Chole was moaning under Tyler as usual Kristina is peaking at them and doing self indulgence as usual.

The snow suddenly began to fall.

It wasn’t gentle, drifting snowfall— it came all at once, thick white flakes pouring from the sky as if the clouds had torn open. Tyler stopped in his tracks, breath catching in his throat.

Something was wrong.

He wasn’t at home.

He slowly turned in place, scanning his surroundings. There were no trees. No familiar forest scents. No uneven ground layered with fallen leaves. Instead, as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but endless white— an icy desert stretching beneath a pale sky, the wind whispering softly across frozen dunes.

"Where...?" Tyler muttered.

Chole who was under him was gone. Kristina, who was always peeking at them, wasn’t there either. He turned again, heart pounding a little faster.

"Serena?" he called out.

No answer.

Even Dia was nowhere to be seen.

Tyler exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay calm. Panic wouldn’t help.

"Is this what Chole was talking about?" he murmured to himself.

Both Chole and Kristina had once mentioned an old forest spirit— a strange being that appeared during winter. According to them, it wore red clothes, rode a sled pulled by flying reindeer, and had a habit of kidnapping people from the forest without warning. Sometimes it appears when there is no winter at all.

"At the time I thought it was just a story..." Tyler sighed. "What kind of luck do I have, seriously? And it is not even winter in that world."

Only then did he notice what he was wearing.

Instead of being naked, he now had on a green outfit that felt strangely perfect— thick enough to block the cold, yet light and flexible. The fabric was soft, almost warm, as if it had been made specifically for this climate.

Before he could think more about it, movement caught his eye.

A line of penguins waddled across the snow in perfect unison, their black-and-white bodies bobbing rhythmically as they marched forward.

Tyler froze. He rushed toward them, boots crunching loudly against the snow. The penguins let out startled cries and scattered in every direction, sliding and tumbling as they fled.

Left behind in the snow was something metallic.

Tyler bent down and picked it up.

A copper pot.

His copper pot.

He stared at it for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief. "At least you made it too..."

"Ho... Three times"

The voice came from behind him.

Tyler spun around immediately, dropping into a defensive stance. His heart raced— he hadn’t sensed anything. No footsteps. No presence.

"Who’s there?" he demanded.

"Ho multiplied by Three ... no need to be so tense," the voice replied cheerfully. "I’m Nicholas. Just an old man."

Standing before him was a bearded man with a round, kind face and twinkling eyes. His beard was snow-white, thick and long, and he wore a bright red suit trimmed with fluffy white fur— jacket, trousers, and even a pointed cap. A wide black belt with a gold buckle wrapped around his waist, and sturdy black boots sank slightly into the snow beneath him.

Tyler blinked.

"That’s... a really good costume," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Nicholas laughed warmly. "Ho + 2 Ho... well, it used to be a different color long ago. But some company called Coca-Cola made it red and become popular, so I stuck with it."

"...I don’t understand half of that," Tyler admitted. "But— where am I?"

"I borrowed you," Nicholas said casually. "From a random world. Today is Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Christmas."

"Christmas?" Tyler repeated.

"Yes," Nicholas said, smiling. "A festival of warmth. Of giving. Of people coming together, even in the cold."

Nicholas explained it simply— about gifts, joy, kindness, and the strange magic that only appeared once a year.

"If you help me deliver gifts tonight," he said, "I’ll send you back safely. With a gift of your own."

Tyler hesitated. Every instinct told him to be cautious... yet standing before this old man, he felt an unfamiliar warmth spreading through his chest.

"...Alright," Tyler said at last. "I’ll help."

"Excellent!" Nicholas clapped his hands.

The snowy air rippled, and suddenly an enormous landing ground appeared— smooth, wide, and glowing faintly like a runway. Small green figures with pointy ears rushed about, adjusting ropes and crates. From the sky above, a massive sled descended, pulled by reindeer that seemed to run on air itself, landing as gently as a plane.

"Our ride is here!" Nicholas laughed. "Ho Ho Ho— let’s go, go, go!"

Tyler tightened his grip on the copper pot and stepped forward.

The sled surged forward, cutting cleanly through the night sky.

