Morning came quietly, thin light slipping through the trees. Shun groaned and pushed himself up, his body stiff.
"Rise and shine, dum… dum?"
No response.
He frowned. The rope was still tied neatly to the tree, swaying in the breeze—but Dumdum was gone.
"…What?"
Panic hit him all at once.
"DUMDUM!"
Shun spun around, eyes darting across the campsite. Then he froze.
By the lake, something brown bobbed on the water.
Dumdum was floating.
"Oii…!"
Dumdum didn't move... Just floated there, lifeless, face half in the water.
Shun cursed under his breath and dove in, splashing hard as he swam over.
He grabbed Dumdum by the reins and started dragging him toward the shore.
Muscles burning.
"You crazy bastard… what even goes on in that dumb head of yours…"
He kept pushing, panting, but Dumdum didn't react.
No flinch...
No struggle…
Shun ducked his head underwater, heart tightening—only to meet Dumdum's eyes.
The stupid horse was just… staring into the depths.
Then Dumdum suddenly panicked.
His legs kicked wildly, water exploding around them.
Shun barely had time to react before bubbles burst from his mouth.
What—why now? he tried to shout, the words drowning instantly.
He turned.
A shadow swallowed the light beneath the lake.
A massive fish—no, a monster—hung there, as wide as a carriage road, eyes dull and empty, staring straight at them.
That was enough.
Both of them bolted.
Shun grabbed Dumdum and swam like hell, lungs burning, water tearing past his ears.
They burst out of the lake and collapsed onto the shore, coughing, choking, gasping for air like a goddamn goldfish.
Shun rolled onto his back, chest heaving.
"You fucking dumb horse… what the hell were you doing out there?" he snapped. "You were one bite away from becoming fish food."
Dumdum just stared.
Or… tried to.
Both eyes pointed in different directions, unfocused as ever.
Shun groaned. "Damn wall-eyed shit."
He scratched his head hard, fingers digging through wet hair.
"Ahhh, fuck it," he muttered, standing up. "Let's hunt for food."
He started scanning the area, his eyes sweeping the treeline, the lake, the bushes—while Dumdum wandered beside him, hooves crunching lazily against dirt.
Then a thought hit him.
Shun slowed… turned… and stared straight at the horse.
"…The fuck are you even eating?"
Dumdum stopped. Looked at a nearby tree. Tilted his head sideways—both eyes aiming at completely different spots—then leaned forward and munched straight into the trunk.
Crunch.
Shun froze.
"…What."
He stepped closer, hand on his chin, watching bark and wood disappear into Dumdum's mouth.
"So… anything?" Shun muttered. "You just… eat anything?"
A dangerous curiosity lit up his eyes.
He started testing limits.
Leaves?
Chomp.
"Okay…"
Dry branches?
Chomp.
"…Noted."
A small monster fish, still twitching from the lake?
Chomp.
"Ohhh." Shun's eyes gleamed. "I see you. I see you."
He mentally filed it away, already imagining uses. Very explosive uses.
Then Shun rolled a big-ass rock in front of Dumdum.
The horse stared at it.
Three seconds passed.
Dumdum shook his head.
"…Huh."
Shun's excited grin slowly flattened into disappointment.
"Tch. Figures."
They ate breakfast and set off again, the road pulling them forward whether they were ready or not.
Hours slipped by under the open sky, filled with small moments that stacked up without him noticing.
They crossed paths with merchants first.
Wagons creaked, Klip clinked, fabrics and strange tools caught the light.
Shun leaned in a little too close, eyes scanning gadgets and trinkets, fingers itching with ideas.
By the time the thought of Ferrwyn crossed his mind, the merchants were already long gone.
Later came fellow Seekers.
They walked together for a while, swapping stories about close calls, bad quests, and monsters so overpowered you have no choice but to pray you don't encounter it.
Shun listened hard, fully locked in—laughing, commenting, imagining. And again, the question sat on his tongue and never left his mouth as the fellow seekers slowly faded out of his sight.
Then the road turned ugly.
Monsters crept out from the sides, blocking their path.
Shun reached for his dagger and felt the missing weight—half of it gone, eaten by that damn slime.
"Tch…"
With no other choice left.
They fucking ran.
By nightfall, they finally made it.
Shun slowed to a stop, eyes locking onto the outer wall of his family's territory. The silhouette stood heavy against the dark sky.
"I'm back… fuck!" he shouted.
The words tore out of him.
His hands shook.
Anger crawled up his spine, tight and sharp.
He clenched his fists until his knuckles hurt, dragged in a deep breath, then slapped his own face—hard.
Focus.
He moved again.
The gate loomed closer with every step.
Too quiet..
Shun stopped in front of it and raised his voice.
"Oii! Hello!"
Silence answered him.
"OIIIII!" he shouted again, louder this time.
Nothing. Not a footstep. Not even a shadow shifting on the wall.
His jaw tightened.
"Tch… even the guards are slacking off now?" he muttered, irritation boiling under the surface.
Something was off—and it pissed him off more than anything.
He knocked. And knocked. And knocked again, knuckles slamming into the massive wooden gate until his hands started to sting.
The sound echoed, dull and heavy, swallowed by the stone walls around him.
Still—nothing. No footsteps. No voice. Not even a damn torch lighting up above.
His patience snapped.
He stepped back and kicked the gate, hard.
Then again.
"OPEN, GODDAMMIT!" Shun shouted.
He spun toward Dumdum. "Oi! Help me! Kick it too—use that muscular leg of yours!"
Dumdum turned… lifted a leg… and kicked the wall beside the gate.
Thud.
Shun froze. Slowly raised a hand. Slapped his own face.
"Where the hell are you aiming at…"
He grabbed Dumdum by the reins, dragged him into position like an uncooperative battering ram, physically adjusted his stance, and lined him up with the gate.
"There. That. The gate. Not the wall. Not the ground. The gate."
Shun took a position beside him.
"One… two—!"
They kicked. Again. And again.
Wood groaned.
Hinges screamed.
The gate shuddered with every impact, splinters raining down like dust.
Shun felt the vibration run up his leg, into his bones, but he didn't stop.
Then—
Creeeaaak.
The massive wooden gate leaned forward… and slowly collapsed inward with a thunderous crash.
Shun and Dumdum stared at the fallen gate. Then at each other.
Both grinned.