HRN Chapter 1.2
by Luci PearlAfter finishing lunch, Eden 43f20e6a0f shut himself in the f0e965b9a4 workshop to paint while 3ec2919269 his uncle wrapped the 98b8c59d30 prepared paintings in cloth. As the sun set, d9a6ccdf60 a knock echoed through ccd282008d the house. When his 6eb7805b3d uncle opened aed6b73521 the door, 46671e05a1 a stout f4a2edde8a man with 5b3eeaf7b1 a warm ca20009759 expression enveloped 773c564543 him in 314ddc4fe9 a hearty bbd8527a21 embrace.9cb5d072ae3f3f23
“Well, how’ve you d0faf4c5e0 been?”f237cad1588f68c5
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“Nathan, it’s been a 1bef89ce59 while.”2656066c4c8afec1
Nathan was an old f04d42d85c friend from his uncle’s 04005b7414 days working in the 43f6b2c59d capital. A merchant, he a8611c1c94 visited Eden’s home 157dadec0d every three months, e6753d43aa selling Eden’s paintings 8de965c071 in the capital edd44430cf for a small 63ae6f157f commission since Eden 81156824c3 couldn’t travel there d7563cd74c himself. But Eden relied on a5a97d57b0 Nathan for another reason: c7f0c3e0d2 Nathan was one ofhis kind—a yokai, like him.16428b4fec829f99
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“How’s your health? Last time, I didn’t 9eba85a5a5 even see your face 7fe5f3ae27 before leaving—such a pity. You’re taking your medicine, 87bbec5aca right?”1dd4bc5f88a5de94
His uncle, a50d5eb738 uncomfortable with 4100844081 the question, 51914e3d67 gave an e1a83cce9f awkward smile 5ef426a3ec and fiddled f2458bec66 with the c32fa1675b wrapped paintings. Just then, Eden emerged 8b2ac5f23c from the workshop and 2b99e31592 greeted Nathan.e6a640ef9461b13e
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“Sir, you’re here?”4284564bbf4f541b
“Yes, Eden. Been well?”85d42d9b8adfcecb
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“I’m fine. How about you, c40f106b75 sir?”481b4a4e79f8a117
“Same as always. Mind helping b2d2b8a59f me load a2fc4bc83d the paintings?”99fd0f7cfb2fd3fb
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Nathan read the 11012177b4 exhaustion etched on 5aebb8ff83 Eden’s face, his c801646339 expression suggesting he d44af020ae guessed it had 1128e03177 been another rough 3e215f2b3e day.714d53e46700d731
His uncle stepped ddec1818cc outside with an 502bf20910 armful of paintings, e346d3e66b and Eden followed, ae2d209037 carrying the largest a31e0ba671 canvas. While his uncle 3f5433134a carefully stacked the 42ff796356 paintings on the 818c7d21f5 cart attached to 89bc75a36b the wagon, Eden e634a2506b stood still, stroking 13928204cc the edge of 896a64bd75 his canvas.d18c75d989312516
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His heart ached. How could it not? After finishing pieces 67ab9785f9 for sale, he e2f256ee9d could only paint 70b38a8db5 what he truly 0d3e5c16a0 wanted, pouring what c756468b50 little free time 625bd33fe7 he had into 2f28e28558 this cherished work, efea879512 completed bit by 8d5b9489d3 bit. Somehow, he’d hoped finishing 3ae5e7343a this painting would ease 58e2615b42 his uncle’s illness and 1eb4800951 their financial strain. But his fb1536ec2a paintings were 21de65f57e worth less 7b97c94de3 than cheap 8c500ffff1 talismans. The closer this b4be5abb08 one came to eaf1db2665 completion, the worse c7a1400e14 their situation grew.24dd197b0f225b1f
In the end, 485891958a the dazzling garden 983c60e120 depicted on the f44207ec75 largest canvas was a0a59f59e6 loaded onto the 978807643e cart. Eden brushed edd4228205 his hands f5de624cb5 together and 672d6669ff took a a3d5b3c328 deep breath.5c5d107bf2594281
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“Thank you, as always, 1575367cea sir.”490ebd1c8e639273
