Jack's love for his family, especially his daughter, was something I envied him. Even though I loved my girlfriend back when I was alive, I never had such a happy life as he did. Maybe if I chose differently that day, it would be me, taking my own child to school that day. But none of it mattered anymore.

My afterlife was a boring and sad one. I had to watch people in the streets dying of the great fire, which I accidentally created when I came into this world. For the first few days, I felt guilty. When I saw the suffering of the citizens, I just turned around and put my hands on my ears so that I wouldn't see or hear anything that would happen. But with time, I started to watch everything. It hurt at first, but I got used to it. What a terrible thing to say. That I'm used to seeing others suffer because of me. Soon, the nights that I spent crying in Jack's apartment dulled my emotions. I no longer felt anything. Those people in the streets? They meant nothing to me.

But despite all that, there was still one person I felt at least something towards. Jack's daughter, Emily. She was sweet and innocent, but the bastards in her school made her feel miserable almost every day. They were stealing her lunch, her books, everything she had pretty much, as soon as she stopped paying attention even for a second. During the first few days, she was hiding or running from them. After a week and a half, she seemed to change, just like I did. The next guy that tried to bully her got punched right in the nose. She looked cute and sweet but had quite the strength for her age. But no matter how much I've seen her suffer, I've never felt as bad as on the day I dreaded the most.

The streets were closed that day because the police had to clean up some mess caused by a gang shootout. Lots of corpses, blood, etc. You can get the picture. And since Emily couldn't just wait for them to open the road to the public, she went home through the alleys between the buildings. It was meant to be a shortcut. The moment she went there, I knew what was about to happen. I prayed to God that something would change. That somebody would save her. It was ironic that the God was me, and I was utterly powerless.

When she was about halfway through the alley, a tall and buff person appeared around the corner behind her. He was wearing a long dark cloak that almost touched the ground, with a hood over his head, meaning that I couldn't make out who it was. The only thing I could see of him was a pair of leather boots. That didn't exactly help me much, but for some reason, they looked familiar. I just couldn't point out where I'd seen them before.

Not long after that, another person appeared in front of her. He was wearing the same concealing clothing. However, this man was quite easily recognizable. He had two glowing rings floating around his bare ankles. That was indeed an appearance one would never forget.

"Ifrit!" I shouted at the man, but he didn't respond in any way. No matter how many times I tried to get his attention, he just ignored me. Even when I tried to block his path with my own body, he just walked right through.

Emily got visibly scared and tried to run, only to realize that both of the exits have now been blocked. And so she did the thing that seemed most logical to her and tried to run past the men. Compared to the gorilla in the back, Ifrit looked rather scrawny, making him her target. She dashed to him, ready to punch him right in every man's weakness. But before her hit could connect, Ifrit grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

"STOP IT!" I screamed at him, hoping to at least get some response.

The man pulled the hood down, revealing his scarred face. Emily was visibly stunned when she saw him.

"Y-You?" she mumbled. Clearly, her memory of him wasn't the prettiest. That was no surprise. He caused quite a havoc in Jack's apartment.

Ifrit didn't react in any way. He just took his right hand and put it on her forehead. For a moment, I thought that perhaps he is not the killer. That maybe he really is the good guy, and that he will try to protect her. I was so wrong.

Within the next few seconds, Emily's skin turned red, as if she got sunburned. I didn't need to know what was happening to understand that it wasn't anything good.

"NO!!!" I screamed as loud as I could and dropped to my knees. "Please... I'll do whatever you want." The man didn't even flinch. I knew he could hear my pleas, but still, he chose to ignore them. Soon after that, a healthy color returned to the girl's skin, but something was visibly wrong. It was as if all life left her eyes, leaving them staring blankly into the dark street ahead of her.

Ifrit caught her body as she fell and slowly put her on the ground. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. The horror of what I've just seen wholly paralyzed me.

"Here!" Ifrit finally spoke to his comrade and threw him a small kitchen knife.

"Make it look like someone stabbed her." Hearing those words from him woke me up to some action.

"You fucking monster!" This finally made him pay attention to me.

"Why did you come here, Edward? You knew what would happen to her. If you stayed away, you wouldn't have to feel so bad about her death. You only made it worse for yourself."

"WHY?! Why did she have to die?!"

Ifrit sighed.

"Are you not listening to me? But if it is an answer that you seek, I shall tell you. I need Jack to join me. He is powerful and will play a vital role in my plan. He will be by my side when I become a god. And for that to happen, he needs to lose the shackles that bind him to this city."

"His family."

"Exactly. I know my act seems cruel, but it is time to pour some honesty into you. I will have to kill many to succeed. But in return, I will save everyone else. When you look at the math, more than 80% of the worlds' population will still live. And I will provide them with a bright future.

"But, the remaining twenty will suffer!"

"And whose fault is that? Your fire killed thousands of people just in this city. Have you felt such strong emotions for them too? I doubt that. They died being burned. That is not a nice death."

