Chapter 0 : A Dream Better Left Undreamed
Prologue:
Gray clouds blanketed the sky. The dark, brooding masses that swallowed the dim light made it difficult to tell whether it was day or night.
No—truthfully, it wasn’t the clouds that disoriented him. It was that damned woman standing before him.
Arcturus Clowen pulled out a cigarette case from the inner pocket of his coat with trembling hands and placed a cigarette between his lips.
Click. Click.
This damned weather.
And that damned woman.
And the damned lighter too.
At that very moment—when he needed a cigarette more than anything—the lighter refused to ignite.
He tried desperately, as if he might die right then and there without the smoke, but the flame wouldn’t appear. Even as raindrops began to fall from the dark, ominous clouds above.
As the heavy drops soaked his navy-blue polo coat, darkening it to near-black, Arcturus finally tossed both the cigarette and the lighter to the ground with a harsh curse.
“Arcturus.”
He tried not to look at the woman.
Something inside him screamed not to meet the gaze of the woman who muffled his senses, especially now—when even the daylight blurred into night.
“Arctur.”
Running was cowardice. It would be more honorable to die by the enemy’s bullet.
Arcturus Clowen was born the son of a soldier, lived as one, and now forged weapons for soldiers. That was how he was raised. That was all he knew.
But at the sound of that gentle voice, he felt an overwhelming urge to run.
Had Karen Shanner arrived even a second later, perhaps Arcturus would have turned and fled.
But the moment she gripped his collar, he lost his mind—like a beast restrained and subdued.
Before he knew it, Arcturus turned to face her, soaked from head to toe, head heavy with dread.
Even now, in this moment, Karen Shanner, that wretched woman, was unbearably beautiful.
“Tell me it’s not true.”
So beautiful, one could endure humiliation in this twisted reality just to believe her.
“It’s alright.”
“…”
“I told you I’d believe anything you say.”
It was a desperate plea, as though he were seconds from falling to his knees.
“Just say it’s not true. Say you’ve been falsely accused.”
“…”
“One word… that’s all I need.”
Karen’s silence made him ache to kneel.
“I…”
But it was Karen who sank first.
As though she had been standing on broken legs for far too long, Karen collapsed—her strength giving out beneath her.
“I’m… tired…”
Even amidst the relentless rain that battered her entire body, her whisper was clear, like breath escaping the soul.
Arcturus tried to run—but Karen didn’t.
Perhaps her legs were truly broken. Perhaps she simply couldn’t run…
Not that it mattered anymore.
Arcturus pulled out the handgun hidden in his pocket.
It was his personal weapon—the one he had named “Karen.”
He raised it to her forehead. The same gun he had crafted… while thinking of her.
“Dreams are fleeting things anyway.”
“…..”
“Even knowing that…”
She didn’t flinch. Not even with the cold barrel pressed to her skin. She looked calm—as if she had been waiting for this very moment. It was Arcturus who clenched his teeth in agony.
“A dream like this… it would’ve been better if I’d never had it at all.”
Karen closed her eyes, feeling the terrifying chill of the gun’s muzzle.
It was time to end it all.
Arcturus whispered his farewell without ever taking his eyes off the rain-drenched face before him.
“Goodbye… Karen.”
Bang!
The gunshot echoed, piercing through the heavy rain that swallowed the streets.
And with it ended a moment—
as heartbreakingly beautiful as a dream.
