Trash everywhere. Achie, Captain Stefan and the boy arrived at a junkyard. The boy ran inside and several other children appeared from the piles of trash or climbed out of concrete pipes. Their clothes were torn and all of them looked thin and dirty. Together with the captain, they began handing out fruit to the hungry kids.
Captain Stefan looked at Achie and explained,
"These children are treated like dogs… like garbage. They have no one to rely on but themselves. No money. No food. No shelter. And in order to survive they steal, because nobody would employ such filthy children. That's the life they live. Do you understand now?"
Achie nodded, his expression darkening with pity.
"Is this the result of all the poverty and debt in this city?"
"That's right," the captain answered. "That's why I desire to protect vulnerable people like them and try to give them a better life."
"Because of your responsibility as a captain?" Achie asked again.
But Captain Stefan shook his head.
"There was a time… when I was just like these children. But I couldn't protect them."
"That must've been hard for you," Achie said quietly.
Captain Stefan took a deep breath and said,
"It was. That's why I'm doing everything I can to change things. But even after working all the way up to Captain rank… it's still not enough to end their suffering."
The captain turned to the group of children and tried convincing them to go to the orphanage, promising he would pay for their stay and care. He made clear that they must not make the same mistake as he did as a child.
But the kids refused, claiming that a monster hiding inside the orphanage… one that eats children.
Captain Stefan dismissed it as childish fear or story and focused on convincing the boy who had stolen the ornaments.The boy hesitated, until Achie added,
"I have two friends helping them there today. So let's go and check whether it is a safe place, the both of us together."
The boy then nodded and told the others he would be back soon.
And so, Achie and the boy left for the orphanage while the captain stayed behind with the other homeless children.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Both Mr. Wolfs and the children looked at each other in confusion. They weren't expecting visitors and Professor Stoker had left a while ago.
Mr. Wolfs walked to the front door and opened it slightly. With a growling voice he asked,
"What do you want?"
But his eyes widened instantly and he stepped aside to let the person that knocked in. Once inside the hallway, the children hurried back into their playroom to hide. When closing the door behind them, one curious child peeked through the keyhole, but was unable to see the visitor clearly. He was only able to hear everything.
"It's been a long time, boy," Mr. Wolfs said. "How have you been?"
No response.
Only Silence.
Then the visitor spoke with a dead, emotionless tone,
"You told someone about the orphanage incident… Director."
Mr. Wolfs stiffened, panic rising.
"Why—why would I tell anyone? You think just because we haven't seen each other for so long, I must have told someone?" he stammered.
Silence again.
"I know that professor visited you this afternoon," the visitor continued. "And you told him everything."
Mr. Wolfs shot up from his chair and shouted, "If you already knew, then why ask me that?!"
"Sit down, Director," the visitor ordered calmly, "before I barbecue the children alive."
Mr. Wolfs froze and sat back down while trembling. Sweat rolled down his forehead.
"I asked," the visitor continued, as he stood up and stepped closer, "because I wanted to see if you had changed after all these years."
"H-how do you know about my children? If you want revenge, take it out on me… leave them out of this!" Mr. Wolfs pleaded with a shaking voice.
The visitor stood before him and stared right into his eyes.
Mr. Wolfs started trembling even harder.
"We had an agreement. You broke it by telling a bothersome person about my existence. So I must change my plans, and as for you… It will be a poetic ending. A wicked man who tried to change, hoping for a brighter future… but in the end, his past came back to take his life."
Mr. Wolfs looked up at him with sorrow and said,
"This isn't the right way, boy! I wished we could have changed the past."
Knowing those would be his last words.
The visitor placed his hand on Mr. Wolfs' shoulder.
"You really have changed, Director. Accepting fate instead of fighting it with your SIN ability."
Tears of regret ran down Mr. Wolfs' face, but he smiled faintly.
Then his entire body crumbled into ash, disintegrating completely.
Silence filled the room.
Only a thick layer of ash remained on the chair and floor where Mr. Wolfs was sitting.
The visitor then walked toward the door where the children were hiding.
He opened it, revealing all of them pressed into the corner while shaking in terror. Because they saw a figure with red glowing eyes staring at them with an emotionless expression.
"The past must not change, director Wolfs…" he said coldly.
He stretched out both hands creating scorching red flames. The flames ignited violently, spreading across the entire room in an instant.
The children screamed as fire consumed the walls around them.
He turned around and finished his sentence:
"…because the past is what makes us who we are now."
Some children ran toward the center of the room as flames blocked every exit.
A few burned.
Some cry for help.
Others struggled to even breathe.
Chaos filled the house with pure terror.
The entire house of Mr. Wolfs was now engulfed in flames.
People on the street rushed to the scene, throwing buckets of water in desperation… but it was far too slow.
• • • On one side the devil and on the other an angel. Everyday they battle each other. But sometimes, on certain days, both of them get rewarded.
In these times the villains are the ones who win, while the good people suffer and wait for a miracle • • •
STORY NARRATOR
As for Axel, he just finished lighting the candle at the last grave. He looked toward the horizon, seeing all the flickering flames of the candles while the sun was almost completely gone. Its last orange light brushing over the rows of graves.
He then headed toward the small hut where the graveyard keeper stayed.
As he walked inside, he told the graveyard keeper that he was finished with the job.
The man smiled warmly. "Thank you so much, truly."
He handed Axel a small stack of money. "Here is your payment."
Axel accepted it while nodding and then asked,
"Did the other boy finish his job as well?"
The graveyard keeper looked confused.
"Other boy? What other boy?"
Axel frowned. "What do you mean… what boy? The blond boy with blue eyes, the one you told to dig some of the graves."
The man's expression shifted instantly, his face tightening with unease. He slowly shook his head.
"You were the only one here today, kid. No one else came to help me."