Eternal Night

Vol. 1 Chapter 25

Smiling Gas XXI

Translated by xiaohei
Edited by xiaohei

When dawn peered over the edge of the horizon, the fire which had been burning for half the night gradually went out.

The temperature in the carriage gradually dropped. Yu Feichen could feel a gentle force on his shoulder. It was Anfield who had unknowingly leaned over in his sleep. His soft, curly hair also draped over his chest and shoulder.

Even Anfield’s left hand was resting on top of his arm.

As the carriage grew cold, his body had more or less become a source of heat, and it was by instinct that the sleeping Anfield sought that warmth, but it was still unexpected that Anfield was so at ease around him that he could sleep so defensively.

He looked down at the hand on top of his arm.

It was slender, well-defined, and his skin looked delicate. He could faintly see the green veins traveling underneath it.

Everyone could change their appearance and body at will in Paradise, and many people have turned themselves into hulking macho figures like small mountains in order to show off their strength, but he didn’t find that kind of style admirable. He preferred the appearance of being able to lift large weights with ease, and it was one of the few aesthetic choices he had.

—Anfield’s hands, for example, were a good fit for wielding both guns and knives.

Outside, a squirrel scuttled across the snow while carrying an acorn, and the rustling noise interrupted his thoughts. Only then did he realize what he was just thinking.

Anfield was certainly relaxed in his current state, but an enemy officer that he could not claim to know well was still leaning on his shoulder and holding his arm, yet he did not hold his guard up against him at all. Instead, he was even observing this person’s appearance.

Those hands were certainly pretty to look at, but there was no doubt that it had pulled the trigger before and was stained with blood.

Carrying both a gun and a dagger, the officer could show off his dangerous side at any moment.

Even after judging the possibility of Anfield stabbing him in the back all of a sudden like calculating the possibility of his teammates dropping the ball at the last second, Yu Feichen still failed to get himself to put up his guard against him, which ended with the result of him finding him a little unpleasant.

However, in that process, their bodies also grew a little closer.

In the end, Yu Feichen simply closed his eyes.

Nothing happened during the night.

When the morning sun shone over the mountains, Anfield moved slightly in his arms, which caused Yu Feichen to wake instantly.

Then, he saw Anfield slowly open his eyes. The pale, icy green eyes looked dazed for just a moment before regaining their clarity, reflecting a bit of the morning light coming in.

Unconcerned, he moved away as if leaning and sleeping against someone else for the whole night was something that was as normal as breathing to him.

Without any fuss, he retracted his hand and brushed down his hair a little.

Then, Yu Feichen saw the officer looking quietly at the sleeping girl.

The child had slipped from Yu Feichen’s arms onto the carriage floor as she slept with only her head still on his lap.

She was in good health, so she would be fine. For that reason, Yu Feichen did not bother to pull her up and just draped a flak jacket over her to keep her warm amidst the cold wind.

Then, the officer turned quietly to look at him.

It was indeed problematic for him to have left the child on the floor when he was supposed to be taking care of her.

Under the officer’s gaze, Yu Feichen reflected on his faults and peeled all the acorns for breakfast as compensation.

While he was peeling, the girl was munching on nuts, while Anfield was coughing.

After a bout of coughs, the handkerchief was stained red again.

Yu Feichen saw it.

Either his condition had worsened, or the smoke from last night had caused new injuries to his lungs.

Yu Feichen suggested, “You need to see a doctor.”

It was an ominous sign for one to be coughing up blood during such an underdeveloped aura. It was usually a sign that one’s life was beginning to wither away.

Anfield replied, “I know.”

And that was that. After breakfast, they left the train carriage. The water tank was frozen, so there was no way they could start the train, so they had to walk on foot. Yu Feichen walked ahead while holding the girl’s hand, while Anfield was walking slightly to the side behind him. This way, his body could block part of the wind before blowing toward Anfield.

In the past, his employers would occasionally treat him this way, at an extra cost.

Then, after finding out that certain employers were interested in sending him off to deal with menial tasks in lower worlds for good money to kill time, and after asking around, he decided to take on dangerous tasks at the seventh gate instead.

It was seven o’clock in the morning when they reached the south gate. The sky overhead was an ashen blue.

