In the forest.
From a quiet little grave mound, four black tails suddenly emerged.
The four tails swayed like blades of grass blown by the wind, waving back and forth for an unknown length of time.
Until a heavy rain began to fall, one of those tails quickly grew, much like grass after a long drought finally touched by spring rain.
Finally, as a gentle breeze passed through, that ‘blade of grass’ bent over and scattered into tiny glowing specks upon the grave mound…
“Clatter, clatter.”
Some small stones on the grave rolled off abruptly, and the mound above bulged slightly as a pair of nimble black cat ears suddenly appeared.
It shook off the mud stuck to its body, then a soft pink paw broke through the grave mound and stretched out…
One by one, a few more paws emerged, followed by a small nose, a pair of large eyes, until a completely dirty black cat finally crawled out from the grave.
It shook its body vigorously, flinging off all the mud clinging to its sleek fur, revealing a brand-new black cat.
It had no warmth, no heartbeat.
The pupils in its dark green eyes were dilated and dim.
When it looked up at the sun, the blazing sunlight couldn’t bring a flicker of light to its pupils.
‘Go west. That is where you belong.’
A voice kept echoing from the depths of its consciousness, mixed with endless sorrow and sadness…
The Black Cat shook three of its tails, then really did follow the voice’s guidance, moving westward.
Its nose suddenly caught a scent of deathly silence…
It looked around.
Charred trees surrounded it, burnt houses lay in ruins, and debris scattered everywhere…
‘What are these?’
It asked the voice in its mind, but all it got back were two words—Evil Deeds.
‘Evil Deeds…’
It didn’t understand what evil was.
But as this word kept reverberating in its mind, its fangs and claws gradually grew out—this was its first impression of the world.
Its pupils darkened a little more…
Occasionally, fierce wind and rain battered it.
It couldn’t feel temperature but still disliked its body being soaked by the rain.
It hid inside a cave. It seemed someone had lit a fire here before; the ashes still drifted with the wind entering the cave, their gray wisps telling stories of the flames that once burned.
It moved deeper into the cave and glimpsed something in the corner.
A few strands of black fur—somehow resembling its own…
Lying against the rock wall, staring at the ashes dancing wildly in the wind above, its mind kept recalling the place it had just passed.
The sky there was filled with desolate gray as well, but the atmosphere carried a feeling even more unsettling.
Why?
It asked the voice in its mind, but this time it received three different answers—
“That is death, the loneliness of life, the sigh in the ice…” came the cold voice.
“That is rebirth, the end of suffering, the only gentleness beneath the Silver Blade…” came the gentle voice.
“That is mockery, the final act of a grand farce, the sole role life plays within…” came the mocking voice.
Though the voices were the same, their tones made it seem as if three different people spoke.
‘What do you think? What do you feel?’
‘I… don’t know.’
The Black Cat stretched its body and decided not to dwell on the question any longer, knowing it would understand one day.
The rain stopped, and the Black Cat continued its journey.
After another day and night, it felt discomfort in its stomach and weakness in its body.
What was wrong?
It asked its mind, and the answer was surprisingly unanimous—You’re hungry.
Hungry?
What should I do when hungry?
Before it could ask further, its nose suddenly caught a pleasant scent…
It seemed led by its nose, trotting quickly toward the aroma.
But it hadn’t gone far before a tall wall blocked its path.
The wall was quite high, about five or six meters, which for a small black cat less than three feet tall standing upright, was practically climbing to the heavens.
Fear crept into its heart.
‘Jump up. Prove yourself.’
‘Jump! You can do it.’
‘Come on, jump! Don’t embarrass me, okay?’
The three voices appeared again.
The Black Cat wagged its tail, stepped back, then suddenly leapt forward with great force!
It did clear the wall, though it had jumped a bit too high…
“Meow!!”
“Swish!”
Luckily, a pile of fallen leaves cushioned its fall.
It wriggled out of the leaves, shaking off the foliage stuck to its fur.
“Hey, that’s annoying! I just swept those leaves!”
Just as it was about to follow the scent further, a young female voice suddenly sounded behind it.
Before it could turn around, its neck was grabbed and lifted.
