The pit was filling slowly, each shovelful of dirt falling with a heavy, muffled sound, like a lid being shut on our failures. The sheets that covered the bodies disappeared one after another. I had seen them alive the day before, some had even smiled at me… and now, nothing was left of them. Nothing but an anonymous pile of earth and silence.
My throat was tight, my eyes dry but burning. I wanted to cry, to scream, to smash the ground. Instead, I just stood there, spear in hand, powerless. Hero? My ass. I wasn't even capable of protecting a handful of villagers.
A small sob broke the air.
I turned my head.
Elene.
The village girl. Healed by Hikari, dressed in a kimono far too big, she looked like a shadow of herself. Her little fists clutched the fabric, her thin shoulders trembled. Her eyes, swollen with tears, stared at the pit as if she were about to throw herself in.
