In the blink of an eye, everything that had been happening around Saeyo vanished. The tree in the lake was no longer there, the little hut had disappeared, and not even the flowers were being kept alive by the hovering insects any more...
A smell that Saeyo had long thought he'd forgotten once again filled his nostrils. He tried hard to trace the source of this scent, but he couldn't work out what it was he thought he was smelling.
After looking around once more, Saeyo realised that the only things still in the darkness, including himself, were Bob and the crystal, which had started spinning wildly again.
The darkness was both silent and yet so loud:
'The man raised me as if I were his own son, the one he never had. He taught me to understand and speak their language, even though I was already capable of it. Thanks to him, I even learnt how to read and write. But despite all that, nobody accepted me, and there was nothing I could do about it. For the sole reason that I was different. An ordinary child? I certainly wasn't. Despite the fact that, when I set foot in this land, most of my abilities were taken from me."
For a brief moment, the darkness fell silent. It seemed as though even the darkness itself had to consider what to say. Finally, it continued:
"I must emphasise that only the greater part of my abilities has been taken from me. My heart still knew who I was. Despite the fact that they do not allow me access to my inner world, since they have destroyed it."
Then the Darkness grew louder and louder, and with every word spoken, even more furious:
"How deeply I despise them! If only I had just acted differently… No! It wasn't my fault! It was theirs!"
And once again, darkness blossomed into light. Except this time, there were a few changes. The meadow with a lake, in which a hungry fish lingered, ready to eat anything to survive except his beloved friend, the farmer, was not there this time. Instead, a stony surface shot up from the depths of the darkness and, without hesitation, shaped itself into a steep cliff.
If one were to look down, the small beach, which stretched as wide as far as the eye could see and was repeatedly swallowed up by the waves of the sea, would inevitably catch one's eye.
What would also immediately catch one's eye would be the crimson colour of the sea, which one could easily mistake for the blood of a titan.
Whilst the waves ceaselessly struck the sheer rock face, an explosive rumble rolled across the ground. The Aziyakias looked down, and only then did they realise just how afraid of heights they really had been from birth. The one at the front addressed him first:
"The sea monsters will not spare you. You insignificant creature do not deserve to live. Every horrific thing that has ever happened in our village began with your arrival. We have to thank you for all the suffering! It's all because of you… You bastard!"
The boy who had uttered these brief yet horrifying words turned to his fellow Aziyakians, who all nodded in agreement.
They were all roughly the same age and were even wearing the same clothes.
Their black kimonos were sturdy enough not to be torn apart by the destructive wind. They had pale blue skin, and their ears were hidden by their dark hair. Behind them was their long tail, whose pointed tip had been driven into the ground to prevent the wind from catapulting them into the sea.
With a twisted look in their eyes, they all turned on a boy whose clothes were not as sturdy as theirs. He was poor and weak. But he had made a conscious choice about one thing and the opposite about the other. The Aziyakia wore a torn, sleeveless shirt and a pair of threadbare black trousers.
His arms, which he made no attempt to move in his predicament, were tied behind his back with a wire rope, and even if he were to try to move them, it would do nothing to change the fact that he would inevitably fail. The only salvation would be to find the key to unlock this wire rope, but even that was in the hands of the Aziyakia. His life was drawing to its end regardless. He had lived long enough.
Aquaixos knew the answer, but still wanted to hear it once more with his very own ears. He was already disappointed enough by this world. He understood the reason why he'd been banished there, but these people… He couldn't make the slightest sense of their actions and decisions. He saw no real reason behind their behaviour. He tried to see it, but nothing came to light.
He held his breath as he looked down at the floor whilst he pondered, and then he asked a question whilst looking up at one of them. Although this sentence contained just a single word, that word had the power to reveal at least some meaning behind their horrific actions:
"Why?"
So much hatred had built up in their eyes. Even more than before. Although they were all still children, their souls were covered in filth. After Aquaixos dared to ask his question, they all began to laugh at the very same moment. But his question… they did not answer it.
One of them, who had previously been standing right at the back, took a few steps towards Aquaixos, and even before he was close enough, he swung at him and struck his face with all his might. Not one blow… Not two blows… But over twenty blows, so that the blood dripping onto his torn clothes could never be washed out.
The blood dripped onto the rock, making the ground even dirtier than it had been before. Especially now that it was stained with the blood of a witch's son.
Aquaixos did not take his eyes off the ground. He was reasonably satisfied with his fate, even if it wasn't what he'd had hoped for. If he were in their position, would he act just as they did? The answer to that would be of little use to him now, and thinking about it would serve no purpose other than to waste what little time he had left.
And what would be of even less use was the apology that followed:
"I'm sorry."
But his apology was, to the Aziyakias, nothing but a laughable joke. People had died because of his existence, and yet he was supposed to deserve to continue existing in this world?
They believed that no one should take it upon themselves to determine the fate of another living being, and yet here they were, all gathered to celebrate his death, and someone among them was the only one to realise this. Without wasting a single second, he stepped in front of Aquaixos and held the others back:
"No! What we are doing here and now is wrong. Are we better than him if we decide the future of a living being? Or do you not even regard him as a living being?"
This unexpected turn of events took even Aquaixos himself by surprise. The Aziyakia stood ready to defend Aquaixos, knowing that his brothers would never attack him, and yet both his hands and his legs were trembling. One could see the fear he felt because of the decision he had already made.
In a panic, he reached into the trouser pocket of his kimono, searching for the key to release Aquaixos and let him escape. However, he was unsuccessful in this attempt. The key, which should have been with him, had vanished… He glanced briefly at each of them and, before he could even begin to speak, one of them tossed the key to him.
To rescue him from his bewildered predicament, he added:
"I took the key from you earlier, after you'd been beating the life out of him like a madman."
The Aziyakia did not feel the need to reply, and thus his brother turned to Aquaixos, and they both decided to free Aquaixos from his misery once and for all.
The rain stopped, the dark clouds receded and the blue sky seemed to shine as brightly as ever.
But this sky did not shine for long. Aquaixos's pupils were spinning more quickly than they usually did:
"Watch out!"
A dull thud broke the silence. The crowbar, which his brother, who had just handed him back the key, had aimed at him before striking him on the back of the head, seemed to have been hidden in his kimono the whole time.
His body collapsed slowly in front of him and lay right next to Aquaixos, leaving a trail of blood spreading unceasingly across the floor.