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nAfter a couple of minutes, Nick stood up.

nBy now, over ten minutes had passed.

nHorua’s heartbeat hadn’t returned.

nHe was dead.

nThere was no denying it anymore.

n“Did he have any next-of-kin?” Wyntor asked from the corner.

nNick slowly shook his head. “No. His parents died, and he didn’t have any friends or family…”

n“Except for me,” Nick said quietly as he looked down.

nSilence.

n“What do you want to do with the body?” Wyntor asked.

nWhen Nick heard that, he felt the void in his chest return, darker than ever before.

nRight now, Nick felt like he could never be happy again.

nIn one way, he felt like he had been hollowed out, but at the same time, he also felt like the entire world was putting immense pressure on him.

nNick felt like reality wanted to crush him.

nHis body?

nThis question felt so surreal.

nNick had to decide what to do with Horua’s body?

nIt was so strange.

nHow was any of this real?

nHow had any of this actually happened?

nFor a while, Nick didn’t answer.

nThere were no cemeteries in the Dregs.

nIf anyone died, the body had to be handed over to the officials.

nNobody knew where the bodies ended up.

nMost likely, the bodies were fed to a Specter.

nIt sounded cruel, but what alternative was there?

nThere was no earth in the city, which made burying the body impossible.

nBurning the body was also not possible since none of the fires one could start with the available materials was strong enough to actually turn the body into ash. It would just leave a charred body behind, making things even worse. 𝑟𝘢.𝘤𝘰𝑚

nKeeping the body was also bad since it would rot.

nAdditionally, the Parasite would probably just consume the body when nobody was looking.

nMight as well feed it to a useful Specter.

nNick wanted to keep Horua’s body, but he knew that this was not realistic.

n“Give it to the coffin,” Nick said with a shaky breath.

nIt sounded cruel, but it was the only thing Nick could think of.

nWyntor nodded.

n“Do you want to say goodbye?” he asked.

nNick looked at Horua’s corpse.

nA nearly twelve-year-old boy.

nHorua was so thin and pale.

nNick still remembered how he had defended Horua from the gangs when his parents died and how they had been living together for almost a year.

nEven though it had only been a business relationship at the beginning, they had quickly become friends.

nNick also remembered how hopeful Horua had been when Nick had told him that he could turn him into a Zephyx Extractor.

nAnd then, tragedy happened.

n‘It’s all my fault,’ Nick thought as he looked at the corpse with pain.

n“I’m sorry,” Nick said quietly as he kneeled beside the corpse.

nNick gently held Horua’s hand.

nIt was ice cold, soft, and thin.

nA child’s hand.

n“I’m sorry, Horua,” Nick said with a shaky voice.

n“Wherever you are now, I hope you won’t meet someone like me.”

n“This is all my fault.”

n“If I hadn’t been so stupid, you would still be alive.”

n“I’m sorry.”

nSeveral seconds of silence passed.

n“Thank you for being my friend.”

n“I’ll miss you, even though you probably wouldn’t want to see me.”

n“I’ll leave you alone now.”

n“Goodbye.”

nNick took a shaky breath and stood up.

nWyntor stepped forward and put a hand on Nick’s shoulder.

nNick didn’t move for a while.

nEventually, Nick took a deep breath.

n“Thanks,” he said as he gently pushed Wyntor’s hand off his shoulder. “I’ll need some time to deal with this.”

nWyntor nodded. “You can have the next three days off. I know this is difficult on you.”

nNick didn’t answer.

nThen, he turned around and quietly left the Containment Unit.

nAfter Nick left, Wyntor looked at the corpse for a bit before putting it over his shoulder.

nAfter that, Wyntor turned to look at the Dreamer.

nThe Dreamer looked at Wyntor.

nThree seconds later, Wyntor turned away and left the Containment Unit.

nWhen Wyntor came out, he saw Trevor looking at him with sadness.

n“Nick left?” Wyntor asked neutrally.

nTrevor nodded. “Yes. I’m worried about him.”

n“Nick is strong,” Wyntor said. “He went through worse things in the Dregs.”

n“Someone that has lived in the Dregs for their entire life can handle death.”

nTrevor raised an eyebrow.

nHe didn’t seem like he was fully believing Wyntor.

nAfter all, Trevor had also lived in the Dregs.

nTo Trevor, it seemed like Wyntor was making assumptions.

nHowever, Trevor didn’t correct Wyntor.

nAfter all, they were not friends.

nTrevor was an employee, and Wyntor was his employer.

n“I hope you’re right,” Trevor said.

nWyntor nodded.

n“What about the Dreamer?” Trevor asked.

n“Nick won’t be here for the next three days,” Wyntor said. “I’m going to wake you up in the morning. For now, only you and Jenny will be working with it. Your shifts won’t change.”

n“Okay,” Trevor answered. “Do you need me for anything?”

n“No, you can leave. Good work today,” Wyntor said as he walked by Trevor.

n“Alright. For all that it’s worth, I wish you a happy workday,” Trevor said.

nWyntor snorted.

nHe assumed Trevor was joking.

nWhile Trevor left, Wyntor walked over to the other Containment Unit.

nAfter opening the door, Wyntor looked at the Screaming Coffin.

nRight now, it was just silently lying in the middle of the room.

nApparently, it was currently digesting a corpse.

nBy now, the Containment Unit had started to take on a slight smell of dead bodies.

nAfter all, the corpses were not always immediately consumed by the Screaming Coffin.

nAdditionally, the ventilation of the Containment Unit wasn’t the best.

nWyntor looked at the Screaming Coffin for a bit.

nBang!

nThen, Wyntor unceremoniously threw the corpse in front of it.

nHis expression was neutral.

nFor a bit, Wyntor looked at the corpse with a cold expression.

nThat boy had been a burden on Nick for long enough.

nFinally, Nick could move on from it.

nThen, Wyntor turned around and left the Containment Unit.

nThe source of this content is 𝒊𝓫𝓪.𝓬𝓸𝙢

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