Poison Apple 15

The Tree Folk sustain themselves by absorbing vital energy through eggs.

Ollie is a half-blood — part human, part Tree Folk — and he too needs the vital energy from eggs.

However, unlike the pure-blooded Tree Folk, he cannot command trees, so he can only obtain poor-quality eggs, and he is always hungry for it.

One day, he comes across a large egg.

"Time to eat."

But a full day passes after he takes the egg in, and the vital energy still hasn't been absorbed — a month goes by, and it's the same story.

"This is starting to feel exactly like carrying a child."

After holding the egg close for so long, the whole thing resembling a pregnancy,

Ollie begins talking to the egg and growing attached to it.

Then one day, the egg finally stirs — and out of it hatches a baby who looks utterly extraordinary.

"Asel."

"…"

"I'm alright. As long as I have you… I really think everything is alright."

Ollie, who has always longed for the warmth of family, begins raising Asel with tender, devoted care — and Asel, for his part, takes well to Ollie.

But no matter what he's fed, Asel always seems hungry, and as Ollie quietly worries over that, word begins to trickle in, one by one, of villagers going missing — and unease settles deep in his heart.