Chapter 7: Dante the Burden Bearer
Dante and Jophiel passed through the grand gates of Saint Raphael’s Hospital, located in the very heart of Duraand.
Here, humans afflicted by the disease of corruption were treated, or at least, that’s what people were led to believe if they still clung to hope.
Corruption often manifested through progressive blindness, devouring the senses and slowly pulling the victim into a world of shadows.
Yet as Dante walked calmly through the corridors beside Jophiel.
He could not help but notice how much the world had changed after decades of brutal struggle.
Now, they attempted to "save" the bearers, even the Awakened ones, if not cure them.
They locked them up, educated them... and in the end, forcibly conscripted them into the army, all under the polished lie of rehabilitation.
In the past, things had been simpler and far crueler, the corrupted were executed on sight, sometimes burned alive during public raids.
Fear dictated justice—an ancient, primal fear, because corruption, unlike the powers of light, knew no mercy.
At the reception desk, after long negotiations with secretaries, they were handed special suits.
Dante eyed the rigid, narrow garment with a hint of amusementt.