⚠️Warning: This chapter contains violent scenes and graphic descriptions. The author does not intend to be sensationalist or to distress the reader; these depictions are solely a way of portraying the events.
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Present day, March 21, 1945.
On the Stalingrad front, an Asian man with braids tucked behind his ears picked his way through the rubble.
His name was Kamei-san, the only one besides Galton with the knowledge necessary to pass through Vermot's spiritual barrier.
The scene before him was devastating: crowds pressed together among what had once been a factory.
Through the remains of the industrial districts, they searched for food or anything useful to trade, clinging to the hope of Soviet aid.
Kamei-san stopped, overwhelmed, and whispered, "What happened here? Forty years ago this place was full of life… houses, markets, people… but now, it looks like the aftermath of an all-out battle."
As he approached the shell of the factories, the women's cries became clearer, wrenching, as they watched children lose their parents to lack of food.
Soviet troops patrolled the area, heightening the sense of desolation.
Meanwhile, on the Dresden frontier, heading toward Berlin, Galton moved among German soldiers, mercilessly slaughtering those he found in enclosed spaces.
He did not do it to speed up his search for the Saint, but out of the fury those men stirred in him.
His mind whispered, "These people are responsible for all of this. I feel in my spirit that they caused the war against my nation."
The most grotesque encounter was with a seventeen-year-old in a German uniform.
At the sight of him, Galton remembered his firstborn, Zaziel.
The boy shouted, "Damned Jew!" "Help! A Jew!"
With a single movement, Galton broke his jaw.
The young man collapsed, paralysed with fear; he barely had time to hold his rifle.
Galton was defined by his coldness when killing: no gesture, no speech, nothing.
With one arm he held the young man by the chest, drew a dagger from his belt, and drove it into his stomach.
He pulled hard on one of his intestines. The pain was unbearable.
The suffering showed only on his face as fragments of his organs fell to the floor.
Galton's face reflected pure hatred, a desire for vengeance, without a trace of remorse.
He bound him by the neck, took hold of the end of his intestines, and hung him from the room's ceiling.
When the young man's companions arrived and saw the scene, they vomited in horror; they could not comprehend what lay before them.
"What is…? Is that Erick?" said one of the soldiers, his voice trembling.
They did not notice Galton's presence, suspended by one hand from the ceiling.
Those "soldiers" were barely two young men and three adolescents, condemned by the beast that had taken their comrade.
For his part, Kamei-san had encountered soldiers who tried to interrogate him.
Unlike Galton, he knocked them out and put them in houses to protect them from the deadly cold.
As he moved forward, he felt a knot in his heart.
"Lord… tell me something," he whispered. "Can I obtain forgiveness that will free me from my mistakes?
Can I atone for all the wrongs in which I was complicit with Galton?
I do not care if I go to heaven or hell; so long as it means protecting the Saints who will come after Jack."
He remembered the last time he tried to stop Galton.
Jack had almost died after falling from a cliff.
Kamei-san tried to hold the man back, but Galton stabbed him in the abdomen and twisted his shoulder, saying, "You're not God's chosen. You're just another failure."
"If you keep interfering with that brat… I'll kill you for your stubbornness. Unlike Jack, God did not grant you divine invulnerability… only immortality."
Kamei-san murmured, "Galton has gone mad… I cannot allow him to kill the chosen.
No matter how mad he is, I cannot kill a chosen of God.
But if he tries to exterminate the nine, as he did centuries ago… before Zaziel… then… I will kill him… or take everything with me."
The man known as Kamei-san remembered his origin with pain.
Not only did Galton carry the weight of his past; he carried his own as well.
Few knew another name of his: Gao Li.
August, year 153 AD.
Gao Li wondered where Zao Li had gone. Had he ignored him so much?
"Since I met him, he has always been quiet. Could it be that he doesn't want to be with us?
Or did he simply go exploring?
Or something worse… that he was injured and we didn't notice?"
"I have to find him."
Meanwhile, a dark silhouette approached the camp.
