Chapter 27 – Dawn
The world was spinning around and around.
He felt both cold and hot. And while he could feel pain, not a single thing remained in his grasp.
“…!”
None of the sounds that reached him carried any meaning. His consciousness had turned too far inwards.
‘Just get some rest for now.’
Like a cut out photograph, the image of the middle-aged man in a suit appeared before him.
‘Even shogi players are only human. Not everyone can pour their entire soul into those eighty-one squares and become a demon who walks the path of the game.’
He recalled the cold air of the white hospital room.
A promise that was unfulfilled, crumbled into ashes alongside the drifting smoke of incense.
‘You know, that man actually caused quite a stir back in the day. He heard that he was quite a rebel when he was younger. He would often clash with the higher-ups in the association.’
Beyond the heavy doors of the crematorium, the sounds of burning were searing into his ears.
And there, within the pale remnants left behind like ashes, Yasuharu saw it.
The shape of a thumb and middle finger resting beside the missing index finger of the right hand.
‘I don’t know about that either. Well, it’s likely just an old rumor… But isn’t there something inspiring about such mysteries?’
The move upon the board that he had pursued for eternity.
The man who had remained a shogi player even in death.
“Grandpa…”
The hoarse voice croaked, as if desperate for salvation.
And then something appeared beyond his blurred vision.
“Gra…”
A figure like a great black boulder was looming over him. A monster with twin horns on its head and the grotesque face of a bull.
“Ahh…!”
“Gods…you truly are ridiculous creatures.”
There was pity in his eyes. As though he was looking at a baby bird who had accidentally tumbled out from its nest.
“You grant divine power and authority, then let children wield it with innocent abandon. You turn their recklessness, lack of wisdom and fear into violence. Did you really think it would win you this war?”
‘Don’t speak as if you understand! In the end, you only managed to seize victory through the aid of that monster!’
“But we wield our power by our own will. And we kill our enemies. We kill people.”
It was pitying him.
The monster in front of him was pitying him.
“What are you people doing? Are you telling me to kill this helpless child? He is like a freshly laid egg, with little understanding of what it means to kill. Has he any true will of his own? And yet you have driven him into the battlefield!”
The pity was slowly burning into fury.
The monster stood up and looked to the sky.
“What are you doing!? Answer me! You arrogant gods!”
Really, what was he doing?
As he looked up at the raging, roaring monster, Yasuharu could not help but quietly ask himself that question.