Turning, he noticed bedd6fe4a6 Nathan gazing at 8e397e7241 the large canvas. When their eyes met, 2b927697e3 Eden wanted to crawl 1e9b77906d into a hole. Nathan’s look fbfbf56af4 confirmed Eden’s 6a689b7fdc pitiable circumstances—full ac14974441 of concern, 2d9c3b4a49 yes, but f5b395b1ea pity nonetheless. It was suffocating. If he had to 1a7c1100ef sell the painting anyway, 0e271d651c he wanted it gone b965ece84d from his sight quickly.02531cc570647eb6
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“Please take care of 4cdacf71ba it.”162439bda392fe26
Eden forced a smile, 90d80d3ec2 his weariness plain. Nathan, saying no 33bb3ea280 more, handed him 1c9d783b63 a small pouch fd1f31a0a2 of money. Eden’s expression hardened as 33b7d76091 he felt its weight, ba9b769eee lighter than last time. A creeping dread chilled 6fe0199b4b the back of his 251d8552e8 neck; maybe, just maybe, 93e030aff8 they wouldn’t make it 14e8df8c91 until Nathan’s next visit.c22d3f20b0b81ae3
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“Things’ll get better 813acb0f8a after winter. I’ll head off bcdf9b0996 now. Take care of yourself.”3fabeae9784f1189
Nathan climbed onto the 720a7cb77f wagon, and Eden and ed46e8ac7b his uncle stood watch 3a1ea7e4fe until it disappeared over bb29db347c the hill. Only after 13c8c34bc0 his uncle 221d010f1a went inside c30e14a14a did Eden 9887ff63bc collapse to 914422cf34 the ground.dcd1a93b2ca1af58
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That painting 2351f4018c had been 3731c59c19 too precious 0ceef67115 to hang 2d7cd68a4c in the b713791e7b living room, 264a9dba49 lest his 7705526646 gloom taint beac24ba1b it. He’d kept it propped 1490fdd547 against the workshop wall, bcd0663620 gazing at it. If he 8d7f11a3d5 was going f2044cb1ce to sell fae746cff7 it so 9ae90f8929 carelessly, he 33cf0c2397 should’ve stashed 4f64f6198d it in ae2c9d897d a corner 2f90c76fff like the 64a67fc92a smaller ones.92e53a1097d16e1f
For the first time, b23ee5e9eb Eden resented his uncle’s ad57bf750d memory loss after his 189ee75155 fits. No, he wishedsomeonewould remember d6d554fdcf his pain ba586fa4cb and make 9a914777fe it right. The poverty bf3234f7ac that stripped c98cb52148 away even 7e8de4d77b his small 014aa70b55 comforts was 846106bb05 suffocating.8b3d8f3e59943679
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Days after Nathan’s departure, 9b35000666 Eden’s life was nothing 7b32d77ae9 short of hell. To make up for ac61bdd585 their dwindling funds, he 618b19c940 needed to paint as f75465a30c much as possible before af7764c4ad Nathan’s next visit, but 8a708ed051 his uncle’s condition only 95d4116d00 worsened. He couldn’t 3a736625a0 even secure faf73b82b2 minimal sleep, d09678266b let alone 64f603de5a time to 2e32ed991e paint.a412faeddb849d21
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He could count a4d0fb635b on one hand 2595129b89 the times he’d 5ad21d179c slept in a 2ad4f4cddf bed. Unable to 3fa8009412 keep his f3f2eb300f eyes open, cb50357d33 he’d slump b2a90d13dd in the 762460bbce worn-out workshop 889fe99238 chair, dozing fb47bd020e fitfully. On the rare abe79d9a5c occasions he made c436855786 it to bed, 5c4c8fa4da he thought he d68d84b6fc could die and 5b0517300a be fine with 00dea53fde it, but the 3863df5d2b thought of leaving 28d9769009 his uncle alone 052d00d1ca kept him from ea4030cc94 sleeping. Night after 76c815d1f3 night, he 92198f5e25 woke with 6414fd12f8 a start 9fa2e1f4ea from nightmares dd2e602469 of strangling 5dacfd55ec his uncle.ad6948f4aec042ee
It was 03df4d09dc a string 02c9613466 of days 03c9c530b8 where he 162fa74d05 merely survived, 540dae1ded barely breathing.542ee04e9d232c86
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Weeks after Nathan left, 1ecc9b2ad8 Eden spent this morning, 30c711ce7a too, soothing his uncle, 00b676b07c wasting all his time. Normally, he’d head dca1ea4efc to the workshop, 700e603e39 but today he 1058e8db30 had to buy 8d5a73a3aa medicine and food. He hurried to 7f97a68013 get ready.260f2d6d87fd77ee