Zaziel, worried about Zao, wondered, "Zao!… Where are you?… Did I say something I shouldn't have?"
A chill ran down his spine. The feeling of being watched made him turn his head from side to side, but he saw nothing.
The forest seemed denser than usual, and the silence was deep, almost oppressive.
Every leaf creaked under an invisible step, and his instincts screamed that something was near.
The figure moved like a fleeting shadow, drawing close only enough to drop a small creature into Zaziel's clothing: a red snake with black stripes.
Zaziel did not perceive the presence that stalked him; it vanished among the mountain trees.
Zaziel felt a small prick on his back, in a spot he could not reach.
When he removed his clothes, he realised what had bitten him.
The venom took effect immediately. His body began to beg for help: he sweated as if pleading, writhed on the ground, unable to control every fibre of his being.
He collapsed. Every muscle in his body tensed, and his eye sockets turned white.
The pain was unbearable, one of the worst he had ever felt.
Meanwhile, near the camp, Enos and Egil searched for Zao Li.
They hoped to find him, but there was no sign; nothing to guide them.
The air was heavy; the silence of the trees seemed to answer what they witnessed.
Among the branches there were creaks as if something were breaking, tugging hard at an invisible cloth, mixed with muffled moans, like someone trying to scream without a voice.
When they arrived, they found him: Zaziel.
His arms held a woman, but something was terribly wrong. Her face was gone; a corpse disfigured by bites.
The scene was grotesque. Neither of them could look away.
Zaziel slowly straightened as he noticed their presence.
His movements were fluid, feline, lethal, but there was something else: a coldness that none of his brothers could recognise in the one they had laughed with, slept with, loved, and cared for.
"Stay there and don't move!" shouted Enos, drawing his sword.
"Help, please! Come!" said Egil, trembling, his voice broken and clipped by fear.
Enos tried to reason with him, keeping the weapon steady: "Zaziel… can you hear me? What's wrong with you?"
His voice broke. "By your clothes, I know it's Aki… Why did you do this?! Why did you kill her?! Answer me!"
Nothing. Absolute silence; only the voices of the dead whispering in his mind, blocking any attempt at reason.
The curse weighing on him had transformed him into a predator, an animal driven by instincts he would never have imagined.
In an instant, Zaziel lunged at Enos, moving like an ape, his clawed hands striking with terrifying force.
Each scratch tore the flesh of his chest, leaving bloody marks that hurt even the souls of those watching.
"Run! Save yourself!" shouted Enos with what little strength he had left, as Zaziel continued his attack.
Egil reacted too late. His eyes widened in horror as Enos's dagger detached from his belt, flew, and plunged into his own head.
A brutal, solid strike; his body fell to the ground, motionless.
Zaziel was no longer himself.
His brothers, the ones with whom he had shared every joy, every worry, every laugh, were now victims of his merciless cruelty.
And one of them… didn't even show mercy. His actions were as horrible, if not more, than Galton's.
Enos, barely conscious, barely breathing, let out a thread of broken air, an unintelligible whisper that sounded more like a lament than a plea for help:
"…Zaziel… no… don't kill me…"
It was at that moment that Merit, Xiaoxui, and Leili arrived.
They tried to grab him by the arms and neck to free Enos, but the brother was already losing too much blood; what had once been his chest now showed the crater left by Zaziel's claws.
There was no way to stop the giant.
No matter how strong they were, Zaziel measured almost three metres, and every attempt to restrain him ended in pain.
In a desperate effort to hold him, Merit felt his arm twisted and his leg broken, being thrown against a tree.
He was unconscious before he could scream.
Xiaoxui barely had time to react.
Zaziel grabbed her by the hip and began biting her ribs.
She tried to defend herself, stabbing him, but he caught the dagger with his hand and redirected it toward his eye.
What escaped her lips was not a scream but a moan erupting from her chest, stifled by pain, as if the dagger silenced her with each inch it sank in.
