"Even the lie called mercy can be extinguished."
In that pitch-black darkness that obstructed his fading vision, even his muffled screams could no longer be heard.
Surrounded by these repulsive beings who had stripped him of every right: the right to dream, the right to live, and the right to die.
He no longer even knew how many years had passed since his mind, along with his longing to escape, had gone dark.
...
He no longer even knew how many years it had been since he had uttered a single word with his parched tongue.
His pupils could no longer focus on anything. His sunken eyes slowly lifted toward the great door.
From beyond it, a small sliver of light seeped through...
It would begin again.
Because these beings would never let him rest.
His mind had accepted this fact long ago.
But his heart had not.
...
Countless times, he had wished that, through some mistake, he might be allowed to receive the mercy of death.
But he knew that such a ridiculous wish would never be granted.
"...Dad..."
As if it were some cruel joke played by fate, it was the only word that had managed to escape his lips in years, little more than a strangled whisper.
Perhaps it was because of humanity's foolish tendency to cling to hope...
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Breaking... shattering... fading.
His soul. His humanity. His heart...
Losing everything within himself in the process, little by little, he approached the very limits of what could be endured.
And in doing so, he brought about an irreversible change.