zessary
In 1966, sixteen-year-old Jade has spent most of her life in hospital rooms, her world defined by illness and routine, and by the storm-wrapped mountain she watches from her window. After a dream bleeds into waking life and a group of strangely dressed hikers invite her to climb the mountain's legendary trail-the Eighteen Pawns of the Dragon King-Jade follows them into the forest and becomes lost in Spirit Land. As she faces trial-like stages carved into the mountain, she encounters spirits who guide and deceive her, and a watching presence known as the Black Soul King, an ancient entity who longs to live again by stealing the bodies of the living. Blending folklore, horror, and coming-of-age fantasy, this novella explores fear, resilience, and the terrible price of wanting to survive.