Nighttime. Aurora leaned against the door after receiving a message from her son and thought, "After all, I was preparing food for my son! I forgot to ask him if he wants to eat." She put her hand on her forehead and took a deep breath. Although she had tried to appear calm before her son, the opposite was true; she was still worried about him. Aurora thought, "I need to get a grip on myself; panicking won't help anything." With that thought, she calmed herself and went into her room.
She couldn't sleep throughout the night, and in her mind, she thought, "I forgot to tell Attu not to go outside at night. Now it's too late for him to go out. I need to get some news from him." With that, she entered her son's room to check on him. Looking around carefully, she noticed that Attu was not in his room and wondered, "It's already half past midnight. Where could he have gone?" She started to search for him. Aurora said, "I need to find him quickly!" as she moved into the middle of the house and held her face with her hands. Then, placing her index fingers in front of her ears, she proclaimed, "Ability: The Thousand Sounds of Serenity," activating her esper ability. In that moment, she began to hear the sounds around her even better, as if her mind was separating from her body to perceive the surroundings. Aurora was one of the few espers among people. While standing inside her house, she could see what was happening outside using this ability, searching for her son.
She checked every corner of the first house; it was as if her body was physically present while her mind was exploring every nook and cranny. Aurora couldn't find Attu inside the house and decided to go outside. Aurora thought, "Attu isn't home; that means he must have gone outside. I need to find him quickly," and with that, her mind flowed through the wall to look outside. Aurora stepped outside and found him. Her ability was mainly focused on hearing. The sounds shaped the environment in her mind, creating something akin to seeing. Aurora spotted her son and, using her ability, approached him, embracing him and looking into his face. Noticing the fear on Attu's face, Aurora turned to see where her son was looking. There, she saw demons killing the villagers, and dogs tearing at human corpses. Aurora was horrified. With all her might, she ran toward Attu, grabbing his hand and shouting, "Attu, run fast!" as she pulled him along.
Aurora's ability was still active. While they were running, she heard the demons whistle and realized that the dogs were chasing them. Just then, her ability stopped functioning. Aurora thought, "What can I do? I need to think of something quickly. If the dogs catch up with us, we won't have time to escape." A thought crossed her mind. Seeing a river ahead, Aurora said to herself, "We can escape by jumping into the river. The river is flooded, so the water is flowing fast. That means we can get away." Attu was still behind his mother, unable to regain his composure. Aurora, holding Attu's hand, was running for dear life when she heard the sound of dogs chasing them from behind. In her mind, she thought, "If the dogs catch up to us now, the demons will definitely capture us. No matter what, I must save Attu." The sounds of the dogs grew closer. At that moment, Aurora began to pray to God:
"Just a little more, please, my God! Just a little more! Attu, just a few more steps…" she cried as she looked ahead. Aurora was filled with joy when she saw that the river was just ahead, thinking, "Finally, thank God, we will survive." She looked back at Attu and gripped his hand even tighter. In that moment, Aurora failed to notice the demon approaching from behind. The dogs were getting closer, and if they stopped for even a second, the dogs could catch up to them. The demon was still far away, but Aurora saw that it was preparing to throw a spear.
"No! The demon is about to throw the spear. Who is it aimed at?" she wondered. Aurora realized the spear was aimed directly at Attu. She thought, "The demon is definitely going to throw the spear at Attu. I won't let that happen." Just as she was thinking this, the demon hurled the spear. "We can't escape now. Even if we jump into the river, it can throw its spear at us again. If I push Attu aside, we'll still fall into the dogs' grasp. I must save Attu no matter what," she thought, and just as they were two steps away from the river, she suddenly stopped. Attu ran ahead of his mother.
"What's wrong with Mom?" Attu thought, confused by her sudden halt, just as the demon had thrown the spear. Aurora threw herself in front of him to shield Attu from the spear flying toward them. Aurora knew she would die, but she sacrificed herself to save her son. Attu turned around just in time to see his mother's face. Aurora saw that Attu was looking at her. In those moments as she was pushing him toward the river, she felt something lightening her heart. "What is this feeling? It's as if I've felt this before," she thought and remembered the first time she had held her son in her arms.
