Raindrops blanketed the city, creating a torrential rainstorm. The roar of the wind blew loudly, sending shivers down everyone's spines. A man stood upright, staring up at the cloud-filled sky, his clothes soaked from the rain. His head was drenched in blood, slowly spreading across his body. He held a woman against his chest like a princess. The woman lay limp, her stomach covered in blood.
Amidst the chaotic sound of the pouring rain and the cool breeze, which distorted the sounds, the man muttered, "Why...?! Why did you have to be the one killed out of all the women... Mother?!"
From afar, the sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence instantly. Not just one, but many—or perhaps more than a dozen. As his vision cleared, he saw a multitude of men in black suits surrounding him, holding pistols with both hands held close to their chests.
One of them shouted loudly, overpowering the sudden rumble of thunder, "Don't move! You can't run anymore... Mr. Mahendra!"
The man paused for a moment, looking at the men surrounding him. He put the woman in his arms down and laid her on the wet ground. Mahendra—now he was determined. He had never before proclaimed such grand ambitions. He was just a troublesome human who always depended on others. He was just a rat willing to do anything to achieve his goals. He was also just a burden who didn't want to do anything wholeheartedly.
A trashy human like him, did he even deserve to live?
"Why? Why are you always targeting me?" Mahendra complained in annoyance. From his eyes began to appear a beautiful drop of water called tears. His face looked stupid like someone who has no hope to live. Mahendra then continued his sentence, raising his voice, "SEVEN NOBLES…!! Why are you willing to kill my family?! Why did you kill my wife?! Why did you kill my children?! They have nothing to do with it, right? Why are you, the rulers of the world, who said they would do everything for the people, willing to kill someone innocent, huh?!"
His passion turned into anger, resentful of all the abuse he received. Mahendra lost everything. He had no one left to stand by his side. All his friends had betrayed him. He trusted his friends, trusted them so much, and even considered them his best friends forever—but in reality, they had killed his mother, his wife, and his entire family without a trace. It all started with a mastermind who had always played behind the scenes to manipulate the foolish human race.
The Seven Nobles! Seven people who control all the land in various parts of the world. They are the ones who caused the current situation.
One of the men in a black suit began to raise his voice, "Mr. Mahendra, you should already know the answer, right? Your family was murdered, your wife and children were murdered. It's all your fault! Because of your selfishness, you killed the people you love! There's no time for regrets now, sir."
"E—Everything… is my fault?" Mahendra fell silent for a moment, staring at his hands, which were covered in his mother's blood. He shuddered at the sight of it, feeling slightly nauseous and even uneasy. His mental state had deteriorated significantly, making his cheeks appear paler than before. His gaze had turned blank, hollow. His tears wouldn't stop flowing. They flowed freely, like a dam that had been building up for thousands of years, then collapsed under a powerful force.
"It's all over, Mr. Mahendra. I was once your most loyal servant, but you betrayed us all. Because the time we spent together was so beautiful, I want to pay my last respects to you, Sir!" One of the men approached, removing his black jacket, revealing only a white shirt hidden beneath.
A gun was pointed at the man who had lost all hope of survival. The man, who called himself a former servant, pointed the gun directly at the left side of the man's head. He softly chanted, a faint smile on his lips, "Goodbye, Mr. Mahendra—no! Goodbye, my friend!"
BANG! The sound of bullets began to ring out. Amidst the drizzle, the atmosphere, which had been tense, now became silent. Mahendra fell to the ground. His eyes were still open, though not wide. He saw his mother's face lying right beside him. The smell of blood began to fill his small nostrils.
"Mom… Mom… Mom…!!" Mahendra kept repeating the same words in his mind. His vision slowly began to blur, a ringing sound began to fill his ears, making them deaf. As he fell asleep in the endless darkness, he chanted a sentence that only he could hear. "If only I could live my life all over again, I might be able to save you, Mom! Not just you, but everyone! Even though I'm not satisfied seeing the adorable smiles of my children. Even though I want to fall asleep in my wife's lap again, or even take my family on a picnic to enjoy time together. It's beautiful… but, they all died because of me! If only I didn't exist, maybe they could live in peace right now. My wife might have met a handsome man who is better than this stupid me, hahaha!"
Mahendra kept thinking about the fun things he'd always wanted to do. Unfortunately, he could only wish and fantasize about making his thoughts come true. Mahendra also thought that everything was impossible because he was now in the realm of death. He couldn't do anything fun again.
—Perhaps that's what he thought at the time.
Without warning, a light appeared in the endless void. The light was so dazzling, it nearly blinded him. Mahendra tried to figure out what the light was, as it seemed to contain something. He finally saw clearly as the light began to fade.
An ancient wall clock appeared with Roman numerals and a wooden backing, similar to those used in the Middle Ages. It resembled the large clocks in London, often called "Big Ben." However, what was in front of him now wasn't the entire building, but only the circular portion with its large, visible hands.
At first, the hands on the clock didn't move, but after waiting a few moments, they began to move. Instead of rotating in the usual direction, they rotated in the opposite direction! While a normal clock rotated to the right, the one in front of him rotated to the left. It continued to move, gradually speeding up until he couldn't see it.
After a few seconds, the clock began to slow down again. The large hand pointed to the top number, twelve. The minute hand was almost at the same number, as was the long second hand. As all the hands pointed in the same direction, a strange, mysterious sound began to ring.
Ding! Dong! All the hands had pointed to twelve—suddenly stopping without warning. Mahendra began to feel incredibly sleepy. Nothing could resist it; even creatures who didn't need sleep would still be swept away by a long dream. Mahendra felt incredibly dizzy, making his body extremely weak. He couldn't stand it anymore, and he fell asleep.
...
...
"Honey, wake up!" A soft, familiar voice came from a girl. Mahendra felt nostalgic after hearing that soft voice. He slowly opened his eyes, though it was a little heavy.
A beautiful girl appeared right before his eyes. They stared into each other's eyes. Her eyes displayed deep worry, as if she were afraid of losing something precious. In fact, tears had been welling up in her eyes.
Mahendra realized something. He knew the girl before him very well. Not just simply knew her, he knew everything about her. This was the first time he felt the urge to express his deepest gratitude. His wish to return to the happy times had been granted. Mahendra thought for a moment: could this be what they call heaven?
Mahendra smiled sweetly, showing his white teeth—approaching the girl, then hugging her tightly while exclaiming, "Calm—Calm down, darling! I've returned to my rightful home! Maybe I should say… I'm home, Felicia!"