After a while, Teyat, who had reached the brink of losing his sanity, stopped tearing apart his father's corpse.
There was no longer hatred or anger in his eyes.
There was only exhaustion.
What he had experienced, done, and seen had pushed him into fatigue. It had been too much for him.
The ground had turned into a pool of blood, with flesh scattered everywhere.
With slow and weary movements, Teyat picked up the gun his father had dropped.
His face was expressionless. There was no emotion at all.
He looked at the magazine of the gun; it was full.
And he gazed, exhausted, at the dogs who were staring at him with bodies full of fear.
There were enough bullets for the dogs that had eaten his mother.
Teyat reloaded the gun and, still with the same expression on his face, turned around.
Seeing this, the dogs thrashed wildly as if trying to break their chains, letting out a great howl, but it was in vain.
The monster in the dark had already set its sights on them.
"Bang, bang, bang…"
The dogs, tethered by chains and trying to escape in fear, had already been killed by the newly emerging monster.
Teyat felt nothing anymore because he was too exhausted even to feel any emotion.
The only conclusions one could draw from his expression were emptiness and coldness.
Teyat tore his blank and cold gaze from the dead dogs and turned toward his sister, walking wearily toward her.
The blood on his face had dried.
Teyat approached his sister's lifeless body.
She was dead, but her eyes were wide open in terror.
Blood was still flowing from where the bullet had entered.
Suddenly, slow tears began to fall from Teyat's blank and cold eyes, but his expression remained the same.
When he reached his sister's corpse, he suddenly knelt before her.
This time, his face slowly changed from weary to one of painful sorrow.
More tears flowed from his eyes.
Teyat lowered his head slowly and rested it against his sister's head.
The two heads were touching.
In one set of eyes, there was regret and sorrow; in the other, only shock. The shock of death.
And suddenly, memories flooded Teyat's mind.
•
A thirteen-year-old boy opened the door to the cabin and stepped inside.
Teyat's mouth was bleeding, and his eye was blackened.
Suddenly, Teyat's younger sister, shorter than him with a beautiful but pale face, panicked when she saw his condition and ran toward him.
"Teyat, what happened to you? Who did this? Was it father again? Are you okay? What happened? Tell me!"
At that moment, Teyat forced a painful smile.
And said;
"Don't worry, I beat myself up just to see your concerned face. I wish I could marry you…"
Suddenly, his sister's face turned red, and she quickly slapped his head.
"S-stop saying such stupid things, you idiot. I-I'm your sister."
Teyat rubbed his head.
"I was just joking, but that hurt."
His sister suddenly panicked.
"I-I'm sorry. Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you, but…"
Teyat chuckled softly.
"Hey, stop laughing. Taking care of you is my fault, huh?"
His sister furrowed her brows and stomped over to the table in a huff.
Meanwhile, despite his pain, Teyat pretended to suffer even more dramatically.
"How pitiful am I? I lay here hoping my sister would take care of me. How foolish I am. Oh well."
He sighed deeply.
Suddenly, his sister yelled angrily.
"I'm tired of your games, idiot brother! Treat your own wounds! Yoouu idioot!!"
She stuck her tongue out at Teyat, stomped off, and sat on the chair with her arms crossed, turning her back on him.
With a disappointed expression, Teyat walked toward the first aid kit he had bought with his saved money.
Though she was angry, his sister secretly peeked at him from the corner of her eye to see what he was doing. Teyat, with a sad expression, began taking out the necessary supplies from the first aid kit. And while cutting the bandage, he deliberately cut his hand.
He let out a small groan of pain.
"Other sisters treat their brothers like princes, but my sister doesn't even care about my miserable state… Well, I should be grateful for this."
Hearing this, his sister's sweet face turned red with anger.
She silently cursed under her breath and stood up, marching toward Teyat.
When Teyat saw her coming and noticed his favorite expression on her face, he smiled slightly.
His sister stood before him, one hand on her hip, pointing at him with the other as she shouted in anger.
"This is the last time I'm helping you. From now on, you'll sew what you rip yourself, got it?"
Teyat thought to himself.
'She always says that, but in the end, she can't help but care for me. What a sweet and silly sister.'
Teyat pretended to be hurt.
"Thank you for taking care of me, dear sister. I don't know what I'd do without you."
And suddenly, crocodile tears streamed down his face.
His sister, thinking they were real, looked at him in shock.
"T-Teyat, you don't need to cry. I'll always be by your side. I promise. I'm sorry…"
She quickly grabbed his hand tightly and hugged him as she saw his pained state.
As Teyat's tears fell, a smile appeared on his face.
In a way that his sister, in her embrace, couldn't see.
"Always stay by my side, sister. One day, mother, you, and I will be free, and I'll pinch those chubby cheeks of yours even more."
Suddenly, his sister quickly slapped his head again.
"Let's escape this mess first, and then we'll talk about the rest."
And suddenly, she shouted in anger.
"MY CHEEKS ARE NOT CHUBBY…YES, THEY ARE NOT CHUBBY!!"
She knew deep down that they were, but she couldn't accept it.
After finishing their hug, they looked at each other and laughed softly.
Teyat returned from the happy memories to the pain of the present day.
His tears flowed even more heavily, and his expression filled entirely with sorrow.
He lifted half of his dead sister's body and embraced her tightly, sobbing.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, sister… I couldn't protect you. I didn't set you free. I failed. I'm sorry…"