Inside Umbra's Ruins ✓ [Umbra's Fate #2]

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴏɴᴇ: ᴍᴏᴍᴏᴛᴀʀᴏ

How many more families would he have to look into the eyes and tell them that their son, brother, grandson had disappeared? How many families had Stefan faced?

Those were the moments that made him understand the heavy burden of a leader, it was as if he was losing the members of the resistance, his friends, once again.

There's still hope, he kept reminding himself. They might be alive somewhere in the village, he could still do something to save them. Momotaro kept his last chance saved as if it were a treasure. He clung to it with all his might and sometimes he presented it to the families of those who had disappeared.

That day he showed it to Gina's mother.

"We're doing everything we can to find your daughter and if you ever need anything don't hesitate to contact us."

Mrs. Viera wiped her tears with a handkerchief, with her other hand she held a picture of Gina. The room they were in was littered with photographs of the young woman, on the table between them, on the green walls, on the nightstand next to the chair, and the last one on the television cabinet.

"Thanks," she said. "I know you're looking for her, Gina always told me that the members of the Protectors treat each other like family. I have more faith in you than in the police. They never listen to me, the last two times I went to the police station they sent me back home without hearing a single word of what I had to say."

"Do you have anything we can use to find her? Something you can think of. Maybe she told you something that caught your attention."

"No, I don't remember that she told me anything out of the ordinary. She came home more tired, but that was to be expected with how much you work to defend the village. He never talked to me about the details of what you do and I understand, there is information that you have to protect."

"What about the police? Did they tell you something? Could they find any clues?"

"Someone sent me the clothes that Gina was wearing when she disappeared. I gave it to the police, they told me that if I didn't hand over the clothes I was interrupting the investigation. But I saved something, for me, if you promise me that you will take care of it you can take it."

"I'll take care of it myself, I'll bring it back as soon as I can."

"Alright, give me a second."

Mrs. Viera got up from her chair and went into the hallway.

In the presence of loneliness Momotaro allowed himself to be honest and his fake smile broke. The dark voice that lived in his mind reminded him that he was never alone, his shadow was always with him, whispering his most hidden desires.

We have to find them all and make them suffer. We're going to tear them apart so they learn not to mess with our family.

Darkness began to fill the room. The walls were swallowed up, the following were the armchairs and the furniture. It continued advancing, eating everything in its path. Momotaro didn't move, he waited, sitting, watching as the shadow was about to touch his feet.

"I found it."

Mrs. Viera's voice casted away the darkness.

Momo shook his head and focused on the woman's figure, getting used to the light one again. She had a small locket in the shape of a heart in her hand.

"Gina never took it off, she has the last photo she took with her father before he died. She couldn't let the police take it away, she's going to need it when she gets back," she explained, offering the locket to Momotaro.

A peculiar smell reached Momo once he took the object in his hands: gunpowder. He wrinkled his nose and, ignoring the smell, carefully put the piece of jewelry in his pocket.