she turned her back now, she knew she’d regret it for the rest of her life.  

“I think I’m almost there…”  

Sweat dripped down her face. Just then, the sound of the door creaking open slightly reached her ears.  

“It’s open!”  

She shouted as she rammed her shoulder into the small gap. The door swung open.  

“Found it!”  

Fortunately, the cat was easy to locate. It was a small black kitten that hadn’t fully grown yet. The moment it saw her, it instinctively recognized her as someone who would save it and ran up to rub its body against her leg.  

“What are you doing here? At least we found you. Let’s get out now.”  

She quickly scooped the kitten into her arms and rushed down the stairs. But as she passed the third floor and headed to the second, she froze in her tracks at the sight before her.  

Her breath caught. Flames and black smoke were already rising. She didn’t have the courage to push through that. Looking out the window toward the front, she considered jumping out if it wasn’t too high. But right next to the window was a tall wall meant to block intruders. On top of that, sharp barbed wire was embedded. If she fell onto it, it would pierce her body, and she’d die instantly.  

This won’t work, she thought, and started searching for another window in a different direction. But the spreading smoke and heat made it hard to see properly. There didn’t seem to be any other direction with more light, so she concluded there were no more windows and went back upstairs.  

“What should I do? I can’t go down any further…”  

Eventually, she found herself back in the storage room. The kitten in her arms cried out endlessly, as if sensing her panic.  

Then, she noticed a door with a latch. Her eyes widened as she rushed over and flung it open. It was a window. The sight of the bright blue sky outside made her feel as though she could finally breathe again.  

She leaned out toward the street below and screamed at the top of her lungs.  

“There’s someone here! Please help!”  

Her voice reached a few people who were running away near the building below. A couple of them turned their heads with startled expressions and raised their hands as if they had noticed her, but even so, they didn’t stop their frantic steps and continued fleeing.  

It was understandable. Thick, dark gray smoke was already billowing throughout the streets. Moreover, the fire had already spread to the lower floors of the building she was in, so it seemed no one had the courage to risk saving her.  

The village was full of buildings packed closely together, most of them constructed from wood. The inn she was currently in was no exception. Once the fire started, it spread quickly, consuming everything in its path.  

She grabbed the bell she had left by the stairs earlier and began ringing it endlessly toward the window. The loud *clang, clang* echoed repeatedly, but soon even the fleeing people disappeared from sight.  

“This can’t be happening… I’m going to die like this.”  

For a moment, she considered jumping out of the window, but when she looked down, she realized she was on the fifth floor—far too high. The ground below was hard-packed dirt with only a few sparse patches of grass. Jumping would almost certainly result in her death. And what about the kitten in her arms? What had it done to deserve this? It would be crushed under her and die as well.  

She wasn’t athletic enough to leap to the roof of the neighboring building either. If she tried, she’d undoubtedly fall halfway and plummet to the ground.  

Taking a deep breath, she flung the door open, deciding to head back down the stairs. It was better to risk burns than to sit and wait for death. But it was already too late. The moment she opened the door, a wave of scorching heat and smoke surged upward. It was proof that the fire had already reached the fourth floor.  

She let out a short scream at the searing heat and slammed the door shut. Her heart pounded wildly as she locked the door and dragged whatever nearby furniture she could find to block it. It was a desperate attempt to slow the fire’s advance, even if it wouldn’t help if the building itself collapsed.  

All hope seemed to have vanished.  

“What do we do now…?”  

She sat down near the window, clutching the kitten tightly. Seeing her trembling, the kitten pressed closer to her, meowing pitifully. She patted it gently, whispering “It’s okay” over and over, though the words held no meaning.  

Her head began to feel light. Smoke seemed to be rising even from the floor, and the acrid, suffocating smell was unbearable. She coughed uncontrollably, nausea washing over her as she squeezed her eyes shut.  

“Well… at least I’ll die doing something good, so no one can blame me, right?”  

She murmured to herself, imagining her family watching her from heaven.  

In a way, it was a relief that she had no family left to grieve her death. She had lost them to an epidemic that swept through her village when she was young, leaving her to live alone ever since.  

Still, she had been doing fairly well lately, working at a bakery. She had even been saving up money to fulfill her long-held dream of living in a small cottage. She had planned to decorate it beautifully and live happily there. That happiness had been so close, just within reach.  

As the heat and suffocating smoke enveloped her completely, her consciousness began to fade. She couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed to her side, still cradling the kitten in her arms.  

Just as everything was sinking into darkness, faint noises began to echo in her ears. The sounds were muffled and distant, as if underwater, but amidst them, there was a distinct *thud*.  

With great effort, she cracked her eyes open. Something dark seemed to have flown in through the open window above her head.  

“A person…?”  

She stared in disbelief. It was the silhouette of someone’s back. Though blurred by the thick gray smoke, it was unmistakably a human figure. Judging by the broad shoulders and strong build, it appeared to be a young man.  

How had he gotten in through the window? Could he have jumped from the roof of the neighboring building? The thought of such a feat seemed impossible.  

The man stood up and began glancing around. His black bangs swayed as he moved, the motion visible even through the haze. His eyes glowed a fiery amber, like golden flames, making them stand out sharply even in the smoke-filled room.  

Soon, he turned his gaze toward her.  

“Leave me… I’m fine… just run…”  

She weakly showed him the kitten in her arms as he approached. Slowly, she tried to speak. Surely, he understood what she was trying to say.  

But despite her words, the man scooped both her and the kitten into his arms without hesitation. Then, he suddenly draped a cloak over her. Everything went dark in an instant.  

What is he trying to do? She wondered anxiously.  

Before she could process what was happening, her body jolted violently. The man had started running, carrying her swiftly.  

Occasionally, she heard him grunt softly, as if swallowing down pain. Even so, he didn’t stop. Judging by the movement, he seemed to be running down the stairs.  

How was he navigating through the flames? How was he managing this?  

She couldn’t believe it. Another wave of thick smoke overwhelmed her, and she passed out once again, unable to hold on any longer.