“Meow!!”
It struggled fiercely, but it was futile; it couldn’t break free from the neck hold.
“Where did this black cat come from? Did it jump over the wall from outside?”
The young girl glanced at the wall, then added, “But that’s really a high jump…”
“Meow!”
Still pretending to be fierce, its stomach suddenly let out an untimely growl. Its fierce demeanor immediately wilted away.
The Young Girl covered her mouth and giggled sweetly, “So you’re hungry. It’s just about mealtime now. Did you come here attracted by the smell?”
She gently placed the Black Cat on the ground and spoke softly, “I can get you something to eat. Don’t run away, okay?”
“Meow~”
It let out a soft meow, as if it truly understood her words.
“You’re really smart, little Black Cat.”
She gently tapped its tiny nose, carefully set it down, then ran inside a large house.
In a little while, she returned carrying some bread and milk.
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she hurried over to the Black Cat.
“Quick, quick, before the Guards start their patrol!”
The Young Girl whispered urgently and placed the bread and milk in front of it.
The Black Cat stared at the food for a moment, then tentatively stuck out its little tongue to lick the milk.
Its eyes suddenly widened, and its pupils lit up.
“Meow!”
It happily called out, then plunged its face into the milk, drinking eagerly.
“You must have been hungry for a long time.”
The girl stroked its fur while speaking curiously, “Your body’s a bit too cold, isn’t it…”
It ignored her words and kept eating.
Soon after, a wave of warmth spread over it, as if something was covering its body.
“This was a coat I made for my Pet Cat before, but it died.”
“Since fate brought us together, I’ll give it to you to wear!”
She picked up the Black Cat carefully and dressed it in the coat.
A warm sensation wrapped its body, and from then on, it finally had warmth.
“Finish eating quickly and leave. No stray cats are allowed inside the castle, especially one with three tails like you. The Guards would just toss you out roughly!”
“Meow~”
The Black Cat meowed softly in response.
Looking at the wall, it easily jumped up again, using less force this time thanks to prior experience.
“Oh, so you really did jump in…”
Standing atop the wall, the Black Cat blinked its glassy eyes and deeply imprinted the girl’s face into its memory.
‘What is this feeling? It’s warm and light…’
Once again, it received three different answers—
“It’s kindness.”
“It’s happiness.”
“It’s foolishness.”
Just as it was about to jump down from the wall, a sharp, sorrowful crying sound suddenly came from the top of the castle.
Curiosity drove it to investigate.
Faced with such a height, it didn’t hold back this time and leapt with full force, landing outside the top floor window.
Inside, it saw a woman wearing a Crowned Woman’s golden crown, crying into her tightly clenched hands.
The cry was sharp and mournful, reminding it again of the gray it had seen that day.
‘Why is she crying?’
It asked the voice in its mind, but this time, no voice answered.
The woman seemed to notice the movement outside the window.
She looked up, tear-filled eyes meeting the Black Cat’s gaze.
Trembling, she stood and slowly walked over to open the tightly shut window.
“Three… tails…”
Her expression was tinged with sadness.
She hugged herself gently, tears streaming down again…
Her crying was continuous, and she trembled as she repeated, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry… it’s my fault… Matsu…”
Suddenly, something in her chest started beating—her heartbeat, thump after thump…
But gradually, another set of thumping sounds rose and fell along with hers.
Then whose heartbeat was that?
The Black Cat’s body temperature began to rise.
It felt its blood finally starting to flow…
After a brief embrace, she opened her palm, revealing a red hairband.
After slipping the hairband onto one of the Black Cat’s legs, she lifted it out the window.
“Take her and leave this place. This isn’t yours… nor mine.”
After leaving, the Black Cat looked at the hairband wrapped around its leg.
It felt bothered by it and tried to remove it, finding it uncomfortable.
But just as the thought appeared, the gentle voice in its mind spoke with a pleading tone, “Please, wear it for me, I beg you…”
The Black Cat paused for a moment, then obeyed, stopping its actions.
It recalled the woman’s words and curiously asked, ‘Do you know who Matsu is?’
‘Yes, Matsu is me… and also you.’