The dim lights of the backstreets faded behind the tinted car windows, leaving slanted streaks of light across Tiflos's pale face.
His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, as if trying to keep the outside world from breaking in.
Inside his chest, a heart beat in a restless rhythm—
pounding with guilt before the hands committed the crime.
"Stay strong… I have to stay strong…" Tiflos whispered as he turned the car toward the modest residential building.
The apartment on the third floor looked like the only living thing in the decaying structure.
Through the window, he could see the shadows of two children playing, their laughter piercing through the sealed glass.
Each laugh was a knife twisting into Tiflos's side.
"Let's end this quickly," he muttered as he stepped out of the car.
---
The family living in the apartment consisted of a father and twins.
The father worked as a driver, but possessed a powerful mental communication ability.
After losing his job, he chose to join the Resistance.
Tiflos stood beneath the building in one of the city's poorest residential districts.
Climbing the stairs felt like a walk to the execution ground.
Each step reminded him that he was moving further away from the human he once was—
and closer to the machine Cain wanted him to become.
At the door, he stopped.
The children's voices still echoed from inside, shaking something deep within him.
"Farewell to any hope of innocence," he whispered as he raised his sword—
and severed the door's lock.
---
The door opened with terrifying ease.
Inside, the children were playing in the living room.
Twins—a blonde girl and a blonde boy, both with blue eyes.
Their ages ranged between ten and twelve.
Time froze.
They stared at Tiflos with wide eyes as innocence turned into terror.
The girl grabbed her brother's hand, instinctively trying to shield him from the monster that had entered their home.
"Dad!" she screamed, retreating behind the boy.
The father emerged from the kitchen, his eyes reflecting a devastating understanding.
"Y-you… You're the Butcher. The Head Harvester," he swallowed hard.
"You're the one hunting the Resistance."
Tiflos advanced toward them without speaking.
Without blinking.
"Please… not in front of them," the father begged, his blue eyes trembling.
He had no options.
Tiflos's eyes were Silver, while his own were barely Blue—
a difference of two ranks.
His fate was sealed.
Even if he escaped, he could never abandon his children.
Tiflos stopped in front of them and turned his gaze toward a corner of the room.
"Hurry… and let them go."
---
"What do you want from us?" the boy asked, his voice shaking but firm.
The father took his children's hands.
"Go to your room. I'll handle this."
"But Dad—"
"Go!" the father shouted, his voice breaking.
"We're scared!" the girl cried.
The father embraced them tightly.
"Don't be afraid. I'll be fine."
He looked at Tiflos, eyes pleading for mercy.
"Let me say goodbye."
Tiflos stepped forward, his sword still held in a trembling hand.
"Quickly… take them away."
---
The father led the children to their room.
At the door—
as he closed it behind them—he could no longer endure it.
Tears streamed down his face.
"I'm sorry… I'm leaving now, so… so grow up… and take care of each other."
His tears mixed with a forced smile.
He wanted their last memory of him to be smiling.
When the door closed, the father turned back to Tiflos.
"I had no choice. The Resistance was the only path."
"It's not like everyone has a choice," Tiflos replied hoarsely.
"Even I don't."
"And every choice has a price."
"I know," the father said, closing his eyes.
"You may be right. But please… don't hurt the children."
"Don't worry," Tiflos said quietly.
"I'm not here… for them."
---
In a blink—
The strike was fast and clean.
It left no chance for pain—
yet slow enough for Tiflos to see life drain from the man's eyes.
The sound of the head hitting the floor was silent.
Horrifying in its quiet.
---
Tiflos sheathed his sword.
The smell of warm dinner from the kitchen mixed with the stench of blood.
He turned to leave.
Then—
the bedroom door opened.
The twins stepped out.
The scream that tore from the girl's throat would haunt Tiflos for the rest of his life.
The boy stared at him.
Blue eyes burning with hatred far older than his age.
Tiflos looked at them without turning his body, sorrow shadowing his expression.
As he opened the apartment door to leave, the boy grabbed his coat.
His eyes were red, tears streaming down his face.
"Why?" the boy whispered.
Tiflos looked at him with cold eyes.
"Do you hate me?"
"Do you want revenge?"
There was no need for words.
The child's eyes said everything.
The hatred.
The fury.
They burned red like embers.
Tiflos kicked the boy lightly, sending him to the floor.
"I'll never forget," the boy cried, hatred trembling in his voice.
"I'll find you."
"Tiflos Storgi," Tiflos said as he left.
"Don't forget the name."
He exited the apartment and drove back to the organization.
On the way, Tiflos tried to convince himself that he had no choice.
But the sound of children's laughter followed him—
a reminder that some sins are unforgivable.
---
At the hideout, news arrived of the girl who had been smuggling medicine.
Nour collapsed in tears when she learned her identity.
"She was Kiran's niece," Liam said, his voice shattered.
"The man who saved you from the Valley of Phantoms…
and his niece—killed by the man you loved."
The words pierced Nour's heart like knives.
"This is not the man I loved," she said through sobs.
"This is the monster we create when we forget our humanity."
Silence followed.
Then a voice came from the entrance.
"Or maybe the monster was always inside him—
and he only needed permission to come out."
Lina stood at the doorway, her expression a complex mix of understanding and sorrow.
"Tiflos no longer exists," she said quietly.
"What you're chasing now is a shadow—created by Cain."
---
Tiflos arrived at the facility.
Unusually, he went straight to Orion's room and entered without knocking.
Orion froze. It had been a long time since his brother had come to see him.
"Tiflos… what do you want?"
Tiflos stepped forward and grabbed Orion's shoulders.
"Orion. Go to the Resistance. Meet Nour."
Orion stared at him in disbelief.
"Have you lost your mind? I want to become stronger—to avenge our father.
And you want me to join the Resistance?"
"Go to the Resistance first," Tiflos said, gripping harder.
"Then escape the country with Nour."
"We'll find a way to avenge Father later."
Orion looked at him—and for the first time saw how broken he was.
"How about you?" Orion asked quietly.
"I'll stay here," Tiflos said.
"And I'll kill Cain."
Orion fell silent.
He wasn't playing around in the facility.
He had learned about abilities.
About the eye-color hierarchy.
He knew a Silver could never defeat a Golden—
unless by a miracle.
And yet—
Orion would choose his brother over Cain.
Family was all he had left.
But could he really leave Tiflos to gamble his life on a miracle?
Orion pushed Tiflos's hands away.
"You want to die here," he said softly.
"Don't you?"
Tiflos remained silent.
All the way here, he had thought that dying—
buying time for their escape—
was better than continuing what he was becoming.
Orion stared at him.
Then turned away without a single word—
Leaving Tiflos alone in the room.