Si Hon swallowed.
"…oh wait… then was that you?"
────────────────────────
No… I can only stop time if I were by your side, I was doing something that time so it wasn't me.
────────────────────────
"...cool" then he flopped back to the bed and caressed the little girl's head.
The purring didn't stop. It was soft. Steady. Almost… content.
Si Hon slept.
And for the first time since he was dragged in Snowfall Mountain— He slept deeply.
No nightmares, screaming system windows, and most of all MUNCHES laughing in the dark… there's some probably but still. It was a good sleep.
Just warmth pressed against his chest and a small weight that made his ribs hurt a little less.
***
"CRACK."
Not loud or sudden.
Just the subtle sound of ice shifting somewhere far away.
The kind of sound mountains make when something big moves.
Si Hon's eyes snapped open.
Gray. Not black. Not night.
That same dead silver gray light seeped through the fabric of the tent like diluted ash.
"…ah."
He stared at the ceiling.
"…morning again… still got a good sleep atleast."
The girl was still there.
Curled tighter now. Her forehead pressed to his collarbone. One small hand gripping the fabric of his jacket like she was afraid he would disappear.
She purred. Again.
Si Hon exhaled slowly.
"…okay. That's… still happening."
He carefully shifted, testing his body.
Pain flared instantly.
His back screamed and his ribs felt like someone stacked broken glass under his skin.
"…Aigo… fuck me."
But he wasn't paralyzed.
That alone felt wrong.
He glanced down. The katana lay beside them inside the tent, half unsheathed. The blade was… different now. Still dark.
But no longer empty.
Thin lines, almost veins ran faintly along the metal, pulsing once… then fading. Like a heartbeat that wasn't his.
Si Hon frowned.
"…I'm not touching you again."
The girl stirred. Her eyes slowly opened. They weren't blank anymore or distant or mirrored.
They just focus on him.
"…Dad," she murmured, voice still soft with sleep.
Si Hon stiffened.
"what…?"
She tilted her head. Her expression wasn't neutral anymore.
"Dad."
Her eyes immediately sparkled. Then suddenly she lunged toward Si Hon and hugged him tight.
"…you were supposed to die," she said quietly.
Si Hon blinked.
"…wow. Good morning to you too."
She pushed herself up slightly, still sitting on his chest.
Small. Light. Dangerous in a way the mountain itself seemed to respect.
"I rewound," she said. "Because you are my Dad."
Si Hon's humor faded.
"…you rewound the entire mountain?"
She shook her head.
"Only your thread."
The tent creaked softly as wind brushed against it.
Outside there was no roaring blizzard.
Just silence. Heavy. Pressurized. Wrong.
The System flickered to life.
[This should be impossible. ]
Si Hon glanced at the glowing text.
"Buddy, at this point? You gotta stop using that word."
「Snowfall Mountain does not allow selective rewinds. The cost should have erased both of you.」
The girl looked at the window.
Then… frowned.
"I paid," she said simply.
The text jittered.
[With what? ]
She looked back at Si Hon.
Her small fingers tightened slightly in his shirt.
"…with all my strength."
The System window trembled.
Not flickered. Trembled.
[…Strength is not a valid currency.]
The girl stared at it. For a long second, she didn't blink. Then she tilted her head.
"…it was all I had."
The tent fabric groaned softly.
Not from the wind. But due to some weight.
Si Hon felt it then— like the air itself had thickened. Breathing felt heavier, as if Snowfall Mountain had leaned closer to listen.
The System stalled.
A line appeared.
Then erased itself.
Then it appeared again.
「ERROR: PAYMENT ACCEPTED.」
Si Hon froze.
"…wait."
Another line slammed down beneath it.
「WARNING: THREAD ANCHOR ALTERED.」
The katana beside him pulsed again.
Once. Harder.
The faint vein lines along the blade flared dull silver matching the dead light outside.
The girl flinched slightly, fingers curling into Si Hon's shirt.
"…it noticed," she whispered.
"What noticed?" Si Hon asked, quietly now.
She didn't answer right away.
Instead, she leaned down and pressed her forehead against his chest right over his heart.
Listening.
"…the Mountain," she said. "…and the Tower."
"Ah… okay… you know I'm too dumb for this talk."
Then suddenly Si Hon stood up and opened the tent and stepped outside, everything was still the same. The red circle around the tower, the tent, everything.
"Ah… I see."
The girl stepped out, and hugged herself like she's cold.
Si Hon looked at her. Then his mouth opened. "Aren't you supposed to be… like not cold or something?"
"All of my power is gone dad… because of you." she answered.
Si Hon froze and stared at her for a long second.
Then he sighed.
"…sure. Sure, okay."
