A few months ago…

Drops of water dripped against the skin of a man, washing away the blood that covered him from head to toe, leaving a crimson trail behind to be washed away by the rain. The downpour drenched him from head to toe as he ventured his way through the streets of the village Cephir.

The man raised his head up, his bleak eyes staring up at the stormy clouds. One drop after another fell on his face before rolling down his cheek, as if expressing him in his stead.

However, the man’s expression was chilly. No trace of sorrow or self pity flashed through his expression. Instead, his two eyes began glowing in a mysterious light, looking at the surrounding scenes with nothing else but apathy. His unnatural calm, paired with his measured steps, gave him an unapproachable air, as if he would rip anyone to shreds if he so much as saw them.

“So it still came to this… I couldn’t change anything yet again. Maybe the old man was right. I am useless. But that too will be a state, not a certainty. I won’t let it.”

A moment later, the frosty lips of the man standing in the rain arched, forming a warm smile. He lowered his head, taking a good look at the child he held close to his chest like he would never see him again, shielding the kid from the downpour, using his own body alongside the tattered cloak hanging behind his back.

The kid had his left eye wrapped in blood-stained bandages, some of his raven-black hair peeking through between the gaps. The bandages glimmered occasionally with a series of symbols incomprehensible to most before dimming right after in the next moment.

After a while of walking, the man stopped in front of a house at the corner of the village. A trace of warmth appeared in his unfeeling eyes. After having hesitated for no more than a fraction of a second, he knocked on the door.

“Coming!” the voice of another man came from the other side.

The door to the house creaked open.

The man who replied earlier — a man with dishevelled chestnut hair wheeled out of the house in his wheelchair. His brows were locked tight as he stared at the guest with vigilance..

Realising who was the man before him, William’s eyes widened as he asked, “Wh-what happened to you?”

“Nothing much.” The smile hanging on the face of the man before him turned bitter as his eyes turned upward, staring deep into the pouring clouds.

William shook his head before opening his mouth.

However, before he could mutter a single word, he heard the other man’s voice continuing to speak.

“I was late. Once again. As always. I couldn’t save anything. Anyone. And… now even she is…”

‘It’s okay.’ William wanted to say, but the words lingered on her tongue, never coming out. All he could do was accompany his friend in silence.

“William. I need to ask you for a favour.”

The sudden shift caught William slightly off-guard. An unsettling feeling filled his chest, but he still mustered up a response: “Don’t say that. We’re friends. Brothers. Speak your mind.”

The other man gazed at William deeply before his head turned lower, gazing back at the boy he carried in his arms.

William’s eyes widened as his gaze landed on the boy.

“Is that… Zack? So someone from that massacre is still—”

“Yeah. Hold him for a bit.” Passing the kid over, he said, “William. My request to you is to take care of him. If possible, like a father should. Like I could never do for him. Although I too turned out like a failure of a father like my own old man, I still know that… that… Never mind. I can’t blame him for what he did either.”

“As I was saying, I leave him in your care. Only thing I — His mother and I both hope for is, you’ll never restrain him unless absolutely necessary and will support him as you see fit in his wishes, no matter what they are. Even if he turns out to want revenge for this, you’ll… support it. Because that’s his decision. I don’t want him to feel like we forced everything onto him. Like I did back in the day. Consider it my dying wish.”

Passing on the kid, the man turned around as he threw back a cube.

“You’ll need this to treat him. If there’s anything missing, there should be enough money to buy them in there. I already sent that old geezer a message. He should do something about it. Rest, I leave in your hands. Weird, isn’t it that at a time like this, I’m remembering all those old days?”

Feeling something off, William invited, “You should rest. Come in as well.”

“No, there’s not enough time for that. I can’t relax yet. Because I haven’t done everything I can. Because I haven’t…”

By the end, the voice of the other man was but a whisper, leaving William unable to hear it.

Anxious, William asked, “Then what about you?”

“Me? I’m going to end it all.”

“So you’re going to pursue them till the end?”

“Yeah. That’s all I can do. It’s the only thing that I can do. Even if I know it is a trap, there’s no other way for me. Even if it means dying. It’s the last shot I can make. Enough about that. William, remember what I said.”

Looking back one last time, the man steeled his resolve, ready to depart.

“And, take care.”

His last words lingered in the air as he disappeared from the spot like a mirage, leaving behind a speechless William on his doorstep who held onto an unconscious Zack

All William could do was look in front of him for a while before sighing as he muttered, “So… is this a part of growing up as well? I guess you’re not weird for remembering all those times. Never thought I’d say this, but,. being kids was not as bad as we thought it was back then.”

He smiled bitterly before turning back with a bitter smile of his own, closing the door behind him.