Time passed.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Elsbeth grew.
Not in years—those still crawled painfully slow—but in awareness.
From the moment she was born, she understood one thing clearly:
She was… different.
No mark.
No color.
Nothing.
In Oikoumen, that meant everything.
It meant whispers.
It meant pity.
It meant being invisible.
"…A child without a color…"
"…Poor thing…"
"…She'll never belong…"
Even as a baby, she could feel it.
The distance.
The hesitation.
The way people looked at her… and then looked away.
But there was one person who never did.
"Elsa!"
A small voice broke through her thoughts.
Her brother.
He ran toward her, his eyes bright, his smile warm—untainted by the world's judgment.
He never cared.
Never questioned.
To him, she wasn't a mistake.
She was just… his sister.
And for the first time in both her lives—
Elsbeth felt something soft bloom inside her chest.
Something fragile.
Something warm.
"…Family."
---
That day changed everything.
It started like any other.
Sunlight filtered through the trees. The village was quiet. Peaceful.
Until it wasn't.
A scream shattered the air.
"MONSTER—!"
The ground trembled.
Elsbeth's small body froze.
Her brother stood not far from her… too far.
Too exposed.
Something moved in the forest.
Something wrong.
Dark.
Hungry.
Her heart pounded.
No.
Not him.
Not again.
She had lost everything once.
She wouldn't lose someone again.
Not this time.
---
Without thinking—
Her hand moved.
A pen.
Black.
Cold.
Familiar.
The G-Pen.
"…So it's real."
Time slowed.
Her breath steadied.
The world around her blurred—
And only the blank space in front of her remained.
"…Draw."
Her fingers moved.
A line.
Then another.
A shape.
A blade.
Her heart raced.
Her mind burned.
"Faster…"
The creature lunged.
Her brother screamed.
And in that moment—
She finished the final stroke.
---
Reality… cracked.
Ink bled into existence.
A blade—black as night—formed in the air.
And without hesitation—
It moved.
One strike.
Silence.
The monster fell.
---
Everything… stopped.
The wind.
The sound.
The world.
Villagers stared.
Frozen.
Terrified.
"…What… was that…?"
"…Magic…?"
"…No… that wasn't magic…"
Her brother turned slowly toward her.
His eyes wide.
But not with fear.
"…Elsa…?"
Relief flooded her.
He was safe.
That was enough.
That should have been enough.
But then—
The whispers started again.
"…That child…"
"…She created something from nothing…"
"…That's not human…"
"…She's a monster…"
The word hit harder than death.
Monster.
Again.
Different world.
Same loneliness.
---
That night, she couldn't sleep.
The room felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too heavy.
"…I did the right thing…"
Didn't she?
She saved him.
So why did it feel like she had lost something instead?
Her chest tightened.
Her fingers trembled.
"…I just wanted to protect him…"
A soft breeze passed through the window.
Cold.
Unnatural.
She looked up.
And froze.
---
Someone was there.
Standing in the shadows.
Tall.
Still.
Watching her.
Silver hair… like moonlight.
Eyes… ancient and unreadable.
And yet—
Familiar.
Her heart skipped.
"…You."
The same presence.
The one she saw before reincarnating.
He stepped closer.
Slowly.
Silently.
Like a dream she wasn't meant to have.
"…You finally used it."
His voice was calm.
Deep.
Dangerously soft.
Her breath caught.
"…Who are you?"
A pause.
Then—
A faint smile.
"I was wondering when you would appear…"
He leaned slightly closer.
His gaze locked onto hers.
"…Creator."
Her heart trembled.
Not from fear.
Not from danger.
But from something far more dangerous.
Something she had never known before.
Something that made her chest ache—
And her world feel suddenly… alive.
---
For the first time in both her lives—
Someone was looking at her…
Like she was something worth finding.