Chapter 2: Here we meet, brothers (2).
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The rain was falling heavily, the destroyed rubble was falling softly, and nothing was standing .
sheesh !
The remaining embers of the fire made faint sounds as they were removed by the drops of water .
There was no one alive except a little girl, who looked shabby and unkempt.
The rain was washing her body and blood was dripping from her wounds .
Dead they are, dead, this place is just a river of blood .
A fleeting thought that remained in the mind, refusing to go away .
She stared at the scattered corpses, the traces of destruction fading away as the purity of the rain touched them .
A mother holds her infant child, protecting the child with her life, but the two died together, and even in death the mother kept her child warm .
An old man died sitting in front of the ruins of his old house, preventing the enemy from touching the last remnants of his family who had closed their eyes before him .
A young girl holding a long, sharp stick, her lifeless body half-kneeling, but her shabby weapon held her tall, the burning tree behind her gently cradling her back .
The young man who died standing up, the scattered animal corpses a testament to his glories, because of him one individual remained alive, but there was only a bitter expression on his lips .
Dead they are, dead, their stories have lessons, but the bodies are cold, and no more than emptiness .
Everyone struggled, everyone worked together .
But nothing remains .
No one will mourn their disappearance, no one will ever remember their existence, no one will care about their struggle, and no one will remember them fondly .
No proper funeral or relatives left alive, their lives stopped here .
Dead they are, dead, their existence will be forgotten, no brotherhood or companionship, only names forgotten like strangers .
Dead they are, dead, the eyes of hope are extinguished, nothing is seen from them but hollow dreams .
Tears gently flowed from her eyes .
" Why ?"
The girl stood up with difficulty, and walked with her wounded, staggering body with difficulty .
Just why ?
She hated them all, they always hurt her, they ostracized her because she wasn't like other children .
Who her family were and what happened to them, no one told her .
No hatred or mockery towards her mother and father, they never spoke about her parents, even when they made fun of her .
That made the little girl forget too .
The instinct to protect is within everyone, weaker creatures will only survive through stronger creatures .
Without parents, the little girl's instincts turned towards the people of her village, and she wanted their compassion, for them to protect her, for them not to hate her .
If possible ...
To love her too .
The thin body swayed weakly, gently in the rain, like the wind sweeping a rose along the edge of a cliff .
" … Yes "
When the wounds reopened, she groaned in pain, but the gnashing of her teeth prevented her from focusing on that .
Memories flash by like a fairy tale .
- Eek! Get away! You filthy thing! I won't let my kids touch that thing !
- She's white-haired ... Remember what the village chief said? White-haired people carry diseases .
- What? Why don't we deny her then ?
- You! She's just a child! Not to mention that wild animals are afraid of white-haired people. As long as no one touches her, the disease won't come to us .
The adults whispered from a distance, but no one approached her .
The children were more afraid of being ridiculed, so they threw pebbles at her when no one was watching .
Crack !
The white hands are very sore, and the pain is very bitter .
But the little girl didn't care. She pulled out the bodies of the mother and her child and dragged them towards a hut whose roof was still shaded and whose embers were no longer hot .
Steam rose like fog, making visibility unclear .
The girl wiped the blood that covered her vision, as she retrieved another body .
One person, two people, three people …
Minutes and hours passed like this .
She was really confused .
She spent years hating them .
Her hatred wasn't a lie, that was for sure .
But why does her body move on its own ?
Whether animals ate the remains of their bodies, or whether the bodies rotted and nothing remained of them .
She shouldn't care .
but !
The heartache refused to go away .
- Hey! You brat! Take this food! I don't need it !
A stubborn, dishonest old man gave her food while avoiding looking at her .
- Kya~ Why are you looking prettier than me in this outfit? Annoying! This is annoying! I don't want the dress anymore! My mom won't let me touch it anyway, hehe !
The daughter of one of the village merchants said with an evil laugh, "It was a cold night at that time ."
- I will become an Ego warrior, then even the plague won't scare the villagers! No one will make her suffer again !
- Hahaha, you're an idiot, an idiot! Can simple people like us become Ego warriors? That's a far-fetched dream. Instead, I have a daughter of marriageable age. Let's talk to your father about it ...
- That cunning old man, all you want is to throw a banquet for the children, okay! Let's do it !
The men watching the pretending-to-sleep child said, watching her with warm eyes, one of them wrapped her in a blanket .
- Tsk tsk, now I have to buy a new blanket for my grandson …
- Eey! This is your blanket, Grandpa !
- This villain! To slander an old man like me! I must teach you some manners !
- But it's the truth - Aaaaah !
People hated her because of the village chief's words .
But that wasn't all .
" Fools… you are all fools "
The girl's body trembled as she watched the bodies under the hut .
There was no shovel around, so she had to dig with what she had .
She dug with broken sticks, the wet soil made it easier for the girl .
When sticks didn't help dig, then with rocks, if not with rocks, then with hands .
Dig the place, even if the world forgets them, I will not .
Different people have always been discriminated against and hated by others .
That was true .
However, it was not a universal truth .
Just as a person can find those who hate him, those who love him will find themselves .
