Chapter 172: So, do you all want to die?
The next day, darkness still covered the great city of San Martín... but little by little the sun began to rise, devouring all the darkness that covered the sky.
At the same time, the city began to come to life, unlike the night before, when there had been only silence throughout the night.
The wide white cobblestone streets were dimly lit by the rays of the sun, which was rising prominently in the sky.
As minutes turned into hours, the city of San Martín in Zone 1 came to life, with devout priests and nuns walking through the streets, chatting among themselves.
"It was a great night of prayer. I felt much closer to our Lord."
"Me too, I even felt like I was chatting with him, it was a wonderful feeling, it’s a shame it only happens one night a month."
"Yes... It’s a shame, but for our Lord we have to endure for another month, so that we can feel close to him again."
Those two nuns continued chatting quietly among themselves, unaware of the presence of a young man with long black hair like a starry sky. His face was no longer so ordinary; his features were a little finer, which occasionally attracted some glances.
His eyes were a deep black, calm as an ancient pond. He wore a black tunic; around his neck hung a wooden crucifix.
That young man was Kael Medici.
He heads toward the house where the children are, since today is his first day of work. He had already received his pay, as they had given it to him in advance. Furthermore, his new residence would be the house where the children are cared for.
So now he will have more freedom, because he will not be under the surveillance of the blue-eyed nun, who walks beside him.
They continued on their way, with the sun rising higher and higher, the temperature exceeding 97°F, and the humidity becoming increasingly unbearable.
Not long after, they arrived at the two-story house where the children were staying, entering into a deliberate silence.
The children were silent, staring blankly, not even turning their heads when Kael and the blue-eyed nun arrived.
It seemed that the loss of Sister Mily had affected them so much that they were left in such a state that they looked like empty shells.
Kael walked past them toward one of the rooms, because before dealing with them, the blue-eyed nun would give him some instructions.
Once inside the room, the blue-eyed nun sat down calmly and said:
"Now that you’re in charge, there are some things you don’t know. Cardinal Schwein will visit you tonight, as he was the one who recommended you for this position, and he wants you to take good care of the children. If you do well, it’s very likely that you’ll be able to enter Zone 2 and have better opportunities for promotion, so don’t waste this chance."
Kael just nodded, his mind on the cardinal’s upcoming visit... something was rotten, and he could smell it from miles away.
The blue-eyed nun with her friendly smile patted the man on the back, handed him some keys, and left the house to return to her job of managing the residence.
Kael watched her leave. He stood motionless for a second, watching the figure fade down the hallway, then left the room with steps as measured as ever. He reached the living room where the children remained huddled together: empty stares, bodies hunched as if expecting the end at any moment.
He paused in the doorway and examined them with the same indifference with which a craftsman inspects an imperfect piece. His voice emerged cold and dry:
"How long are you going to stay like that?"
Heads barely lifted; the question hung in the air, and eyes fixed on him as if seeking an order. One of the children, smaller than the rest, stammered and looked down.
"It’s just that Sister Mily promised us she would abandon us, but she died and didn’t abandon us," he said in a barely audible voice, as if saying it out loud would cause something inside him to explode.
The nun’s name still filled the room like lingering warmth: her laughter, her caressing hands, the security she offered. For those children, the contrast was an open wound: yesterday, Mily’s smile had been a promise for tomorrow, and then they saw her hanging from a beam, her face pale and empty.
Kael understood this with merciless clarity. That nostalgia was nothing more than a burden, a chain that prevented the weak from reacting. His voice showed no emotion when he spoke again:
"So, do you all want to die?"
A chill ran through the room. The silence became thicker than the darkness itself. Every child felt the sting of the question.
Without changing his expression, Kael drew the coin sword from his space rune ring. The metal made a dull sound as it grazed the air.
At the sight of the sword, faces contorted. Some began to hyperventilate; others clenched their teeth until their knuckles turned white. Old images flooded their minds: screams, swords, the brutality with which they had lost their parents and homes. For many, the mere glint of steel was enough to reopen old wounds of trauma.
Fear filled their eyes, a spark that lit up the room like fire on dry paper. But amid that panic, something else emerged, something more rebellious and ancient: a will to stay alive. Beneath the ashes of terror, something beat strongly.
They wanted to survive. They wanted to live.
And facing them, Kael remained cold, observing that will with the same detached calm with which one contemplates a muscle that still throbs.
Only one decision: whoever wanted to die could choose it, but the child who survived would be forged by his own choice, torn from despair, molded by the brutal edge of reality.
"We want to live!"
"I don’t want to die!"
The children’s voices rose in the heavy air, trembling at first, but soon filled with desperate strength. It was a cry that came from the depths of their instincts, the pure cry of those who still clung to existence. A new spark appeared in their eyes, an intense, bright light that seemed to defy the darkness that surrounded them.
Kael watched them silently. Those looks, full of rough but real hope, did not elicit compassion in him, but understanding.
He knew what that would mean. Calmly, he stored his coin sword inside his space rune ring.
He already knew what he had to do. He needed no more words or doubts.
So he began his work. His movements were precise, unhurried, and without error.
Time passed quickly, slipping away like sand in an hourglass. The children, driven by their own fear and hope, scattered, carrying out the various tasks Kael had assigned them.
...
After a few hours, night had fallen. The sky was covered with stars, a silent ocean of distant lights twinkling above the infinite darkness. The moon, however, was partially hidden behind gray clouds that were being swept away by the wind.
Kael sat in the room. The dim light of an oil lamp illuminated his face, casting shadows that stretched across the walls.
The silence was profound, broken only by the soft tapping of the wind on the windows and the distant murmur of the city.
He awaited Cardinal Schwein’s arrival.
He did so not with impatience or respect, but with restrained curiosity. His gaze was serene, but inside him, thoughts stirred like currents beneath a still lake.
Why him?
Why had he been given this position?
Kael didn’t fully understand, but one thing was clear: nothing in this world happened without reason.
If the cardinal had chosen him, then there was a hidden intention.
As he waited, his breathing remained steady.
A cold breeze blew in through the window, momentarily extinguishing the lamp’s flame. In that instant, the room was plunged into darkness.
"Let’s see what the cardinal is up to," he muttered to himself, his eyes shining with a cold light.
As the night grew deeper, with the streets empty, silence reigned.
Until it was broken by the hooves of horses advancing along the large cobbled street and stopped in front of the two-story house where the children lived.
A rather fat man got out of the carriage, wearing a tunic that was quite tight on him.
"I’m really looking forward to meeting the new manager. That nun mentioned him quite a bit during our sermons," said Schwein with a mischievous smile, revealing all his gold teeth; now he really looked like a pig with gold teeth.
A few moments later, Kael left the house with calm steps, his hair blowing in the night breeze. He looked Schwein up and down, and when he saw his appearance, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Several pieces fell into place in his head when he saw this cardinal, and he deduced why Sister Mily had taken her own life. Much of the blame lay with that man with the body of a pig.
"Are you Cardinal Schwein?" Kael asked neutrally.
Schwein flashed a nasty smile that revealed all his gold teeth.
"If I am Cardinal Schwein, Sister Mily has told me a lot about you. Why don’t we have a heart-to-heart talk in your room?"