When Yu Sheng opened his eyes to see the Black Forest, he wasn’t all that surprised.
After all, the “Fairy Tale” Otherworld had never truly disappeared, nor had Anka Aila ceased its restless stirring. The Cursed Children from the Orphanage had only narrowly made it through one dangerous night. Any mont afterward, the stories within Fairy Tale could reignite—and places like Sheltering Wasteland or the Valley were rely safe havens, protective shelters to shield the children from losing themselves or falling prey to Anka Aila.
In other words, nightmares would always return.
Still, Yu Sheng couldn’t help but feel irritated, [Is this Black Forest purposely coming after ?]
Taking a quiet breath to steady himself, Yu Sheng beca even more convinced of his intuition.
The Black Forest was indeed after him—or perhaps, sothing deep within the woods was targeting him specifically.
Distant wolf howls floated in the air, mingling with the relentless cries of a baby. A restless wind rustled through nearby bushes, and a strange, buzzing sound hovered at the edge of hearing.
The humming noise made Yu Sheng suspect tinnitus. He slapped his forehead and dug at his ears, but the noise only seed louder, mingling irritatingly with the crying, making it harder to concentrate.
“This cursed place just keeps getting louder,” Yu Sheng muttered, as if his murmurs could drown out the noise. “Sounds like soone set off an alarm…”
Suddenly, there was a rustling from a nearby pile of dried grass, and a small, red-brown creature erged from the rotting underbrush, hopping eagerly towards Yu Sheng.
“You’re alright! You’re alright! Little Red Riding Hood is alright! Squirrel is alright!”
Squirrel bounced cheerfully around Yu Sheng’s feet, chirping happily in her tiny, squeaky voice.
Yu Sheng bent down, gently scooped her up, and rubbed her fuzzy head with his finger, smiling softly. “Yes, we’re all fine. We made it safely through the night.”
Squirrel joyfully hugged Yu Sheng’s finger, but quickly glanced around warily, crouching low and whispering cautiously: “Shh—still can’t speak too loud… Anka Aila is lurking in the Forest. Its gaze just passed by a little while ago. Squirrel thinks it’s unhappy; it’s going to make trouble again…”
“I know,” Yu Sheng instinctively lowered his voice, too. “But I’m actually here to look for it, this ti—”
But Squirrel seed not to hear him clearly. She shook her head suddenly, cutting Yu Sheng off without context, her voice anxious and distracted: “Hunter!”
Yu Sheng froze in surprise. “Hunter? What about Hunter?”
“Hunter!” Squirrel nervously repeated, the familiar confusion returning to her little fra. She quickly snapped back, frantically wiping her face as if to clear her mind, mumbling quietly, “Squirrel is thinking, Squirrel is thinking… Hunter… Hunter?”
She suddenly stopped, straightened her body, stared deep into the Forest, and after two seconds smacked her tail excitedly: “Hunter is over by the house! Right, Hunter is at the house—Hunter is waiting for you!”
“Hunter is waiting for ?” This revelation truly shocked Yu Sheng. He imdiately rembered that fleeting figure he had glimpsed when evacuating from the Orphanage—the mysterious shadow who appeared and vanished in an instant. An uneasy feeling surged in his chest. Without further hesitation or questions, he simply said, “Take there!”
Squirrel eagerly pointed her tiny paw: “This way, this way!”
Yu Sheng turned in the direction Squirrel indicated—towards the darkest depths of the Forest, with no lamp posts, no path, and no flickering candles from the safe little houses visible.
But he chose to trust Squirrel. He could clearly feel his blood-bond with this little one in his palm. This wasn’t a trap set by the Black Forest.
Yu Sheng began to run quickly into the darkness, taking advantage of the journey to ask more clearly: “How do you know Hunter is waiting for at the Little House? Did Hunter appear? Did Hunter speak to you?”
“Mhm,” Squirrel nodded earnestly. “Hunter just suddenly showed up without Wolf Granny. Hunter walked right out of the Forest alone, avoiding Anka Aila’s gaze, silent and stealthy—but Squirrel still heard Hunter’s voice directly…
“Hunter said: Tell the one who touched the Umbilical Cord and the Bullet to co—to co to the first Little House. Hunter said there’s not much ti left, the Angel is waking up, but soone interfered with the Angel’s connection to the ‘Outside,’ creating a brief…”
Squirrel abruptly stopped, clearly stuck on difficult concepts she couldn’t fully grasp or recall. After struggling a while and failing to rember, she gave up trying, brushing over the details hastily: “Squirrel can’t rember clearly… anyway, Hunter said ta finally has a chance to speak openly because the Angel’s control over ta is weakening. Ta wants the one who touched the Umbilical Cord and Bullet to hurry. Squirrel saw you holding the Umbilical Cord, but doesn’t know what the Bullet ans. Did Squirrel get it right?”
