112 Epilogue: The Last Sunset

He finally got an answer from them. Their judgment on his crimes.

Velvund and Haydn understood. They knew what the pitiful boy desired and why he had admitted his "crimes", as the boy had called them.

They'd come to the conclusion that he would never listen to them. That he'd never accept what they really wanted to tell him — that the blame did not lie solely his shoulders as he had claimed.

That they, in fact, understood that he was not as terrible as a person as he thought himself to be…

He had erred. They wouldn't deny or excuse what he'd done because of the relationship they possessed with him, but they knew he was no villain. What had happened was simply the unfortunate result of many ill-timed elements.

A pure and noble intention.

Youthful naivety and temptation.

The intoxicating allure of overwhelming power.