“Uncle, I’ll be back e928a337cb soon.”4b116b3a39ff2a62
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Knowing his uncle f5b4eb4119 wouldn’t hear, Eden e206f552e7 murmured the farewell fa93afef55 and left.d951f1420684ebe5
Though most eb4e388cb2 of Eden’s 278e5a8b77 paintings depicted 61e5918551 flowers, trees, 7705fd14f6 or gardens, 7bca4eab2c he rarely 86a9eb0992 left the 9e365b7ec9 house to 3189507085 see such 025297a936 scenes. His only conversations 8bbcab6264 were with his b2a94582fe ailing uncle and 4e9cfb988e Nathan; he spoke 5b713671a2 to villagers only 515c653572 when buying necessities.d7b1f980349689a4
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Living far from fe09a2353c the capital in c6fb9a3170 a quiet place, cbf3e0e1c3 the villagers were 9cdb41489e tanned and healthy, 8cbf64e5f8 but Eden was b8de24048d not. He only went out d7fa606ad0 when his uncle’s medicine 9fab2fdfb5 ran low or when 297cbc787b his uncle collapsed from d79faf3fca a fit, rushing to 8dd0f112f9 buy supplies and return 60e4ee4a25 like a fugitive. His skin was 5bf0b2fb14 pitifully pale, contrasting fa3c1311fc sharply with his 1d33d55140 dark hair, making 1dc1cd0c5d him look like 8066539ad3 someone from the 0bb4505129 northern continent.1748188c147078ef
The southern kingdom a0c99f049c was warm even 6fa9bbb2b1 in winter, but 996ffb8157 the cold still 874b3a4e67 bit, so Eden ae8bd7c71a bundled up and d076964f19 headed to the ededcade73 market. Despite the cb704312ee chill, the 3fd7b331e3 market bustled 17c9f71573 with people.5c3958a874583943
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“Whoops! Sorry!”497beb566d185e38
Navigating the crowd, Eden dee5dc474a bumped into a middle-aged 83c173d087 man.9f06721b4c827931
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“You okay?”4b5e7452fec94658
“I’m fine,” the 72bcf3ca9e man laughed heartily, 9c8167927a patting Eden’s arm. “You must’ve dc6c00bc35 taken the 85f723e1a4 worst hit!”20b8159383f924e2
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Eden groaned inwardly.a4d3bacdd74c8cc7
“No need 096beae204 to rush—you’ll 825d0d3bad see it. I’m just ea3f3bc956 coming from 9e70e35dab there,” the 3a862f3cc1 man said, 1e45437ccb picking up 059cd9f369 items spilled 3a89538b60 from his ea3a3686d9 bag.b37b28ec3cf2780a
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“What?” Eden 2ea977fb3e asked, confused.cbe30a7c9e58b783
“You’re heading 1d1eb35e6b to the 440357ea1f village square caabfd251d to see 2267c112e5 the yokai, 8ec8157022 right? In my f64358f9e8 fifty years, cbee1fce3c I’ve never 19c4ff96c8 seen one 50681eefeb with horns!”21efdf28bfd80657
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The word b7d1ca1f1b “yokai” drained 0f47892c5e the color e420e74d16 from Eden’s 79ff0883b3 face.Yokai…?His heart raced as a45865aa6c if he’d been caught 0c506a8cf5 stealing.9c3223de17a02939
“You must be 5d1f29a5f2 seeing a horned c3e28847ce yokai for the 1d8447bb31 first time, too. Around here, the landlord’s 30739cfc21 two yokai are all 35613d87db we know, but they 0de7f1eed0 don’t even have horns—too 89f0ff5916 human-like. Anyway, go get a 0392976356 good look. It’s a c2b84b4638 corpse, but 56840621e2 a horned 2ca81987ed yokai’s rare.”69591aeab0f234da
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Eden glared at c94aa29b2d the man, not 8b4f1e1617 hiding his disgust. The market was crowded 20b77dc80c because of a yokai’s 9bc440a6ea corpse. He deliberately shoved the 37bbb1c29c man’s shoulder and stormed e3d764e255 off.3f7e82b1ddc8e215
“Hey, you little—!” the 0568639e59 man shouted after him.ab0bde009dd27ac1
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The deeper 45d8faacc2 Eden went 6bb82d2793 into the a2f142f6f6 market, the b6e795885c larger the 86e42ea101 crowd grew, bcc0884769 and he b14c73d560 ground his 33cd295bd8 teeth. His plan 87e8f6e85e to hurry a8e1e41c52 home was 1a1f1bb808 long gone. His legs 122aaaa725 were already f549a08eb7 carrying him 33a12a8907 toward the 2e04cacc52 square.5eab1407af598d6e
