In the autumn of 1873, light raindrops began to fall on the cemetery of the village of the sinners, washing the forgotten graves dirty with the dust of the cold winds. At the edge of the village, specifically behind the rusty iron fence of the cemetery, sits a small, dilapidated wooden house, worn down by age. On its bed made of scraps lies a sixteen-year-old boy named "Grave", a frail, dirty and bald boy afflicted with leprosy. He tightly grips his tattered blanket to shield himself from the autumn chill. Grave slowly opens his wide eyes at the sound of the rain while sitting up, scratching his head and saying in his innocent, yawning voice:
"Ugh, I hope there's no burial today; I'm tired enough already."
At that moment, his stomach emits familiar hunger sounds, prompting him to add:
"What a bad situation; I guess I'm hungry."
Grave throws off his blanket and continues:
"Well, I know where to go when I don't have any money in my pocket."
He quickly washes his face, then puts on his worn-out coat and his holey shoes before leaving his wooden house.
Next to the crossroads leading to the center of the village, three boys, not older than fourteen, are tormenting a small gray puppy behind thick grass beside the road, grabbing it by the neck while they play. Grave, on his way to the village, suddenly hears the sound of the suffering puppy and quietly approaches the sound through the thick bushes. He spots the mischievous boys playing, but he chooses to stay hidden, waiting to see what will happen. One of the boys picks up a large rock, moving closer to the puppy to throw it at him, but just before he brings it down, Grave intervenes at the last moment, shouting:
"Hey, that's my puppy!"
The boys turn to Grave, and one of them recognizes him, saying:
"Grave, is that you?"
Grave replies, his voice trembling with fear upon seeing the boy's face:
"Ccilion, I'm sorry; I was just passing by with my puppy until I lost him."
Cilion grabs the puppy and heads towards Graive, responding:
"Oh, if it's your puppy, why not take it?"
Grave extends his hand to take the puppy, but Cilion suddenly pulls his hand back, saying with a mischievous smile:
"But you know... could you lend us your puppy for a bit? Just for some play, you know."
Grave, trying to take the puppy peacefully:
"Sorry, but I'm already late, so could you…"
Cilion interrupts Grave with an angry face, saying:
"Hey, baldy, are you trying to refuse my request! Have you forgotten who you are? You're the sickly bald villager, you're Gravesoil."
Grave bows his head in shame upon hearing the boy's arrogant words, and Cilion smiles wickedly, adding:
"There you go, that's the face that suits you. Don't forget to know your place next time…"
And before Cilion finishes his words, Grave suddenly snatches the puppy from his hand, throwing it away as the puppy limps off, escaping the scene with its injured leg. Cilion then grabs Grave by the neck, choking him, saying:
"You'll pay for what you did, you coward."
Cilion and his companions start hitting Grave hard as noon approaches, but despite that, with every kick and punch aimed at his frail body, Grave keeps smiling. Cilion notices Grave's smile and pushes his friends away, asking while panting:
"Hey! Is that a smile? Are you crazy?"
Grave responds gently laughing:
"No, I'm just happy, happy that the puppy won't die and I won't have to bury it, heh."
Cilion spat in Graeve's bruised and bloodied face after hearing his words, saying while still panting:
"To hell with you, weirdo, just stay within your limits next time."
Cilion finished his words and then left the place with his gang, while Grave lay on his back catching his breath and said:
"Well, it's getting late, Mr. Lance must have already left his house. I guess I won't eat today."
Grave was about to get up when he suddenly noticed the shadow of someone in front of him. He raised his head to find an old man with a short, trimmed beard wearing a long leather coat standing in front of him. At that moment, signs of joy appeared on the hungry boy's face as he shouted:
"Mr. Lance, it really is you! I was on my way to you but..."
Mr. Lance hugged Grave, interrupting him, and held him like that for a moment before saying:
"Good, Grave, I thought they had reached you before me. You need to come to my house right away; I have something to tell you."
