I always wondered what the inside of the Hero's Tomb looked like.

  A boy thought, staring at the famous triangular castle, encircled by elegantly curved alloy.

  He had messy, dark, tousled hair and sharp black eyes. He wore a black collared shirt, and a full pant.

  “Hmm. Oh well. It’s not like the hero is real anyway.”

  Thinking that, he sighed.

  The black triangular castle was believed to be the tomb of the hero, Evnire Achilles. His name could easily be found in mythology books. However, the existence of the tomb contradicted people’s assumptions about that mythical figure. Most people believed the tomb was a legend-despite its very real presence-because it was sealed by a powerful ancient force no one had ever been able to break.

  This prevented anyone from inspecting the tomb or confirming the hero’s existence. Yet, the mystery only fueled researchers' curiosity. They could only speculate about what might be protecting it. Since most rejected the supernatural, they searched for scientific explanations. But so far, they had come up empty. Now, some had begun to wonder if there might be things in this world beyond human understanding.

  Still, one thing remained true:

  The triangular castle had stood in the country of Raimesies since time immemorial.

  Anyway, back to the topic,

  “Hermes, What are you thinking? You seemed lost in thoughts."

  Abruptly, a woman’s voice sounded from behind him.

  Hermes turned his head, frowning. “Nothing. Let’s go home, Master.”

  Hermes’s master, despite her age, exuded a youthful elegance that seemed almost ageless. Her vivid blue eyes sparkled with wisdom and beauty, while her long, lustrous black hair cascaded down her back, glinting faintly in the light. She wore a form-fitting black wrap-around dress. Her modest bust and commanding presence added to her aura of strength and grace, making her impossible to overlook.

  She smiled gently. “I see. Let’s go home.”

  With that, the two began walking along a narrow, pitched black road.

  Hermes carried a bag of groceries, while his master held a sleek black handbag.

  “Aaaah! What in the world is this?!”

  Suddenly, a scream pierced the crowded road.

  Hearing this, Hermes looked ahead with alarmed eyes.

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  “This can’t be good. A Sea creature... but why is it here?” his master whispered, her blue eyes glowing as if discerning something ahead.

  A humanoid-looking creature stood before a glowing blue spiral on the road. It resembled a dragon, with black scales, a pair of small horns, and glowing red eyes.

  Hermes stared in shock. A humanoid monster was walking toward them. How was even this possible? He had never seen anything like it in his entire life.

  “What is this?!”

  “Hide behind me, Hermes. I’ll take care of it,” his master said, taking a fighting stance.

  Hermes glanced at her. Somehow, she seemed oddly familiar with the creature.

  Or… was it just his imagination?

  She scowled and rushed forward. “Hurry.”

  Suddenly, her eyes widened as the monster's image reflected in them.

  “Look out!” Hermes shouted.

  The creature lunged, its right arm aimed to pierce her. But she leaned back slightly, then grabbed its arm with a vice grip and delivered a brutal uppercut. A shockwave burst from the impact, rattling the dragon’s head.

  Hermes stood frozen.

  What just happened?

  Huh? Wait, what?

  He frowned, completely stunned.

  His master turned her head slightly, looking at her stunned student. With a serious expression, she said,

  “You must be wondering what this is about. I’ll tell you once we get home.”

  “Master..." An image of poor little Hermes sitting on a road, as a woman looked like his master popped up in his head.

  "just who are you? And what was that thing? It looked like something out of legend,” Hermes asked, still in disbelief. Never before had he questioned her past.

  Suddenly, a transparent black cube trapped his master. It shrank and flew into a massive black hand.

  “Target captured successfully,” the black dragon said in a grave tone.

  Then the dragon glance to its left and looked at the hero's tomb.

  "Just you wait. The time is near. The king and the key shall be united soon."

  Then it turned, ignoring Hermes completely, and walked toward the spiral.

  “Wait! Where are you taking Master?!” Hermes shouted.

  But the dragon didn’t respond. It kept moving, step by step, toward the spiral.

  Hermes's legs trembled. The creature exuded a pressure-an invisible force that crushed him with fear.

  But he couldn’t let it end like this. He couldn’t let her be taken. After all, she is the only family he ever had, the only person who was kind to him, the only person who gave him love, and raised him like he was her own flesh. So, even if it meant dying for her, he would do it.

  ‘Move, move, move.’

  Hermes gritted his teeth and forced his body to act.

  The dragon stepped into the spiral. Within a second, it vanished. Then the portal began to shrink.

  “Aaaaaaaaah!” Hermes yelled, dropping the grocery bags and sprinting toward the spiral.

  But it was shrinking rapidly.

  There wasn’t much time.

  He pushed his body harder, exerting every ounce of strength, and leapt forward.

  He was close-so close. The spiral flickered.

  With a final burst, Hermes jumped and dove into the spiral, eyes shut tight.

  Darkness swallowed him.

  When he opened his eyes, he saw a vast blue ocean.

  “Huh? Wha—?”

  He was falling from a pitch-black sky roaring with thunder.

  “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

  As his eyes darted around in panic, he saw a strange white serpentine creature coiled in the sky, exuding light like the moon. Its edges were lined with thick, white spikes. Its eyes and mouth were closed.

  As if sensing Hermes, the creature slowly opened its silver eye.

  Then, as Hermes plummeted toward the ocean, the creature grinned-eerily and wide-with long, pointed teeth.

  “Hehehehehe...” it chuckled.

  Hermes clutched his head, and splashed into the ocean, vanishing beneath the waves.