Gun of Ashes

For the man, it wasn’t a particularly bad thunderstorm night. After having lived in Old Dunling for so long, he had experienced worse weather there, so everything now seemed rather mild, and besides, he quite enjoyed this feeling.

The cold air filled his nose and mouth, as if frost was growing along his insides, submerging his consciousness in cold water and vigorously rubbing, stripping away all fatigue and hardship.

”Only those who obey me will dwell safely, enjoying peace without fear of disaster.”

He gently touched the scratched cross, murmuring a prayer at his lips.

The man sat on a bench at the platform, with a suitcase placed by his side. It seemed he was preparing to go on a journey, but it was already late at night, the trains had long ceased operation, and the empty platform was left with only him.

Rather than preparing to leave, it was more accurate to say he had just alighted from the train, yet as if unwilling to accept reality, he didn’t want to leave here, as if stepping away would lead into an inescapable vortex.

He was waiting for something.

Recalling that his holiday was quite long, he nearly indulged forever in its goodness, until this day woke him back, making him realize he had never left the battlefield, like a curse, shadowing him all along.

He felt a bit regretful, and didn’t know how many people still remembered him. He had heard of the retirement process of the Purification Mechanism before, but it wasn’t until personally experiencing it that he felt its complexity.

First, withdrawing from the current system, under the weak influence of the Anti-Meme, he disappeared from records as though he’d never existed, then the files were archived, falling into the depths of darkness, collecting dust.

Next came a transitional period in the Cleaner department, and finally a complete retirement.

The man had reached the final step, owning a small courtyard in the countryside far from Old Dunling, happily living with his family.

That’s how it was supposed to be, but every story has a poor twist, and now he was facing his own crossroads.

”I really don’t want to come back.”

The man complained, yet there was no choice, he had to return, for whatever reason.

Within the Purification Mechanism, all members’ information was closely guarded, they usually referred to each other with code names, and knew very little about personal pasts.

Hence, few knew the man had been working in the Purification Mechanism for many years, compared to Red Falcon and others, his experience was the deepest. If the opportunity was right, he might even have been promoted.

But in the end, he refused, having loyally served the Purification Mechanism for many years. He chose to leave and disappear at an appropriate time without warning, until his return today.

Looking to the other end of the tracks, he could hear a faint rumble, as if something was racing towards here.

They had come to take him, the speeding Iron Serpent tore the light into a white streak, shattering the cold raindrops, its brightness scattered in the rain curtain, staying in the man’s eyes for a long moment before slowly fading. When he reacted, the train door had already opened, a familiar figure stepped out of the carriage, and upon seeing the man, the arrival’s stiff face revealed a smile.

”I thought you were dead before, and I was sad for quite a while.”

The man put down the cross, stood up, and walked toward the arrival, ”I even prayed for quite a while for you, hoping God would grant you Heaven for my sake.”

”To be precise, half-dead, not completely dead, the time hasn’t come for God to make a decision for me.”

Joey and the man briefly embraced, then let go. Seeing a familiar face always brought warmth.

”Indeed half-dead, I can even smell the decay on you, like maggots gnawing beneath your flesh.”

The man was both sorrowful and joyous, finished speaking, and then murmured a prayer, seemingly blessing Joey.

”If it weren’t for seeing you on the retirement list, I’d almost forgotten you existed,” Joey said.

”That’s normal, cleaners always do this. Everyone departing the Purification Mechanism is forgotten, but when true oblivion arrives, people only then realize its horror.”

The man picked up the suitcase, Joey stretched out his hand and took it over, pushing it into the carriage.

”It feels nice to remember you again,” Joey smiled. His understanding of the man had also been influenced, but not deeply. When he became aware of the man’s existence again, those forgotten memories crawled back from the shadows, ”How’s the retired life?”

”Perfectly wonderful, I have my own little courtyard, planting some flowers and plants, living happily with my wife and daughter... There’s not much to say, happiness looks much the same,” he added, ”but it’s really great, I guess this is the Heaven God prepared for me.”

The man lit a cigarette, trying to recover the old feeling, to quickly enter into work mode.

”Wife and daughter... I’ve never heard you mention them.” Hearing this, Joey seemed somewhat moved.

”Of course I never mentioned it, who bothers bringing these up, always fighting and killing, mentioning these only makes people uneasy,” the man didn’t mind it, he smiled, ”I actually had a premonition.”

”What premonition?” Joey asked.

”A good life is an illusion, sooner or later I’ll return to Old Dunling, as if I’ve never left,” the man shook his head in distress, ”I somewhat understand Lorenzo’s feelings when he picked up the Nail Sword again, I thought this day would be delayed for long, who knew it’d come so soon.”