Leili could not move; fear had paralyzed her.
She felt her body simply submit to the power emanating from Zaziel.
At that moment, Gao Li reached the camp; what he saw left him stunned: a scene ripped from Tartarus.
Corpses of his brothers, bitten and torn; Merit's unconscious body against a tree; and Xiaoxui, almost unrecognisable, held in her brother's arms.
Behind some bushes, Leili hid, trembling, hoping Zaziel would not see her.
Gao Li could not think; he could only react, though he knew he had to do so intelligently or he would be next to die.
Gao Li had to confront him, as the only one capable of facing Zaziel was himself, possessing a fixed gift of creation, granted when he was kidnapped.
Unlike Zao Li, he could channel the stars and the energy of the earth, manifesting it as power, but only in amounts his body could sustain—a gift he had perfected since training with Zaziel.
With a firm voice he said, "Zaziel! Put her down."
Zaziel lowered Xiaoxui's body, but in response to the warning, flames shot from his hands and mouth, burning part of Leili's face.
"Zaziel!… I understand. You don't need to be a genius to know what I must do… I imagine my brothers have already tried talking to you.
Thinking fast in battle is normal for a warrior, so please, don't blame me for what is about to happen."
Saying this, he drew his sword.
Terror coursed through his body as he took a firm combat stance. "Zaziel!" he shouted. "It hurts to wield a sword with the intent of killing someone I consider my brother."
Zaziel responded with a piercing scream, as if thousands of voices resonated in it.
At that moment, Gao realised Zaziel was possessed. He knew because he was not like this. The gentle boy had disappeared, replaced by the shadow of an abomination.
Gao murmured, "Forgive me for what I am about to do."
He launched himself with great speed, aiming directly at his eyes to blind him and prevent further tragedy. However, Zaziel grabbed his legs as he tried to leap at him and threw him against a tree; the impact made his bones crack.
"I know he's possessed, but… did the possession give him more strength? Or did he already have it?" thought Gao Li.
Using the momentum from the tree, he lunged directly at Zaziel's neck, aware he had to kill him. "If I don't kill him, Merit and Leili will die." "I have to go all out… or take him with me," thought Gao Li.
However, Zaziel stopped him, ramming him into the ground. In the struggle, Gao kicked him in the face trying to break free, but Zaziel lifted his body and reversed the situation over and over.
Gao managed to free one hand, drew his dagger aiming at Zaziel's eye, and broke free for a moment, trying to think: "I can't… keep up with him."
Zaziel sensed his fatigue and rammed him again, choking him with his left hand while with the right he intended to kill him using his creation gift, imbued with flames.
At that moment, Lei Li mustered her courage and tried to gouge out his eyes to save Gao.
"Forgive me… I couldn't move. Please, don't die, Gao," said Lei Li.
But Zaziel grabbed him by the neck and, with a single blow, hurled him against a nearby tree, breaking ribs and splintering the trunk.
It was then that Gao told himself: I can't hold back, I must end this. He fully channelled his creation gift, focusing his spirit into a violet aura with flashes that echoed the essence of the stars.
He held his sword and took a stance, aware that he only had one move, one chance, due to lack of training.
He lunged toward Zaziel's neck, but Zaziel grabbed his arm just as he was about to reach his eyes, lifting him and slamming him against a rock.
Gao felt his arm break and his face repeatedly smashed against the hard impact. For a moment, he thought all was lost.
Then a voice cried out: "What… happened?!"
It was Galton. Seeing his son in that state and the others, he grasped the magnitude of the tragedy.
With his vast knowledge of the spiritual world, he knew exactly what was happening to Zaziel. His heart broke at the sight.
Zaziel saw him and lunged at his father, but with a single move, Galton knocked him out.
He sat down, unsure how to react, wondering: where did I go wrong? They were supposed to have divine invulnerability. Around him, the corpses of the saints lay motionless.
"What… happened…?"
