“Big brother, do you think… after people die, they get another life?”

The wind swept through, driving snow before it.

Far-off mountains lay veiled in clouds and ice-white haze, like gauze.

On Christmas Eve, Victoria was blanketed beneath days of heavy snowfall, lending the storybook city a dreamlike hue.

This should’ve been a day for families to come together. But in a suburban cemetery, a solitary figure stood among countless gravestones, gazing up at the pale pink clouds and wearing a heartbroken smile.

“Another life…”

I shook my head, crouched, and brushed the snow off the little gravestone. As I read the inscription and listened to the wind and snow sing their mournful song in my ears, broken memories flickered through my mind like scenes on a black-and-white screen.

[She Was An Angel With Broken Wings]

An angel with broken wings.

This was my little sister’s grave.

She was a fourteen-year-old girl in the bloom of youth. She should’ve been enjoying school and the warmth of her parents’ embrace, but an accident took her away from me.

I was left all alone, with nothing.

“In my next life… I want to be a skeleton soldier!”

A few months ago, in the deserts of Afghanistan, she and I gazed up at the stardust and the Milky Way. Moonlight flowed through her eyes.

“Huh? Why would you want to be something like that, Big Brother?”

“Being a man is too rough. You have to earn money to support your family and your little sister, then go to war and get shot at. Skeleton soldiers have it great! They don’t need to eat or drink, getting hit doesn’t hurt, and they don’t even have blood.”

My thoughtless answer earned me a flurry of little punches. The girl pouted and looked at me in dissatisfaction.

“So I’m a burden, huh? Don’t forget who pulled the shrapnel out when you got hurt last time.”

“You’ve got a point. Having my little sister around really is the best.” I affectionately ruffled her hair.

“Hehe…”

But she rolled her eyes, the smile at the corner of her mouth edged with bitterness. “If you become a skeleton soldier, though, you’ll be a virgin for the rest of your life.”

“Pfft!” I sprayed out the drink in my mouth.

“You little rascal! Why does your mind always go to weird places?”

“Bleh~”

She stuck out her little pink tongue and made a face.

“Hey, seriously. Do people really get another life after they die? In my next life, I just want to be an ordinary office worker. Get married, have kids, grow old, and die. Sounds pretty nice. Why should I be dodging bullets out here?”

The girl blinked her brown eyes, then turned over to look at me.

“As for me, I want to see snow in my next life!”

“Snow?” I repeated.

“What’s so great about snow? It’s just a big white blanket, and it’s freezing.”

“Well… I’ve never seen any.”

“Don’t overthink it. Once your immigration application comes through, we’ll go back home. When winter comes, we can go see snow whenever you want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“You’re the best, Big Brother!!”

She threw her arms around me and rubbed against my chest like a spoiled little girl.

“Oh, right! I have another wish for my next life!”

“Hmm?”

“I want to be your bride, Big Brother!!”

“Pfft!!”

I sprayed out my drink again. She gave me a bashful, silly smile, and I shook my head.

“Becoming my bride won’t be easy. For starters, you’ll have to outlive me.”

“No problem! I’m really healthy, you know!”

“Then it’s a promise.”

“Mm! It’s a promise! I’ll live longer than you, Big Brother! Then I’ll be your bride!”

Under the gaze of sand and moonlight, the girl smiled with all her heart.

…

…

But she was gone.

She’d left me and gone to the other side.

She’d broken our promise…

After going to great lengths, I buried her in Victoria, the city with the most beautiful snowy scenery in the world.

The night lights glimmered. Far away, the bright streets were dyed a snowy white.

“Karina, your big brother’s here to see you.”

…

But all that answered me was the howl of wind and snow.

I stood up and looked at a family celebrating together in the distance. A ten-year-old child nestled in their parents’ arms, seeking warmth and smiling happily.

“I’m sorry, Karina… Your big brother is a coward. I didn’t dare come see you. I could only wait until Christmas Eve.”

“But you’ve grown a year older. You’re fifteen this year, right? Happy birthday.”

“Oh, right. I brought you a Christmas present. I don’t know if you’ll like it, though.”

