Gray

‘He will cry no longer.’

‘The rain has already wept in his stead.’

Flames scorched the night sky into a crimson red.

Crackle, crackle—

Buildings collapsed one after another amidst the searing heat, the air thick with the stench of charred remains and choking smoke.

Firefighters, clad in suits engraved with strange symbols, continuously hauled charcoal-like corpses out from the sea of fire.

A natural disaster? Or a man-made calamity?

The tragedy before them was so gruesome that even these battle-hardened men, who fought the Grim Reaper daily, nearly retched in disgust.

Within that inferno that looked like a living purgatory, a crumbling plaque was slowly melting under the high temperatures.

[Helios Orphanage]

Its name meant life and prosperity.

How ironic…

Staring at the countless petite corpses laid out upon the sandy ground, these late-arriving heroes could only remove their caps and bow.

They offered a final farewell to those lonely, pitiful children, praying that their souls might find rest in heaven.

“It’s raining…”

Belated, icy droplets pierced through the clouds, as if trying to bring an end to this misery.

However, the tragedy was far from over.

To the bustling city of steel not far away, the disaster at this suburban orphanage was utterly insignificant.

Sleep-deprived news editors were frantic, working on tomorrow’s front-page headlines regarding the election results of various politicians.

The citizens here preferred excitement and explosive scandals; an accident at an ignored orphanage in the outskirts simply wouldn’t catch many eyes—unless, perhaps, the illegitimate child of some high-ranking official was inside.

Thus, the report stating [No Survivors] was naturally relegated to a tiny corner of the page.

Residents in the city who had yet to sleep were either binge-watching shows at home or writing work reports in office buildings.

Pedestrians on the streets avoided the rain, hiding in taverns to chat and laugh.

Everyone was immersed in their own small bubbles of happiness, lacking the energy to care about anything else.

Therefore, even if the night sky over the suburbs was burnt crimson, few people bothered to look out the window.

As for the politicians who would be tomorrow’s protagonists…

As popular candidates, they certainly wouldn’t mobilize their precious resources to publicize such a trivial matter.

They knew better than anyone what this city needed and what it rejected.

Meanwhile, the unpopular politicians sensed an opportunity, thinking of using this incident to create hype, establish a public persona, and attract more votes.

In this manner, the Helios Orphanage was reduced completely to ashes in the great fire.

After everything passed, only the dross of the past remained.

And even the light emitted as it burned to nothingness could not penetrate the distant, cold, and indifferent city through the biting rain and the veil of night.