The Misfortunate Soul's Conquest for Purpose

5. The returnee

(3rd Person Perspective)

A blanket of darkness was laid out, encompassing everything in sight. Dark shapes danced in the night sky, as they were outlined by a magnificent silver radiance

Among all of the small white dots that stood out in front of the sky, there 'it' was, existing and also not

The Moon

It was showering the world below it with it's pure and beautiful light, giving life into an otherwise cruel and pure black world

"*Huff*, *Huff*"

In the shadows of the night, a man was there, lying on the ground, supporting himself by resting his back on a tree

The man's white hair shone furiously, bright silver outlines forming around it, as it reflected the Moonlight, as if rejecting it; as if trying to 'kill' it

The man had a pained expression on his face as he huffed heavily; a weary tiredness enveloping each one of his breaths

If one took a single look at him, the reason would be obvious

A red substance covered the man, dimly standing out within the night. It had dried long ago, leaving behind a hideous smell

The morbid sight only furthered in intensity, as the man's back was covered with stab wounds. The blood had stopped flowing out of them, but they had yet to heal

Half of the man's shirt had been missing, as one could see his 'skin', if it could even be called that anymore, since all of his right side is littered with burn marks and melted flesh; It looked as if the man's side had been dipped in magma, or been through an intense explosion

The man's right arm had taken a darker, coal-like color, charred from whatever he had went through

The burn marks were dread inducing, enveloping the man, from his foot to his face

It was a tough sight to bear, even for those with the most unshakable wills

What stood out, however, was a figure resting on top of the white haired man's unburnt leg

A child of snow white hair, that rejected the Moonlight just as violently as the man's, along with a few strands of divine galaxy-like violet, which the Moonlight didn't dare touch

The sight of the child resting so peacefully contradicted everything in the vicinity

The silver haired man, Siegfried Kaslana, looked at the girl as if she was the only light he saw in the world, gritting his teeth, forcing himself to not scream out loud, bearing the pain, in order to not be found by 'them'

Siegfried had been mistaken

He had been wrong on too many levels

His eyes scoured the forest he was in with an intense fire burning inside of them

Siegfried had hoped that 'they' wouldn't rely on such forceful measures

He thought that it wouldn't be worth 'their' time and resources. That the chaos that 'they' would have caused, which would be naked to the public eye, would be too much a price to pay

But he had hoped for naught

'They' actually had the gall to ambush someone right on the outskirts of a city, and with honkai powered weaponry no less

'They' had risked exposing the whole world to the honkai, just because of a vendetta against single man's family

He wouldn't forgive 'them'

He would never, ever, forgive them

Siegfried's ears suddenly perked up

Using his burnt hand, he picked up the girl, laying her onto his shoulder while standing up