What happened inside?
Oliver's heartbeat quickened. The reason he followed the spectres was because of his instinctual feeling that they meant no harm.
Unlike others who desperately think and search for answers, Oliver believes more in his instinct.
In his past life, it was often these instincts that saved his life.
But, now he was suddenly feeling a chill.
The spectators walked along the tunnel while jumping and singing like the atmosphere didn't affect them at all.
It took them a while to reach the end of the tunnel.
Oliver's heart tightened when the pungent smell intensified.
Suddenly, the space opened up to reveal a deep pit. Inside the pit were neatly arranged rows of corpses.
Oliver's fist tightened.
It was not just any corpses. But the corpses of young children who were not even five years old.
*Crack*
Something broke inside Oliver when he saw it.
Then his eyes slowly drifted towards the hundred or so humanoid spectres jumping and singing.
When the dots connected, Oliver felt his heart drop. The rage that built up inside him reached its peak but he suppressed it in a heartbeat.
Unknowingly, he sat on the ground.
Once again, humanity didn't fail to disappoint him.
Whenever he thought there was hope, there would come a day reminding him why he became a villain.
Why, he can never become a hero.
In this world, humans believe they are gods and they can do anything. So, at times to spread fear in them, someone like him should exist.
A good person can never do bad things, but there is nothing prohibiting a bad person from doing good. So to be a good person, you would have to be willing to sacrifice certain things. Therefore, he never wished to be a good person.
Oliver, who sat on the ground, used a second to get back his composure.
He then turned to the humanoid spectres running around and the mink.
"What should I do?" He asked.
"Are you willing to hear us now?"
"Yes."
"Then, let me show you a few parts. If you see it all at once, you may lose your mind. Once you see the part, decide if you are willing to see the rest." The mink flew closer and placed its palm on Oliver's head.
With a humming sound, mana began to flow into Oliver's body, and along with it came memories of the mink and the children.
The mink was a mana beast living inside the mountain thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years ago. At that time, the mountain base had an abandoned temple. After it died, its spirit was trapped inside the temple. It realised its predicament and waited for a chance to escape.
Days, months and years passed at no avail. The mink couldn't escape. Instead of its spirit weakening, it grew in strength.
Like that, an eternity passed in loneliness.
It was then that the children came looking for it.
The spirit of the children who died in the research outpost came to it and took the form of spectres.
All that the children wanted was for someone to hear their story, someone to care and someone to say it's okay and it was not their fault.
However, no one could hear them.
Slowly, through the interaction with children, the mink learned their language. Heard them and understood their pain.
Oliver let out a deep sigh.
"Unlike me, they were not bound to the temple. Their spirits vanished as mana dissipated, leaving only a piece of their being with me."
"Let me ask on their behalf. Are you willing to accept their memories and pain?"
"Yes." Oliver didn't even hesitate.
"Then, let me show you what they have gone through and what their final wish was."
Scenes changed in a flash.
Everything darkened.
Other than the noise of the engine and the occasional bump to the wall, Oliver couldn't see or feel anything.
His consciousness seemed vague and blurry, unable to grasp his surroundings, as if he was drugged.
Soon, he woke up in a cell. Glass panels separated him from the outside where researchers were hurriedly walking.
Oliver saw familiar faces. The face of the demon and chief, talking to each other about something.
The scene changed again as if only fragments of the memory remained.
This time, he was strapped to a metallic table. The chief was injecting vials into his body.
Then an immediate shot of pain coursed through his body. Oliver was feeling the exact pain the child felt.
Even though he was someone who was well-versed in handling pain, he still felt like his bones were being gnawed on.
The intense pain made his real body jerk.
Suddenly, the scene changed again.
This time, the child had mutated. Instead of two arms, he now had four. And his skin was covered in dark grey scales.
The scene changed again.
It was similar to the previous scene. The researchers injected something into his body. Intense pain later, his body mutated.
The cycle continued until the child became a hollow shell. A body without mind.
Then on the last cycle, he turned into a monster. The researchers laughed in joy seeing it.
Humans generally had strong minds and a similarly strong sense of self. They couldn't turn into monsters naturally.
The researchers were thrilled to finally turn one into a monster.
Their research on healing accelerants was progressing quickly.
But the child soon died. His corpse was thrown into the pit behind cold storage.
His last wish was to say sorry to his mom. He wanted to say he would never let go of her hand to buy candy again.
However, it was not a wish that he needed to fulfil. It was something the child said to soothe his regretful heart. Just having someone hear his wish erased his regret.
That was just the experience of one child.
Oliver heard it.
The final wish.
The moment he heard it, a small spectre near him smiled gleefully and turned into a few shiny specs of dust and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Oliver felt his heart turn heavy.
After the first child, the memories of the next child played in his mind.
Oliver went through the pain and suffering the child felt. This time, he concentrated intensely on etching all the faces he saw into his memories.
The child's last wish was to buy his sister, a one-year-old, a birthday present.
Like that, he experienced the memories of one hundred and forty-four children.
He heard the one hundred forty-four last wishes.
He freed children from their regret.
"Ha ha ha…" Suddenly, he opened his eyes like a madman and laughed.
After hearing all their wishes, Oliver was feeling something suffocating.
"Not one wanted revenge. Not one child wanted something bad to happen to those who tortured them."
The children were the exact opposite of himself.
They were innocent, pure and naive.
Their wishes were simple.
Oliver etched the memories in his mind swearing to never forget it.
When he turned around, he saw the empty area where the spectres stood and sighed.
"Mink, thank you for showing me that. You made me remember what I should do."
"?" The mink tilted its head.
"Now, show me where the monster is. And help me save my people." Oliver quickly focused on the task at hand.
His body had already healed and it was time to take action.