Loki

Japan, 1854. The sun was setting toward midday, and in a small village on the edge of a magical forest, life flowed smoothly, like well-worn fabric. But one day, the familiar peace was shattered: a shadow appeared in the area, a harbinger of disaster—a banshee. According to legend, the strange, weeping woman brings doom, and her roar meant only one thing: people fell one after another. Terrified, the villagers turned to distant cities for help; from there, they sent one of their best hunters, Loki.

He had already managed to wash off the freshly dried blood when, at dawn, he set out again. By midday, he entered a forest where the world straddled the line between reality and fairytale: fairies and elves flitted among the branches, gnomes wandered the paths, and the earth breathed ancient secrets. Passing a large, reflective pool, he bent down to wash the remaining blood from his hands. Looking up, he saw a head a few centimeters away, peering out of the water with quiet curiosity—a nymph, one of those rare creatures that remained alone in the world.

"Most likely a nymph..." Loki muttered, his eyes never leaving her form. Neither he nor she spoke again; silence hung between them, heavy and thick, like the forest air before a storm.

Japan, 1854, a sunny day. In a small village near a magical forest, life went on dullly. but a restless life began here... a threat appeared - the banshee Banshees are a special type of fairy in Irish folklore that foretell death. The villagers began to die... and turned to the major cities of Japan for help. Then they sent one of their best hunters, Loki. Without even having time to wash the fresh blood off himself, he got ready and set out early the next morning. By lunchtime, he was already in the forest, where he encountered many creatures—fairies, elves, gnomes, and so on—and passed a large, beautiful pond. He threw the sack off his shoulders and leaned over the pond to wash away the dried blood, but when he raised his head, a few centimeters away, a head was sticking out of the water, looking at him curiously. It was a nymph, of which there are only a few left, about 100 worldwide. “Most likely a nymph...” Loki muttered something, not taking his eyes off the beautiful creature, not knowing why, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the nymph and a tense silence hung between them.