SAFBIAN Ch 150

Chapter 150

‘…This feeling is strange.’

Back then, I was thrilled in my dream to see my favorite. I actually touched the black nose and, fascinated by the white tail, rubbed the soft fur.

But now, I naturally recognized ‘Dori’ as myself.

‘It would be troublesome if I really regressed into the novel’s world… Well, even if the original lacks a conscience, that seems unlikely… but maybe.’

Dori began to feel confused.

Still, if that were true, having tried once, he resolved not to do the foolish thing of going to the Red Fox village again. After all, he had nearly escaped from there with nothing on him, having lost even what he managed to bring.

‘What do you think?’

When Dori asked, the fox reflected on the water licked his nose.

While wandering through many thoughts alone, Dori suddenly realized quite some time had passed. However, the surrounding scene had not changed at all.

Dori was baffled.

It was strange since this had never happened before.

He pressed and rubbed the ground with his forepaw. If this were real snow, it would be crushed deeply like footprints, but the moment he lifted his paw, the spot puffed back softly like cotton to its original shape.

He was certain he was in a dream.

‘Yes! It must be!’

Startled at the thought that this might be a dream, his heart sank.

Perhaps because he had experienced it when first possessed by the novel, his pupils slit vertically as his nose twitched.

Dreaming was no longer unusual; since he began sleeping more, it was almost every night.

His last memory was covering himself with a warm blanket, then awakening to a scene from the novel unfolding like a movie.

But it was slightly different from the original.

In the novel, Haban burned the Red Fox village, but in the dream, Wonwoo had Moran set the village on fire. The elder’s death and Hori’s misfortune were also not as in the novel.

The shabby house where ‘Dori’ ran to hide from Haban in the novel had transformed into a fine residence like the one he currently lived in, and the chick, Riri, who almost froze to death, now ran energetically.

Finally, at the edge of autumn’s harvest, the novel’s end saw ‘Dori’ shot by an arrow and die. So he thought he wouldn’t dream again, yet he had returned to the beginning.

Why was this time different?

‘Answer me.’

‘…….’

Dori spoke to the faint glow drifting beside him. The light, though always present in his dreams, faded as if lacking an answer when he asked.

‘Well, once it kindly explained.’

It only showed scenes arbitrarily. The fact that this was a dream at all was absurd.

‘…I hope this isn’t a farewell.’

Grumbling, Dori collapsed with a sigh.

‘If there’s nothing to show me, please send me back. Haban will worry about me.’

Then, at the sound of the name ‘Haban,’ the glow flinched and moved slowly toward the water.

‘What?’

The end of the glow gently touched the water’s surface.

Suddenly—flash!—bright light spread as the fox’s reflection disappeared and something else appeared.

.

.

.

“…What do you want to tell me?”

Dori had changed from the white fox into human form.

His eyelashes were wet with tears. Watching Haban remember and long for ‘Dori,’ he had cried continually, leaving his eyes red and voice quivering.

“…Why did you show me this?”

He whispered weakly.

He understood Haban believed the novel’s story was his past life. That Haban had searched for the original ‘Dori’ all along, treating him kindly because he believed he truly was that past ‘Dori.’

“…How did I forget everything so completely?”

Although he’d thought to separate himself from ‘Dori,’ he had gradually mistaken himself as the real ‘Dori’ and come to love Haban, even though he was only possessed by ‘Dori.’

Would it have been better to know nothing?

That he was only a substitute for ‘Dori.’

He was glad and relieved that he wished for ‘Dori’s’ happiness, but his heart felt hollow. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the faint glow encircled him, seeming to apologize.

“…Is that you?”

Around Dori, nothing remained. The snowfield and mountains disappeared, replaced by an empty white void.

But none of that mattered. When he opened his eyes, it would be the novel’s end. That intuition weighed on him.

“You called me here?”

