"Yura."
A gentle, tender voice.
The old man, as always, looked at the young man with a smile.
"Yura."
Hearing his name called, the young man opened his eyes but couldnât bring himself to lift his bowed head.
He didnât feel he had the right to do so.
"Yura. Itâs all right."
Itâs not all right.
The young man said this, though his voice failed to come out.
âMasterâ¦.â
I am not all right at all.
Thinking this, the young man lowered his head even further.
He knew it was all an illusion.
He was aware that even the words were a product of his own imagination.
"Itâs all right."
It was a voice he could no longer hear.
A voice he had no right to attempt to hear. The young man repeated this to himself endlessly.
"Yura."
The voice continued to echo in his ears.
The young man, as if unable to bear it, covered his ears.
"Yura⦠Yuraâ¦"
The sound pierced through the silence, burrowing into his body.
The once-kind voice began to change, becoming strangely unfamiliar with each repetition.
This was not new.
It was something he had endured countless times, yet it never became easier.
It was only terrifying.
"Yur⦠a⦠Yuraâ¦"
Something tightened around his neck.
The cold sensation caused the young man to open his eyes before he realized it. No matter how much he didnât want to, he couldnât stop them from opening.
What he saw in his line of sight nextâ
"Yur⦠aaaâ¦"
A bloodied old man, his face twisted in pain as he stared at him.
And the countless eyes glaring at him from every direction.
The scene before him caused the young man to clench his teeth and tremble violently.
He tried to look away, but the old man grabbed his neck and forced him to meet his gaze.
And thenâ
"Why⦠whyâ¦"
"Why did you kill this masterâ¦!"
The old man uttered the one truth the young man least wanted to remember.
âGahâ¦!â
Gasping for air, he shot up.
âHah⦠hah⦠hahâ¦â
His trembling body was drenched in sweat.
His back was soaked with cold sweat, and his hair clung damply to his scalp.
âHa⦠ha⦠gghâ¦â
The young man gripped his shoulder with one hand.
It was an attempt to steady his shaking body.
Of course, it didnât stop the trembling.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
After shaking uncontrollably for a long while, the young man finally seemed to regain his senses and began to look around. His expression was one of confusion.
At that momentâ
âWhy are you suddenly acting like a lunatic?â
The unexpected voice made the young man turn his gaze.
Not far away, someone was sitting on a rock, looking at him.
They held a dumpling in one hand.
ââ¦â
Looking at them, the young man instinctively touched his chin.
A sharp pain shot through it.
As he carefully touched the area, he felt a distinct swelling. The pain triggered his memories, and they all came flooding back.
The things he had done, and the moment this person had subdued him.
ââ¦â
The young man shifted his amber-colored eyes to the individual before him.
They appeared barely older than him, just past the threshold of adulthood, with sharp eyes that carried an unsettlingly different blue hue.
Seeing them, the young man asked,
ââ¦Who are you?â
His question caused a slight reaction in the otherâs eyebrows.
It was a peculiar expressionâhalf a frown, half surprise.
Watching the faint change, the young man tried to steady his breathing.