The moonlight illuminated entire dirt roads, illustrating, for those blessed with sight, the yellowish path.
With each step, a man drew closer to a structure whose small windows allowed light to reach him. He adjusted his eyepatch, his mechanical hand, in contrast to his flesh-and-blood hand, confirming the position of his dark overcoat.
The single exposed eye, gray, did not react to the movements of the bushes.
He turned his body...
And moved towards the bush.
Upon opening it...
A man whose tattoos on his arm revealed an ancient party that exterminated countless innocents in a war that, regardless of the years, the changing eras, would never be forgotten.
He pleaded for his life, to live, that he would never again commit such a crime. He deserved to live. The other man, however, knelt before him, his legs moving fluidly as he moved away, and grasped his hair. His ideals mattered little to him; everyone should believe what they want, but...
A girl, a child... no... she should never have been involved in his actions. As he dragged him through the grass, the man struggled in tears, screaming for help, but he reminded him that they were too far from the city.
He threw him into a pit. He tried to climb out, but a blade pierced the back of his hand. More screams, more pleas for mercy. Without raising his voice, the man warned him: he would cut out his tongue if he screamed again.
Silence.
He rested at the entrance of the pit, a lighter lighting up, approaching the human hand, melting the trembling as a puff of smoke escaped his mouth.
The child's mother informed him of everything; she had access to the video of what they did. She didn't have the courage to watch it for ten seconds... the content was five minutes long. The images, the state, the actions... he would know a lot about human behavior when acting on beliefs or fanaticism, but he never liked it when such fragile, innocent creatures were treated so vulgarly.
The man nodded repeatedly, agreed, he was cruel, perverse, he regretted everything after committing the act.
But the other man, running his mechanical hand through his long dark hair, questioned how regret could arise...
If it was the man of such idolatry who committed the act? Who felt pleasure? During those five minutes, which felt like hours to the victim, he didn't feel any regret? Not even disgust? Perhaps that conversation no longer made sense.
Upon rising, the man extended his free arm, begging not to be killed. He had a family.
Waving the lighter, the long-haired young man was also clear: the child had a family too, who loved him more than anything.
Then the lighter descended into the grave. The flame ignited.
And the scream that emanated from it continued until the vocal cords turned to charcoal.
He sat in front, watching the body contort, everything slowly drying out, the skin charring...
Until nothing more could be heard.
And the flame merged with the air itself.
He reached a tree, grabbed a shovel hidden in the shadows. And began to bury...
Later, facing that same structure of lights escaping through the window, he touched the doorknob, but hesitated. He knocked on the door.
And from there came a figure covered in fur, its snout reaching its waist. It rubbed its face against his hand, licking, nibbling...
It leaped onto the sofa, belly up. And, in a few moments, the form of that reddish creature changed into something more feminine... still possessing its furry features.
It commented that it had missed him. He returned the call, calling her Shaphira. She should be in bed after so much training, hunting demons... it must be exhausting. She denied it, eager for more. However, sitting beside her, he said that rest was paramount, so, without further excuses, she should go to bed.
She wrinkled her nose, her tail wagging. She called him a bore and ran to her room. He crossed his arms, muttering to himself about how someone of legal age could still be so innocent.
Before he could grab a book from the shelf behind him, he froze at the sound of raindrops against the roof. What luck.
Grabbing an umbrella, he returned to the forest roads. The raindrops wetting his face.
However, as he walked, a thick piece of branch caused him to trip. And, in that same instant, a portal appeared.
He fell.
And disappeared.