The light brightened as if to answer. It seemed to confirm that it was he, the stranger from another world, who had been drawn into the novel.

Dori was choked with breath.

Was it you? You? Was it really you?

Why me? Why call me? If the story was to proceed as written, why bother?

“…Can I stop it?”

Among the many questions flooding his mind, this was the one he most wanted to ask: Could he avoid ‘Dori’s’ destined death? Could the novel’s ending be changed?

Then the light dimmed, implying a definite no.

Dori felt wronged.

“I didn’t want to come! You called me without my consent!”

Suddenly possessed and dropped into an alien world, unprepared, the novel’s ending was not happy. Despite despise and hostility in the Red Fox village, he had resolved to toughen his heart to make ‘Dori’ happy.

Dori was frustrated.

“If you called me, don’t change the story! Do I have to obey blindly? I’ll find a way no matter what! Don’t twist the original and interfere!”

He was saddened.

Many were loved just for being born. Though envious, Dori never envied them and lived wholeheartedly.

He wanted even a handful of affection.

So he poured out his feelings, then sat down, now calmer. The faint glow wrapped him warmly, making him choke up even though it was still a dream.

“You knew everything all along.”

Though hints of death kept appearing, there was never an answer on how or when.

Dori held the light close.

“…Why don’t you just tell me everything?”

As he muttered this, the glow brightened and enveloped him warmly. Perhaps this was its way of explaining—the best it could do.

Dori closed his eyes.

Looking down from afar at the foot of the mountain, there stood a small isolated house beyond the village. Armed men in armor circled it.

“Is that the place?”

Yungak glanced down. The red fox at his feet nodded. The fox’s fur was tattered and unkempt after days of hardship, but its eyes were sharp and clear.

“A mate.”

A sole mate? Beastmen were curious creatures. Yungak curled his mouth coldly.

‘I know the fox’s location.’

Among the information gained by torturing Bisol was not just about the beastman village, but that Wonwoo had bonded with Dori.

Bonded mates, the imprint worsens separation pain and reveals the whereabouts of the other. That meant Wonwoo truly knew Dori’s location.

‘After keeping the cherished fox close, he had another mate. Poor elder brother must have been hurt.’

Still, Yungak felt no real sympathy.

Clicking his tongue, Yungak stepped back. The fox, who stretched its neck in regret, trudged after. Iyeok glared disapprovingly, and the fox bared teeth, snarling fiercely despite being a beastman.

“…Must you do this?”

“If you’re here to cause trouble, shut up.”

On the way, Iyeok repeatedly tried to persuade Yungak, suggesting they should return to the Yangtze to prepare further and that opportunities were still plenty. But Yungak refused to listen.

Rebellion was already a failure. Marked as a traitor, Yungak had to hide wherever in the empire and could not move freely. Even if he tried to plan for the future, if he built a base starting now, it might fall to his successors.

‘Why do this? It’s not like I want to.’

Moreover, with Wonwoo now a convenient tool, Yungak had no intention to change his mind.

Moran, who split from the Red Fox village, deliberately left traces while leading Haban’s pursuit astray. If lucky, they might meet alive, if not, Moran would fulfill his role and die there.

Afterward, Yungak used Wonwoo to gain aid from the Fox Guild. The Fox Guild was already in turmoil from the village burning, and Wonwoo, accused as culprit, appeared battered and injured. His mother sorrowed deeply, blaming the village for unjustly accusing her child, and the elder father, who cherished the village and elder, was heartbroken at his only child’s state.

Because of this, Yungak pretended to be Wonwoo’s savior to gain support from the Fox Guild. They moved in a large crate, escaping even Haban’s pursuit.

Yungak reached this place with difficulty. But seeing that Moran of the Yangtze had vanished with no word, they were likely all dead.

Now, only Moran called Yeon remained.

‘Even if I die, I will take that fox away from my brother.’

Yungak glanced at Moran standing behind Iyeok and smiled slightly.