THE DEVERSE

Night had swallowed the forest. Towering trees stretched toward the dark sky, their branches twisting together until only fragments of moonlight could reach the ground. Somewhere beyond those trees, monsters moved through the wilderness—creatures the Vanguard had hunted for years.A lone Vanguard scout moved carefully between the trees.He had been separated from the rest of his unit.The others were somewhere deeper in the forest, following another route through the darkness. Under normal circumstances, separating from the group would have been dangerous.Tonight, it felt worse.The scout tightened his grip around his sword and continued forward.His boots pressed softly into the damp earth. Every few steps, he glanced into the darkness between the trees, searching for movement.Nothing.Too quiet.He stopped for a moment.The forest was usually never silent.There should have been insects.There should have been distant animal calls.There should have been something.Instead, there was only the sound of his own breathing.He swallowed and continued.Then—Crunch.The sound came from somewhere behind him.The scout froze.His hand immediately tightened around his sword.Slowly, he turned his head.Nothing.He waited.His heartbeat grew louder in his ears.Then another sound came.A strange, lowcrackfrom somewhere behind the trees.The scout’s instincts took over.He slowly drew his sword.The blade slipped from its sheath with a faint metallic sound.He raised it in front of himself and began turning around.Slowly.One step.Then another.His eyes searched the darkness.And then he saw them.Twocrimson-red eyesstared back at him from beside an ancient tree.They were unlike anything he had ever seen.They seemed almost crystalline, glowing faintly within the darkness.The scout stopped breathing.His sword trembled in his hand.The eyes didn’t move.They simply watched him.For a moment, neither the scout nor whatever stood in the darkness moved.Then—A sudden scream tore through the forest.“AAAHHH!”And the forest fell silent once again. The scream faded into the darkness.Then there was nothing.Hours passed.The Vanguard scouts finally reached the area where their missing comrade had been last seen.Their formation slowed.“Scout?”No answer.One of them raised a hand, signaling the others to stop.Something lay ahead.A broken sword rested against the roots of an ancient tree.Dark drops of blood marked the ground around it.Above the sword, leaves slowly drifted down from the branches, turning silently through the cold night air.The scouts stared at the scene.No body.No sign of their comrade.Only the broken weapon.One of the soldiers lowered his gaze.“...Another scout gone.”Nobody answered.They had seen scouts disappear before.The forest was full of monsters.But something about this felt different.The captain stepped forward and examined the ground.At first, he saw nothing unusual.Then he stopped.His eyes widened slightly.“Captain?”He didn’t answer.He crouched beside a mark pressed deep into the earth.A footprint.But it wasn’t the footprint of any monster they knew.It was enormous.The captain slowly followed the trail with his eyes.One footprint.Then another.Each one was deeper than the last.The surrounding soil had been crushed beneath an immense weight.One of the scouts whispered,“What... is that?”The captain remained silent.For years, the Vanguard had explored these forests.They had fought monsters of every kind.They had learned their tracks.Their movements.Their hunting patterns.But he had never seen footprints like these.Not once.The captain stood.His expression hardened.“Everyone.”The scouts looked toward him.He stared into the darkness ahead.Then he gave the order.“Retreat.”No one questioned him.The Vanguard scouts immediately turned and began moving through the forest.They didn’t run.They knew better than to make unnecessary noise.But every soldier kept one hand close to their weapon as they hurried toward the city.Behind them, the enormous footprints disappeared deeper into the darkness.And somewhere beyond the trees...Something was still watching.The Vanguard scouts pushed through the darkness, their pace quickening as the forest slowly began to thin.No one spoke.The silence between them was heavier than the forest itself.Every soldier kept looking over his shoulder.Nothing followed them.At least, nothing they could see.After what felt like an eternity, the first lights of the city appeared beyond the trees.The scouts finally reached the outer road.Tall wooden watchtowers stood along the city’s perimeter, their lanterns glowing against the darkness. Guards stationed above immediately noticed the returning Vanguard unit.One of them leaned over the railing.“Vanguard!”Another guard raised a signal lantern.The gates began to open.The scouts passed through without stopping.Several soldiers near the entrance stared at them.Something was wrong.The Vanguard had returned much earlier than expected.And there were fewer of them.The captain walked straight through the gate.A guard hurried toward him.“Captain, what happened?”The captain stopped.For several seconds, he said nothing.Then he looked toward the forest behind them.“Close the gates.”The guard’s expression changed.“Captain?”**“Close them. Now.“**The guard immediately turned and shouted the order.Heavy mechanisms began moving.The enormous city gates slowly swung shut.**BOOM.**The sound echoed through the streets.People nearby turned toward the Vanguard.Whispers began spreading.“What happened?”“Why are the gates closing?”“Did monsters attack?”The captain ignored them.He walked toward the Vanguard headquarters with the remaining scouts following behind him.Inside the headquarters, several officers were still awake despite the late hour.The captain entered.One of the officers looked up.“You’re back already.”The captain placed his sword on the table.“We lost a scout.”The room became silent.The officer’s expression hardened.