You, Who's Kind Only To Me - Chapter 5
“Ren!”
Out of nowhere, the Uncle’s angry voice called out to her, snapping Ren back to reality. She realized that she had unconsciously ventured deeper into the ocean. She stumbled backward, startled.
Why had she done that? As her heart raced, she gathered her thoughts, and she suddenly felt a deep-seated, lingering emotion at her fingertips.
The gentle touch of the foamy water around her ankles, the sensation of the water washing away with the ebbing tide, it all left her with an inexplicable sense of longing.
Clutching her chest tightly, oppressed by the void within, Ren gazed out at the ocean with a sense of profound emptiness. Rough and calloused hands forcefully turned her away from the endless sea.
She had been inevitably drawn to it again, and as she looked away from the ocean with her bright blue eyes that always seemed to return to the sea, a deep sense of longing lingered.
“Uncle?”
“…..”
“Where are we going?”
Originally, the purification ritual simply involved briefly immersing herself in the ocean during the brightest hour of the moon.
Feeling the sharp pain in her wrist from the rough grip and observing the man’s silent strides ahead, she couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy. The atmosphere was changing. The waves were growing more turbulent, and the whispers of the wind sounded like an unknown language.
The moon, which had seemed so close before, was now looming overhead in a somewhat intimidating manner.
Whiing…
The sound of the fierce wind tortured her ears. Ren glanced around, her shoulders hunched slightly.
The man who had led her to this place seemed busy with his own affairs. As she looked ahead, she saw an odd sight. A solitary, crooked tree and a large rock standing alone on the empty beach.
‘It’s a strange place.’
She thought so. A completely lifeless space devoid of even a single sprouting note.
The man left her there, bringing out a thin, long chain, which he then tied to Ren’s arms, fastening it to the skeletal remains of a branch on the tree.
Ren had to sit in front of the rock, watching as her body was firmly anchored in place. The rock was massive, and only the moonlight occasionally cast the man’s shadow beneath her feet.
“Uncle?”
Her innocent and naive voice called out, not understanding the situation.
Clank, clank.
The sound of the chain being pulled could be heard, and the gigantic full moon was now almost right in front of her. Ren frowned and said,
“I’m thirsty, my arms hurt. Can’t you please let me down now?”
Then, from behind the rock, came this reply,
“Just endure a little longer. If you endure just a bit more, the Great One will come to save us.”
One hour, three hours, eight hours, and then another whole day passed between hearing the voice from behind the rock. Three nights had already gone by since hearing that voice.
Ren opened her eyes, feeling as though her throat was burning with thirst. As she raised her head, she saw the hazy vision of the deep black night sky, with a purple moon hanging in it.
The moonlight hung close and flickering, as if it could pounce on her any moment. Lost in a dreamy trance, she whimpered softly as the pain in her arms intensified.
“Uht…”
When she turned her head, she saw the chains that bound her arms. She gasped in agony and thirst, her body feeling like it was going to tear apart.
“It hurts…”
Feeling like her body was breaking apart, Ren bit down hard on her lips.
Her throat was parched, and her vision was spinning. She leaned her forehead against her neatly gathered knees for a moment to catch her breath, but a damp sensation reached her toes.
Startled, she lifted her head. The sea had surged closer to the rock. The distorted moonlight silently observed her.
‘…Was the water supposed to reach this far originally?’
As Ren hesitated and touched the water with hesitant steps, the sea approached her as if it were alive, inch by inch.
Before she knew it, both her feet were submerged in the water again. The moon, which had crawled closer to her feet, shone with a bright purple hue.
‘The moon…’
Through her trembling vision, the moon’s shadow approached her step by step. Her eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
Blink, each time she blinked, the color of the moonlight reflected by the waves gradually turned crimson.
Shaaaa-
Originally, she should have escaped from the rising tide, but as it completely engulfed her, black foam appeared at her toes. High tide. The dark blue sea touched her previously bare feet, and the moonlight, which had been observing the world, descended to the earth.
Before long, her body, which had been leaning against the rock, was also submerged in the sea.
Shaaaa-
With each crashing wave, Ren felt the sensation of her body being drawn further into that ocean.
Clank. With a sharp jerk, the chains pulled taut, causing sweat to bead all over her body. It was painful and agonizing. Her body had grown weak from not having any food. She tried to somehow get to her feet, but fine grains of sand gently slipped between her toes.
“Someone please-”
Her parched lips cracked as she yearned for a sip of water.
Clank… The sound of the chains that had bound her to the tree being released reached her ears.
Her mind became hazy as the sensation intensified. Ren blinked dazedly as her body seemed to be tugged towards the ocean.
‘Help me.’
Just as she thought that…
Chaeng!
Her body was suddenly pulled forcefully backward, and something firm pressed against her waist. She could feel the warmth of a human body, the heat and solidity against her back, and even the warmth of a breath brushing against her ear.
“It’s like a living sacrifice.”
“Ah, huht…”
“It’s clearly a violation of imperial law.”
Spoke the man who had pulled her back that firmly planted her feet on the ground and, holding her waist as Ren was being pulled along with little strength left.
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