One cannot extract emotions, one cannot determine who one hates or loves .
It all comes naturally, like the current of a river, everything takes its course as it comes .
The girl was always naughty .
Picking trouble with other kids, screaming in the morning to wake everyone up, and playing pranks .
It wasn't just a way to express hatred, there was a deep thirst for affection in her actions .
The desire to be seen and acknowledged by others .
Even if the person was hated by others, it was better than the coldness of being ignored .
That your existence is not acknowledged, as if you were a passing breeze, that no one cares whether you die or live .
How could anyone put up with this ?
The child was fine with their attitude towards her .
She hates them, and they hate her .
That's for the best, isn't it ?
Crack! Crack !
Blood was flowing from the hands, and the skin was peeling off from digging the dirt .
For a mere ten-year-old, this was unbearable .
" If you had left Lilith alone… she wouldn't have to feel so much pain. "
The girl muttered in a trembling voice .
If things had stayed the same, would her heart have changed ?
Among these people were people who loved her, there were those who fed her and clothed her, and on cold nights they let her sleep in warm houses in secret .
Everyone knew it, but no one would point it out .
The village chief is just an old man, but the merchant is the one who holds the real power.
If he is so fond of this little girl, who would dare to criticize him ?
But to avoid hurting their leader's pride, and causing unnecessary chaos, everything was done in secret .
Little Lilith was very intelligent, and instinctively understood that talking about their behavior toward her would lead to trouble .
It has always been this way .
Some hated her, some loved her .
With wounded hands the body of the infant was carried, and from what it appeared, he had died from the smoke of the flames, and his body was unharmed .
" I'm … "
Her body trembled as she buried the child with tearful eyes .
I'm sorry .
She didn't have to apologize, there was no reason to apologize .
But... she felt bitter emotions gnawing at her little heart .
With heavy steps, she turned to place the next body in its place .
The night had already ended, and the light of dawn was breaking over the place .
The heavy rain stopped, the scattered debris was black, and nothing remained of those houses but ash .
The people of this village were doomed. They were just simple people who lived by struggling to survive .
Yet they did not despair, they left their little girl alive and protected her, so that she might look forward to living, and so that there would remain someone in the world to mourn them with compassion .
Taak.
A handful of dirt gently fell on the body of an old man .
This is how the funeral procession began .
The stubborn old man, the ambitious young man, the kind merchant's daughter ...
The naughty children who treated her harshly at one time and with the deepest love in the world at another, the women who taught her to read and write, the chatty poet who told her about the world .
Tears streamed down her cheeks, making her eyes blurry, but she wiped them away quietly .
I won't cry .
I won't cry .
At least in front of their buried body, I won't cry .
She memorized each person's faces, their last expressions, and the memories of meeting them were etched into her brain .
" i hate you … "
With every handful of dirt dropped, emotions mounted, so I put them into words .
" You were the ones who made me sleep in the cold, you were the ones who said I was unlucky, I wish you had never been born !"
I never hated you .
" You didn't give me food to live on, I hate you ."
You are the ones who keep me alive, I love you .
" I was living in anguish, why did you add more scratches and wounds? I hate you ."
When I thought life was meaningless, you hugged me, I love you .
" you who have no tears or blood, I hate you more than anything. "
My love for you is unmatched, you who light up my dark nights, I love you so much .
" This hurts ."
The little girl fell to the ground crying, hugging the dirt in deep sorrow .
" Why did you make me want to live? "
Now I don't know what to do .
" Why did you love a child like me? "
Now my heart is broken for your loss .
" I used to hate you for a long time, but after a while I loved you, and that is the cause of my heart's pain ."
You are the ones my heart hates the most, yet you are the ones my heart loves the most .
" To those who were the dearest to me in my life "
bye, bye …
with Never meeting again.
Forever again.
Little Lilith stood up straight and wiped her tears away one last time .
A bright smile adorned her face .
" Your memory will remain in my heart, always and forever, throughout my life's journey, throughout my life, I will never forget you ."
Dead they are, dead, but I remain, I will not forget them today or tomorrow, until the end of my life, in my sorrow and my joy, for them I give my elegy .
With those words, she fell unconscious .
" What a pity "
In her drifting consciousness, she could hear someone's voice .
She was reluctant to faint, but everything that had happened over the past week had left her extremely weak .
" So ends their story, it is meaningless, cold as winter in the hearts of the people of the world, but like plum blossoms, though they wither, spring will come to one of them one day. "
But we never know, that's how cruel life is .
The person's face was extremely blurry, and was completely unrecognizable to her .
" Forgetting the past until the appointed time, like scattered dust, remembering the past when the forbidden chain has disappeared, ignorant of what lies in our future, strangers who meet and part, such is the nature of things. "
Oh child of eternal dreams, the weight of the future is strange to hearts, but everyone has their own will.
Today we separate, but in the future we meet, then the paths will be connected .
All she could remember in the remnants of her remaining consciousness was a slight smile .
So she lost consciousness, falling into a deep sleep .
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The foggy feeling persists .
The dream was strange, as if the memories were separate from reality.
Strange, strange the matter of this dream strange .
