Kami stood face-to-face with the helpless souls, and pity crushed him from the inside. He fell to his knees without thinking, tears slipping from his eyes as he stared at their weakened forms.
A cold, thin hand touched his shoulder.
"Help… me…" a faint voice whispered.
Kami turned slowly. A fragile man, bound in heavy shackles, stood behind him. Kami reached out and held the man's trembling hands tightly.
"I promise," Kami said, steady but soft. "I will set you all free."
The man's face loosened with relief. Feeling the warmth of Kami's hands, the calmness in his voice, and the gentle presence he radiated, the man let out a quiet breath. A single tear fell from his eye as peace washed over him. His body relaxed, and he became still.
Kami, filled with sadness, closed the man's eyes and laid him down gently. Then he rose and rushed to the others, gripping their chains and trying with all his strength to break them—
but nothing moved.
"It's useless," a voice snapped from the left.
Kami turned. A man with rough, messy hair, a strong build, and tired eyes looked at him hopelessly.
"Just leave us," the man muttered, lowering his head. "You can't do anything. Save yourself."
Kami's hope wavered… but then he clenched his fist and called out for the book. It appeared before him, floating like a silent judge.
"How do I free these people?" he demanded.
Words formed on its pages:
"The Withering Souls.
They cannot be saved.
Their spirits will soon fade.
Their sins will be cleansed,
and they will ascend."
Kami shook his head violently. "No… I will save them."
He turned to the remains of the already departed. Lifting the bones with respect, he whispered, "I'm sorry…" Then he tore pieces of his clothing and wrapped his hands and feet with the bones like makeshift guards.
He ran toward the massive red-and-gold iron bars holding the chains, leapt upward, and slammed into them with everything he had. The bars tore loose from the walls with a deafening crack, but the chains themselves still held.
Kami crashed to the ground, groaning in pain. But he pushed through it, refusing to stop.
He rose again, grabbed the enormous iron bar, and forced it onto his shoulders—carrying everyone with it. Step by step, shaking and struggling, he pushed forward. His body screamed, but he didn't stop. A rhythm rose in his mind—a song, faint but familiar. He sang it under his breath and kept walking.
Ahead, a gate appeared. To his surprise, it opened on its own.
The moment he crossed it, a shard of memory flashed inside him: a younger version of himself carrying heavy buckets of water on his shoulders. The memory steadied his breathing. His heart calmed.
Once beyond the gate, the world behind him vanished. The ground trembled as a new landscape shaped itself—towering natural stone pillars rising in a perfect circle around them. In the center, a great bell appeared.
A bridge formed out of the earth, stretching across to a completely different background. A glowing beam rose straight upward, forming a barrier that divided the two realms. On the far side was the same place where Kami had once seen those strange creatures.
The people he carried looked around in confusion. "What… what is that?" one of them whispered.
Kami said nothing. He gently lowered them to the ground and walked toward the bridge.
He stepped up to the edge, staring into the shimmering barrier.
Then—
two red, intense eyes appeared within the darkness on the other side… watching him… moving closer.
Kami's heart jolted. He instinctively stepped back, not knowing what would come next.
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