Chapter 1: The Golden Stone

Sideros sat down carelessly at the lower reaches of the river.

The damp ground soaked through his seat, but he did not seem to care at all.

Or rather, he had no time to care, since he was busy wiping the tears pouring from his big eyes.

“Sniff… hnn, hic.”

Sideros was a raven birdfolk.

He had eyes black as obsidian and hair so black it gave off a blue sheen.

Among his brothers, Sideros had unusually pale skin, and perhaps because he had sobbed for so long, his eyes were red and swollen.

His ivory cheeks were flushed rose-pink, and his long wet eyelashes glistened even in faint light.

He looked so pitiful that even a passing stranger would have stopped.

“M-my… sniff.”

Sideros gasped as grief overwhelmed him.

He dumped everything he had carefully kept in his inner pocket into the river all at once.

The things that had held warmth from his body scattered in the cold water.

Seeing the objects regain their colors in the river, Sideros burst into tears again.

“My pebbles, stones… hnn, huu.”

Sideros rubbed his swollen, red eyes.

If his second brother saw him, he would surely tease him and ask whether he was a crow or a catfish, but he was too upset.

The pebbles that had shimmered so beautifully in the river must surely be beautiful even when taken out of the water.

Excited by the glittering pebbles, Sideros frantically stuffed them into his inner pocket.

Even as his coat grew heavy and sagged, he was happy at the thought of taking the shiny things with him.

Yes, that was definitely how it had been.

‘They dried out. They don’t shine anymore…’

Sideros learned too late that the pebbles did not shine because they had luster themselves.

They were beautiful because they were submerged in the river.

From the moment he realized that until now, tears had streamed from his eyes.

Sideros had three older brothers.

Since childhood, if he so much as sniffled, all three of them would come running.

Having brothers who always thought of him was something to be grateful for, but their worry was a little excessive.

As a result, instead of having time to collect his feelings, Sideros had to spend his time frantically soothing the three indignant brothers.

Because his brothers, who were much older, loved their youngest sibling too much, Sideros could not even cry comfortably in his own nest.

So he had decided to go far from the Thousand-Year Tree and cry to his heart’s content.

The great river called the Goddess’s Tears flowed majestically, as if hiding the sound of his crying.

Even after that, it took Sideros a long while to finally stop crying.

His eyes stung and burned from rubbing them so roughly that it was hard to cry anymore.

Groaning, Sideros washed his eyes with cool river water.

‘If I don’t bring anything back, Second Brother will tease me again, won’t he?’

Thinking of his annoying second brother, Priso, Sideros thrust out his lower lip.

Priso’s greatest pleasure was probably watching him get thoroughly annoyed.

Sideros picked up an innocent stone and threw it into the river.

If he failed to bring anything back to the nest, Second Brother would circle him all day, teasing him for wasting his time.

Then, when Sideros finally got angry and went to their youngest older brother, Priso would hand over a silver ring or a glittering necklace with a look that said there was no help for it.

Even with his face full of sulks, Sideros would take the jewelry Priso offered.

Sideros knew that was Priso’s own way of showing affection, but knowing and experiencing it were very different.

Every time it happened, he got so angry he stamped his feet.

‘Today I have to bring something back. I’ll bring something so amazing that Second Brother will be shocked. Just wait!’

Sideros gritted his teeth.

With his round, fair cheeks still not free of baby fuzz and his pale pink lips, he was not threatening in the least, but he was desperate in his own way.

He could not live being teased forever.

And rightly so: Sideros’s eldest brother, Serunda, was the king who led all the birdfolk.

The birdfolk who lived along the Goddess’s Tears were diverse, from mynas to eagles.

Once every thousand years, they held a contest to grant the wisest and strongest birds the right to rule the birdfolk.

The raven birdfolk had won that contest five times in a row, and the birdfolk had grown thoroughly accustomed to raven rule.

As prosperous times continued, more young birdfolk hatched from eggs, so the birdfolk felt the need for a system.

Before, the leader had been called by many names, such as “chief,” “the great one,” and “ruler.”

With Serunda, the great birdfolk who ruled them came to be called king.

Those who saw his brave figure naturally admired Serunda.

Since the position was not hereditary, it came with many duties instead of power, but it was followed by just as much respect.

There was no shortage of people who admired Sideros’s brothers.

Sideros did not show it, but he felt the pressure.

Since he was twelve years younger than his youngest older brother, Tres, he did not want to become great enough to surpass his brothers.

He only wanted to follow them and fly through the open sky.

Sideros spread his wings.

Black wings appeared on his back, which had been as smooth as a human’s.