I forced a smile and took a silver-white pistol from its gift-wrapped box.

HK USP .45 ACP Compact, imported straight from Germany. A clean pistol.

She liked clean things.

I pressed the gun to my temple.

“I should’ve done this a long time ago, but I… I was afraid to die.”

“But what’s the point of living alone? The only place I belonged is gone. What’s someone the world has abandoned still doing here?”

“I’m sorry, Karina. I kept you waiting so long.”

With a click, I released the safety. Bathed in the funeral of wind and snow, I wore a heartbroken smile.

“Let’s go see the snow in our next lives.”

“We’ll hold the wedding you’ve always dreamed of beneath the snow. Just don’t complain that you’re cold.”

“It’s a promise.”

Choking back a sob, I managed a smile and closed my eyes.

BANG!!

The church bells rang out in the distance, bringing cheers for the stroke of midnight.

Countless people thanked God for His blessings and their families for their warmth. Children cheered as they rushed to the Christmas tree and fought over the presents.

Everyone wore a happy smile.

No one noticed, on a little gravestone,

the snow stained a dull red.

In our next life, I’ll make you happy…

Karina.

…

…

I had a dream.

“Wake up, Big Brother!”

I knew I was dreaming.

“Stop sleeping! Have you forgotten what day it is?”

I opened my eyes and looked beside the bed.

A girl in a snow-white wedding dress was crouching there, gazing at me without blinking. Her eyes curved into a smile, and her red lips looked as if she’d put on makeup.

An angel, beautiful as a snowy night.

“Morning, Karina.”

I reached out to stroke her little face and gave her a smile I didn’t mean.

“I missed you so much.”

“Mm. I missed you too, Big Brother.”

“So, is this heaven? I really did die, didn’t I?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized I’d said something pointless. How could anyone survive a .45 ACP to the head?

“Nope.”

“Huh…?”

But her answer left me utterly stunned.

“Then is this hell? That can’t be right. Karina, you were such a good girl. How could you possibly…”

“This isn’t anywhere at all.”

Something felt off. I got out of bed.

“Then where exactly is this…?”

“Hey, Big Brother, are you happy?”

“Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?”

She took my hand and spoke with a smile.

“I’m really happy. I met you, Big Brother. I went through so many fun and exciting things, and I made a promise with you.”

“I really am happy.”

“Karina, what are you…”

“So this time, it’s your turn to reach out and find your own happiness, Big Brother.”

What did she mean?

My own happiness?

Before I could make sense of it, the scene before my eyes began to recede as if the world were rewinding. The girl dressed all in white vanished like fireworks, a happy smile still on her face.

“Wait! Karina! Wait!!”

I ran after her, but something grabbed my leg.

I looked back and broke into a cold sweat.

White fingers. An arm streaked with blood.

It was a skeletal hand.

“Now that I’ve seen you again, Big Brother, I have no regrets.”

“So, the dream…”

“It’s time to wake up.”

“Go find your own happiness, my dearest… Big Brother.”

“Wait! What’s going on?!”

“Karina!”

[I finally… found you!]

[I’m so happy!]

A gentle female voice suddenly rang in my mind, cutting off my desperate cries.

“Wha…”

[This time, I won’t let you be alone again.]

[This time, I’ll face it all with you.]

[We failed before, but at last—at last—I’ve found you again!]

Who… are you?

[Go. Find her, find him, and save this world.]

Find who? What was she talking about?

[There’s not much time. Hurry!]

Hurry…? What did she mean, there wasn’t much time…?

[Hurry!]

[Don’t forget our promise.]

[I’ll be waiting for you in that place.]

—Huh?

In an instant, the world began to spin like a kaleidoscope.

…

…

It’s so dark…

Pitch-black. I couldn’t see a thing.

Where am I? No, what happened?

“Hurry! Summon these undead soldiers as cannon fodder, then retreat!”

What was that sound…?

It seemed to come from above.

I was still trying to figure things out when my body began moving on its own.

Huh…?

Why was my body…?

What was I… digging through?

It was damp, but freezing cold.