She recalled Attu's joy when he was born, how she tried to grasp his tiny hand when she first embraced him, and the warmth of that moment when Attu had clutched her finger. Aurora felt happiness from these memories and gazed at her son, remembering the laughter and love in his eyes when she first held him. Tears streamed down her face, but they didn't affect the tenderness of her gaze, and with a warm and gentle voice, she said:
"I love you…" Just then, the spear pierced through Aurora's abdomen. The tip of the spear became visible through her body. Despite the pain from the spear, Aurora managed to say,
"...my son!" and with all her strength, she pushed him into the river.
Attu sensed deep inside that his mother's words were her last. He cried out at the top of his lungs, "Mother!" as he fell into the river. The strong current of the flooded river swept Attu away quickly. Struggling with panic, he tried to surface for air. After a struggle, he finally broke the surface and looked toward his mother.
Lying on the ground with the spear stuck in her back, Aurora could hear the barking dogs attacking her lifeless body, mingled with the sounds of the river. From a distance, Attu heard his mother's anguished cry: "Stay alive! No matter what, live!" Reaching out his hand toward her, he cried, "Mother!" before disappearing beneath the water.
With tears in his eyes, Attu surfaced again. This time he saw the demon Baskervill standing over his mother's body. Attu floated on the surface for a moment before trying to make his way to the riverbank. It didn't help; he submerged again, and when he surfaced from a spot where his mother was no longer visible, the current carried him away for quite some time. Eventually, the river's flow slowed, and there, Attu managed to pull himself out of the water. Crawling toward the riverbank, still tearful, he bent down and shouted at the ground:
-"Mother!"
He cried out loud, unable to stop his sobbing for a long time. After a while, he found the strength to stand up and began walking back toward the village. The water had carried Attu far from his home. It took him about an hour and a half to reach the village, where he saw that nothing remained of the burning houses. From the direction of the village, he could hear the sounds of people weeping. Attu went to the spot where his mother had pushed him into the river. The ground was covered in blood, and the only thing left of her was her right hand.
Attu took the bracelet off his mother's wrist. With tears in his eyes, he struggled to move, took off his shirt, and wrapped it around his mother's severed arm. Holding the shirt close, he sat there and cried. Then he stood up again and set off toward the village to find Hans. Clutching the shirt that wrapped around his mother's arm, he walked through the village in his bare upper body, searching for Hans. He hoped Hans would help him bury his mother.
As Attu walked through the village, everyone looked at him with fear. The villagers, seeing him, jumped to the conclusion that he was a demon. At that moment, Hans spotted Attu in the street. Hans wasn't in good shape himself, having lost his right arm, but he was still wandering around looking for ways to help the villagers. Seeing Attu, Hans rushed toward him.
Hans:
-"Attu, are you alright? What happened to you? Where's your mother?" he asked. Attu, engulfed in sorrow, couldn't utter a word. Slowly and carefully, he opened the shirt to show Hans. Upon seeing it, Hans understood that Aurora was dead. He said nothing.
At that moment, a woman's voice from the crowd called out, "It's all your fault! The demon came for you! So many people died because of you!" Upon hearing this, the others turned their angry gazes toward Attu. The villagers joined in on the woman's words, shouting at him: "It's all your fault," "Get lost, demon!" and "If it weren't for you, this wouldn't have happened!"
Hans tried to explain, "Attu is not to blame; he didn't do anything." But no matter how much he attempted to reason, the villagers ignored him. Attu's sorrow transformed into despair as he heard the crowd around him. Suddenly, someone in the crowd threw a stone and shouted, "We need to kill him quickly; that way, the demon won't return!" The stone struck Attu on the left shoulder. This enraged the crowd even more. Everyone picked up stones and started throwing them at Attu. Stones flew at him, hitting him in various places, but he refused to let go of the hand he was holding. Attu bent down, cradling his mother's hand, and sat down on the ground.
