Lucky symbol

Two murderous bandits were sitting with their backs against the wall.

The inside of the cave had turned into a pool of blood. The blood was flowing towards the abyss, creating a small-scale waterfall of blood.

The cave was filled with human corpses; some heads were severed, and some bodies were torn in half.

Suddenly, they removed their patterned hoods and masks. The man with black hair, white eyes, and sharp facial features abruptly asked the man with white hair, black eyes, and sharp facial features beside him:

"Why is he late? It's been fifteen minutes since our massacre. Our brother should have come by now, killed him, and joined us to drink human blood, but he still hasn't arrived."

The white-haired man smiled.

"Don't worry, brother. That incompetent fool is bound to die any moment now, and perhaps he's even bringing his head as a gift."

The white-haired man slowly turned his head towards the flowing blood stream and gazed at it for a while.

After some time, he spoke.

"Do you remember when we used to go on picnics by the riverbank with Mom, Dad, and our brother? We used to have a contest to see who could eat more of Mom's food. In the end, we all won, and Dad always lost. He would give us his share to support us so we could eat more."

A sad smile appeared on the black-haired man's face.

"And even if the three of us were tied, you would always repeat 'I won, I won.'"

After a brief silence, a tear fell from his eye.

"And Dad would say, 'You all won.'"

After a moment, he continued.

"How did you feel when we killed the bandits who killed our parents?"

A small smile appeared on Cryus's face, the white-haired man.

"Back then, we were small and weak. We saw the bandits kill our mother and father with our own eyes. When the bandits took us, I grew stronger every day to kill them. We endured the pain and finally achieved our goal…"

After a pause, Cryus continued:

"But when I killed the bandits, all I felt was emptiness."

Roger, the black-haired man, looked at Cryus with surprise.

"What do you mean? You didn't feel anything when you killed the people who killed your family? Didn't you feel hatred?"

Cryus's eyes were still fixed on the flowing blood.

"The truth is, no matter how much you hate yourself, no matter how much you hate someone, or how much you hate your life, eventually, you become tired and forgive. If asked whether I prefer hatred or love, I would choose neither because both are exhausting. Hatred is a curse. It destroys beliefs, hopes, and dreams or can be described as a dark forest. This dark forest causes one to get lost within oneself and never be found again."

After a moment of silence, Cryus spoke again.

"If you don't leave your past behind, it will ruin your future. We should live not for yesterday's losses, but for what we have today."

Cryus lifted his head and gave his dearly loved brother a sincere smile.

Roger listened carefully to Cryus's words and opened his mouth to speak.

"I understand. Thank you for your advice, Cryus, but I don't think we have a future… Anyway, let's go look for our brother. What do you say?"

Cryus, whose face was covered in blood, laughed.

"Sure, let's go."

Cryus and Roger left the cave where they had carried out their massacre.

They began to descend the path leading down the abyss.

As Cryus walked, he asked Roger:

"Let's take our brother along and have a party. It's been a really tiring day. Killing people is so exhausting."

Roger, looking at Cryus's tired face, chuckled.

"Hehe, you're getting old; it's a bit sad, but it will be fun to call you an old man."

Cryus responded abruptly.

"I'm not old just because I'm two years older than you, you little brat! But I do want to retire; I'm tired of taking orders and being forced to do things."

Cryus looked up at the clouds in the sky, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply.

"It's really exhausting…"

"Hey, hey, you're still a young man, and I'm tired too, but even if we run away now, we can't escape because…"

Roger opened his throat and showed Cryus a symbol.

Seeing the same symbol on himself, Cryus suddenly became enraged.

"This cursed symbol is taking away our freedom… damn it."