Before the year turned, Gangwon Province.

On a pitch-dark mountain path walked a group that didn’t fit the time or place at all.

Three kids and one puppy.

Given the location and hour, the combination alone was enough to make anyone uneasy, yet the group itself was remarkably peaceful.

Bundled head to toe in the hat, earmuffs, and scarf that Jo Eui shin had sent, Yebomyeong hopped along, then, for no reason at all, started swapping in whatever lyrics he remembered from nursery rhymes and pop songs, singing snatches as they went up the trail.

He’ll tire out quickly like that.

Just as Hwang Ho expected, Yebomyeong ran out of steam before long. Kids that age could show near-endless stamina at play, but after playing hide-and-seek with the Servitors of Butterfly Ridge and then keeping his Radiance open late to search for a spirit’s relic, it was never going to be easy. He wouldn’t realize it himself, but his esper wave was heavily depleted; it was about time fatigue caught up to him.