Grave nodded shyly:
"Okay, uh, just so you know, I'm hungry anyway, so I'd appreciate it if you could host me?."
The sound of greedy eating and gulping water was all that Grave emitted right after Mr. Lance served him food inside his home in the village, where he sat on the luxurious antique sofa beside the elegant short wooden table. The old man looked at the ground, thinking, while waiting for Grave to finish his meal. Grave noticed the old man's worried glances and stopped eating, saying:
"Ah, you mentioned you wanted to tell me something, what is it?"
Mr. Lance turned to him, responding eagerly:
"Grave, do you believe in supernatural things?"
Grave, surprised:
"Huh, what's this now?"
Mr. Lance:
"Just answer me."
Grave hesitated in his response:
"Well, I've never seen or noticed such things before, so..."
Mr. Lance, excitedly:
"No, no, no, no, no, don't say that, my son, that's completely wrong. I have spent my whole life up to this moment as a doctor, and I believe, like you, in what I see and what logic and reason support, but... okay, okay, okay..."
Mr. Lance grabbed Grave's shoulders, continuing:
"Just promise me, if you notice any strange person with horns on their head, just run away without hesitation."
Grave's curiosity and confusion increased after hearing Mr. Lance's strange words, so he asked him:
"I don't understand anything, just calm down and tell me what's happening exactly."
Mr. Lance then smiled a desperate smile, bowing his head to the ground, and said:
"Huh, I'm telling you what's happening?"
Mr. Lance opened his mouth, and at that moment, a strange mark illuminated on his tongue, then he added:
"Just by thinking about telling someone about it, this mark on my tongue starts to glow, preventing me from moving. Just promise me one thing: when I die one day, bury me and pray for mercy and forgiveness for all my sins."
After a few hours, Grave is on the sidewalk of one of the village streets, returning home while recalling the last thing the old woman said to Lance. Suddenly, Grave catches a glimpse of a stylish gray classic suit in the window of a clothing shop, and he stops for a moment, imagining himself in it. While he is lost in his daydreams, he begins to hear someone calling out to him, shouting:
"Hey you, you grave boy!"
The dreaming boy wakes up from his illusions, turning his head towards the source of the voice. It's just the shop owner, angrily addressing Grave:
"Isn't the disaster of the fire you caused enough? Get out of here, you poor thing, you can't afford it anyway."
Grave sarcastically mutters to himself as he walks away from the shop:
"Ha, a fire disaster. I don't know how I caused that when I was sleeping in my house, which is four miles away from the incident. This is how it is; after all, I am the harbinger of doom for the village of the wicked."
Suddenly, Grave bumps into a tall, thin man wearing a black mask and a dark purple turban with a scar over his right eye. Grave thinks for a moment and then says to him:
"Wait, you look strange around here. Can I help you?"
The strange man, in his calm voice, replies:
"Just continue on your way little one."
At seven in the evening, inside the wooden cemetery house, Grave sits on his bed, ready to fall asleep when he suddenly hears a knock at the door. He mutters to himself grumbling as he gets up from his place:
"Damn, it must be a burial case; these people don't wait until morning. They just want to get rid of the corpse as soon as possible."
Grave opens the door after struggling with the rusty nail that barely keeps it shut, only to find the tall man with the mask, whom he had previously bumped into, standing in front of him, carrying a new coffin on his shoulder. He marvels at his strength, adding:
"You, aren't you the man from noon? How do you carry the coffin so easily on your shoulder!"
The strange man ignores Grave's question, saying:
"Are you the grave digger?"
Grave replies:
"Yes sir, that's me."
Grave begins to dig the grave with his shovel under the white moonlight illuminating the other graves, and his gaze falters as he digs into the turban covering the man's head, recalling the old man's words to Lance about that horned man, causing doubt to creep into his heart as he says:
"So, did you come here looking for someone? I can help you in the search; I am the son of the village."
