"It was all your fault. We died because of you, but you're still here. Why…"

"Le-Leif…?

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…!

I should have died in your place. He was after me, and you all were just caught in the crossfire.

Wha-what are you doing…."

"Die. Join us. You know you want to."

"Stop, please stop getting any closer. "

"You owe it to us."

"St-s-stop I c-can't breathe. Get off me."

I can't take his hands off. What the hell? I'm sorry, please let me go…

What? His hands are under my skin. I can't push him away. Aaagh, my skin pulling is even more painful than choking. But I guess that's the least I could do for him…

What's this sound? A flute??

Aaaagh, oh fuck, it was just a nightmare again. At this point, it happens every time I close my eyes, I see them. Fuck. My heart is about to blow up.

Huh? The flute wasn't just in my nightmare? Seems to be coming from the other room. I might as well check now instead of staying in this room crying.

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I was left astounded by what I saw. The stranger was craving and tuning the flute, but the shocking thing is that he finally took his hood off and was not what I had expected, considering his menacing aura.

Wow, how is he so pretty…

He has such a pristine and angelic vibe about him. Everything about him screams pureness and that beautiful long blonde hair.

I've never seen someone this beautiful.

"You're gonna make me blush if you keep thinking these things.

Finally awake, are you? Were you having nightmares about your party again in there?"

"Could you stop reading my mind already? And yeah, I dreamt about Leif choking because I owe them my death."

"Were you not listening to me before? As I've already told you, he was a wretched, that's just their fate, and before he died, I read his mind. I suspect he had the unique ability of clairvoyance. He knew what was going to happen, and so did his party.

Who you saw before was not Leif. It was just your imagination. You feel guilty and think Leif resents you, so you're simply blaming yourself for it and using Leif's image to say it."

"But how did he know I would have survived? Did he know of my power?"

"We can only assume so."

"Also, what're these wretched I keep hearing about?"

"It's just a name given to people with unique powers who are fated to bring down those disgusting creatures who call themselves gods."

"But he died…."

"Well, that's not how it works. They are more like gears in the process of bringing them down."

"This means you must, to some extent, be part of it too, since he died for you."

"What? I don't want to have any part in any of this. Why do you hate the gods so much?"

"They turned their backs on their heavenly duties to Ishtar long ago. They only care about hoarding and accumulating power and finding a way to avoid extinction since they cannot produce offspring. Also, they might be the cause of our arrival on this planet.

I'll need to head out. For now, I'll be back in one hour. Don't leave this shack while I'm gone."