Godfire: The Split Soul-Chapter 185: I Have Seen Worse

"The buildings along the street collapsed to the ground," the black-haired lady trembled as she continued. "The people who were inside all got smashed—we couldn’t get to them on time."

Screams exploded from the screen as the footage on it shifted. Bloodied arms stretched from the debris. Palms open, fingers rigid, nails torn out.

Sarge nodded, then walked from the lady’s side, his hands at his back. His chest rose and fell as he glanced at every face.

He pointed at two other volunteers. And they all increased the tension that had fallen in the room.

Kai sat there, his head bowed, fingers clutching each other. Though he listened to the screams from the screen, what was reeling in his eyes caused his eyelids to well up.

The last moment he stood by his mother’s grave. The horrific manner in which Mike died. The speed at which the deadly zombie virus sprawled through Bion City. And the death of all his loved ones, including the kneeling ash of Lieutenant Gray, all came to him like a vision.

Shadows stretched long in front of him when Sarge stopped before him.

He looked up and down at the boy, at the drops of tears that were slowly dripping onto the ground, then inhaled once. "What did you see, Kai?"

Kai’s head remained lowered, until the voice from the screen shifted into Lena’s laughter. He squeezed his nose flare inward, then raised his head.

"I saw..." Kai paused. Suddenly, the laughter from the screen shifted to the Wingreaper’s cry. He brushed the back of his left arm across his face, clearing the traces of the tears.

"I saw her die. And I couldn’t do anything to stop it." His breath hitched, hands shaking. "I could have stopped it, but I was late. I was late." His voice dulled, turning into a whisper. "I could have saved all of them, but I wasn’t strong enough."

Every face turned pale, Rockson’s skin becoming extremely limp. He tried closing in with Kai, but couldn’t.

Brann did the same, but paused and focused on how the boy was now gripping the necklace around his neck.

Sarge studied Kai for a while, then moved on. The shadow that loomed over Kai remained even when the soldier was out of his face.

Higris and a few other shadow beings circled Leon. Although he was the only one who could see them, those in the room had the hair on their skin on end, yet they had no idea.

The cycle of pointing continued until the words of the last person faded.

When the session came to an end, Kai, Rockson, and Brann remained glued to their seats.

"Guys," Rockson stood up, then glanced at their faces. "We’ve got to go."

Brann glanced at Kai, then stood up. He drifted his gaze from him, then walked to the door.

As soon as Kai stood up to join them by the door, Sarge gestured at him. "Not you."

Rockson and Brann shifted shocked glances at the soldier, then at themselves. Though they didn’t speak, their faces showed they needed answers for that.

They hesitated, but left the room for Kai and the soldier.

Just five feet away, Rockson turned and watched the door get closed. "Why was he told to wait?"

Brann didn’t answer; he simply continued forward, his hands shoved in the pockets of his brown trousers.

Inside the room, Sarge stood by the door, his hands pressed hard on it. The door creaked on the floor as it clicked shut.

He walked forward and pulled a chair from the front row. He turned it, sat down, his hand resting on the top back.

He didn’t instruct Kai, but Kai sat down, his fingers curled inward.

Sarge blinked, then looked at the boy with a still gaze. "You didn’t flinch at the footage."

Kai lifted his head and locked eyes with the soldier. "I have seen worse."

Sarge increased the weight on the chair. "Interesting." He pulled out a folded photograph from his pocket.

His gaze lingered on the image for a while, then stretched the photograph to Kai.

"I was at Gilgal Village." Sarge’s words echoed, lowered, less than an instructor and more like someone who had been holding the truth for long.

Kai’s breath stilled. His eyes remained locked on Sarge’s.

"Twenty-three years ago." Sarge began turning his left arm. "Before the priestess was ordained."

Sarge shifted his gaze from the back of his left arm to Kai’s dull eyes. "I saw something there. Something that shouldn’t have entered the world."

He paused, then stood up and stretched. Memories reeled in the darkness of his closed eyes.

The joy that surrounded the village. The beautiful women with big breasts and asses that he wished he hadn’t left.

Kai followed the soldier, the photograph resting under his grip. When he tried to turn the photo, an eerie laugh escaped from Sarge.

Footsteps echoed as Sarge moved forward, then pushed the chair forward, leaving just an inch between him and Kai.

"You’re not broken, kid. You’re just carrying something heavier than the rest of us."

He extended his hand to Kai. Kai handed the photo back to him.

Sarge giggled as he rolled it in his fingers. His laughter turned into a sad tone.

A group of seven men and two boys standing at the front caught Sarge’s gaze. He shifted glances at the faces, then stopped at the only guy who was at the center of the men.

When he shifted his gaze from the photo, he looked at Kai. "If you don’t learn to move with the weight, it’ll bury you alive."

The words lingered in Kai’s head as Sarge stood up. His boots clicked on the polished ground as he moved toward the door.

He turned once, then pulled the door. Air brushed into his face when the door opened wide. After his right leg stepped outside, his expression changed. "Be here at dawn tomorrow. We’re not done."

In the room, Kai sat there, the faces of seven men in the photo reeling in his head.

When he stood up, he grabbed the necklace beneath the shirt he wore. The metal warmed against his skin.

The sword at Kai’s back reflected the rays of the sun when he stepped out.

Countless shadows walked by his side as he walked past the soldiers who had frozen.