The strange man responds:
"Well, actually, I came looking for an old friend, but you could say I haven't found him... in a way."
Then he pauses for a moment and adds directly:
"I am now looking for a boy named Gravesoil."
Terror creeps into Graif's heart, and he begins to tremble, but he steadies himself, saying:
"W-what do you want from poor Grave?"
The strange man looks at him with eyes filled with mystery and replies:
"It's just a bequest my friend told me about."
The terror in Grave's heart intensifies, but he keeps his composure and continues digging. The strange man notices Graif's trembling hands and leans toward his ear, then whispers:
"It's you, isn't it? You are Gravesoil."
Grave's foot suddenly moves upon hearing the man's words, turning towards him and directing his body in succession, trying to hit the man in the face with the shovel, but the man easily catches the shovel, saying:
"Ha, so it is you after all."
Grave tries to follow the shovel strike with a sudden kick, but the man catches his foot with his other hand and adds:
"Hold on there, boy..."
The strange man calmly releases the shovel and Grave's foot, then removes his turban while saying:
"Don't worry, I'm not the man the oldman Lance warned you about."
Grave notices that the man does not have those horns that Mr. Lance warned him about, and he feels reassured, adding:
"Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding."
Then he turns to the coffin and adds:
"Let's first bury this coffin."
Grave continues digging the grave, then grabs the head of the coffin while the strange man holds it from below to place it in the hole. Grave struggles to lift the coffin, but suddenly stumbles on a rock, causing the coffin to fall from his side. The lid of the coffin shifts slightly, shocking Grave with the sight of the person inside; it is Mr. Lance, dead inside the coffin. Grave steps back a little, staring at the strange man with a look of shock filled with horror, and the man responds:
"Grave, wait..."
In that moment, the old man's words telling him to flee immediately upon seeing that man drown out the rest of his speech, and he then runs towards the forest.
Grave stops after tiring from running through the forest, leaning against one of the tree trunks to catch his breath, but he discovers that the tree he is leaning on is dead with dry, hardened bark. He looks around and finds that all the trees in the area are in that condition. Grave turns around to find himself standing in front of a massive stone maze. While he is astonished by what he sees, the maze's door suddenly opens, and he hears a mischievous voice in his ear saying:
"Enter."
Grave is startled by that voice, but he also hears the sound of the strange man's footsteps following him, so he rushes into the maze without thinking.
The maze's door closes behind Grave, who finds himself among its high, intertwined walls—stone walls with some parasites on them, but they are no less ominous than the rusty iron fences of a graveyard. Grave slowly advances, placing his hand on the wall, feeling his solitude. However, without warning, a strong, faint blue light suddenly shines from the center of the maze, causing Grave to step back a few paces, only to hear that mischievous voice in his ear again saying:
"Proceed, follow the light."
Grave begins to delve deeper into the maze, following the light, even though his features betray his disbelief in what is happening. After going deep into the maze, Grave reaches its center, where he finds a long silver scepter topped with a blue gem that emits a faint blue light, embedded in the cracks of the decaying cement ground. He then says to himself:
"Who would have thought that this small thing was the source of that light?"
The voice suddenly speaks again inside Grave's mind, saying:
"Gravesoil... we finally meet."
Grave, staring fearfully at the jewel of the scepter, replies:
"Who are you? And what do you want exactly?"
The voice laughs, answering:
"Who am I! I have been with you since your birth, watching you silently throughout your life, eagerly waiting for the moment you enter the forest. Ha, everyone in the village sees you as a kind and gentle person who loves to turn his right cheek when slapped on the other."
Then it laughs loudly, continuing:
"Ha ha ha, those fools really don't know what this poor face hides."
Suddenly, Grave's face changes, laughing a mad laugh, then he smiles a wicked smile, saying:
"Fools? They truly are. I have spent my life burying their rotten corpses with my own hands. Despite my weak body and worsening illness, every time... every time I carry one of their coffins and place it in a dark hole for the last time, I feel happy because the world has rid itself of one of its pests..."