He bent down and picked up a spare shirt half buried in the dirt, creased, a little dirty, the one he left because he only needed to wear one. He shook it once, then draped it over her small shoulders.
"Here," he muttered, patting her head awkwardly. "Thank you, by the way. Switch into this first. Then we'll talk."
The girl looked down at the shirt.
Then up at him.
"…okay, Dad."
Si Hon's eyes twitched.
She slipped back inside the tent. The fabric rustled softly, the sound oddly domestic against the dead silence of Snowfall Mountain. No system windows. No monsters laughing. Just the faint whisper of cloth and wind brushing snow.
Si Hon turned away and walked a few steps, stopping at the base of the Tower. He leaned back against the cold stone and slid down until he was sitting, knees bent, arms resting loosely on them.
"…this is my life now," he muttered.
He looked at his clothes. "Haha… so like… I'm the only one who got rewind so my clothes are the same…"
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and then, he noticed the modern torn clothes beside the tent. "ah… hahahaaa…."
Then the tent flap lifted.
She stepped out.
The shirt was too big on her, sleeves hanging past her hands, hem brushing her knees. She hugged herself once, then spotted Si Hon.
Without hesitation, she walked over.
And climbed onto his lap.
Si Hon froze.
She curled against his chest like it was the most natural thing in the world, small body warm despite the mountain, and then…
purr.
Soft. Steady.
Si Hon stared straight ahead, his soul leaving his body in a slow motion.
"…Dad," she said again, content.
His shoulder jerked.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat, carefully, like one wrong movement might break him. "Okay. Uh… Question."
She looked up at him, eyes calm. Present.
"…Why are you now calling me that?"
She tilted her head, thinking.
"In the place I came from," she said slowly, "someone told me a rule."
Si Hon listened.
"If someone protects me… doesn't command me… and doesn't abuse my power…"
She reached up and gently grasped the fabric of his shirt, latching herself to him.
"…then they are my Dad. Or my Mom."
Silence settled between them.
The Tower loomed above. The mountain and forest listened.
Si Hon swallowed.
"…that's a messed up rule," he muttered.
She blinked.
"…but you followed it. You sacrifice yourself for me."
purr.
Si Hon closed his eyes.
"…yeah," he sighed. "Looks like I did."
The girl settled comfortably against Si Hon's chest, purring like nothing in the world could touch her.
Si Hon stared at the forest ahead, expression flat.
"…yeah. This is happening."
A faint flicker shimmered at the edge of his vision.
No alarms. No red warnings.
Just text a small, almost hesitant.
────────────────────────
You have Ivy in the real world.
And now you have another daughter here.
…What are you?
An adoption center?
Kehehehe.
────────────────────────
Si Hon closed his eyes and sighed.
"Yes, yes… I know."
The girl shifted slightly, curling closer. The purring didn't stop.
He glanced down at her, then back toward the endless forest and snows.
"…Alright," he muttered. "Let's do jokes later."
He rubbed his face with one hand.
"I need firewood. Food. Water. Preferably before I pass out or deid."
He paused.
Then. Very deliburat ely softened his tone.
"…So," he said slowly, tilting his head a bit. "Dear, wise, very beautiful or handsome System."
The text froze.
Si Hon continued, voice almost… polite.
"You wouldn't happen to have, like… a hint? A direction? A friendly nudge so your favorite HUMAN doesn't die?"
A long silence.
The girl looked up at the empty air, curious.
The System flickered once.
「…」
Another pause.
Then—
[Don't say it like that.]
Si Hon cracked one eye open.
"…like what?"
[Like you're being cute on purpose.]
He snorted.
"…Worked though, didn't it?"
The System hesitated.
The text reappeared, smaller. Quieter.
[…It's not because you asked nicely.]
Si Hon waited.
[It's because I don't want you to die.]
The words lingered.
No jokes.
Just that.
Si Hon exhaled, and giggled a bit.
"…yeah," he murmured. "Thought so."
The girl nuzzled closer.
purr.
The System added one last line.
────────────────────────
Head east.
Dead trees.
Frozen stream beneath the snow.
And… don't get stupid.
────────────────────────
Si Hon smiled faintly.
"No promises."
He looked down at the girl.
"…Alright, kid. Field trip."
She looked up at him, eyes bright.
"Okay, Dad."
Si Hon winced.
"…we'll talk about that later."
But he stood up anyway, careful, slow, adjusting his grip so she wouldn't slip.
Snowfall Mountain watched.
And for once…
It didn't laugh.
"AIGOOOOO… IF ONLY SOMEONE LIKE SOMEONE WHO CAN READ THIS NOVEL IM GONNA SURVIVE… AND YK ME AND THIS GIRL IS KINDA HOMELESS…"