The iron-like stench filled the air.
It covered the ground in a red carpet.
Tak, tak—!
“…..”
As Kaelion walked within the red carpet, his eyes remained unfocused as he looked around.
Blood.
All he could see, hear, smell, and taste… was blood.
His hands dripped with them, and his body was similarly colored in it.
“More, I need… more.”
To feed the children, he started robbing the rich.
He only robbed a little, not even that much. The amount he stole from them wasn’t enough to cause them any significant harm.
And yet…
‘Dead.’
The children had all been killed by them.
How could they do this…?
They were innocent, and yet they were still targeted.
That was when it became clear to Kaelion.
‘Kill ‘
They all needed to die.
Everyone responsible for the children’s deaths. They had to die.
And so, he killed them all.
He spared no one.
“N-no, it wasn’t me…!”
“I… I have a family!”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
With cold and unfeeling eyes, Kaelion killed the rich. He took their wealth and redistributed it. Or at least, he tried to.
“H,help. I’m hungry.”
“…I need food.”
But even that wasn’t enough.
The children kept coming to him endlessly.
“My m-mom needs food.”
They were all skinny, their cheeks sunken.
Kaelion didn’t even realize it, but he himself was looking like them.
When was the last time he had eaten a meal?
No, how could he eat a meal when there were children who were suffering? To feed an extra mouth, he forgot about himself.
But that was not nearly enough.
“P-please, help.”
“M,more.”
“….I need more food.”
“Just w-wait a moment, calm down. I… have more food. Just wait…”
Kaelion reached out for his bag of food but stopped when he realized it was empty.
How could…
“My stomach hurts.”
“Help…”
“Ngh!
Kaelion bit his lips and looked at the children once more.
“A-ah.”
His expression almost crumbled when he realized there were even more than before. There was so many of them he could see no end of.
“How could this…?”
Why?
Why were there so many children?
“I’m hungry… You killed my father.”
“W-what?”
Kaelion looked down.
A child’s gaze met his.
“You killed him.”
It was then that Kaelion recalled.
This child. He was one of the children of the people he had killed.
Wait, could it be…
“You also killed my mom.”
“My dad lost his job because of you.”
“We are poor.”
“You made us poor.”
“Feed us.”
“No, I…”
Kaelion’s expression changed when he felt something grip his leg. Looking down, he saw red hands emerge from the ground, reaching out for him.
“This…!”
Kaelion tried to move away, but even more hands appeared.
“Feed me.”
“…Feed us.”
“I’m hungry!”
“Food…!”
Overwhelmed by the sight, Kaelion looked around to see the children all staring at him with the same lost eyes he once had. He could see his own reflection within them and his heart stopped.
‘I have to feed them.’
He didn’t want them to suffer like he once did.
He…
Kaelion reached out for his pocket and took out his last remaining possession.
“Ah, this…”
It was a cookie.
A crumbled-up cookie.
‘No, not this. I can’t give this.’
He could give everything but this. This was the cookie his mother had made.
“C-cookie…! I want cookie.”
“Give me!”
“No, not this.”
Kaelion held his hand forward and stopped the children.
“I can’t give you this.”
“But I’m hungry.”
“I… my mother.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kaelion bit his lip and stared at the cookie in his hand.
‘I can give anything but this.’
This cookie in his hand, was everything to him. It symbolized his only hope. The one thing that prompted him to push himself out of that cave.
It was the symbol of his past.
…A reminder of his upbringing and suffering.
And a reminder of his mother.
“Yeah, no. I can’t. Not this one.”
Lifting his head, Kaelion’s face turned resolute. He was just about to put the cookie away when he stopped.
“What? Where is everyone…?”
Looking around, he noticed that he was alone.
There was no one.
All that greeted his sight was a long carpet of red.
“What happened? Why is…?”
“I’m hungry.”
“!”
Kaelion’s head flicked back towards the source of the voice.
His eyes eventually fell on a small child.
With deep red eyes and black hair, the child looked exactly like him. His cheeks were sunken and his eyes were hollow, like he had given up on life.
“…..”
Kaelion felt a lump form in his throat.
This child…
“…Food.”
It was none other than himself.
“I’m hungry.”
Pausing, the child looked up, meeting Kaelion’s gaze directly before pausing on the cookie in his hand.
“…Will you give it to me?”
A trace of life appeared on the child’s face upon seeing the cookie.
That…
Kaelion looked at the cookie in his hand and pursed his lips.
‘This is mine.’
How could he give away his most prized possession?
Even if it was his younger self, how could Kaelion give it away? He didn’t want to give it away. He refused to give it away.
“I see.”
