In the past, I swore loyalty to you all, trusted you, relied on you, and protected you.

Yet when I was the one in need of a helping hand, how am I supposed to accept you, who didn't even offer a single warm word?

I did not perform good deeds expecting a reward, but still... still, how could such a cruel thing happen?

I still remember the fingers pointed at me, and those gazes that felt more stinging than the unusually warm sunlight.

Fine, I realized it then.

From the very beginning, I was nothing more to you than a dog that bites when told to bite and runs when told to come.

How could something so amusing happen once again?

I went mad with futility, and eventually, even my pure and beautiful wings were stained with evil.

I lose sleep every night to the sharp pain gnawing at my body, and even when I do manage to fall asleep, I realized there was nowhere in the world for me to rest in my dreams.

That is why I fled. With these branded wings. I fled to a place I did not know, a place I did not care to know, wishing to disappear forever just like this... but I was immortal. And that, too, was a curse to me.

However, did the Heavens not demand that I crawl back on my own two feet to be judged?

Ha, it's not even funny. Even though you are the ones who should be punished, no path to survival is given to the weak victim.

How pitiful can one be!

Hot water leaks from my eyes of its own accord, and the corners of my mouth turn up willfully.

A frivolous, loud, and low laughter echoes out. Ah—how long has it been since I laughed out loud like this?

Fine, I shall personally head back to you all on these disgusting wings.

I will burn everything down until not a single speck of ash remains. So that everyone, everyone receives their punishment. So that everyone knows my futility.

I can clearly see you vomiting blood and cursing me with those revolting eyes, and I find the thought utterly unbearable.

And so I arrived at my old home. How wonderful would it be if I could just fade away into nothingness like this? No, should I have never been born in the first place?

Far from welcoming a guest they haven't seen in a long time, they simply grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the place of judgment. I wanted to cut off those disgusting hands.

Yet, I still held a sliver of hope. If only... if only I could return to those beautiful wings. To the time when I wasn't lonely, and didn't have to wail and cry. If only I could go back...

In the moment I was dreaming that impossible dream.

A face I've never seen before begins to appear. An Arbiter, holding a holy sword aimed at me, piercing through me with a serious gaze.