A body lay on the mattress, sinking slightly under its own weight as Ersak slept deeply.
His eyes narrowed and his face tightened before his deep blue gaze slowly blinked open.
Ersak rolled over to lie flat on his back, his eyes tracking toward the entrance.
Dragging his exhausted body up, he sat on the edge of the bed and brought a hand up to hold his heavy, throbbing head.
Moonlight filtered into the pitch-black room.
The air was freezing, leaving a thick layer of condensation on the glass window as water droplets slid down the pane and dripped onto the frame.
His tired eyes scanned the dark room before he finally stood up from the bed.
The door slid open slowly.
Filled with curiosity, Ersak stepped out of the room, walking all the way to the end of the hallway until he stood right in front of another door.
Standing before the entrance, Ersak extended his arm slowly toward the handle.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open from the inside.
Four eyes locked onto each other.
Ersak froze in absolute shock, staring at Enmie right in front of him, while Enmie’s face hardened in pure confusion.
For a moment, everything around them seemed to stop, the atmosphere growing suffocatingly tense.
The pair walked down the path as the sky brightened slightly, the streetlamps now completely extinguished.
“You’ve got some nerve, daring to leave your room and wander around like that…” Ersak shifted his gaze nervously.
“I-I…
I was just walking around that specific area.
It’s not like I went anywhere bad…” “Do you even realize how much everyone hates you here?!” Enmie snapped, her voice rising in anger.
“What if they saw you and decided to kill you right then and there?” With an expressionless face, he muttered quietly, “So what?” Enmie let out a helpless sigh, shrugging her shoulders.
“Fine, have it your way.” The two continued down the wide road outside the perimeter wall.
Behind them, the grand mansion slowly shrank with every step they took.
A few squirrels darted onto the path, stopping to munch on seeds they picked off the ground.
Enmie’s expression darkened with sadness as she spoke up, “Nobody wants a prisoner of war like you around here.
I don’t really know what to do anymore.” She flicked her gaze up at Ersak, but his expression didn’t change at all, his eyes staring blankly ahead.
Turning her head back to look forward, Enmie continued, “It’s true that I acted a bit too much on my own, but I still think…” Before she could finish, Ersak cut her off, his gaze sliding over to her.
“Why’re you helping me?
There’s nothing in it for you.” Enmie stared at him, completely stunned for a split second.
Snapping out of it, she turned her head away and stammered, “W-well…
it’s like I told you before.
I don’t think you did anything wrong, so…” Suddenly, a realization seemed to hit her, and she shot a sharp look at Ersak.
“Don’t tell me you actually did do something wrong?” “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Ersak replied instantly.
The pair lapsed into silence.
Their footsteps became much louder in the quiet morning air as a gentle breeze blew past, making the flowers sway in rhythmic waves.
An excited look flashed across Enmie’s face as she quickly jogged a few paces ahead, turning around to face Ersak.
“Hey, why don’t you recount exactly what happened?” Her eyes blinked with eager curiosity.
“What if you really are completely innocent?” Ersak looked at the girl standing in front of him, lowering his head slightly.
Enmie slowed her pace to walk side-by-side with him again as the teenager’s voice finally drifted out: “My village was raided by bandits, as you already know,” Ersak began.
Scenes flashed vividly across his mind—wooden huts collapsing, total chaos erupting as fire consumed everything, and people running frantically in all directions while piercing screams filled the air.
“A kid jumped out to save me from a lethal strike, but that same kid ended up getting knocked out cold.” Enmie looked at Ersak, her large, round eyes blinking.
“Was it Tenzin?…” Ersak flicked his gaze toward her, then shifted his eyes away as he continued, “Then some older guy leaped in to rescue me, but he was blindsided and ended up gravely injured.” Blurry, black-and-white silhouettes materialized—one figure cutting down another, only for a shadow to appear from behind and slash the person in front.
“I carried Tenzin and ran to escape, but I never expected to cross paths with their leader.
He snatched Tenzin away.” Enmie stared at him, completely stunned.
Ersak’s eyes were so lifeless they looked totally empty as he kept recounting the story.
“I fought back, but one of his lackeys stabbed me right in the stomach.
Blood kept pouring out, and my vision started going blurry.” Enmie shuddered, sweat breaking out across her face.
Ersak looked over at Enmie, then down at his own hand, continuing, “I tried to resist, but I had lost too much blood by then.
The leader took off, leaving behind the lackey who stabbed me to finish me off.” The scene reconstructed itself in a blur of blood and fire—Ersak collapsing to the ground, clutching his bleeding abdomen as a silhouette holding a sword stepped closer, swinging the blade downward.
Enmie lightly covered her face, stammering, “I…
I had no idea things were that critical back then…” Ersak let out a heavy breath, his voice deep and raspy as he pressed on.
“I wasn’t thinking much at that moment.
The second his sword swung down, I forced myself up and shoved him back.
Taking the only chance I had, I grabbed his blade and plunged it straight into him.” Ersak lowered his head, looking down at his own hands with a voice that sounded like he still couldn’t accept the reality.
“I…
I killed him.
I killed a person…” “I think your killing him was completely justified.” Ersak froze, his expression hardening as he snapped his gaze toward Enmie.
“If I were in that exact situation, I would’ve done the exact same thing.” Enmie faced Ersak, and their eyes locked.
Everything seemed to slow down, narrowing to just this single moment.
Enmie smiled, tilting her head slightly.
“I think executing you would be far too cruel.
Besides…
you clearly didn’t do anything wrong.” “It’s just that these rules…
are far too rigid.” The grass field alongside the road began to sway in waves as a gust of wind blew past, the first light of the sun just starting to peek through.
The two figures stood in the middle of the path, staring at each other.
Ersak stammered out in utter disbelief, “Y-you…” “You don’t need to double-check.
I believe you.” Ersak’s pupils trembled involuntarily.
Enmie stepped right past him, walking out into the same grass field from yesterday, with the massive academy structure looming far in the distance.
Her feet pressed into the grass as she took one step after another, a soft rustling sound echoing with every stride while a gentle breeze stirred the vegetation.
The morning sunlight gradually broke through, washing over Enmie’s face.
She turned back around, looking across at Ersak as she called out over the rustling of the field, “This world never has anything called fairness.
People will always look at the sins that they or anyone else have committed, whether those sins actually belong to them or not…” The wind abruptly died down…
her clothes…
the grass…
her hair…
everything came to a sudden halt, freezing the space in an instant of absolute silence.
“Precisely because nobody cares about the reason and only looks at the mistake right in front of them, this world needs people strong enough to overcome their guilt and start over from the beginning…” Enmie raised both arms, spreading them wide open as if to embrace something.
The sun had finally risen behind her, casting its light against her back.
Her voice dropped to a soft tone.
“I can’t promise that I can save you, but I can assure you…
I’ll never leave you alone.” “So…” Moving unconsciously, Ersak took a heavy step toward her, forcing his legs forward as he stepped onto the grass…
“So…
just trust me.” Enmie’s eyes narrowed softly before she closed them, breaking into a warm laugh.
Ersak’s eyes widened, his pupils shaking as a watery sheen gathered in his vision.
Inside his head, a single name echoed, “En…mie…” Everything suddenly flickered…
sharp static lines ripped through the scene, plunging the space into absolute darkness as fragmented silhouettes flashed—the brief image of a little red-haired girl buried beneath a pile of ruins appeared for a split second.
Then, everything went pitch black, and the entire world fell dead silent…