Galton felt everything he had built, all his faith, dissolve before his eyes. Yet he remained there, staring into nothingness. Despite having the strength to help Gao, he watched indifferently as he bled on the ground.
Only Lei Li approached to lift him, silently observing as Galton looked at his son with anger, sorrow, and guilt; the face of a weary man reflected in him.
With the anger he was known for, he said to the two of them: "Do not move! If you leave here with the elements of creation, I assure you…"
Galton didn't even have the strength to finish speaking.
Then Merit—one of the few survivors of the massacre—leaned between the three, trying to tend their wounds. Galton remained motionless, watching his son sleep for hours, his mind only echoing questions: "God, why?" "Why have you allowed this? Why with my son?"
He spent the entire night watching him. He knew what he had to do, but doing it would cost him his soul.
Gao Li approached and told him everything: The disappearance of Zao Li, what had happened with Zaziel, and the outcome of the tragedy. But before Gao Li could finish, Galton interrupted him: "Don't keep talking to me… If you continue, I will go mad."
Gao Li had no choice but to rest. Though he wanted to bury his brothers, he was too injured to do so. They remained inactive for three days.
In the oppressive atmosphere, Merit, Lei Li, and Gao Li finally found the strength to rise. Dragging the bodies of their brothers, already reeking of decay, they took them to bury near the cave, placing a tombstone over each.
They tried to wash and purify them, but soon realized they could not. Worst of all, Galton could have buried them, but his indifference made clear that Zao Li's suspicions were correct. Not only would he not protect them; perhaps the only one he would protect was his son… who now lay on the ground.
Even so, his soul broke when the time came to seal his son. One of the techniques the angels had taught Galton was the Well of Judgment. This technique, a creation gift, was meant to bring before him those he chose as the first saints.
The purpose of this technique was to prevent any catastrophe: to save or protect the saints from a crisis that could endanger their lives.
But this time, he would not use it for that. He would use it to seal and condemn his son until the day of judgment.
Uttering the words the angels had taught him, his son, Zaziel, awoke. He was no longer under the trance; the first thing he saw were the corpses of his brothers.
Noticing Gao Li's gaze, he realised he was waking. Everyone assumed combat positions, but Galton warned them: "He is my son! … If you dare harm him, I assure you… you will suffer… you will beg me to kill you!"
Zaziel did not understand what was happening. He was completely confused. He was searching for Zao Li, and suddenly awoke with a sore body, a burning stomach, and a mouth raw from screaming during the trance.
"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Zaziel, his voice broken.
At that instant, the earth split open. In the blink of an eye, a gigantic hole formed: a pit roughly 50 meters in circumference, almost swallowing Gao Li, Merit, and Lei Li.
The following dialogue took place:"This is my punishment for believing you were the saint!""Father, what are you doing?""For those you have killed, I must confine you, because I do not have the courage to kill you, my son…!"
Gao, seeing that Zaziel was no longer in a trance, begged Galton to stop.He didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he felt he might never see his brother again.
At that moment, a desperate Zaziel shouted: "Gao! Merit! Lei Li! What's happening?"
And as if it were inevitable, the Earth swallowed Zaziel.God watched everything and sent a cherub to deliver the news.
The cherub observed how the pit closed and how the Earth had engulfed Zaziel.
He said: "This boy was only a victim. No matter the atrocities he committed, someone forced him to act."
But Galton didn't listen and replied: "He killed the saints."
The cherub insisted: "God will grant you the freedom to do with him what you deem right.But when you face the judgment, he will reveal His true will… and you will have to face the consequences." "Not just that, but also for the children you killed before these saints."
Gao Li listened and understood part of the story, though questions remained.The angel, extending one of his wings, handed him a plant.Galton, surprised, asked: "What is this?"
The plant radiated the creation gift.The cherub explained: "God sent me to a cave infested with demons. I had to purify it.There, I found Zao Li's creation gift. I will tell you only this: that boy is no longer in the camp, and he will likely not return."
