Chapter 29[Ep. 8]: Dusk is Approaching

DUSK IS APPROACHING

“These things—that's the third one already. Are they actually following us? "Yuren's jaw trembled. Honestly, he couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening.

He squinted into the darkness. Those were the same creatures from earlier, no doubt about it—except now the numbers had doubled. Or tripled.

“A-And look at how many there are now,” he muttered, eyes darting as he tried to count. “Damn it, what a rotten road. Why now? I thought they hated fire.”

Baby Giant cried out. That was the last bit of warning Yuren got before chaos broke loose—the beasts lunged, mean and hungry, one after the other. Roaarr!

Twaacckk!

Shards of pain exploded in the mother Aelphian’s leg—a set of fangs sank deep, and her screaming didn’t leave much room for guessing how much it hurt. But she didn’t back down. She swung her massive trunk and kicked the attacker clean into the fire. It panicked right away, flailing from the flames, scrambling just to get away. Next thing, she used that same trunk like a club—whipping another creature aside, then grabbing one more by the ribs and hurling it into the mess of shrieking beasts trying to get close.

Two more were already crawling up behind, clawing their way toward Baby Giant’s back. Yuren stayed low against Baby Giant’s neck. Still, one was faster—it leapt for him—

Woossshhh! The mother Aelphian struck out, sending it flying. That one didn’t come back for seconds. She wasn’t going to let anything hurt her herd—not her only child, not tonight. She rose up on her hind legs and let out a roar so loud the whole forest seemed to hold its breath.

Packkk!! One beast got flattened so hard it looked like someone had stomped on a fruit.

They didn’t just fear her—after that, they wanted nothing to do with her. Fur bristled, tails tucked, the rest of them scattered, desperate to save their own skins.

Yuren wiped the sweat from his face, swallowing back a shock wave of adrenaline. “Yeah. That wasn’t a joke anymore,” he said. “Thank goodness.”

The mother Aelphian turned to them, gave a soft, rumbling cry, and raised her trunk just a little, almost like a nod.

Off they went again, pushing forward.

Then Baby Giant suddenly stopped. Firelight flickered in his eyes. Something strange shifted inside him—he didn’t have the words, but he felt it. His mother just watched him, quiet.

“It’s alright, Baby Giant. Nothing to be scared of,” Yuren said from where he sat, rubbing Baby Giant’s skin gently.

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The mother Aelphian bellowed—loud, certain.

He answered her call, running forward again, his mother’s eyes never leaving him.

*******

Reina couldn’t get mad at her father for how fiercely he clung to her son. She didn’t even know where it came from—he'd never given her any real answers, just brushed off her questions every time. Maybe it was just her; he kept in the dark. In her chest, frustration burned. She was a mother—it was natural to want her boy far from danger, but with her father always holding on so tight, she couldn’t. All she could do was shove her energy into digging in her mother’s garden, hoping that would distract her mind from wandering back to Yuren, back to whatever trouble he might be in on the other side of the wall.

Dark clouds hung low, the sort that felt heavy, like rain ought to have started already. It was about time for a downpour.

She kept herself busy, tearing into the ground for tonight’s vegetables. The strikes were hard and sharp, way more forceful than needed. She was rough—that was just who she was.

Sweat ran down her face; she wiped it away, bitten by worry. Her eyes drifted up. Smoke billowed from the forest fire out back, curling above the trees. With a heavy, shaky breath, she spoke her son’s name softly. For the first time since he’d left.

“—Yuren.”

She snapped back to what she was doing and hurried to bury some seeds, then fetched water. The instant the first drops touched the soil, the seed sprouted—exploded, really. Before her eyes, the plant grew from nothing to full-sized, bursting with flowers faster than made any sense. She watched it happen over and over, with every seed and every splash, as if reality had taken a break.

Still, to Reina, it almost seemed normal. Like something inside her just worked this way. She watered, and the plants flourished. From seed to stem to vegetables, in the blink of an eye.

String beans, eggplant, okra—just the basics. She’d planted them her whole life.

Rika wandered out, attention glued to her phone until the movement caught her eye. When she finally looked up, surprise hit her so hard she dropped her phone in the grass. At least it survived.

“Woahhh. So beautiful.”

“Help me pick these, Rika,” Reina said, not even looking over.

“Yes,” Rika chirped, polite as ever.

“Get the scissors and bring a bag.”

Rika rushed back inside, obeying without a fuss.

—

Together, mother and daughter picked through the fresh plants for dinner. It was almost funny—no need to run off to the market.

“These taste so fresh—I'm going to eat twice as much tonight,” Rika grinned as she carried a pile of vegetables. She was in a good mood, helping prepare the meal. “Ma, let me cook something. I want to use Grandma’s kitchen—it's been ages since I got to touch her stuff.”

“Do what you want,” Reina replied, eyes fixed on her hands, like she was miles away from the conversation. Rika stayed her usual self—loud, proud, and confident unless she was facing someone else in school.

“I bet Grandma would love my cooking, hoho.” Rika stopped, frowning at the knife she’d grabbed. “This one’s dull. Guess it hasn’t been sharpened. Hang on.” She started rifling through the cabinets.

But Reina couldn’t settle. Her gaze flickered nervously to the small watch on her wrist. She cut harder, faster, almost like she was trying to outpace whatever anxious thought hunted her mind. Even from the far living room, her mother could hear the tension in every movement. At last, Reina couldn’t take it. She needed to know—she had to do something about her boy. Sunset was crawling closer, and he should have been home by now. Expecting his Father together with her son, but there was no sign of either of them. All the worry had drained the color from her face.

Reina suddenly dropped the knife and walked out the door.

“Ma, where are you going? Don’t tell me you will look for that jerk ,” Rika called after her. “Isn’t Grandpa's with him? What’s there to worry about—”