Onyankopon opened his eyes. In front of him was a small table, and on it sat the water he'd left there the night before.
He had worked late yesterday—mostly infrastructure work: building railways for the people inside the Walls, building large mechanical equipment.
Because there were no other engineers to supervise the construction with him, everything had to be personally overseen and built by him.
And because he did everything himself, he always came back very late, and he was always utterly exhausted.
Even though the people inside the Walls were grateful—so grateful that many even called him the "Black God"—he still knew, deep down, that he would never truly be one of them.
He was someone from outside the Walls.
And down in the basement garage of his home, there were experimental designs—work he had devoted the first half of his life to.
He was striving for all humanity, not only for the people inside the Walls.
But the way the people inside the Walls were treated outside made him deeply uncomfortable.
He knew perfectly well how much the outside world discriminated against Eldians.
Even though he wasn't Eldian himself, whenever he heard people speak to them in a disdainful, prejudiced tone, he still felt it—like it was happening to him too.
So, driven by his own sense of justice, he stayed. He wanted to take this backward nation—its technology stuck at something like the Middle Ages, with almost no large-scale machinery—and build it into a strong country that the world couldn't look down on.
He thought… if it became strong enough, then surely no one would dare discriminate against Eldia anymore.
After all, the weak have no diplomacy—while the strong are respected by all.
That was why he worked so hard to help the people inside the Walls. And every day when he returned—every night after dinner—he prayed to the god he believed in, praying for the people inside the Walls.
They treated him well in return. They brought him extra food when they cooked too much. They came to him for help when they ran into problems—and in exchange, they would help him too.
They helped each other, leaned on each other. Their relationship grew more harmonious by the day. Onyankopon found his place here, thinking the inside of the Walls was practically a paradise cut off from the world.
And yet he always remembered who he was. He knew he couldn't remain here forever. One day, he would have to go back.
And when he went back, his experiments would have to be complete.
The outside world didn't support what he was trying to do. From time to time, they would bring war right to his laboratory. And so, this nation protected by towering Walls might become the birthplace of his finished work.
What he needed to do was prove his value on one hand, and on the other hand, use their trust to push his experiments further.
He drained the glass of water on the table. Onyankopon sat up in bed, washed up, and began another day of hard work.
But the moment he opened the door, several children ran up to him.
"Black Uncle, Black Uncle! Look—does my bracelet look nice? Shire braided it for me himself! He said he likes me!"
A little girl bounced up in front of Onyankopon, showing off proudly.
Onyankopon felt happy. Smiling, he patted her head and scooped her up into his arms.
"It's really beautiful. I'm honestly jealous," he said.
"Nini, come back! Time to eat at home!"
Just then, an elderly woman hurried over.
The worry on her face instantly turned into joy the moment she saw Onyankopon.
"So it's you, Mr. Onyankopon," she said. "My Nini has caused you trouble."
"No, not at all. Nini is adorable—when she grows up, she'll definitely be a great beauty," Onyankopon said, handing the little girl back to the old woman.
The woman beamed. "Oh, stop it, Mr. Onyankopon. You're the handsome one—and you've done so much for the people inside the Walls. We don't even know how to thank you."
"There's nothing to thank me for. I'm doing this for myself too. If there's ever a chance, I really hope you can visit my homeland someday. The people there are just as kind and friendly as you are."
"That would be wonderful," the old woman said with a laugh.
After bidding them farewell, Onyankopon continued forward.
The weather was excellent today, but because he'd stayed up far too late last night, he woke up very late this morning—almost close to lunchtime before he finally got up.
It made him feel embarrassed.
But when he reached the railway construction site and saw the recruited workers hammering away at the rails, greeting him as they worked, he suddenly felt at peace again.
He put on his hard hat and joined them, working alongside them.
Just then, one of the workers leaned in and nudged him with an elbow. "Hey—Dorin's waiting for you at the intersection."
"Waiting for me?"
"Yeah. For you."
Onyankopon's face went red in an instant.
"Why would she be waiting for me? She's a young girl—what does she have to do with me?"
"What are you thinking, idiot? She's looking for you about work. Where did your brain go?" the man smacked his lips. "But hey—sure, you're kind of dark, but if you really try, who knows? You might actually have a shot."
After saying that, he poked Onyankopon twice and wandered off.
Onyankopon dropped his head, embarrassed, and set down his hammer.
He decided to go see her.
She was the first girl he'd met when he arrived inside the Walls and was assigned work.
She was enthusiastic, and when she smiled, she looked like a sunflower—
Bright, warm, dazzling—touching Onyankopon's heart in an instant, giving him yet another reason he had to stay here and help the people inside the Walls.
But he couldn't understand why she would specifically ask to meet him at an intersection. If it was about work, why not speak in the office? Why choose a place like this?
Unless…
Onyankopon's imagination ran ahead.
He took off his gloves, washed his hands at the basin, and headed toward the intersection.
The road to the intersection felt impossibly long, like it would never end no matter how far he walked.
Then he saw her silhouette in the distance, and Onyankopon's heart leapt. He quickened his pace.
But the moment he reached her—
He saw the terror on her face.
He heard a thunderous roar in his ears.
And he knew what had happened behind him.
Trembling, he turned around—
And there it was: shells blotting out the sky, the railway torn to pieces, workers shattered into mangled flesh.
So that was it.
He hadn't been waiting for hope.
He hadn't been waiting for love.
He had only been waiting for shells—
Waiting for that curse that had followed him his entire life.
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