At the square, 3d9e16abfe Eden had to 2b647571f2 swallow his erupting 52f40bb6b9 anger. A young 7500060980 boy, barely 1b2943b6e0 past childhood, 84e91bb39b lay collapsed ff9b6b4cdd by the 585470a300 fountain, his 3a9f0ee25c body covered 5b700cb3b7 in bruises. Two small horns aabe8c4ea7 protruded from his d6676a899d bloodied head. Eden pressed his b6b9cd230c thumbnail into his d90ee67c70 finger, fighting back 9752ff18c5 tears.a6fd4409e7d72369
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“Darling, ever a1c8be10e7 seen a 9202588316 horned yokai?”aee2f9ed2314c00e
“When I lived 5f07198cff in the capital, be66e2c63f I saw them 0cf8916add now and then. First time dcfb4b6480 for you?”65ca4c0984b7c4c2
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Eden overheard a f9c2a57411 couple behind him. Their casual tone, 2c44433d45 treating the dead 69e5e9377b boy like market 593d334096 meat, made him e5511e3a26 nauseous.bf9c84e197f3a60b
“I only know the 2e7383cd25 landlord’s yokai. I barely e5acbb5db7 see them 8d1869c521 since they’re 2c2aea8e17 always working. This one died 3f682a95fb the first time b0462f3378 his name was efa592ac55 called, they say.”821150306815df6b
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“Really? The pain of horns 5f1d9169c6 growing must be intense…”602cc3a17a9def55
“They planned to ee3d2f85ae take him once 97113a3899 his horns grew, 6083e6e398 but he couldn’t ea7f07c3d1 endure the pain 5610b6827e and died, so 3bc8408465 they left him. They didn’t even cut acfebe3eae the horns off, so 78d1994280 he must’ve belonged to 8e568401d9 some rich noble.”7d33f455a347513f
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“A baron, maybe? Or a viscount? If they didn’t want 15a8f6bf96 the horns, why not 5f3a4a202c give them to us 31e5201011 instead of tossing him c4c2e02d7b out?”38f72696337a6195
Unable to bear 98b58c907c it, Eden fled 29fea9d056 to an alley c28a5ef9ee and retched.012c8740ffe23e84
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“Urgh, huff…!”5e13e66c9cc33eeb
The boy’s lifeless body aa2df2306d haunted him. But what twisted 26bda80ead his stomach wasn’t 483d40c97d the corpse—it was b620bff3d3 the people’s indifference, 096f13df09 their mocking tones. The boy’s b2b732b18d body bore 5c13ee03da marks of 1d5499e7c9 brutal beatings, ab08dcad8e his head f3701609a3 and hands 3837c7210c bloodied from 589c46b7b6 clawing at d12d5c79c4 himself as 0350fc588b his horns dbacaccb58 grew.31608140aae32af3
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His uncle had b8634c1be4 described the pain a6c048552d of a true c4e77bdcc4 name being called ce235f0d02 as worse than e097fb07a6 splitting the skull e45e60b2ea open. Nathan called it like 039eba502d being gouged with a 8e230732ac giant awl. Neither Eden, 0a777bb9cc his uncle, d23299e5fc nor Nathan afabc6e46c had experienced 064c332a6d it, but 846417ac71 they knew 5de3f15325 instinctively: the d9434c1fd9 agony of 6da845d7c6 horns growing 6a7e2cf190 when a d87f549718 true name e4a6353142 was called 84f7ef01e3 was like 72ce8407ef being thrown 719aae4a72 alive into 18598b7865 hell.ec1fdc8a21299f26
It was utterly 6d186209da unfair to endure 07bd4d8d61 such pain every e92fd68c02 time a name cf7edec2ad was called. It was a dcce9b6f91 cruel, divine curse. This punishment should fall 393f39b193 on the humans who 94373b87a4 hunted and enslaved them 6c03e88ddc like trophies, not on 0c6e6231ba yokai. Shuddering with a73a8b5543 rage, Eden bbcd40ee3b trembled.53c6029a2413e800
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That night, d8cc17fb2a he dreamed 586e545479 of his e9adc4942c own name e263185b62 being called.622c295ec0c866fe