Ese Per Dimrin -

The children of Thornwood still tell the story. But they no longer whisper the name.

"I am the keeper of forgotten things," she whispered to the moon that night. "And he is the hunger that forgetting leaves behind." Ese Per Dimrin

The faceless man stopped. For a long moment, the world held its breath. Then, from the smooth plane of his face, a crack appeared—thin as a hair, dark as a promise. And from that crack, a single word bled into the air, written in mist: The children of Thornwood still tell the story

The mist curled around her ankles, then her knees, then her throat. It was cold, but not the cold of winter. The cold of absence —as if the mist was not water, but the space where memories had been ripped out. "And he is the hunger that forgetting leaves behind

From that day on, Kaela did not fear the mist. She walked into it willingly, basket in hand, and spoke the old words back to the faceless man. She reminded him of joy, of laughter, of the name he once had. And slowly, piece by piece, the mist began to thin.

And then she saw him.

He had no face. Not a blank one, not a mask—just a smooth, pale oval where a face should be. He wore a coat of stitched shadows, and his hands… his hands had too many fingers. He tilted his head, and the mist sang again.