“Yes, it’s ,” Yu Sheng replied decisively. He reassured Squirrel, simultaneously processing her disjointed and incomplete account, his mind racing as he pieced together this puzzling invitation.
As an entity bound strictly by the laws of the Black Forest, Hunter had always acted in perfect accordance with its grim rules. The figure appeared only when the Wolf Granny erged, capable solely of firing upon her or eliminating any Little Red Riding Hood fully consud by wolfish madness. Through all known histories—even those rembered by Squirrel and every Little Red Riding Hood before—Hunter had never uttered a single word.
Yet now, Hunter had willingly spoken to Squirrel. Even more shockingly, Hunter moved freely within the Forest without the presence of Wolf Granny, briefly entering the real world.
—All because soone had disrupted the angels’ connection to the “Outside.”
Yu Sheng lowered his gaze, examining his own hands.
Over the recent days, he had offered his blood countless tis, performing ritual after ritual to ensure the safety of every Fairy Tale child.
“…Well, this is an unexpected outco,” Yu Sheng muttered, slowly curving his lips into an amused smile.
Although he didn’t fully grasp how, it was clear now—his repeated ceremonies of Blood Bestowal to every Fairy Tale child had weakened Anka Aila’s grasp on reality. It had done exactly as planned, safeguarding the children, but had also, by chance, granted Hunter the opening to move freely.
It seed that beneath the dark, empty hunter’s cloak, a spark of humanity and reason still lingered, yearning desperately for freedom.
In the distant gloom, the shadowy outlines of the Little House gradually materialized.
Yu Sheng inhaled softly, his footsteps slowing as he neared the house, alert to every rustle and murmur in the dark.
Hunter might not an him harm, but the Black Forest itself was alive. He needed caution, wary of provoking any dangerous reactions during their encounter. After all, this was rely a dream, and Yu Sheng had co without Irene, without Foxy, even without his trusted “Reason.” Should sothing go wrong, he might perish instantly.
Dying was not the real problem—wasting precious ti was.
Around him, the forest had fallen into deep silence, even the howling of wolves faded. Only the faint cries of a baby and the persistent buzzing noise remained, and by now, Yu Sheng had grown accustod to those eerie sounds.
Yet, he could feel the tiny Squirrel trembling in his palm.
She feared this place, feared this dreaded house that marked the dark end of every Little Red Riding Hood.
“You’re scared of this house. Maybe it’s better if you stay outside,” Yu Sheng whispered gently, preparing to set her down on a nearby tree stump. “Just wait here.”
“No!” Surprisingly, Squirrel flipped quickly, clinging tightly to his fingers. Dangling in midair, she insisted stubbornly, “Squirrel…SquirrelKnight fears nothing!”
Her tiny body still shivered, but Yu Sheng saw clearly—her fear had lessened. What once overwheld her was now sothing she was determined to confront.
Yu Sheng paused, then smiled warmly.
“All right, then co with —but if you beco too afraid inside, wait outside instead. A SquirrelKnight who knows when to retreat is still brave.”
“Yes… yes!”
He placed Squirrel gently onto his shoulder, stepped forward, and carefully pushed open the old, shadowy wooden door.
The gentle creak echoed softly. Yu Sheng leaned inside, peering into the house.
Pale light seeped through dusty windows, illuminating the interior filled with countless red cloaks of varying sizes, draped throughout the room. Amid those cloaks, Hunter stood quietly, centered perfectly within the space.
The entity’s head tilted slightly downward, the hood’s hollow darkness offering no face to see. Yet as Yu Sheng stepped fully inside, that hood clearly shifted, acknowledging his presence.
From within the emptiness, an unseen gaze t his own.
“Um, I’m here,” Yu Sheng approached Hunter awkwardly, greeting the mysterious figure. “Squirrel told you were looking for .”
Hunter slowly nodded.
Such a simple gesture, yet it caused Yu Sheng’s breath to pause montarily in surprise—Hunter had truly responded!
“What do you need from ? Is there sothing you want to say?” Yu Sheng continued cautiously.
Hunter hesitated briefly, then stepped suddenly forward.
As Yu Sheng instinctively tensed at this sudden approach, the empty hunter’s attire raised an unseen “hand” to gesture toward itself.
“Put it on.”
A hollow, ghostly voice echoed directly within Yu Sheng’s mind.
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