As if sensing his thoughts, the young Kaelion nodded his head and his eyes turned dead once more.
Turning around, he started walking away.
Tak, tak—
His back looked frail and his body looked small.
Kaelion felt his chest grow heavy at the sight, but when he looked down at the cookie in his hand, he felt better.
‘Yes, he’ll get his cookie soon enough.’
Why did he have to give away his?
Yes, it was everything to him.
And yet…
Staring at the cookie in his hand, Kaelion felt his mouth tremble.
To him, the cookie was…
A reminder of the pain he had once suffered.
A reminder of his last hope.
A reminder of his mom.
His…
Obsession.
“Here you go.”
“…..”
Kaelion didn’t know when, but the child was now in front of him.
Holding out the cookie, Kaelion looked directly at the child’s eyes. He watched as life returned to them and his expression eased.
This was enough.
‘Yes, I don’t need to be reminded.’
He was no longer starving.
He was no longer in constant danger.
He…
…Needed to let go of his past.
His one true obsession.
And so he did.
“Eat up. It’s dry, but it’s good.”
Staring at his younger self taking the cookie, Kaelion felt his shoulder lighten up. Pressing his hand against the child’s head, he mumbled,
“Things will get better.”
“Really?”
Looking at the child, Kaelion smiled.
“….Yes.”
Because…
“Things may be painful now, but…”
Kaelion let go of the child’s head and turned around.
“…We’ll get through it. I know we will.”
Goodbye,
My obsession.
*
Tak, Tak—
The red dissipated and what replaced it was a clean white world.
Several figures appeared in the distance, all staring in his direction with different expressions.
“Ah, well done. You were great. A bit slow but you were still great.”
“Yes, good. Quite good.”
“…..”
Kaelion almost paused when he heard Julien’s and Caius’s compliments. Were they really complimenting him?
No, maybe not.
“This is what this guy is trying to say, but…”
“He’s shy.”
“You punks, stop it with that! Where in the world did you think I was ever going to say that?”
Holding onto his face, the old man massaged his beard while mumbling, ‘There’s no way they saw through me. I even made sure to keep my expression in check.’
With an all-knowing look, Julien looked at Kaelion.
“See?”
Caius looked at the old man and then Julien.
“So obvious.”
“Right?”
Julien held his mouth and Caius’s lips pulled up. The two were clearly struggling to keep themselves from laughing.
Wait, what?
Kaelion blinked his eyes while looking at Caius.
He’s smiling?
‘How? Didn’t he lose…?’
No, before that.
“Don’t their expressions look a bit too similar?”
Was this a good or bad development?
Kaelion thought it was good, but for some reason, something about the situation didn’t quite feel comfortable to him. It was almost as if…
‘No, there’s no way.’
Kaelion shook his head and dismissed the thought.
‘…There’s no way Caius will be corrupted by Julien.’
Absolutely no way.
“Keum.”
Bringing everyone out of their thoughts was the old man who coughed. When everyone turned to look at him, he stood with his back straight and hands behind his back.
“You three idiots passing the test. You were quite slow, but I can accept such… speed.”
Caius and Julien looked at each other and nodded as if they had some sort of mutual understanding.
The old man picked up on their exchange and his mouth twitched, but he chose to ignore it.
“Ehm… With this out of the way, you all should be able to lasting a but longer. You won’t notice the changes now, but it’ll soon be reset. You can try seeing it for you.”
Clap—
The white world shattered the moment the old man clapped his hands, and Julien and the others found themselves back in the old room.
Right on cue, a thread suddenly manifested from above, latching onto their bodies.
This time, it was their right shoulder.
Everyone’s expression changed, and so did Kaelion’s, but right as the thread connected to them, their minds remained surprisingly clear.
“See?”
Massaging his beard, the old man sat by the stool next to the piano.
“…What did I tell you? Now that your minds are clear you will be able to lat longer and… and… ehm, you will alo have a easier time breaking through to you next tier. Still, that’s not the most imporating thing.”
Opening the piano cover, the old man pressed his finger down.
Dang~
“Now that all you are minds are clear, we can start thinking about getting out of here.”
Deng~
“Eh, this is not quite right.”
Scratching the side of his head, the old man started mumbling to himself, ‘How did it go again? Why do I keep forgetting this part?’
Staring at him, the three looked at each other.
There was a clear glint in their eyes.
After all, they were about to get out soon. How could they not be excited?
Dong~
“Err…”
But…
Dung~
“This sounds better.”
Was the old man really reliable?
“Oh, right.”
Pausing, the old man looked at all three of them.
“I’m not actually old. Em twenty-eight.”
“….”
“….”
“….Wow, no way.”