The early spring breeze blew away the haze. It was a beautiful, idyllic noon, and the door to the rooftop of Chiyu Academy was kicked open. The white-haired boy, yawning from waking up right after class, was hit by a mouthful of cold wind and couldn't help but pull his clothes tighter.
"Lin, do you have a dream?"
"…What TV drama did you watch yesterday?"
Lin placed a lunchbox in front of Kevin and asked with an expressionless face.
Kevin impatiently opened the lunchbox, his mouth watering at the sight of the rich dishes inside, but he still refrained from grabbing the food directly with his hand: "It's not a TV drama…"
"Anime? Manga? Novel?" Lin rattled off a few words casually, thinking one of them was bound to be correct.
Kevin was not the type to act without reason. If he made any seemingly profound gesture, it was nine times out of ten an imitation of a character from something he had watched or read.
Simply put, his behavior was typical for his age—chūnibyō (eighth-grade syndrome).
"No, Mei asked me…"
"…"
After being speechless for a few seconds at Kevin's action, Lin asked back: "Didn't she ask you?"
"Yeah, but I said I didn't know, so she told me to think about it carefully."
"So?"
"So what?"
"So why are you asking me?"
Kevin pulled out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of lean meat, and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling: "I thought the question was really interesting, so I wanted to ask you and see how you'd answer."
In truth, he wanted a reference answer.
Lin and Mei occasionally discussed things together. The content of their discussions was something Kevin couldn't participate in; it sounded profound, but the terminology wasn't completely incomprehensible, yet after trying to join in… he completely failed to understand.
However, this also led Kevin to believe that Lin was one of the few people who could communicate with Mei in a professional field. His answer, at least, would be worth referencing.
In fact, what Lin and Mei discussed were not professional academic projects but things closer to science fiction. If Kevin wanted to, Mei could also discuss fantastical works with him, only her attitude would be extremely serious.
Lin saw through Kevin's thoughts. He didn't expose him. He silently opened his own lunchbox and began his lunch for the day.
The meal was exceptionally quiet. Kevin noticed Lin seemed off-kilter right after he took his first bite of rice. Afterward, Lin chewed and swallowed in complete silence, which made Kevin feel as though he had done something wrong.
So, after finishing the meal, Kevin wanted to apologize to Lin: "Um… Lin…"
"Wait, let me think about it more." Lin interrupted him, his cold gaze briefly sweeping over Kevin.
The word "dream" was too distant for Lin. No… before Kevin asked this question, everything else was separated from Lin by a hazy glass wall, so much so that he had never thought about anything other than finding that answer.
Now, before him was a meaningless question that had been brought up by a twist of fate.
Yet, for some reason, this question felt like someone had asked it of him before.
How did he answer at that time?
No, how did the person who asked him the question answer…
"Kevin, what is your dream?"
"Huh? Why are you throwing it back at me again…" Kevin's face was bitter. He truly hadn't expected Lin to return the question to him in the end. Should he say that he truly deserved to be someone who could communicate with Mei without obstacles? They certainly shared some similarities in their thinking.
"Tell me."
"…"
Seeing Lin's tone grow increasingly sincere, Kevin, after his initial surprise, also began to ponder the question asked by both the girl he liked and his friend.
The word "dream" is close to "ideal," yet its core is completely different.
An ideal represents a set goal, a future that can be achieved through effort, while a dream is more of a "reverie" originating from reality but transcending it.
"To go to an amusement park with friends and a loved one."
"…What?"
"Ahhh! Even if you make me say it, I don't know what my dream is!" Kevin ruffled his flowing hairstyle into a mess, even getting oil stains from his lunch on it. He hung his head, sporting a greasy bird's nest of hair, "Those things are too far away from me. There's no point in thinking about them. I just want to go to an amusement park to play. Next time, let's ask Mei to come with us."
He winked at the stunned Lin, mumbling: "How about it? How about it? Is it settled then?"
"I… want…"
Kevin heard a faint utterance from Lin's mouth and asked, confused: "What?"
"No… nothing… You go and invite her."
Lin collected his lunchbox and quickly left.
A dream is the purest wish within that vague, elusive reverie.
Then… where does his… dream end?
Something was trying to break through the constraints of his brain, awakening in his consciousness.
He discovered his own ugliness.
In the face of Kevin's purest "dream," he discovered the true face of the voice that had been constantly clamoring deep within his heart all this time.
…
"A concert…"
Lin's fingers tightly gripped the ticket. A memory from the past flashed through his mind, causing him to instinctively clench his fist. He didn't even realize the cold sweat that broke out in his palm.
It's okay, this time I'm with Kevin…
"Thud."
Something fell from above his head, dropping in front of him, cracking the smooth ceramic tile, and emitting a heavy metallic sound.
He was not panicked; he was incredibly calm.
A calmness, as if he had rehearsed countless times.
He was not surprised by the appearance of this object; perhaps he had already prepared himself to face this day deep down inside.
The word "human" is so heavy and complex.
They hurt their own kind, are profit-driven, greedy, and cruel. Given even a little room to breathe, they will let the darkness in their hearts out for air.
But Lin could not summarize humanity with just this one statement.
Because Lin realized that the two voices that had been softly whispering in his ears countless times had disappeared.
Upon seeing the handgun, which fell before him like fate, those two voices vanished simultaneously, and chaotic, unfamiliar yet familiar memories resurfaced in his mind.
Lin instinctively reached out for the handgun marked with the Moth's Flame emblem.
"Are you truly going to do that?"
A person stood outside the window, sighing.
"Pick up that gun, and you will say goodbye to your current self. You will transform back from a human into a pure monster."
"Losing your friends will only lead to being utterly scarred."
"Is humanity really worth you paying the price?"
"Haven't you already seen their ugliness?"
Lin's trembling stopped.
"No…"
"I have indeed seen humanity—their greed and ugliness… but I am… the same as them."
"I am also human, a human no different from them."
Kevin's small wish is the shared wish of countless people.
His desire to protect those people's wishes—this is the desire of the "husk" that is him, as a human being.
It is not the voice that constantly nags, but simply his own wish.
Ugly or beautiful, that is what humanity is. Denying one side would not make it complete.
Therefore, acknowledging that ugliness and believing in the goodness of humanity—this is Lin's… no, Lin's most fundamental prayer when becoming human.
"Even if it is wrong?"
"It won't be wrong." Lin gently turned his head and laughed, "I see you smiling, so it definitely won't be wrong."