1 Prologue

The day the earth stopped for me, I began a journey. There were still so many unanswered questions, and I finally needed answers. I was twenty-four years old, and my name was Aramoto Kakumo. It was very unthinkable for me to be able to leave my terrible past behind me.

These beings took everything away from me. My home, friends, and family were all murdered before my eyes.

I wandered restlessly and grimly through the Satsujin Desert. This desert was known for its high mortality rate and sensory deprivation. The sun was piercingly hot and made my skin which was bathed in sweat, glisten. The thought flashed through my mind of not wanting to hike any further and just falling over.

I just couldn't and wouldn't give in to that because that would have meant certain death. No matter how exhausting the steps were, I tormented myself with last forces, so I forced myself with the burning flame of hope that remained in me always further ahead.

I have now been on the road for almost a month. During this time, I had eaten very little, and the few drops of water, which I could tap at one or two old cactus trunks, were not able to quench my thirst. In the middle of this desolate and godforsaken wasteland, I crossed a ridge of dunes.

I stopped and looked up from the ocean of dust and sand into the cloudless subtropical sky, from which the midday sun burned mercilessly down on me. My hand, which was trembling incessantly, moved as if in a trance up my collar to where my necklace was and yanked it off my neck with a jerk. Slowly I looked at the necklace which I had received from my brother before his inexplicable disappearance. "Why on earth did you give me that cursed thing. Tell me, Kishimoto! Why did you leave without saying a word? Why aren't you here!!!" yes, why. I wish I knew at least that.

Whispers and wailing melodies of souls seeking rest plagued me throughout the journey.

The surrounding environment distorted so much that my body was far too overwhelmed to send impulse waves through the nerve cords in my muscles to my brain, so I was forced to stagger and fall to my knees like a conquered warrior. You could already notice my heart beating noticeably through the heat vibrations in the burning hot air that was passing through the wasteland in all directions.

I stopped. Around me, dunes as far as the eye could see.

I had only been on the road for 30 days; there were still days ahead of me in the desert. Everything was flickering. No, I didn't want to give up! And yet, with all this wasteland, it seemed like the most obvious thing to do because it took a lot of effort to keep walking here, to nowhere. Suddenly, however, two familiar voices came to my ears as if from nowhere. I was startled and looked for the one source that would probably give me back my lost will to live. Constantly I had to listen to the lamentations of these invisible personalities, which consisted mainly of accusations and pure hate speech.

"You murderer! You murderer!" These voices accused me with a snubbed undertone.

Again and again, these annoying accusations played in my head. However, I continued to search the trail for the source of the voices that sounded so familiar to me. The surrounding terrain continued to change, and ever so slowly, I began to make out, now very faintly, two figures in my field of vision on the crown of the nearest dune.

Hectically, I ran up the hill to consolidate my suspicions of whom they might be. For a moment, I forgot that my body was at its limit. When I arrived, I didn't believe my eyes, ran towards the two people like a berserker, and hugged them guiltily as well as apologetically. I finally had my 'family' back, so I burst into tears like a broken dam and apologized as many times as I could.

"I am so sorry ... Forgive me ... Please forgive me ..." I sobbed to myself, overwhelmed by tears.

Suddenly, a low whisper sounded, which slowly but surely became more and more unbearable for me and turned into a loud yelp. I was startled and looked at the two people, and their facial expressions resembled a long-dead personality and had nothing human about them anymore.

"You have us on your conscience! You are a miserable murderer. Die!!!" these living undead ruthlessly accused me in a permanent endless loop. I could observe how their faces turned inward, and only emptiness, as well as frightening blackness, could be seen in their former looks. Subsequently, these voices flanked me so that they mentally tore me apart, and I noticed how madness had spread within me.

''No ... No! ... Don't do this to me, please!'', I screamed, desperately seeking innocence and escape.

In a complete panic and falling into madness, I tried to cover my ears and seal my eyes with my two hands. However, no part of my body could obey me, and the madness now completely seized my psyche.

The feeling of finally having a family again, of finally being perfect again, vanished. Now I was going completely crazy, and the figures began to melt away. The terrain became unimaginably bleak and desolate, and I began to emit shrill cries of suffering. After a few seconds of wailing, I fell to the hot sandy floor, bereft of my wits, and fainted.