The eyelids tremble as the eyes open, and then her gaze meets his .
" Oh wonder of wonders, how much have you exhausted yourself, our little girl? You even fell unconscious, sleeping like an exhausted traveler in a foreign land. "
" What ? "
Insight returned, the drifting clarity of mind became strong again, surprise followed by questioning .
The young boy didn't answer, his strange smile still on his face .
"… it seems that exhaustion has overwhelmed me, and then sleep embraces me. "
Lilith muttered in her deep voice .
Unfamiliar memories, unclear emotion .
The strange dream was unfamiliar, but now was not the time for that .
She was about to reach her destination, if she wanted to make her own fortune, she had to excel at the academy they were about to enter .
It's not time to be confused yet .
Swallowing back her feelings of unease, she stared up at the blue sky .
" Days like this are indeed rare …"
Where no clouds obscure the views of the bright sky, a beauty that captivates souls and calms hearts .
She couldn't help but take a deep breath, contemplating the sky, her head resting in the young boy's lap .
" On the contrary "
Leon extended his left hand upwards, contradicting Lilith's words .
" The sky has always been this way, blue, bright, beautiful and majestic, but it doesn't always look that way because we don't watch closely ."
Although they were simple words, his voice carried tremendous seriousness .
Lilith found herself thinking deeply about his words, remembering the image of Leon when the catastrophic storm was at its peak .
As panic and fear spread, even the strongest of souls raced to find solutions to survive, Leon slept smiling, free of worries .
"… you are a strange "
Lilith laughed a little, watching a lone cloud change shape .
" I hear this a lot, but your judgment is a bit harsh ."
" Certainly not. Who sleeps soundly during a disaster? Either that person is a fool or a strange lunatic ."
" Okay, I'll let it go this time, so rest as much as you want. I don't think you'll be able to in a few hours. "
" Tsk, hit where it hurts, huh ?"
Her mood dropped a little when he reminded her of what was going to happen soon .
As the leader of the ship's crew during the disaster and the greatest contributor to everyone's survival, she will be showered with kind words by others when the panic subsides .
Of course, she wouldn't be able to rest like she was at that time, so it could be said that she was lucky to be able to sleep, even a little .
" Anyway, I am curious about what that strange country is, the Moon Island, I mean. It's said that there is no leader of their country, no guardian to rule over them. Many races inhabit there, and despite the differences between them, they are in harmony. The Moonlight Academy is their learning haven. What do you think of that, Leon ?"
" Your words are long, but I agree with you. I heard that their academy only accepts 300 students, and they have a class division, not based on status or lineage, human or half-human, it doesn't matter, skill after skill, only the strong and powerful are accepted from them, I think I like that more than anything else. "
" Is it because you hate racism ?"
" No, I'm not interested in equality issues, it's just that I like competitive environments ."
I think for the first time we agree on something .
Although she said those words in her heart, Lilith felt the same way .
The two trailed toward the distant island, not knowing whether or not they would become allies there .
And so time passed, the few moments of tranquility merging with their imagination, leaving slight smiles on their faces .
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Moon Island, in a forest, the northern forest .
Crack !
" Howl !"
The tree fell with a loud crash and the wounded wolf's body was crushed with its pitiful wailing .
Corpses after corpses, blood mingling with blood .
The devastated environment is unmistakably hideous, small insects eat the scattered corpses, taking advantage of the lucky opportunity after a bitter hunger .
" Dude, when do the preparations even end ?"
A young boy with tiger-like eyes sat on the carcass of a slightly larger wolf .
Holding a handkerchief and wiping the blood off his sword, he complained of being bored .
" I know this is annoying, but we have to be patient. Leon said he's close to the island ."
The person who answered was the same age, with violet eyes and white hair .
His arm was dissecting the corpse of an average-sized wolf, while he stared deeply at the rotten parts of the body .
" Man~ I can't describe how I feel right now, the forgotten time has truly passed, hasn't it ?"
The emotions of joy within that quiet voice could not be understood, but the words seemed truly heavy, as if the worries of a lifetime were lifted when they were spoken .
The person speaking had different colored eyes, one eye was bright green, the other eye was dark yellow, the contrast was strange but harmonious .
" Come on, after years apart, we will meet again. "
The last person sitting on the fallen tree started walking .
Hair swaying in the wind and golden, his eyes the same color but looked volcanic .
" Yes, let's go "
Swoosh !
A smile spread across the faces of the four young men, leaving behind the destruction, the corruption they caused here and then left it .
In our new homeland we meet, my brother, a hollow past we left behind, but always smiling .
We escaped the dangers, we started the path weak, today we have become strong, my brother, our forgotten time begins, we are all ready .
We never forgot the pain, like wounded beasts we licked our wounds, and we will take revenge on the enemy .
Today we started our march, tomorrow the rain will turn to blood, their blood will quench our thirst, it's either them or us, they must wake up perishing .
The hymn of the past buried in the heart was finally said, and the heavy emotions of sadness were covered by the joy of meeting .
This time for real, that day has finally come .
Today, the five brothers, after a long time apart, meet at the end of winter .