Shingin walked slowly, every step as if bound by an immense, invisible weight. His legs felt weak, and the metallic tang of blood in the air cut through his nerves like a blade. A faint rasp escaped his throat—a muted, strangled cry caught somewhere deep inside.
He stopped abruptly, his gaze locking onto the sight ahead. In the center of the rubble lay two bloodied figures, trapped beneath collapsed beams and shattered walls. They were Riyugi's parents. Even in their pallor and fragile state, their resemblance to Riyugi was undeniable.
Kneeling among the debris, Shingin's expression twisted in horror and despair. His hands trembled as if unable to face the scene before him. The devastation around him, the scattered stones and splintered wood, carried the heavy scent of iron and tragedy. The bodies of Riyugi's parents, pierced by jagged metal and debris, oozed crimson as the light of their lives steadily dimmed.
Shingin froze, paralyzed by the overwhelming reality. His pupils contracted, and a strangled sound escaped his lips—a broken whisper of a soul on the verge of collapse.
At the faint noise, Riyugi's mother stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a fading light in her eyes as she weakly turned toward him. Her voice, barely audible, carried an undertone of torment.
"I… know you…" she rasped, her breath labored and uneven. "From her class photo… You were one of them… the students who never came back…" Her voice cracked as she wheezed, every word a struggle. "Where… is Riyugi…?"
Shingin's body stiffened, panic flooding his features. His hands reached out instinctively, grasping at the debris. "I… I'll save you first—"
"No!" Riyugi's mother's weak voice rose to a hoarse scream, tearing through the still air like shards of glass. "Answer me!"
Shingin faltered, his breathing shallow, and stammered, "Riyugi… she's… been with me these past months… on a journey…"
Riyugi's mother's dim eyes flickered with urgency. "Is she… safe?"
Shingin knelt frozen, unable to meet her gaze. His hands clawed at his knees, his voice breaking. "She's… been attacked before… hurt… but… she's alive…"
"Alive?" Riyugi's father interrupted, his tone dripping with anger and disdain, punctuated by coughs. "I saw it… the watcher's broadcasts… You… destroying your school, getting into fights… dragging her into this filth?! Was it you… who threw her into danger?!"
Riyugi's mother's gaze filled with fury and despair. "She's just a girl! So kind… so gentle, so pure! And you… you let her get hurt?!" Tears spilled down her face, mingling with the bloodstains. "She's our precious child… someone we couldn't bear to see harmed… And yet you…"
The condemnation hit Shingin like physical blows, each word a searing brand on his conscience.
"Do you even know how many nights we prayed… for her safe return?" Riyugi's father spat, his voice cracking with bitterness. "Or did your parents never teach you what it means to protect those you love?! No… I bet they didn't… if they even cared about you!"
"Stop…" Shingin's voice trembled, barely a whisper against the torrent of accusations.
"Stop?" Riyugi's mother let out a mirthless laugh that was filled with anguish. "You're a monster! Your whole family must be monsters! How else could they raise someone like you?! No… You're not human! None of you are!"
Shingin's breath hitched, his heart shattering under the weight of her words. His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms until blood seeped out.
With her last vestiges of strength, Riyugi's mother screamed, her voice a piercing wail. "Why didn't you just die?! Why did you have to drag Riyugi into this? Why didn't your whole cursed family die?!"
"Enough!" Shingin's anguished roar ripped through the air, his fists slamming into the ground as tears cascaded down his face. The world around him seemed to implode, and all the emotions he had buried surged forth, consuming him.
Blue energy began to seep from his body, swirling around him in a ghostly haze. His fists shook as he struggled to contain the storm brewing within. His vision blurred, and his chest heaved with unrelenting fury and despair.
The venomous words of Riyugi's parents tore through his mind like daggers, stoking a fire in his core. Hatred for himself, for the pain he had caused, and for the crushing reality of their loss boiled over. Shingin's jaw tightened as an unbidden thought surfaced.
His hands twitched, energy gathering instinctively as he took a step forward. The air around him crackled with tension. Every cell in his body screamed with conflicting impulses—rage and regret, fury and helplessness.
For a moment, Shingin stood poised between darkness and light, his power teetering on the edge of control. The overwhelming grief and guilt weighed heavily on his soul, threatening to consume him entirely.