Ehito sat on a bench in the garden, enjoying a rare moment of peace. Lia sat beside him, her laughter light and melodic as she recounted a silly story from earlier that day. For a moment, the weight on Ehito's shoulders seemed to lift, and he allowed himself to relax. The warmth of the sun, the scent of blooming flowers, and Lia's presence made him forget the constant danger surrounding them. He glanced at her, a faint smile crossing his lips as she continued to chatter animatedly. In that fleeting moment, Ehito felt almost human again—almost happy. But happiness was fleeting.
While spending this sweet moment with Lia, Ehito had let his guard down. He never should have. A few moments later, a dart struck Lia's neck. He hadn't seen it coming, he had just seen Lia's body collapse.
He looked around, his eyes wide open. He didn't even have time to scream before a second dart came his way. But he dodged it because he saw it.
In the distance, a mocking voice echoed, and then someone approached, running. She apologized hastily. It was supposed to be Lia's bodyguard.
— "Sorry! I… I didn't see it coming!" she exclaimed, panicked.
— "It's too late…" Ehito murmured, staring at Lia's motionless body.
Suddenly, another dart flew toward the bodyguard, but Ehito caught it mid-air and threw it in the direction it came from. Another dart was shot almost immediately and grazed Ehito's cheek. That should never have happened.
He lowered his gaze to Lia's body. Her skin was turning black, rotting. The darts were poisoned. Ehito realized that he would soon die too.
The bodyguard screamed, terrified by what was happening. She had just seen Lia's body, already consumed by the poison.
Ehito remained still. He felt empty, unconscious, dead. But not really dead. More like dead on the inside. He could still move, talk, breathe, but he was suffering as the poison spread through his body.
Once again, the mocking voice echoed from afar. Ehito knew who it was: the shooter. Yet, he didn't react. He just wanted to fall. To fall even deeper than where he was now.
He just wanted to perish and start over, without actually doing it. Because starting over meant redoing everything from the beginning: all the efforts, all the trials, all the pain experienced in a single day, repeated hundreds of thousands of times.
He didn't want that. He just wanted to give up.
— "Why me? Why am I the only one with a power like this? Why am I the only one who has to bear such burdens? Why? Why? Why?"
Those were his last words before sinking into a long despair. Darkness. Nothingness.
For a long time, he felt nothing, heard nothing, touched nothing, except the darkness. Then, he woke up, his eyes dull, devoid of emotion, meaning, life, or happiness.
Ehito got up as usual, but he was dead inside. He did everything as usual, only by automation. If he could, if his consciousness was still there, he wouldn't do it. He had lost control, like against the brother and sister, but this time, he was even more dead. His gaze was nonexistent, dark with terror.
Once ready, without his sister, who must have already left, he waited for Lia, as always. Just like in the last return, he snapped his fingers. The guards grabbed her, took her to the basement, and gave him much more equipment than the last time.
He had five throwing knives, two daggers, and several antidotes against the poison. He didn't know which one would work, so he took small capsules of various kinds, discreet enough not to raise suspicion.
When he arrived at the place where the man usually attacked him, Ehito called him with a simple gesture, a death sign. Still silent, still dead. The man understood and threw a knife. Ehito, accustomed to it, dodged effortlessly.
The man, surprised, hesitated for a moment before throwing another knife. Ehito dodged it again, then picked up the fallen knife and threw it back at his opponent. The blade barely missed the man, who lost his balance and fell to the ground, though with a certain grace.
Getting up, the man drew a knife and a katana. Maybe another sword, but Ehito didn't care. All he wanted was to kill him. For this return, he had only one goal: eliminate him. To him, it was the man's fault.
But on Ehito's face, there was neither hatred nor revenge, no disgust, no hope. Just total emptiness. Inner death.
The man noticed it and understood that he might lose. His expression became more focused, almost wise, something Ehito hated the most.
They stared at each other for five long minutes. For the man, the wait was endless. For Ehito, it was just a moment. Then, suddenly, the man charged, his knee aiming for Ehito's chin.
Ehito dodged by pivoting to the side, following up with a backflip to reposition himself. The man drew his blade and tried to slash him, but Ehito dodged and made him stumble. Taking the opportunity, he threw a knife at him, but the man evaded it and got back up, hitting Ehito in the torso. The blow pushed him backward.
Standing up, Ehito took his stance, a dagger in each hand and a throwing knife held between his teeth. He took the knife with his free hand and threw it swiftly.
The man barely dodged, but Ehito was already moving, trying to catch the weapon to continue the attack. However, he was much slower than the knife itself. The man took advantage of the opening to slash.
But he only cut… a lock of Ehito's hair.
Ehito didn't react. Still dead inside, he hadn't even realized what had happened. Yet, something was stirring within him. His consciousness was trying to awaken, struggling. This left Ehito motionless, as if frozen in time.
The man, noticing this sudden paralysis, frowned. Without wasting a second, he raised his dagger and aimed for Ehito's eye, ready to deliver the fatal blow.