“How?”The captain looked at the other scouts.Then he answered quietly.“We don’t know.”The officer frowned.“You don’t know?”“We found his sword.”He paused.“There was blood.”Another officer stepped closer.“And the monster?”The captain slowly shook his head.“There was no monster.”The room fell silent again.The captain reached into his coat and placed a rough sketch of the footprint on the table.Everyone gathered around it.For several moments, nobody spoke.Then one of the older officers stared at the drawing.His face slowly changed.The captain noticed.“You recognize it?”The old officer didn’t answer immediately.His eyes remained fixed on the footprint.Finally, he whispered:“...No.”The captain frowned.“Then why do you look afraid?”The old officer lifted his eyes.“Because I’ve seen something similar before.”The room became completely still.“How long ago?” the captain asked.The old officer’s voice dropped almost to a whisper. “Long before you joined the Vanguard.” The captain stared at him.“What happened?”The old officer looked toward the window.Beyond the glass, the city lights flickered beneath the night sky. Beyond those lights stood the forest, an endless wall of darkness surrounding the distant horizon.For a long moment, he said nothing.Then he spoke.“Do you know what that forest was before the monsters?”The captain frowned.“A forest.”The old officer slowly shook his head.“No.”He walked toward the window.“It was a refuge.”The room became quiet.“Refuge from what?” one of the younger scouts asked.The old officer looked back at them.“From us.”Nobody understood.He continued.“Years ago, the four cities weren’t what they are today. There were no proper rules between them. People fought for money. They fought for status. They fought simply because they could.”His voice became quieter.“Tournaments were held between the cities. At first, they were supposed to be entertainment.”He paused.“Then people realized there was money to be made.”The captain’s expression hardened.“And they began fighting for it.”“Yes.”The old officer’s eyes lowered.“The stronger you were, the more you could earn. The more you won, the more people wanted to challenge you.”One of the scouts swallowed.“And people died.”The old officer nodded.“Many.”The room remained silent.“There were people who wanted nothing to do with it. Families. Children. Old people. People who simply wanted to live without constantly looking over their shoulders.”He looked toward the forest again.“So they left.”The captain followed his gaze.“Into the forest?”“Yes.”“Why there?”“Because at that time, it was ordinary.”The old officer’s expression softened slightly.“Those people built homes there. Small villages. They grew food. They raised children. They helped one another.”He smiled faintly.“For the first time, they had something the cities had forgotten.”“What?”The old officer looked at him.“Peace.”The word lingered in the room.“They weren’t rich. They weren’t powerful. But they were happy.”The captain said nothing.The old officer’s expression slowly changed.“And then...”He stopped.“What?” the captain asked.The old officer looked toward the darkness beyond the window.“Something changed.”The captain stepped closer.“What changed?”“The forest.”A cold silence filled the room.“It began growing.”One of the scouts frowned.“Forests grow.”“Not like this.”The old officer’s voice was almost a whisper.“Trees appeared where there had been open ground. Paths disappeared beneath roots. The forest expanded farther every day.”The captain looked toward the other officers.“And the monsters?”The old officer closed his eyes.“They came after.”Nobody spoke.“At first, there were only a few. People thought they were ordinary creatures that had wandered into the forest.”He shook his head.“They weren’t.”His hand tightened around the edge of the table.“They kept appearing.”“How many?”“Too many.”The old officer looked at the broken sword lying on the table.“And they grew stronger.”The captain’s expression darkened.“What happened to the people?”The old officer didn’t answer immediately.Then he said:“They ran.”His voice cracked slightly.“Everyone ran.”Families abandoned their homes. Villages emptied overnight. People tried to reach the cities, believing the walls would protect them.“But the forest had already grown too far.”The captain looked toward the window again.The darkness outside suddenly seemed much closer.“How many survived?”The old officer stared at the floor.“Very few.”He took a slow breath.“Nearly eighty percent of the people living around the forest were killed.”Nobody moved.The number seemed impossible.The youngest scout quietly whispered,“Eighty percent...”The old officer nodded.“And the survivors?”“They reached the cities.”The captain looked toward the sealed gates.“Then why are the cities still here?”“Because the monsters stopped.”The captain’s eyes narrowed.“They stopped?”“At the edge of the forest.”“Why?”The old officer shook his head.“We don’t know.”A scout stepped forward.“They never attack the cities?”“Not from the forest.”“Then why have we spent generations fighting them?”The old officer looked at him.“Because they remain inside.”He paused.“And because the forest keeps growing.”The captain looked down at the strange footprint on the table.His face became grim.“Then what does that have to do with this?”The old officer stared at the footprint.“I don’t know.”He hesitated.“That’s what frightens me.”The captain waited.The old officer finally whispered:“I’ve never seen a footprint like this in any record.”The room fell silent.Then the captain asked the question that had been sitting in everyone’s mind.“If this creature is new...”He looked toward the forest.“...what else has been growing in there all these years?”No one answered.Outside, beyond the city walls, the forest stood beneath the moonlight.Silent.Endless.And somewhere deep within it—A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened. 