Looking in through the gate, they were met with a depressingly decrepit sight, but the ruins were slightly different from what they saw yesterday. Yu Feichen looked over at the fence, and the charred marks left from the fire had been covered by a fine layer of dust. Clearly, several days had passed since the fire.

—Then, it was the 31st day without a doubt. His speculation was correct.

Anfield stepped forward and also reached out his hand to confirm the dust left on the gate.

After that, he took a step inside.

Yu Feichen stood outside, unmoving. Under the clear, cold light of day, Anfield turned back to look at him.

The pale, icy green eyes adorned by a single tear mole stared calmly at him as if waiting for him to speak.

Looking at him, Yu Feichen said, “This is the end of the line for me.”

What happened last night was destined to remain no secret. The Black Badges from the surrounding camps will notice that something is wrong and will come to investigate in a couple of days. At that time, the events that happened at Oakvale Concentration Camp would cause a commotion.

With practically all of the soldiers wiped out and all the prisoners escaping, the result was undoubtedly defeat for the Black Badge Army. The senior colonel was dead, so they could not pursue the matter with him. In that event, as the only surviving officer, the responsibility for this failure would land on Anfield’s shoulders.

He believed that Anfield himself should be well aware of this fact.

They exchanged glances, but neither side spoke.

“You can come to Sasha with me,” he said after a moment of contemplation.

Anfield shook his head.

He slowly turned his head back to look at the crumbling ruins. Though Yu Feichen could only see his back, he could imagine what expression he had on his face.

In the cold wind, Anfield whispered, “This is my country.”

Yu Feichen understood what he was implying. Because this was his country, he was unable to turn his back on it, even if his back was weighed down by sin toward this barren wasteland.

Even though Yu Feichen expected this answer, he still thought it was unfortunate.

“Take care,” he said.

“See you again.” Anfield’s voice traveled through the wind like a drifting snowflake. “Thank you.”

He did not turn back. Still holding the girl’s hand, Yu Feichen turned around and walked into the white mist ahead.

Footsteps of varying depths tracked through the snow. There were three sets when they came, yet only one when they left.

The girl walked reluctantly, turning back every few steps. She kept on tugging on his arm and asking, “Why isn’t Mr. Officer coming with us?”

“Where are we going?”

“Why is he staying there?”

“I don’t wanna go, mister. I’m not going.”

Yu Feichen did not respond the whole time. It wasn’t until he trekked up a tall mountain that he noticed the girl’s condition. Her face was wet with tears and her cheeks were red from the cold.

Stubbornly, she stared in the direction of the camp through her tears.

The frailty of a child and the unpredictable changes of their moods were overwhelming.

Yu Feichen sighed and went down on one knee to face the girl, then he wiped off her icy cold tears with his sleeve.

Besides when she was in shock yesterday night, she was a well-behaved girl. Head drooping, she sobbed. “I don’t wanna be separated.”

Yu Feichen looked at her for a long time. Though he looked absent on the surface, he was in fact thinking of how he could comfort the girl.

“We all have our own places to go, and we’re destined to part with many things in that journey.” He finally spoke.

Contrary to his expectations, his words had the opposite effect, and the girl’s eyes welled up with sadness.

Silence was gold, he should remember that.

He patted her head and stood up and looked in the direction where they came.

He could see all of the camp from the mountain in one glance.

He saw Anfield, too.

The officer in his black officer’s coat stood quietly on the empty ground in front of the crematorium. The tall structure was the color of gray cement on one side, and pitch black the other from the fire.

Anfield was watching it. Remnants of the ash were picked up by the wind, and the breeze was so that even his black coat was stirred. Several crows perched on top of the tower.

For some reason, there was a sanctity amidst the decadence of this scene, just like when the flames burned away the sin of this place last night.

After one final glance, Yu Feichen retracted his gaze and picked up the girl, making his way south without turning back again.

Just as he told her, one eventually gets used to separation.

After going through countless worlds, he occasionally endowed things that he thought were worthy of reminiscing at first. Yet, in the end, only Paradise and the Tower of Creation were eternal.

After tossing what happened in the camp to the back of his mind, he began making towards the destination he set his mind on. Even though he had a kid with him, it did not ginger the speed of his journey too much.

In 5 days, they arrived at Sasha.