Chapter 32
It was painful.
Demian kept his eyes closed, feeling the burning mugwort rub against his back. Surprisingly, he found himself laughing. How could he not feel the pain when his back was being treated this way?
Yet, it was a strange sensation. This pain was not unwelcome. It felt different from anything he had ever experienced before.
Pain had been a constant part of his life. In his youth, he suffered from poverty. As he grew older, he endured the agony of loneliness. And as he gained a better understanding of the world, he faced the torment inflicted by others.
To escape from pain, he took up a sword and inflicted pain on others. During those moments, he could temporarily forget his own pain. No, he believed he had forgotten it.
But he hadn’t.
The pain, which he had mistaken for being postponed, always returned multiplied. Just like the indelible brand engraved on his back, the pain he had pushed aside came back every night, as if he were paying the price for residing in an illusion. It was a day when his soul was gnawed away.
Then, he met him.
Raciel Adria Magentano.