In a World without God

Chapter 64

The night breeze was chilly. Clouds obscured the moon, and only the eyes of the rats scurrying to and from the ruined building glowed. But the rats made no sound. They were too busy scurrying away as if they were expecting an earthquake. For them, Edulis' aura was a harbinger of disaster.

In the center of the square on the Fey estate, Edulis dug a pit. Kurzina's head was placed in it.

"Edulis, what are you doing?" Murjana asked. Her face was stern, jaw clenched, teeth clicking together. Edulis didn't answer her but stared at Kurzina's face in the pit. Her head looked like it could open its eyes at any moment and speak the words of Lutea.

"Why are you making her a grave?!"

Murjana's outcry went unanswered as Edulis pondered,

'It's twisted. How did things become so twisted?'

Kurzina was pure. Even if her judgment was misguided and misinformed, her heart was driven by a longing for justice, for goodness, for Lutea. She knew the pain of others, was capable of repentance for wrongs, and was capable of doing good.

"Edulis, you cannot be... mourning Kurzina's death?"

Murjana was also pure. There is no evil in her heart. Her anger and hatred were formed out of her feelings for Edulis. Even the black butterflies fluttering in her cheeks and eyes were born from that purity.

"Edulis!"

Edulis wished that both Kurzina and Murjana would live in Lutea's world. May they never have to take up arms. To live in harmony, trusting each other, and sharing their joys and sorrows. But then everything got twisted. Murjana plunged a knife into Kurzina's throat. Of the two people who were supposed to live in Lutea's world, one had lost her life and one had lost her heart.

How did this happen, what went wrong, and where did it go wrong? It was as if someone who wanted everything to get twisted had stepped in and played a trick on them.

Edulis gritted his teeth until they crackled, then stood up from his seat, without covering Kurjina's grave with soil. Then he asked,

"Murjana. Kurzina's body is still inside Curtis' prison, right?"

"Why?"

Hearing that, Edulis began to pace.

"Edulis, where are you going?"

"To Curtis."

Hearing that, Murjana's face turned pale, as if she had just heard the news of her parent's death. By now, the guards would have realized Kurzina's death and would be stirring. There was no point in joining the commotion.

"No, no. you can't go."

Black butterflies fluttered in Murjana's eyes. Poison and curses spread everywhere. The ground was parched, and the rats and bugs were scurrying about.

"Why are you risking your life for nothing? What are you going to do with the body of a traitor?"

Edulis looked into Murjana's eyes and said, "Step aside, Murjana."

"It's none of our business, Edulis, whether that body is torn to shreds and left on the side of the road or cut into pieces and fed to pigs!"

No, for Edulis, it was as important as Lutea's soul.

"Edulis... Do you prefer that dead girl over me, alive? Because I'm tainted by the witch, and she's a follower of Lutea? Then..."

Murjana spread her arms in front of Edulis. Tears streamed from her eyes, like lava molten by hatred.