It is around nine in the morning on the day the wall was breached (during Anas' battle with the monster).
Inside the underground shelter of the Vingard colony, the scent of fear and sweat fills the air.
People tremble with fear.
A child cries, and his mother sings a trembling lullaby to calm him.
Sobs. Dry coughs.
This is all that can be heard here.
Among the many refugees,
a girl with light blonde hair sits with two women and a man.
The man with black hair and brown eyes looks at the two women and asks, "How is she, Krista?"
The woman with brown hair places her hand on the forehead of the blonde woman beside her and says, "Her fever is starting to go down, dear."
She turns her face to the blonde girl and speaks in a gentle voice: "Lily, stop making that face. You didn't force Anas to go search for your sister; he went of his own will. So don't blame yourself. And I trust that he will escape if the situation is dangerous. I trust my son."
The man looks at the girl and smiles: "That fool hides a lot from us. Aside from all those books full of useless nonsense, he has a good body. He won't die."
Anas' mother frowns slightly and says sharply: "Who was training in secret to attract the girls, I wonder? At least your son, whom you called a fool, trains to survive instead of boasting."
The father clears his throat a little, raising his hand to hide a faint blush on his face, then whispers: "Wife, will you shame me in front of everyone in the shelter?"
Hmph.
The mother exhales and says, "Then don't insult my son again. He is your son as well. You should worry about him instead of calling him a fool."
Suddenly, a light, bell-like laugh escapes.
Hehehe.
The parents turn to see Lily laughing, staring at her in surprise.
Even the other refugees gaze at this girl laughing despite everything happening.
"What's so funny, little one?" Anas' mother asks.
"I'm laughing because despite everything happening, you're still talking nonsense. It's funny. It reminds me of when I was a child. You've never changed. But… Anas has changed a lot," Lily replies, lowering her head with half-closed eyes and a faint smile on her face, then adds: "I hope… no, I pray that Anas is alright."
Anas' mother sighs and gently pats Lily's head.
"Let's leave the things we cannot change. Tell me, what's wrong with your mother? Did you take her to a doctor?" Anas' mother asks.
Lily shakes her head: "No, I don't know what's wrong with her. When we called the doctor and offered the only silver coin we had for an examination, he said it wasn't enough. He wanted a dirty payment. When we refused, he left immediately. Bianca went to the market, bought a sword, then joined a mission no one else accepted. Now I don't even know what happened to her."
When Lily finishes speaking, Anas' father's expression changes drastically.
His eyebrows furrow, fists tighten, and he mutters to himself: "All your fault, Karl, you scoundrel. Leaving your family for a noblewoman? You're truly garbage."
Without warning, a loud sound erupts.
Boooooom!
"Anas!"
A faint gasp escapes Anas' mother.
Silence fills the shelter after the explosion.
Minutes later, the rusty shelter door opens.
Click-clack.
Everyone turns toward the sound.
Sunlight pierces the darkness through the doorway,
casting a ribbon of light on Lily's face. She closes her eyes and raises her hand to shield the sudden brightness.
Once she adjusts to the light, she opens her eyes slowly and sees a shadow blocking the sunbeam that had entered moments before.
The shadow moves forward into the shelter, revealing its features.
A man in his fifties with a neat beard and silver hair.
Blue eyes.
He wears a blue jacket and white pants adorned with many medals on his chest, with a red cloak draped over his shoulders.
He scans the refugees one by one, then stops at Lily.
Behind him, a fat man wipes the sweat streaming from his brow with a trembling hand, smiling.
The fat man speaks: "Foolish commoners. Mr. Chris is the one protecting us from those monsters—he and his family. Anyone would say you owe him your lives, but because Mr. Chris is kind and merciful, he only asked that you pay a fair amount to fund your protection." (The fat man smiles, though it doesn't reach his eyes, continuing.) "One silver coin per family member, no exceptions. Those without money—there are many ways to pay. Do you understand?"
The people stare at the fat man, then at each other.
Lily's eyes widen, and she looks at the ground, thinking: 'What do I do? I don't even have one silver coin; Bianca took all the money. What can I do? How can I pay?' She glances at Anas' father. 'I don't want to be a burden to anyone…'
The guards enter and begin collecting money from the people.
A man pleads: "Please, I have no money here, I left it at home! Can I pay another way?"
One of the guards strikes him in the stomach at a signal from the fat man.
The man groans.
The fat man says: "Those without money… (his tone lowers, but remains audible in the silent space) will become slaves."
The words hit everyone like cold water, and they bow their heads.
But among the crowd, a man in his twenties steps forward.
He has brown hair and green eyes.
Wears decent, though not fancy, clothes: a brown jacket over a white shirt now turning yellow.
"I'm Jason, a local merchant. I'll pay for fifty people here. I hoped I could pay for everyone, but unfortunately, I'm only at the beginning."