His wings were much smaller and stunted compared to his brothers’.

Moreover, the tip of his right wing was shorter than the left.

Sideros touched the tip gently, then quickly hid it in case someone had seen.

His steps toward the upper reaches of the river were heavy.

His brothers said it was fine, but whenever he saw how small and shabby his wings were, he could not help feeling cowed.

Other birds soared beautifully through the sky, while he walked on the ground like a grass insect, and he felt like a fool.

‘Ugh… stop the gloomy thoughts!’

Sideros shook his head vigorously.

The weather was fine, and the great river glittered ceaselessly like the scales of a sweetfish.

Because of that, Sideros walked on busily with half-bewitched eyes.

Any other birdfolk would have flown, but Sideros found walking on the ground more convenient than flying.

Most raven birdfolk were obsessed with shiny things, but Sideros was especially bad.

When it came to anything shiny, he loved metal and gold equally, without discrimination.

Because of that, his nest was packed with odds and ends, including buttons and seashells.

Sideros had originally planned to follow the river and branch off toward the Mountains of Glory, but he stared at the river and forgot the plan entirely.

He only came to his senses after arriving at the small stream where the river began.

He had already reached the Mountains of Fate.

‘My brothers told me not to come this far.’

He had walked without rest from morning until sunset, so he was tired and hungry.

Sideros briefly wondered whether he should just go back with nothing to show for today.

He had failed at his hunt again today, and he felt so inadequate and worthless that his mood soured.

Sideros let out a small sigh with a gloomy face.

Just then, an especially large pile of fallen leaves caught his eye.

Thinking to take out his anger on the leaves, Sideros kicked it with all his strength.

“Ow!”

Sideros fell over just like that.

The fragrant scent of maple leaves rose a beat later.

A tingling pain spread from his toes as if he had hit something hard.

Sideros rolled over the fallen leaves, filled with pain.

“Uuugh…”

It was the kind of pain that would surely leave a dark blue bruise and swelling by tomorrow.

Sideros wiped away the tears that had leaked out.

There must have been a rock in the leaf pile, because his toe had struck something hard and heavy.

Since it had been an irritated kick, and he had put all his strength into it, the pain seemed even worse.

“What in the world is it?”

Sideros got up, panting with anger.

He was usually easygoing and gentle, so he rarely got angry, but today he was on edge.

It was as if the sky had decided to torment him.

Sideros dug through the leaf pile.

Whatever was inside, he wanted to check it carefully and then ask his eldest brother to smash it.

Sideros knelt down and scooped out the leaves with both hands.

Perhaps it was buried deeper than expected, because he had to dig through the leaves for quite a while.

After scooping for a long while, something round with a bumpy surface began to appear.

Even under the fading sky, its surface gleamed enough to be noticeable.

It was like a colorful but poisonous frog, or a lizard with flashing scales.

‘What is it? It can’t be a snake, can it?’

Birdfolk had an instinctive dislike of giant reptiles, so Sideros’s hands began to move cautiously.

Sideros picked up a branch and carefully brushed aside the leaves.

Just then, the wind blew and scattered the few remaining leaves.

It was the moment the thing that had hurt his toe was fully revealed.

Sideros’s eyes went wide.

His lower jaw dropped, and his pale pink lips fell open.

If Priso saw him, he would not have been able to resist putting a finger in Sideros’s mouth.

Once it opened, it would not close.

A strange light came into Sideros’s eyes.

His pupils had widened greatly, and his eyes sparkled beautifully as if he had never cried.

Sideros dove back into the leaf pile.

In the middle of the softly piled leaves lay an elongated oval stone.

Its surface was bumpy, as if small pebbles had been stuck together, so it could not be called pleasant to the touch even as an empty compliment.

Still, Sideros hugged it tightly.

The stone was glittering with a brilliant golden light.

Sideros carefully stroked its rough surface.

It was so rough that grabbing it carelessly would have scratched his palms.

The small crystals growing on its surface had been there for a long time, clinging all around.

The raw stone was the size of a child’s head, and Sideros could lift it steadily only by cupping it with both hands.

“Ah, beautiful…”

His heart felt like it would burst.

Sideros’s cheeks had long since flushed red.

It seemed like a mirage that would vanish if he blinked, so Sideros could not easily close his eyes.

Only after his eyes grew so dry they stung and his throat was parched did Sideros blink and swallow.

Sideros thought the stone in his arms was more beautiful than any mineral he had ever found in Serunda’s treasure vault.

Its color was deeper than pure gold, and perhaps because opal was mixed in here and there, it glittered in seven colors depending on the angle.

‘What kind of jewel is this?’

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