Morning had already swallowed the streets.

The city was crowded, loud, and restless.

Merchants shouted from their stalls. Hunters returned through the gates with weapons strapped to their backs. People pushed past one another without looking twice.

Among them moved a boy who had learned how to disappear.

He kept his head lowered as he walked through the crowd, his worn clothes blending into the streets.

His eyes moved constantly.

Left.

Right.

A merchant.

A traveler.

A purse hanging loosely from someone’s belt.

The boy slowed.

He waited.

The moment the crowd became thicker, his hand moved.

Snatch.

The purse was gone.

The boy turned and walked away.

One step.

Two.

Then—

“HEY!”

He ran.

“STOP THAT KID!”

The boy sprinted through the crowded street.

His bare feet struck the stone road as he pushed between people. Behind him, angry voices grew louder.

He turned sharply into a narrow alley.

Then another.

Then another.

The voices slowly disappeared.

The boy finally stopped beside a pile of old garbage behind a worn-down building.

He bent forward, breathing heavily.

He listened.

Nothing.

A small smile appeared on his face.

He had escaped.

The boy looked down at the purse in his hand.

He quickly opened it.

His smile disappeared.

Inside was only a small amount of money.

He counted it twice.

Fifty.

He stared at the bills in his palm.

“Fifty...”

His stomach growled.

He looked toward the street.

Fifty was barely enough for two small pieces of bread.

He lowered his head.

After running all that way...

That was all he had.

His fingers tightened around the money.

Then a voice came from behind him.

“Give it to us.”

The boy froze.

He slowly turned.

Three children stood at the entrance of the alley.

They looked at the money in his hand.

The boy immediately pulled it closer to himself.

“No.”

One of them stepped forward.

“We said give it to us.”

The boy shook his head.

“I’m hungry.”

“So are we.”

“I need it.”

The children moved closer.

The boy backed away until his shoulders touched the wall.

“Please.”

One of the children reached for the money.

The boy pulled his hand away.

“No!”

They surrounded him.

He tried to push past them.

He didn’t get far.

A shove sent him to the ground.

The money slipped from his fingers.

He reached for it immediately.

But another child grabbed it first.

“Give it back!”

The boy scrambled to his feet.

He tried to take it.

The others pushed him back.

He fell again.

They surrounded him for several moments, taking their anger out on him while he desperately tried to protect himself.

Eventually, they took the money and walked away.

One of them looked back.

“Next time, don’t steal.”

Then they disappeared into the street.

The alley became quiet.

The boy remained on the ground.

For a while, he didn’t move.

His stomach still hurt from hunger.

He slowly looked at his empty hands.

Nothing.

No money.

No food.

Nothing.

His eyes filled with tears.

He quickly wiped them away.

Another tear followed.

He looked down at the dirty ground.

For a moment, he tried to hold himself together.

Then he quietly began to cry.

Not because they had beaten him.

Not even because they had stolen his money.

He cried because he had already been hungry when he stole it.

And now he was still hungry.

The city continued moving around him.

People laughed.

Merchants shouted.

Hunters walked through the streets.

Nobody stopped.

Nobody cared.

The boy lowered his head between his knees.

His name was MANWA