Cold wind brushed against Tyler’s face as clouds parted beneath them, revealing countless towns and villages glowing softly below. From this height, the world looked peaceful— tiny lights scattered like fallen stars.

Tyler watched in amazement as countless clones of Nicholas leapt from the sled mid-flight. Each one grabbed a bulging red sack, landed effortlessly on rooftops, slid down chimneys, and reappeared moments later. Gifts were neatly placed beneath trees decorated with shimmering lights.

Some of the clones didn’t stop there.

They casually grabbed cookies from plates, gulped down glasses of milk, and vanished again with satisfied expressions.

That’s simply stealing.

"That’s not stealing," the Nicholas sitting beside him said instantly, without turning his head, as if he had read Tyler’s thoughts. "That’s tradition."

Before Tyler could argue, the sled suddenly slowed— then stopped completely in midair. The reindeer snorted softly, hooves still hovering above the clouds.

Nicholas scratched his beard, his cheerful expression turning a little awkward.

"Hmmm... actually..." he said slowly, "I’m pretty broke this year."

Tyler stiffened.

"I don’t really have enough resources to give gifts to everyone," Nicholas continued, his eyes drifting— not subtly at all— toward the copper pot resting beside Tyler.

Tyler panicked instantly, pulling the pot closer.

"Ho x 3³ divided by 9 – relax, relax!" Nicholas said quickly, raising both hands. "I swear on this Christmas, I don’t care about your infinity cauldron."

Tyler froze.

"...You know about that?"

Nicholas just smiled.

"Come on," the old man said, gently jabbing Tyler’s arm with an elbow. "Just help me a little."

Tyler narrowed his eyes. "Why are you broke?"

Nicholas sighed and pointed toward a distant continent below. "Because of that country."

"The one with the orange-faced president," Nicholas said flatly. "He asked me to recommend him for the Nobel Peace Prize. I declined. So he put a three-thousand percent tariff on Antarctica."

Far away, in some unknown place, a certain orange-faced president said calmly,

"I tariff you 3000! I mean 3000% Also— here’s the Epstein Files as a Christmas gift! That only contains ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

Tyler stared blankly into the distance.

"...I understand nothing," he muttered.

He rubbed his temples, then let out a tired sigh. "Alright. I’ll help. But listen— we just have to steal - Nope borrow some things."

Nicholas burst into laughter.

With a clap of his hands, dozens of clones returned, hauling sacks of gifts onto the sled. Tyler hesitated only a moment longer before pulling out his copper pot.

One by one, Tyler copied the gifts— perfect replicas forming effortlessly inside the pot. Once finished, the clones returned the original gifts back to their rightful places, exactly where they had been ’borrowed’ from.

Everything was neat. Nothing missing.

And just like that, the night continued.

House after house. Town after town. City after city.

By the time the sled slowed again, the sky was beginning to pale faintly, the first hint of dawn appearing on the horizon.

"Ho ho ho... thank you, Tyler," Nicholas said warmly. "You really saved Christmas."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a small red gift box wrapped with a golden ribbon. He placed it gently into Tyler’s hands.

"This will give you the one thing you desire most in your heart... right now," Nicholas said softly.

"Now," he added, smiling, "go wake up."

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Tyler jolted awake.

He was back in his world.

Back in his body— as Richard.

He turned his head and saw naked Chole sleeping peacefully beside him, her breathing slow and steady. Kristina lay curled on the floor nearby, exhaustion written across her face as her breast were exposed and some liquids wetted the floor.

"So... it was a dream," Tyler murmured.

He smiled faintly.

Carefully, he lifted Kristina and placed her gently on the bed. As he did, he found himself staring at her for a moment longer than necessary. He felt little Tyler harder again.

Then he felt something in his palm.

Cold. Solid.

Tyler slowly opened his hand.

A small red box wrapped in a golden ribbon.

"...Here is the gift I promised," he recalled the old man’s voice.

Tyler’s eyes widened.

With trembling fingers, he opened the box.

It vanished in a soft puff of light.

"...Huh?"

Tyler froze.

Then he remembered Nicholas’s words.

"It will give you the one thing you desire in your heart now."

"Must be my imagination." Tyler muttered and went to sleep.

He didn’t notice, A thin trail of milk slowly flowed from Kristina’s breast.