‘What the hell is this?’
I had a good idea what it was. And that’s what made it so goddamn shocking. My mind went blank.
I realized right away—it was the Lord’s room. There was no mistaking it. The weighty, somber atmosphere, even darker than Snake Rim’s chamber… Where else could it be?
So I’d been in the middle of fleeing. Trying to avoid any possible disasters.
But what I ran into was a portrait. One that had been drawn and hung up every year.
…Of Kessler.
My front and back legs started trembling, and my tail spiraled like a whirlpool.
First things first… let’s get out and think.
While bolting down the seemingly endless hallway under the heavy stares of countless portraits of Kessler, densely packed like wallpaper, I saw it.
A sturdy figure blocking the hallway dead ahead, framed in light, casting shadows in multiple directions.
I froze.
A hiding place, I need a hiding place!
Acting fast, I curled myself up beneath a decorative hallway cabinet. Thump-thump-thump.
[System]: The Baby Arctic Fox’s heart is pounding.
Why the hell do these useless notifications pop up now?
Click-clack. The sound of poised, orderly footsteps. Getting closer. Please just pass by. Just… pass…
The footsteps stopped. Right in front of me. Oh god, please, please.
[System]: An unknown threat has been detected. Skill ‘Protective Instinct’ is activating.
To assess the situation, I cautiously glanced back—and locked eyes with Kessler, who was peering under the cabinet.
Shit!
“How’d you even know how to get in here?”
Creeeeak…
“And why’d you steal so many of my jewels?”
Cornered. I pressed myself even tighter against the corner of the wall, but Kessler snatched me up before I could even react.
He hoisted me up to eye level. My whole body went stiff—except for my tail, which moved freely and started swatting his cheek in my flustered panic.
“Hehe.”
That’s when it happened—he burst out laughing.
“What, you’ve gotten even cuter now?”
Looks like the skill Protective Instinct really saved me this time. Reflected in his dark eyes was me, looking up at him with full-blown adorable charm.
I entrusted my life to the cuteness skill and stared at Kessler, studying him.
…Why didn’t I realize sooner? I didn’t suspect a thing. Not even a shred of doubt. Just looking at his otherworldly appearance or the gear he wore should’ve tipped me off.
I should’ve started questioning things when that first jewel ice quest had maximum difficulty. But I just brushed it off too easily.
Even the fact that he wasn’t affected by ghosts. I’d assumed he was just a skilled player who’d managed to get the Mark of Ownership, a Lord’s artifact, early on.
I remembered the day I returned after skinning that wolf, when he said those calm, comforting words.
“I’ve been abandoned before too.”
Nyaang?
“But if you overcome it, you get to live a successful life like this. You should become a successful fox too. Actually, you’ve already succeeded just by ending up in my hands.”
He wasn’t a Seeker. He was even less of a Thief.
Kessler was the very setting of this horror game [Last Shadow]. Having once built small sandcastles while endlessly waiting for a guardian, Kessler had spent thousands of years gathering shadows to construct this ‘Shadow Castle’ and had crowned himself king.
The endless portraits filling the long corridor spoke volumes about his life.
Everything clicked into place. It felt as if the final piece of the puzzle had finally been set.
“Stop playing dumb now, little fox.”
Kessler carried me back into the room I had just stolen from.
“I know everything.”
He sat me down in a blood-red velvet chair—the very same one from his most recent portrait.
My thoughts were in overdrive. Did he know I was a user? Was that it? Should I confess everything now?
Was that why… was that why he had the ‘Black X’? Because he could pass judgment on me at any time?
‘Ugh…’
I stared at him, my head a swirl of anxiety. He was pressing me for answers, while I sat like some royal on that grand chair.
He reached out his hand. I blinked at it in confusion. Tension crackled between our locked eyes.
“Did you manage to get my birthday present?”
“…?”
“What if you can’t ever find it? Hiding it in this huge room?”
The plot just kept taking the weirdest turns. I tilted my head in pure bafflement.
“My birthday’s coming up soon.”
……
“On that day, make sure you act cute just for me.”