This feeling…

Was this… dirt?

Was I underground?

How could that be?

Before I could understand what was happening, a beam of light fell into my eyes.

So bright… Huh?

I instinctively raised a hand to shield my eyes, but the orange firelight that should’ve been blinding seemed perfectly ordinary.

…What was going on?

It looked like I’d crawled out of the dirt. But never mind why I’d been in the dirt in the first place.

What about that light just now…

What was that?

At some point, control of my body had returned to me. I hurriedly dragged the lower half of my body out of the dirt.

Where was I…? No… What was I…?

I tried to speak.

“Hssss—”

“!?”

But it was as if my throat had a hole in it. Only a hissing wind-like sound came out.

I couldn’t say a thing.

What was going on?!

I hurriedly looked around.

“Haa—!”

Only then did the cries around me and the sound of houses burning in the rain reach my ears. The stench, mixed with the smell of burning flesh, made me want to throw up.

A rainy night. A great fire. Scattered corpses.

Flaming human-shaped monsters. A woman’s agonized death scream. Children crying as they searched for their parents.

That was enough to sum up what was happening around me.

A scene straight from hell.

People wielding cheap-looking swords and knives were fighting monsters that looked like skeleton soldiers.

People ran and screamed, only for the skeleton-like monsters to catch up and kill them.

What the hell was this?!

“Fa—Ag—!!”

I couldn’t… get the words out!

“Mommy… Waaaah…”

A child’s cries caught my attention, and I looked to one side.

A little girl, only a few years old, was crouched beside a woman's corpse, shaking her and letting out heart-wrenching cries.

“Mom, wake up already……. I’m scared….. Waaaah……”

“Clatter, clatter…..”

“!!”

Purple lightning tore through the night sky, and a terrifying figure appeared behind the girl.

The monster was nothing but bones. Crimson ghostfire flickered in its empty eye sockets, and the cold blade in its hand glinted under the moonlight.

It stiffly raised its arm.

Then swung it hard at the girl’s head!!

Thud!!

“Waaah!”

“Kaa————! Guh————”

The man who’d been kneeling there just moments ago suddenly charged over at an unimaginable speed, without even taking a running start. He grabbed the girl and rolled aside, carried by his momentum.

Are you kidding me?!

What the hell is that!? A skeleton soldier!? Huh!?

Am I seeing things?!

I looked down at the girl trembling in my arms, wanting to say something.

“Zh————!”

Where am I?—I couldn’t even ask that much. Had I gone mute?!

“Huh? Waaaaah! Don’t eat me! Don’t eat me! Mom! Mom, help me!”

But when she saw my face, her pupils shrank rapidly, and she clutched her head and burst into tears.

What was going on?

Just as I was trying to figure out how to communicate with her, a sudden blow sent me flying.

“Keh!!”

“Get away from my sister, you monster!”

A young man carrying a hammer came running over. So that shoddy weapon was what had sent me flying just now?

But what had he called me…?

“Get lost, you monster! Stay back!”

I’m not a monster! I’m just… I don’t even know what’s going on myself, okay?!

I hurried to my feet and waved my arms around, trying to explain. A sinister, terrifying sound came from my throat, like air leaking from an exhaust pipe.

“Wo———Bu———!!”

But it was no use. While I was still bewildered, several more people came over, carrying pitchforks and hoes, their eyes burning with anger.

“Beat him to death! Kill that monster!!”

“I told you not to let that half-elf into the village! We’ve been cursed!!”

“Smash him! Use him as a sacrifice for the dead!”

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!!”

More and more people gathered around. Shouting and cursing furiously, they closed in on me from all sides.

Instinctive fear washed over me.

I’m not a monster! I’m human!—I wanted to tell them, so I raised my hands and tried to speak.

But what entered my field of vision wasn’t a sturdy arm wearing a wristwatch. In its place were white bones, thin and horrifying, like those of a monster from hell.

A whole, intact skeletal hand, every finger bone clearly visible.

But that shattered everything I thought I knew. Fear surged through me, as if I’d been plunged into the Abyss.

—This is my arm.

I had turned into a monster.