"Enough!" Hans shouted, but no one heard him. Just then, a stone hit Attu on the head. Blood began to stream from his wound, but he still wouldn't release his mother's hand. Seeing this, Hans pulled Attu to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop! What are you doing? What could this young, defenseless boy possibly have done? The one to blame is that demon, not this child!"
One of the villagers replied, "Look into his eyes; normal people don't have eyes like that."
Another added, "The demon chased him out of the village, leading to our suffering. He's the reason the demon came here. That's why he must be killed. If we kill him, the demon won't return." Everyone began to agree with this sentiment.
Someone else said:
-"We should take him out of the village and leave him in the woods. That way, the demon will find him and leave us in peace." The villagers also agreed with this suggestion. Attu was horrified by their words. The people he knew and recognized had transformed into someone else before his eyes. Hans sensed that these people were ready to kill Attu at that moment. "How can I possibly help Attu?" he thought.
Then he said:
-"If that's the case, let's take Attu into the woods and leave him there. The demon will find him. The farther we put Attu from us, the farther the demon will be from us as well." Hans felt ashamed for saying this, but he thought there was no other way to save Attu's life.
The villagers pondered Hans's words for a moment and eventually agreed. "Everyone disperse. I will take responsibility for leading him out of the village," Hans told them, and the crowd began to scatter. He looked at Attu and said, "Follow me." Hans guided Attu toward his house.
He could see how troubled the boy was. It was like a sudden winter storm in the middle of summer to see the once joyful child's face filled with sadness. They went to dig a grave for Aurora and buried her. Attu took his mother's bracelet with him during the burial. After they buried her, Attu sat by his mother's grave for a while. Hans did not disturb him and left for home.
After a little while, Attu went back home. Hans was waiting for him outside the house. The two of them entered the house together. Hans was exhausted and felt like he might collapse. Attu helped him stand and sat him down at the table, offering him some water.
Hans said:
-"Pack your things; you need to leave this place quickly. If you stay here any longer, they might even kill you."
Attu felt as if he had lost everything. He began to gather his things to change his clothes. The terrifying gaze of those people and the death of his mother still haunted his mind. After gathering his belongings, he returned to Hans. Attu smelled a sweet aroma coming from the kitchen.
Hans placed dishes on the table and looked at Attu:
-"Come, no one is rushing you yet. So, have something to eat. You haven't eaten anything, have you?"
Attu replied:
-"I don't feel like eating anything," but his stomach grumbled.
Seeing this, Hans's mood lifted a little, because Attu was talking again:
-"You won't leave until you eat this food," Hans said.
Attu, surprised, asked:
-"When did you manage to prepare all this?"
Hans replied:
-"I didn't prepare it. Your mother made it for you yesterday."
Attu took a spoonful of soup. It was very delicious and tasty. He felt as if he hadn't eaten anything as tasty as this soup in a long time. Tears welled up in his eyes as he said:
-"It's really delicious, mother."
With that, Hans escorted Attu to the main exit of the village. Attu was wearing a brown cloak and had boots on his feet. He also carried a bag on his back.
Hans said:
-"If you walk along this road, it will split into two. If you turn left at that point, you can reach the city. It's a two-day journey to the city. That direction is where the nearest city is, and take this too," he said, handing Attu a handful of shiny silver coins. "These will be useful to you."
Attu replied:
-"Thank you for the coins and your kindness," taking the black cloth he had and tying it around his eyes, he said, "I will never show these eyes to anyone again."
Hans asked:
-"Did you take something to protect yourself?"
Attu replied:
-"I took a knife."
Hans said:
-"Take this as well," he said, unbuckling the sword from his left side and tossing it to Attu.
-"I can no longer use a sword with my right hand, so I don't need it. It's better that you take it; it can be of more use to you."
Attu grasped the sword, drawing it from its sheath and lifting it up to look at it. The sword gleamed brightly.
"Thank you very much for all your kindness. I won't forget your generosity," Attu said as he set off.
"Take care of yourself. Forgive me," Hans said.
Attu left the village and started down the road. All around him was just forest.
Thus began Attu's adventures.