This world is cruelly beautiful, and the sky turns with heartless regularity.
Characters
"I exist to protect someone. Someone..."
"I wanted to protect them. I should have been able to protect them."
Intro
A single war has ended. There is a victory ceremony, a memorial service for the fallen soldiers, and the awarding of a medal to the man who became a living legend. A man who roamed the battlefield killing enemies relentlessly while others died, returning from the war without a single scratch to offer victory to his country. How proud he must look to outsiders; the citizens receiving the news extras all say the same thing.
"He is the living legend!"
But the heart of the man who became a living legend was clouded, deep and dark.
It was on the way back from delivering his best friend's ashes and belongings to the friend's mother living in the countryside. Inside the box seat of a train headed for the city, Leonardo was staring at something.
...I ended up taking some.
A necklace with a glass cylinder rests in his palm. Inside is fine sand... ashes. As he rolls it in his hand, the ashes inside the cylinder flow according to gravity.
He had handed over his friend's belongings to the bereaved mother, but...
"Leonardo-kun, you should keep some."
She had said that and given him a small portion of the ashes. He didn't know which part of the body they were from, but they were the bones of his one and only best friend. Any part was fine.
As Leonardo slumps in the train seat, his large frame takes up two spaces. Normally he would make an effort to fit into one, but he doesn't have the mental energy for that now.
"I failed to protect them again." That thought alone dominated the majority of Leonardo's heart.
Creator Comment
Release Date 2026.10.11 / Last Updated 2026.10.11