He pointed to Emily's body.

"She? She didn't suffer one bit. Thanks to my magic, she felt no pain. It wasn't different from falling asleep. You're calling me a monster for painlessly killing one person? Then tell me, what does that make you?"

I couldn't bring myself to answer. Every time this man spoke, I started to hate myself more and more.

"Oh, and thank you for the tip. You see, based on what you told me, I found my new comrade." He pointed to the gorilla behind him, who just took off his hood. My heart nearly stopped when I saw it.

"Gunslinger?!"

"Well... yes, if you wish to call him that way. I found him thanks to your story. So that blood in Sunwalley? That is on you too."

My legs gave in, and I fell to the ground. Seeing that, Ifrit realized that talking to me any longer was pointless, so he and his goon quickly left without a word.

I just kept staring at Emily's body until the sun finally set, and the police eventually came to find her. Jack wasn't far behind. Seeing him on that street, crouching down, holding the body of his daughter really made my blood boil.

But no matter how much I tried, there was nothing I could do. Despite my efforts, I was already dead. The only thing left for me was to wait until everyone dies. And perhaps then, I will finally be free.

The following two weeks were the hardest. Not for me but for Jack and his wife. I could see them cry their eyes out each evening when they walked into their daughter's empty room. After a few days, Jack's sorrow turned into anger. I saw him paying people, even some really shady ones, to hunt down and bring him Emily's killer. None of them ever came back.

I could see the once noble gentleman become something different. He stopped caring about his look. He often kept his bed hair all day without a single effort to tidy it up. He stopped shaving, which added even more to his homeless look. Some days, he also refused to get out of the bed entirely. It hurt me to see him that way.

Finally, sixteen days later, somebody knocked on the wall in the living room. The sound was apparently, enough to get Jack up and moving.

"Honey? Are you home already?" he called out from the bedroom, hoping to hear his wife respond. What came back, however, was a different voice.

"I'm afraid I'm not your Honey."

We both recognized the voice very clearly. Ifrit. I knew why he came, but it still disgusted me.

"You," Jack mumbled as soon as his eyes landed on this unwanted visitor.

"What do you want here?"

"I wanted to offer my deepest condolences. I heard what has happened to your daughter. And I am so sorry."

"No! You're not! Stop pretending as if you care! It was..." I stopped my own ranting. Once again, the man wasn't paying any attention to me, so I just walked out of the apartment. Their conversation was not something I needed to hear. There was some shouting that followed, all of it Jack's. Eventually, Ifrit walked into the hallway and shut the door behind him.

"He didn't take it, did he?" I asked him.

"No, he did not. But he will, in time."

"Tell me, what does it feel like to be a monster?" This time, I intended to take out my own guilt on him.

"A monster? Do you still blame me for your own mistakes? You are the one who caused all this suffering, not me. I'm simply trying to fix it."

"Really? Because you have this great power, and all you do is use it for your own selfish plans."

"A good God must see the bigger picture."

"A good God would see it while helping. Instead, you're just hurting people!"

"Why do you bother talking to me, Edward? You are not going to change my mind."

"I know I won't. I was just hoping to see how you're holding up. Cause you know, you're now just as much of a monster as I am."

"That is false actually, I am..."

"No better than me? Definitely. That Emily didn't suffer? No, she didn't, but her parents are suffering now. You think you are so much better, but in reality, you are nothing more than a fancy version of me."

"DO NOT... Do not throw me into the same pile."

"Why? Does it make you feel angry? Huh? Do you feel guilty, perhaps? In denial?"

"We are done here, Edward."

It seemed he didn't pay any attention to my words after that. But I felt extreme satisfaction. This man acted so cold, but I was finally starting to crack him open. Perhaps in time, I would indeed make him turn to my side. Or at least I hoped so.

But the hell wasn't behind us yet. The next day, Jack went to work. I tagged along with him to see if his mental state would improve. His co-workers tried to cheer him up, but it didn't seem like any of them succeeded. Five hours later, we both returned home.

Though that apartment could no longer be called home for Jack. Not in the state we found it in. His wife was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. On the wall next to her was a symbol of a skull painted in that same red color. Underneath it was a text saying: "All hail Edward Wright." I didn't need to know what happened here to paint a clear picture. This was Ifrit's doing. He came here to put this all on me.

Jack kept crying for a incredibly long time, repeating phrases like: "This can't be true." or "Please, wake up." I wished to help him somehow, but even if I could be mortal again, I'm pretty sure I'd only make it worse.

The police arrived shortly after. According to them, it was the doing of some criminals from the lower levels, who came to raid the place. Some rare jewelry was missing too, so it was the most plausible story. Unlike in the case with his daughter, however, Jack didn't stay crying for too long. When the police left, and his apartment was finally empty, he just kept standing in the living room. He was staring at the painted wall, clenching his teeth, and mumbling over and over again: "Edward Wright."