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The universe, full of starlight. From somewhere, an unknown red-glowing object is moving toward a nearby planet, leaving a long trail of light behind.

At the same time, an unidentified being with the horns of a yellow deer and a black robe covering its entire body is staring intently into something that looks like a mirror, desperately searching for someone. And after a long while, it finally finds him.

Its front and hind legs, exposed from beneath the black hooded robe, are covered in green scales, and its hands and feet resemble animal hooves. Staring at the red light through the small mirror, it shouts.

“It's him! I found him!”

“Oh… how did he end up like that? How could this happen… sob…”

It cries, unable to continue speaking.

Worry, regret, and a sense of apology torment him. An unbearable, deep guilt weighs him down.

“I... I ignored your desperation. I turned away. I regret it so much now…”

“Even though we knew your judgment was right, we were stubborn. You were right.”

“It's only natural that we can't be forgiven. We'll never be forgiven…”

“Trapped in a wall we built ourselves, we only resented the world… Sigh... sobbing...”

As it sighed deeply and shed tears of regret and lament, a sudden, intense fear enveloped him.

“You idiot! This isn't the time! This isn't the time to be like this!”

It was in a hurry. The red-light entity was plummeting toward the planet, and it was the only one who could save him. It had wasted too much time on meaningless lamentations.

The horned being dashed out of the cave in a frenzy, not knowing where the red light was headed.

“Gah... damn it!”

“Where is it? Which way?”

“Should I go back and check?”

“No, there’s no time… What should I do?”

“What should I do… what should I do…”

Extremely flustered, it fell into a swamp of self-questioning. Just then, an unknown power told it the location of the red light.

“Hmm…? There! That direction!”

“Who is it? Who is helping me at this moment…?”

But there was no time to ponder.

It sensed the light's trajectory and hurriedly ran in that direction. But it was too late.

In a fleeting moment, the red light pierced through the clouds and was rapidly falling to the ground before its very eyes. It wanted to use all its strength to grab him at the last moment, but he vanished from sight before it had time to use its power.

“Aaaah… It's over…”

Complete despair. It couldn't move. Just as a dark sense of hopelessness was about to swallow it, as if someone was helping it again, it was able to act quickly with a calm judgment.

“I don't know who you are… but thank you.”

It began to wave its front hoof in a large circle. Slowly, red and yellow clouds and green clouds began to appear, and as it brought its two hooves together, the two small clouds gradually started to merge into one.

It knelt on all fours, taking on the posture of a beast. Like a plump deer preparing to charge. As its mysterious power was concentrated, the combined cloud turned into a round, shining orb, and it shifted its posture to sit down, pulling the orb into its embrace with both hands.

The yellow-horned being took a deep breath and commanded the shining orb.

“Show me the location of the Red Rooster.”

At the same time, its eyes shone brightly. And before long, it found the Red Rooster's location.

The yellow-horned being looked around for any life forms it could control or have help it. It found a wild beast grazing in a suitable location.

It began to mumble. A moment later, a shining orb, identical to the one it had created, slowly descended toward the beast’s head. The orb seemed to settle on the beast's snout and soon permeated into the beast.

The beast moved according to the will of the yellow-horned being and quickly ran toward the Red Rooster. The Red Rooster, having fallen from space and through the clouds, was floating on the surface of the sea. He must have sunk deep into the water and then resurfaced. And then, the Red Rooster began to slowly sink back into the water.

Seeing the situation, the yellow-horned being, in a rush, made the beast run to the Red Rooster's location and then jump almost as if flying from a cliff into the sea.

The beast plunged into the water with a great splash and found the unconscious Red Rooster sinking. It went to him, pushed him up with its nose, and put him on its horns to bring him to the surface. As they reached the surface, it lifted him onto its back and rescued him.

The limp Red Rooster appeared on the beast’s back. He seemed unconscious, with no reaction.

The yellow-horned being licked his hooves from a great distance, and a mysterious power slowly began to restore the Red Rooster.

“Thank goodness… it's not too late. I'm sorry, so sorry.”

It breathed a sigh of relief, its body drenched in sweat. But it was very happy.

“I'm sorry, Red Rooster… I'm so sorry… Guardian…”

After a long silence, it murmured quietly.

“But you know… don’t worry too much. It wasn’t a complete destruction.”

“A while ago… a seed of hope came to me.”

“This time, I will protect them.”

It gripped its hooves so tightly that its hands bled.

-----

Many eons passed after that. The Red Rooster, wearing a single tattered cloth, was walking weakly alone on a desolate planet, relying on a faint lantern light to navigate a dark, unfamiliar path.

He didn't even know if the path he was on was the right one. Half-crazed, he panted heavily and muttered.

“This time… I must reach Tarin Forest. I will make it no matter what.”

As he approached the deeper darkness, a familiar fear subtly raised its head.

“The bugs… they'll come soon.”

“Yes… that time is approaching again. They are definitely coming.”

He took off the lantern and the tattered cloth that had been protecting him from the cold and slowly walked into the endless darkness.