Then he looks at the ground with his mad smile and some suppressed tears, continuing:
"I have wished many times to kill all the inhabitants of that rotten village myself, but what can a weak person like me do?"
The voice:
"Weak! What do you think of a deal? I will grant you power... in exchange for freeing me from this place."
Grave thinks for a moment and then answers seriously:
"I am not sure about trusting a strange voice in an isolated maze, Nevertheless, in your opinion... what decision would someone who has even lost his hair make!"
Grave holds the scepter with both hands, struggling to pull it from the crevice of the ground amidst the rising laughter of the mysterious voice. He gazes at the scepter in his hands after retrieving it, his wide eyes smiling, and the voice speaks:
"Well done, now all that remains is to fulfill the condition."
Grave inquires, "What condition?"
The voice replies, "In order to grant you my power, I must transfer my consciousness into your mind..."
Grave interrupts, "I allow you to do that."
The voice says, "Take your time, young man, let me explain... By allowing me to transfer my consciousness into your mind, you are providing a service that obligates me to fulfill a request of your choosing, and without it, I cannot do so. Do you understand?"
Grave smiles enthusiastically, "I know exactly what I want."
The voice warns, "Hold on there, little one, your eyes suggest a great request, and I am not at my full strength yet."
Grave states, "I want... to regain my hair."
The voice laughs excitedly, "Ha ha ha, that's a wonderful request, you shall have it immediately."
The scepter's gem suddenly lights up in Grave's hand, causing his hair to begin growing as the leprosy starts to fade from his skin. Long gray hair, eyes shining with a faint blue light, a handsome face—this was the new description at that moment for Grave. But while Grave was in a mixed state of euphoria and disbelief at what was happening, a legion of armored knights suddenly appeared from behind the walls behind him, clad in dark blue armor, worn and seemingly buried long ago. The legion of knights began to run towards Grave, attacking him with their rusted swords and spears, and a voice accompanied them, saying to him:
"Damn, they are the guards of my prison; it seems they have indeed awakened."
Grave, in a tone of cute fear:
"Guards, prison, so don't tell me I'm about to help a criminal escape."_
The voice:
"Don't worry, leave them to me... just lend me your body."
Grave:
"Wait, lend you what!"
The faint blue light in Grave's eyes intensified, attacking the prison maze guards in turn without control. Grave's body, now controlled, began to fight smoothly and skillfully, using the scepter, and he remarked:
"Are you sure the scepter was made for this?"
The voice replied:
"Anything solid that doesn't break easily is a weapon."
The fighting continues for a while when Grave is on the brink of collapse, suddenly one of the guards betrays him, knocking him to the ground. The voice then adds:
"Damn, I think we have no other choice. The only thing we can do now is the control spell."
Grave:
"Why didn't you say that from the beginning?"
The voice:
"Because this spell will take a part of your body."
Grave:
"Very straightforward."
One of the guards prepares to strike Grave's neck with his sword, and the latter screams in fear:
"Agreed, agreed, anything would be better than the neck."
The guards of the maze prison freeze in place after Grave's scream, then everyone kneels on one knee, bowing their heads towards him. Grave stands on his feet, happy to have survived, but he remembers the spell's requirement to take a part of his body and checks his hands, feet, and face with confusion, saying:
"Good, everything is in place."
But signs of fear appear on his face when he remembers something else, adding:
"Hold on a moment."
Grave checks what's inside his pants, panicking in fear, then breathes a sigh of relief, saying:
"Good, it's also in place."
The voice responds, surprised:
"Strange! I haven't cast the control spell yet! Also, none of your internal or external organs have been harmed; perhaps the reason is..."
And before he finishes his sentence, the voice changes the subject, adding:
"In any case, let me congratulate you on your new army, but be aware, you won't be able to leave the maze for four years."
Grave, with a smile suggesting foolishness:
"Yeh, and you still surprise me."