Seeing the plant, Galton extracted the creation gift.Zao Li's power had no predetermined form; it was pure and unexplored.But upon contact with the plant, that power transformed into a defined gift, a new power now attributed to the saint of nature.The cherub then said: "I am very sorry, Galton… I will tell you this: the Messiah chose many, but few understand that being chosen… does not mean you are untouchable."
And with a flash, the cherub disappeared.
Returning to 1945, Stalingrad, Kamei-san reflected on what it meant to be in that place and time: "Frankly, I cannot say my life has been full of failures, but the tragedies I experienced continue to weigh heavily.After what happened, we spent nights with Galton trying to understand what was going on.Yet Galton took the creation powers from Lei Li and Merit.For some reason I do not understand, he could not take mine.Realizing this, he simply gave up and disappeared.
"I stayed in that cave with my siblings for a couple more days.We had no intention of leaving, and one morning I simply could not find them.It didn't seem as if they had left of their own accord; it was as if they had been taken.I knew because they left their belongings; they hadn't taken anything.
"And frankly, I sank into such despair that I wandered the wilderness for years.I don't even know how I ended up on a couple of islands, what is now called Japan.I roamed the streets there.Nobody messed with me; they knew I could immobilize them, because even though I acted like a vagrant, I was still a warrior.
"One day I simply bathed, dressed myself, and thought maybe it was time to give my life a new direction.But I had no strength to do so.I did not hear God's voice, I heard nothing, and I wasn't certain whether what I was about to do would be right or acceptable in God's eyes.Everything that happened still weighs on me to this day."
It wasn't until a little girl gave him the push he needed: "Kamei-san, little brother.""Ah, sorry," smiled the girl. "Forgive me, I mistook you for my brother. Can you help me find him?"
For some reason I do not understand, the girl mistook me for her brother.But it didn't bother me at all.I left her in the house where she lived, and I think the smile she gave me when she was confused gave me enough drive to remember not only my siblings, buried, but also Merit and Lei Li, who were still missing.
From time to time, I approached the Well of Judgment, where Zaziel was, and spoke to him about my thoughts, hopes, and plans.
"Zaziel, can you hear me?" said Gao, now called Kamei-san."I am completely convinced that you are not to blame for anything. Merit and Lei Li are missing." "I promise I will find them… I hope they are still alive… I promise to keep visiting you to figure out a way to get you out of here." "You don't deserve to be there.
The only one who could get you out would be Galton. I could see he took away your creation power and your immortality, but I'm sure the well keeps you alive, even if years pass. I hope it's as I think, brother."
"Listen to me, Zaziel. I will return here in ten years to lay flowers for my brothers and sisters. And I assure you one thing: whoever did this to you, if I ever find them, I will make them pay for everything they've done."
T
Ten years later, he met Galton again in the Mediterranean and asked:"Tell me the truth, why didn't you take my creation gift?"
To which he replied:"There is no reason; I simply cannot take it from you.""Tell me how I can get Zaziel out of the well."
However, he did not respond.His punishment still weighed heavily on him, and an even harsher sentence was that he was immortal, originally only a man.
They are only memories, because I was never able to find Merit or Lei Li.But now I have a mission, besides getting Zaziel out of the well behind Galton's back, for my new name is:
—Kamei-san.—A way to express my new anchor: faith.
He simply chose that name.Though it was slightly mispronounced, it was a fitting name to bear the heavy burden he carried.
As he thought all this, he walked among the people, carrying a girl in his arms.Her fingers were purple from the Stalingrad winter's cold.She had no shoes, was hungry, and running a fever.
—I arrived in time.This girl is my hope, and I am certain she will fill the void left by Zao Li.—This Russian girl would not only change the fate of the last ancestors of the saints, but she was the true saint of nature, a chosen one of God, sent by the cherubim to be recruited.
A girl with reddish hair, freckles, and distinctive eyebrows shaped like a butterfly's tail, resembling the curve of a pig's or fox's tail.Particularly beautiful, malnourished, only eight years old.
Her name was…Danae Valcliev.