Suddenly, hope sparks among the people, who now look at Jason as a hero appearing in a crisis.
The fat man fumes quietly as the crowd continues.
Jason approaches Lily and Anas' family, handing over four silver coins: "Please forgive me; this is all I have left. Is it enough?"
Lily lifts her eyes to Jason, cheeks slightly red, and says: "No need to apologize. We are grateful to you."
Jason smiles at Lily, but suddenly, Anas' father stands and walks toward Chris.
Everyone turns to see what is happening.
Silence falls except for Anas' father's footsteps.
He stops a few paces from Chris, staring directly into his eyes.
Their heights are almost equal.
Anas' father speaks: "Why should I pay you? Isn't it supposed to be your duty to protect us so no one dies? But so many here are injured, have lost people. Where is the protection in that? And if we must pay money, we pay it to those who kill, not to someone standing here demanding it."
Chris stares at Anas' father: "Listen, commoner, how dare you speak to me this way, you scum? Have you forgotten your place?"
Anas' father clenches his fists tightly, but Jason rushes between him and Chris, saying: "Please forgive us, sir. We've paid, so let's forget this. There are more important matters, aren't there?"
The fat man intervenes with a smile: "No, now we want double the amount from this scoundrel and his family."
Anas' father grits his teeth so hard that a thin trickle of blood runs from his lip.
He then produces four silver coins, staring at Chris and the fat man: "You want me to pay, and you don't care how? Right?" he says, voice dripping with anger.
The fat man replies quickly: "Yes, just pay, fool—"
Before he can finish, Anas' father raises his hand, lets the coins fall to the ground, then returns to his seat.
The fat man's face reddens as he raises his hand to command the guards, but Chris interrupts: "John, calm down. (Turning to Anas' father seated, continues.) And you, don't think I'll forget this. I'll repay you. Ah yes, I remember seeing a boy like you running toward the colony gate; he must be a relative, right?"
Anas' father stands quickly, eyes narrowing, voice harsh as breaking stones: "Touch him, and I'll crush you."
Chris smiles: "Just as I expected, you have a son outside. To be honest, I saw no one; you lied to get an answer from me, and I got it. So I'll tell you one thing—I'll return your son, but as a corpse."
Anas' father raises his fist, ready to strike Chris, but his wife stops him, smiling wickedly at Chris.
Lily trembles, Jason freezes, and Anas' father stops, eyes wide at the sight of his wife—this is the first time he's seen her like this.
Anas' mother speaks in a flat tone: "Oh, you'll return my son as a corpse? I want to see you try."
Chris' eyes widen.
It is as if Krista poured a bucket of cold water over him.
Suddenly, John breaks the silence in a tense voice: "S-sorry to interrupt, but this girl here has no money, and no one has money to pay for her."
Chris seizes the opportunity to avert his gaze from Krista.
When he turns, he looks at the fat man holding the wrist of a small girl with wide pink eyes and black hair with strands of pink.
The girl looks about twelve years old.
Everyone averts their gaze from her. No one has money to pay for her.
Chris stares at her and asks: "Where are your parents?"
The girl replies in a soft, trembling childlike voice: "They're dead, all of them."
John begins to pull her by the hand, murmuring before leaving: "In the end, we're not empty-handed anymore. Heh."
The girl moans faintly under John's grip, but no one dares to speak or oppose.
Far from the shelter, elsewhere,
near the wall of the Vingard colony, Anas leans against the wall of a half-destroyed house.
Everything around him is ash and debris.
Bianca is close to his shoulder.
As he begins to regain his vision after the monster's explosion, he thinks: 'You bastard… launching a suicidal attack to take me down? You really are a worthy opponent.'
He tries to move his legs, but they feel heavy.
Looking down, he sees the girl with white hair lying across his legs, unconscious.
Before he can do anything, something warm brushes the back of his head.
He touches the area and feels it wet, pulling back his hand to see blood on it.
He is bleeding.
His vision blurs, and his breathing becomes shallow and rapid.
Then… he loses consciousness.
Suddenly, he feels as if he is drowning.
Then… he falls and gasps for air.
Trying to stay conscious, he feels a weight on his eyes and struggles to open them.
When he does, he sees something strange.
He is in a familiar yet strange place.
He is lying on his bed, the same familiar tattered bed in his home.
The same smell, everything the same.
When he looks at his hands, the mark is still there.
The same black heart with a red eye in its center.
He sits on the edge of the bed, making it creak under his weight, but…
his feet do not touch the ground.
'What? Have I gotten shorter or what?' Anas thinks.
He begins scanning the room and sees his desk.
No books are on it.
Only… a girl with white hair.
Wearing a neat black dress.
She looks about ten years old.
When he turns to her, he sees her eyes.
Blood-red eyes with vertical black pupils.
The girl smiles widely, revealing very sharp teeth in her mouth. Then she says:
"Finally awake, my dear?"