Right. He did say it was his birthday. Wait… does that mean when I was grinding out perfume ingredients, and he looked at me with that proud, approving gaze—that was because…?
Now that I looked closely, a few of the failed perfumes I had sold off were sitting in the display case.
On the last day, sales were dead… until someone suddenly bought up everything in one sweep. That bastard had bought them.
Did he think I was buying him birthday presents?
Trembling, I hurriedly rummaged through my inventory bag. Something, anything that could pass as a gift… Half-eaten bread, soggy wasabi, scorched socks, melted marble drops, an overripe conch shell…
Shit. If I handed over any of this, he might literally kill me on the spot.
And more than anything… I needed time. Time to think. Alone.
“Where the hell did you even put it?”
I stared at Kessler’s back as he rummaged through his own jewel cases—then bolted.
I sprinted down the long hallway in a complete panic, at top speed, fast as I could go.
At the very end of the corridor, I slammed into a barrier and bounced off, tumbling several times. My soft, pale pink belly got scuffed and dirty in the process.
Thankfully, Kessler didn’t chase me.
I darted into the nearest men’s bathroom and leapt onto the toilet lid, catching my breath.
‘…Phew!’
This was the “Bathroom Where Heads Appear.” Nobody liked coming here because no one ever knew when or where a ghost head might pop out.
I banged my head against the wall. Splashed my tiny face with my stubby legs again and again. My brain finally started working again.
Kessler was the lord. Whether this revelation would work in his favor or become his downfall would depend entirely on how he handled things from here.
Kessler was the master orchestrator of this game. Thankfully, [Last Shadow] wasn’t the type of horror game where you simply beat the final boss to death—nor was it even designed to be solved that way.
Instead, the one who built up the most “Reputation” by completing the multifaceted quests given by him—the ‘Final Achiever’—would be rewarded with a ticket to leave the Shadow Castle along with a mountain of gold and treasures.
Kessler is a man full of regrets.
I’d never met him in person before, but that’s what I’d gathered during the alpha test, completing quest after quest.
He cherishes this Shadow Castle deeply, but at the same time, harbors a festering, desperate desire to destroy it… That contradictory craving is buried deep inside him.
If I played my cards right and made use of the relationship I’d built with him so far, clearing the quest might actually be pretty easy. But it was a double-edged sword.
‘But what if he refuses to let me leave?’
My tail thrashed nervously. Thinking back, something had felt off starting from the second survival quest.
‘The Witch Hunt had begun so suddenly.’
There, Haru noona, who was rumored to be the Baby Arctic Fox’s master, had been accused of witchcraft and killed.
Even when I tried to save her, Kessler crushed the medicine I’d found—literally stomped it to pieces.
“You’re the master of that fox?”
“From now on, I’m your master.”
‘Fuck. Isn’t this obsession?’
The “Black X” branded above his head was the thing that weighed on me the most. It was practically a declaration: betray even once, and death would be the judgment.
‘Wait a second. If that guy isn’t the thief, then who the hell is?’
The Seeker must have either already died early on or was still stubbornly lying low. Either way, it was clear he wouldn’t be of any help.
First, I checked my balance. After buying the quest item, the ‘Withered Fish,’ I’d have about fifty thousand won left.
That was nowhere near enough to buy a birthday present worthy of Kessler’s tastes. But if he was expecting one—if I was the one who got his hopes up—I had to at least look like I tried.
First step: go to the bank. Time to take out a loan. I could use Snake Rim as a guarantor.
The kind of thing I wouldn’t have even dreamed of saying during the alpha test—but now, I was his life-saver. It wasn’t impossible anymore.
‘My mind’s so fried I’m seriously considering everything…’
I shook my head violently. No loans. No freaking loans.
Thankfully, the Shadow Market had opened. I’d do a full sweep, browse everything, and give off the vibe that I really tried my best. Maybe… hopefully… But yeah—still no money.
I sighed and started sorting through my bag.
Then, through the window, I saw it—an urgent red system alert.
[System]: The murderer has found a clue about you. (4/5)
[System]: The murderer has found a clue about you. (5/5)
[System]: Your face has been exposed to the murderer.
Fuck. I could pass out right here. What the hell now?
