The curve of the man’s mouth grew smaller and smaller, his expression one of fearful, restless anticipation.

"Where did you all go? Why aren't you speaking?"

The empty living room was deathly silent, as if the heartwarming scene he had just envisioned was fake, and only the terrifying silence mocked his inquiry.

Silas lunged up, flipping the stool over, the crashing sound echoing as it hit the floor.

Panting heavily, he searched the room with a hideous grin, muttering to himself.

"Playing hide-and-seek with Daddy again, are you? You two naughty little brats..."

He peered under the bed, flung open the wardrobe to rummage through it, pushed aside tables, and smashed kitchenware, his actions becoming increasingly manic, creating a deafening racket as if he were possessed.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The knocking at the door lit up Silas’s eyes. He walked over, saying, "So you were hiding outside? You really scared Daddy."

In the middle of the night, the furious neighbor was filled with rage at being disturbed. As soon as she saw the door open, she began to scream curses.

"Do you have any manners, always here every single—"

Her face turned white as she looked at the man before her, radiating an eerie chill and brandishing a notched kitchen knife. His eyes were crazed, a smile played on his lips, and he asked her in a very calm tone.

"Who are you? Where did you hide my wife?"

The neighbor looked tremblingly at the broken furniture behind him and the chipped knife in his hand. She turned, screamed, and ran back.

The man stood in place, expressionless. The backlight cast his face in shadow, but his demeanor clearly betrayed that he was no longer a normal person.

He closed the door, turned to look at the shattered living room and furniture, and a wave of palpitations made him lose his grip on the knife handle, causing it to fall to the ground.

Clang.

He lowered his eyes to look at the reflective blade, stepped over it, and went into the room to grab a mop and rag.

"It’s dirty. Let’s clean it up again..."

Andy’s childish voice came to his ears.

"Daddy, I don't want to eat cake. I want to eat chicken wings made from mutated beast meat! I want to eat more yummy things!"

Silas revealed a tearful smile, coaxing him while mopping the floor.

"Daddy will make them for you right away. Let’s clean the house first, okay?"

"Okay. Whatever you want to eat, Daddy has remembered. Go play with Mommy and your toys first..."

The empty room only held the man’s voice, singing in chorus with itself, as if someone were truly beside him.

"I will love you forever... I'm sorry..."

Chapter 22

The acid rain poured down in torrents, the windows rattled by the wind as if someone were wailing.

Dark, heavy clouds churned in the sky, and thunder cracked incessantly, making one's heart race. The acid rain poured down like a waterfall, instantly submerging the streets.

A bolt of lightning brought Silas back to his senses. His hands, which had been embracing the air, fell limply. Tears slid down uncontrollably, and the heavy feeling of loss in his chest made him nearly unable to breathe. Despair surged like a tide.

He struggled in the abyss of despair, clinging greedily to the occasional auditory hallucination, obsessed with the visions that sometimes appeared before him. His thoughts were too chaotic to untangle, his memories constantly clashing with reality.

Silas was unwilling to wake up, yet terrified of being immersed in a false dream. Sometimes he wanted to save himself, sometimes he wanted to sink, and sometimes he wanted to follow them.

Staring at the gray, thunder-struck scene outside the window, desperate memories kept surfacing. The man, enslaved by his emotions, curled up in a corner. The long-term suffering from his illness had made him thin, his wrist bones nearly visible.

He looked at the shaking window, and in a daze, he saw Selene Rivers, who had been tormented by nightmares before, sitting on the window sill. Her frail silhouette was teetering, and her long, dark hair flew in the wind.

"...Se...lene..." A raspy, unpleasant voice emerged from the man’s mouth. It was as if he hadn't spoken in ages, yet it was as if he spoke every day, hence the hoarseness.

Silas rose and walked toward the window, gently embracing Selene’s body. He didn't pull away even as her dark hair whipped against his face, his eyes filled with a painful obsession.

"What day is it today?"

Silas whispered an answer, hiding the agony in his eyes.

"Do you really need me to answer, Selene..."

She seemed to nod gently.

The man pressed his voice down like a child who had made a mistake, his tone laced with a dry ache, repeating the same two sentences over and over.

"Forgive me, forgive me..."

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, and the silent Selene vanished, making Silas panic and shout.

"It’s the anniversary of your and Andy’s death!"

Still, no one answered him. The man’s eyes were filled with pain. He reached out to cover his face, a mournful cry erupting from his throat, followed by a few sobs.

After a long, long time, he moved his stiff limbs, pulling a weeping smile.

"I’ll go visit you, okay?"

Silas hadn't driven in a year and started the journey somewhat rustily.

On the road, he encountered armored vehicles honking and cursing at him, but the man ignored them and continued on his way.

He had bought many flowers and toys cultivated in greenhouses, as well as various joss paper, paper houses, and paper cars, all packed in bags.

Lifelessly, he carried his big and small bags up the hill outside the base, stopping on a hillside facing east.

He took out a trenching tool to clear away the weeds, burned all the offerings for them, and set out various foods and drinks.

His tears never stopped falling; his eyes were vacant, unaware of where he was.

Finally, leaning against the grave, back turned to the setting sun, he muttered what he wanted to say.

"You don't know how much I loved you back then. I didn't want to do ability research; I just wanted to take you out to play every day..."

"Later, when supplies were tight and I saw you struggling, I wanted to become the most formidable healing expert. As long as you were at home, that was enough. I would earn contribution points for you..."

"I wanted to give my son and my wife the best things. I thought I shouldn't have let you wait there so long back then, I shouldn't have lost my temper with others, back then..."

Every word spoken to the grave was nothing but empty talk. It meant nothing.

Silas spoke with a vacant expression, as if immersed in the dream he had woven, unwilling to wake up, until it started raining again, and the thunder in the sky struck him, bringing him back to his reason.

Silas stood up, soaked to the bone, reached out to touch the grave in front of him, and smiled.

"Wife is waiting for me at home. I’ll go to the base cafeteria to get some ingredients to cook for you."

He passed by the mourners holding umbrellas with a blank face, ignoring their terrified screams, and went on counting what dishes he should make later.

Thus, driving in a wretched state, he passed by the opera house and couldn't help but stop, his footsteps leading him inside.

A bolt of lightning exploded before him, and the person hidden in the depths of his memory stood backstage at the opera house.

Chapter 23

The sky was frighteningly dark, and earth-shattering peals of thunder erupted, shaking the entire building as if it were about to collapse.

The acid rain poured down in torrents, dense as needle tips, striking everyone with bone-chilling cold.

It was pitch black all around, the weather exactly the same as it had been that night.

The man stood at the entrance of the opera house’s backstage area, holding a tattered umbrella and stroking his chin. His face was illuminated for only a fleeting instant by a flash of lightning, yet that image was carved deep into the bones of Silas Thorne.

The man smacked his lips while rubbing his chin, a reminiscent smile on his face, as if he were sighing.

What was he saying?

"...What a shame, that bitch is dead. No one is going to deliver such a top-tier piece to me anymore... Damn it, the dead bitch even wanted to sell me out. Fortunately, I was smart enough to get her bailed out and then finished her off... and she even dared to threaten me."

What was he saying?

"...It's a pity I didn't get to have more rounds back then; such high-quality goods are truly rare..."

Silas’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. His breathing grew heavy, his eyes turned blood-red, and a terrifying, violent fury gathered within his gaze.