The Search for Freedom

Cain had checked the man and told me that he was absolutely dead and there wasn't a way to bring him back to life. Cain seemed to be performing fake magic. Perhaps it was his way of offering the psyche of the man to the spirit he'd mentioned, who could help him out of the curse and go back to the realm of spirits where he came from.

I was so merciless that I had killed too many people. I could not consider everything as an adventurous game anymore. I hoped, I could say, I didn't care about anyone, but I needed to finish what I had started. I knew it was just a temporary ordeal.

Staying strong is what I needed, because there were many more people to die in my hands for the sake of freedom. It even crossed my mind to stop schooling and focus instead on killing people. I couldn't study if the curse would not let me sleep every night to search for a new victim. This thing was more important than anything else because it could cost me everything. I could resume my studies after I finished my mission; schooling could wait, but the curse would never wait. It wasn't that I didn't trust Cain, but I was worried, for my parents might discover what I was doing. I didn't know what their reactions would be if they found out their son became a merciless serial killer. I was a minor and they were liable to what would happen to me.

If they were so overprotective, why they didn't even know what was happening to me? Even my mother, who was the light of our home, could not see what was going on. Sometimes I wondered if they didn't really want me as their son, that I was only a fruit of their sin.

They were always busy with work, telling me that what they were doing was for me, for my future. But I couldn't see their points, because all I wanted from them was time. I didn't need anything; money? I could strive for that! But the time they wasted for their belief couldn't be return anymore. They should not prepare the road for me, but rather prepare me for the road.

However, I would never think I had the worst parents, and I would never waste their efforts, for there was no perfect parents. It wasn't their mistake if they were so hardworking and didn't know what was happening to me. I should not think too much about them because they would only make me cry. What I needed to do was to finish my mission, and I would not worry about anything after that.

Cain stood up and told me he was done. The psyche of the man was accepted by the spirit who could help him get rid of the curse. Which made me think if there was a possibility for his offer to be rejected by the spirit whom he was talking about, so I asked him.

"Yeah, there's a possibility that he won't accept the psyche, because he's sometimes choosy and difficult to please," Cain replied.

"How you will know if he accepted your offer?" I asked.

"He will show some signs, such as the disappearance of the body."

"But why the body of the..." I hadn't finished my words when I noticed the man's corpse had disappeared from the spot where it was. So I knew Cain was telling the truth, and there was no reason for him to lie.

"Lil, I trust in you, so please learn to trust me too. I know it's not easy to trust someone who made mistakes before. But the only thing I'm asking for from you is your trust, because it can help us build a good partnership. If the day comes that we'll be separated, there will be a lot of good memories which will be left behind, and every bad memory will be blown away with the wind."

I don't know why Cain was assuming for a good future waiting for us if we couldn't predict what would happen next. I told him that I couldn't even kill a hundred people and be free, so it would take us a long time before anything else. However, I swear to trust him if he would also swear not to do something which could lost my trust again.

"Of course I won't. I swear," Cain promised.

"If that's so, then I'm giving you absolution and blessing."

"Thank you for giving me your pardon from all the mistake I made, but I don't know why you're giving me your blessing."

"I mean, I'm trusting you again."

"Oh-thank you Lil!" Cain exclaimed. "But don't forget we still need to search for more people to kill. You need to prepare for it because the ordeal will become more difficult. I'm sure that the next person you need to kill is stronger than the one that you'd killed."

"What? What did not you tell me that early?" I asked.

"Because I didn't want you to worry too much, and you need to deal with a lot of other things. I told you that there's no easy way to get rid of the curse? And you needed to prepare for your fights if you really wanted to be free? Forgotten?" "I can't remember that." I sighed.

I didn't expected that the people I needed to kill were like in a game which would become harder and harder every level until I could no longer endure it, and in that case, the game would be over.

"I knew you would worry too much if you knew this thing, so I decided go hide that from you. Buf please don't think it is hopeless. Lil, I'm telling you that if you're knocked down, I will be always here. I'm willing to help you if you need my help."

"Well, I'm not thinking too much about it. If I cannot endure it anymore and it becomes game over, then I can still try again right?" I asked. "I'm willing to try and try until I succeed."

"Thank you for your understanding. I also want to say sorry to you again because I did not tell you about this thing earlier."

"Absolution for you, and if there are other things you're not telling me, you should tell them now, because I didn't want you to hide them from me without a good reason."

"There's nothing else to admit," Cain replied. "But I know you're hiding something from me, so when will you tell me about that?"