After walking for several minutes, Vansing and Vantias arrived at a cemetery. The cemetery was located just a short distance from the city.
In the heart of heavy silence, the cemetery stretched out with neat rows of gray stones, each holding names and dates etched into them.
Dry, twisted trees cast shadows over the graves, and a gentle breeze danced yellow leaves across the paved path. It was as if time had stopped here, and every corner whispered stories from the past.
Vantias thought:
"What is this cemetery trying to show me?"
Vansing stood facing the tombstones, took out his small can again, drank some from it, and said to Vantias:
"Do you see these gravestones? Once, all these were living people...
they had families... they had goals... and dreams for a better life, but now only silence remains..."
He continued:
"They were all my colleagues... the beginning was very hard when I saw friends and colleagues die like this... I was the one who informed their families of their deaths..."
Then he lowered his head and said quietly:
"They screamed, they cried, and cursed me..."
Vantias's expression changed to sorrow, feeling sympathy for Vansing, and then said:
"Are you afraid of losing them again?"
Vansing said nothing, just took another sip from his can and pointed to one of the tombstones in front of him and said:
"Do you see that gravestone?"
It was covered in green moss, making the letters hard to read, but some parts were clear:
Name: Ars, Date of Birth: 873, Date of Death: 893
Vantias paused a bit and hesitantly said:
"Yeah..."
Vansing hesitated for a moment, tears welling in his eyes, and said in a calm but sorrowful voice:
"That grave is my son's... he wanted to become a guardian.
I told him it wasn't necessary and to enjoy his life, but he was foolish...
he insisted on becoming a guardian..."
Vantias lowered his head, a small frown appearing on his face, his expression turning to sadness, and thought:
"Oh... son."
Vansing poured the contents of his can onto the grave and said:
"With every mission, it was like a part of him was lost...
I told him to stop, but the pressure was too much...
in the end, he went mad and died."
He then pointed with his index finger to two gravestones beside his son's grave, both covered in green moss. One read:
Name: Diana, Date of Birth: 851, Date of Death: 894
And on the other:
Name: Sophia, Date of Birth: 885, Date of Death: 894
The date of death on both graves was the same.
Vansing said in a choked voice:
"That's my wife and that's my daughter... both were murdered..."
Vantias was shocked and said:
"By whom?"
Vansing closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and said:
"I started searching for a cult... called the Bloody Smile... a satanic cult...
and the result was that my wife and daughter were murdered...
It was a rainy night, I was outside the house...
my daughter was killed in her sleep, she never woke up, never even got scared for a second... she didn't know what happened.
And they also slit my wife's throat... she died from blood loss..."
Vantias's eyes widened, completely shocked, and all he could say was:
"I'm sorry..."
Vansing tried to drink from his can, but it was empty. Then he gently patted Vantias's shoulder and said:
"I didn't tell you this to get your pity, Vantias...
I just want you to see the truth...
what you're getting into is a game with death...
you will lose your friends, your family will be in danger...
do you still want to become a guardian?"
Vantias lowered his head, unsure what to say... he remained silent and thought deeply. Suddenly, his eyes caught a gravestone near the others:
Name: Vansing, Date of Birth: 848, Date of Death: 894
A frown of surprise and confusion crossed his face. He turned and asked:
"Why is your name written on that tombstone?"
Vansing looked at the grave and then said calmly and quietly:
"When I lost my family...
I died that same day... what's here is just an empty shell, filled with flesh and blood...
all these graves belong to my friends and family...
I sleep here at night... because I have nowhere else to go... unless I drown myself in alcohol and pass out somewhere..."
Vantias was completely stunned and said:
"I really am sorry for what happened to you... you didn't deserve it..."
"Don't be... this was the path I chose... and the result was the death of my family..."
Then he looked at Vantias and said:
"I envy you... because you have a choice... use it well so you won't regret it like me someday..."
Vantias lowered his head and fell into deep thought. What he wanted to do carried a great responsibility. There was no doubt that if he made the wrong decision, the damage would be irreparable.
While looking at the gravestones, Vantias thought:
"What decision should I make? I've seen the possible future paths, but only their outcomes... it's unclear what consequences each choice will bring... should I stay or stay away?"
Vansing thought:
"If he's wise, he'll run away... if he's crazy, he'll stay..."
Vantias looked into Vansing's eyes and said firmly and seriously:
"I'm staying... because this isn't just about me or my family... the lives of many innocent people depend on it..."
Vansing frowned and muttered under his breath:
"Fool... a miserable man tied to childish thoughts..."
Vantias replied:
"If I run away... something worse will happen... trying to get better is hard and exhausting, and running away from responsibility is easy, but the consequences afterward are harder than the effort."
Vansing said nothing, thinking:
"He better act on that thought..."