I write obituaries for the gods

"But what about you? Are you innocent? Do you think that if you tell those newspaper reporters our secrets, they'll publish them? We have quite a few friends in the media industry..."

“You…you are doing something wrong,” Matilda gritted her teeth. “I…I’ve had enough.”

"We did give you a chance to back out gracefully, didn't we?" Lavasis shrugged. "You could have backed out for your father's sake, but we only asked you to keep quiet... Since you want to back out but also want to expose the secret, we certainly can't allow that to happen."

"..."

Matilda clenched her fists tightly, her lips trembling slightly.

She turned her head, looked down at Lucy, and took the girl's hand.

"Don't be afraid," she smiled. "Don't be afraid."

Matilda raised her head and looked directly at Lavasis, like a brave ewe.

“Let the children live,” she said forcefully. “I’ll let you do whatever you want with them…”

"Oh..."

Seeing her like this, Lavasis nodded thoughtfully.

“Brave,” he said, “but unfortunately…it’s a little too late.”

"Too late...?"

"The Bureau of Investigation has taken notice of us, so we have to destroy some... evidence."

Upon hearing this, Matilda turned deathly pale.

“Bansi’s loss of control... was really caused by you…” she murmured softly.

"Yes, he's a very talented kid, isn't he?"

Lavasis went around behind his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a pistol.

The man raised his pistol and aimed it at Matilda's head.

“I can’t promise you anything,” he smiled, “and you don’t deserve my promises.”

"What you have to do now is pay the price for the leak."

Matilda's pupils dilated violently as she stared at the dark muzzle of the gun.

She stretched out one hand and shouted:

"No! Wait a minute, at least let Lucy—"

"Oh!"

Gunshots.

In the past and now, the sounds of gunfire overlap.

Lucy turned her head and saw Oswald holding a pistol, his chest heaving violently.

Opposite him, behind his desk, Lavasis was shot in the abdomen.

"That's ruthless..." Lavasis spat out a mouthful of blood. "The contamination warhead... missed a vital spot? You've regressed?"

"Oss, calm down!" Lucy shouted, "We still need him!"

"I know."

Oswald's hands were trembling violently, but his voice remained steady.

"I know."

Lavasis smiled as he looked at the man's face, which was wrapped in bandages.

"So calm..." he scoffed. "If you had been this calm that night... you wouldn't be burned like this, would you?"

“Shut up!” Lucy yelled.

“Hatred, Oswald, hatred,” Lavasis smiled, seemingly unconcerned about his own life or death. “To be able to maintain such composure in the face of me, as a traitor, your growth has indeed exceeded my expectations.”

"after all..."

Lavasis gave a wicked smile:

"I personally shot your daughter."

"Oh!"

After closing the police car door, Oswald rushed towards the burning orphanage like a madman.

He rushed over as soon as he received Matilda's call, like a mad old dog.

"Matilda!"

Oswald sprinted frantically, he saw the burning crowd... Did he really see it? Or was it all just a hallucination in the black smoke?

He rushed through the orphanage's main gate, shouting as he ran:

"Matilda! Matilda!"

"daughter!"

"..."

Lucy knelt beside Matilda's body, her expression dazed.

She gently touched Matilda's empty face, her mouth slightly agape.

"Teacher...teacher?"

The teacher never responded to her again. It wasn't until many years later that Lucy realized how incredibly brave this teacher, who was usually as gentle as a lamb, was; she had died to expose the truth about the orphanage.

A pair of leather shoes stood in front of Lucy. She looked up in a daze and saw Lavasis pointing a pistol at her.

“Your piece is in excellent condition,” Lavasis said sincerely, “but I am no longer fortunate enough to enjoy it…”

He shook his head, looking quite regretful.

"But I bet the next batch will be about the same quality, right?" the man said in a tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "Goodbye."

Lucy doesn't remember exactly what happened back then.

She suddenly felt connected to something she had tried many times in the lab but had never succeeded at.

fire.

Lucy saw the fire.

Flames engulfed everything in front of her—the pistol, the man.

She remembers running, running very fast.

She ran around the burning orphanage, searching for an exit.

Until a hand grabbed her:

"Little girl! Over here!"

Lucy was lifted up by the police officer's strong arms. The man hesitated as he ran, and Lucy saw that he was gritting his teeth.

Oswald carried Lucy and rushed down to the first floor, all the way to the orphanage's entrance.

He settled Lucy on the ground and gently patted her shoulder.

“Little girl, have you seen a… a tall girl,” Oswald awkwardly began, “she… she’s about two heads taller than you… wearing glasses… oh… damn… her name is Matilda, Ms. Matilda, did she teach your class?”

“Ms. Matilda…” Lucy murmured.

Gunshots, corpses.

"The teacher is here..."

Lucy saw that Matilda's pupils were dilating.

"Fifth floor...Dean's office..."

"Dean's Office..."

Oswald gritted his teeth, took off his coat, and draped it over Lucy.

“Stay here, someone will come to rescue you soon,” he said.

"But...but, Uncle!"

Lucy reached out her hand to Oswald:

"The fire inside... I..."

I made the fire bigger...

She dared not say it.

Oswald gave Lucy a gentle smile, the last time Lucy remembered a man smiling at her; after that, he never had a face again.

“It’s alright,” he said. “I’ll go and rescue your teacher.”

Then, Oswald stormed straight into the orphanage.

After he passed through the gate, the entire gate collapsed, and the fire scorched the building structure so black that its original shape was almost unrecognizable.

Oswald ran desperately through the orphanage, running through flames and letting his body get burned.

He recalled the joy his daughter felt after passing her exams, the unease on her face when she returned from her first job at the orphanage, and the determination with which she handed him that letter the first time.

“Open it and take a look,” Matilda whispered.

He remembered putting his hand on Matilda's shoulder.

“Don’t mess with them,” he whispered. “Little Maddie, don’t mess with them, just pretend you didn’t see them.”

"Didn't you see it? How could I not have seen it..."

That was the first time his daughter shook off his hand. After that, she moved out of the house and lived alone.

Oswald thought his daughter would understand; the world always has a dark side, and he had seen it so many times that he was used to it.

He forgot that a passionate soul will not yield to darkness.

Yes, how could she possibly compromise?

"Matilda!"

Oswald pounded on the stairwell door, shouting as he did so.

"Matilda!"

He was so stupid. How could he underestimate his daughter's courage? He should have stood by her.

Instead of leaving her alone.

"Oh!"

Oswald burst through the stairwell door.

What came into his view was the burning corridor and the figure standing at the end of the corridor.

It was Lavoisier.

He stood there, his body ablaze, a ghostly blue light shimmering in his eyes.

At his feet, Oswald saw a familiar figure.

When Oswald saw her face clearly, his heart skipped a beat.

That's Matilda.

"..."

“Interesting…” Oswald heard Lavasis whisper, “To awaken psychic awareness in this situation…”

Lavasis looked up and waved to Oswald:

"Hey, good evening, Oss."

He lightly kicked Matilda's corpse, then waved his hand, his body rapidly dispersing into a ghostly blue light.

"..."

Oswald couldn't remember how he crawled to Matilda's body.

He lifted his daughter's upper body, looked into her empty eyes, looked at the gunshot wound between her eyebrows, and trembled uncontrollably.

The temperature rose higher and higher, and flames climbed up his body, burning his police uniform and leaving scorch marks on his skin.