But as soon as he arrived, and experienced the same reaction that Maya had, he wondered what was happening, his expression oddly troubled.
This time, the main hall was completely empty—at least that's what he thought.
He turned to the right and left, and there he saw a young woman sitting alone, lost in thought. He recognized her immediately; it was his wife, Maya.
He hurried over and patted her shoulder. She turned, saw him, and smiled at once: "It's you." After that, Sky Sword did not say a word; he simply moved the chair opposite Maya with his hand and sat down.
"Who else could it be?" he replied.
He asked, "Why is the place empty? Where is everyone?"
Maya answered his question: "It seems that my father gathered them to hold funeral rites for all the souls lost in this catastrophe."
For a moment, Sky Sword was astonished, but then he smiled: "I see, that's thoughtful of him."
He asked, "Is Zane with them too?"
She replied, "Yes, and all the other males as well. Only we girls remain."
Sky Sword nodded in understanding.
As for Zane, he was among the students digging graves outside, where thousands of corpses lay piled and intertwined. Sorting them was difficult, so he spoke of the bodies in that dark, desolate alley.
Some students from the third group joined the first group, making about twenty students whose task was to carry the bodies and pass them to the second group.
Zane was now in the first group. It had been extremely hard for him; he was the one who vomited the most among them all. His mouth was completely dry, and he kept drinking water. His stomach was empty—there was nothing left to bring up.
If the urge to vomit came upon him again, he feared he would injure his stomach. Fortunately, the feeling had not returned yet, though much time had passed.
Then Raven gave the order to stop.
"It's getting late. We will continue tomorrow."
Everyone obeyed immediately, and joy and relief spread through them—they had been exhausted, and this respite was welcome.
They buried the last group, packed up their things, and began the journey back, while Sky Sword and Maya continued talking.
Suddenly, they heard a noise from outside—everyone had already returned.
Maya and Sky Sword realized this and stood up at once; Sky Sword headed to his room while Maya went to the kitchen to help the girls wash the dishes.
Everyone entered, looking utterly worn out and miserable. The stench of death clung to them.
Raven called out, "Girls!"
They left the kitchen at once, Maya among them. They covered their noses against the foul smell.
Raven said, "Could you prepare the bath? As you see, we're in a dreadful state."
The girls answered, "We'll get it ready right away."
They moved to prepare, and everyone sat on the available chairs in the hall. Their clothes clung to them in the heat, and they struggled to breathe as sweat poured down their brows.
About an hour later, the bath was ready. One of the girls announced it.
Everyone stood up and went to the bath immediately. It was a large room with a long corridor lined with small, attached wooden stalls, each separated by wooden partitions.
Each stall had a door, a wooden bucket, a washing basin, and a small wooden stool. At the front wall were two faucets, one for hot water and one for cold.
Beneath the floor, empty of any foundation, lay room to burn firewood underneath so that steam would fill the bath.
But this time, no firewood had been added—since the weather was already hot, there was no need to stoke a fire. They would bathe with warm or cold water, according to their preference.
Time passed, and everyone returned to the main hall, looking refreshed. The girls began cooking again, as most of the students were starving.
Earlier, nearly everyone had refused to eat, their appetites lost after the death of two of their comrades. But now, revived, their hunger returned.
They sat amid scattered chairs and tables, chaos reigning. But as soon as the girls brought in the food, the boys automatically straightened up, arranging the chairs themselves.
Sky Sword was in his room, lying on the floor, staring at his left hand when the smell of cooking reached him.
He wondered, "Are they cooking again?" The aroma was so pleasant that he got up to check.
He was hungry too—he had vomited all he ate before.
He closed his door and walked to the hall. He saw everyone gathered at the tables, eating with eagerness and appetite. Sky Sword was momentarily surprised, but then he smiled; they had overcome the loss of their companions.
He looked around until he spotted Zane, then walked straight over to him. He pulled out a chair from the table and sat down.
Sky Sword asked, "What's wrong? You're so quiet and look exhausted. Are you all right?"
Zane smiled, hiding his fatigue: "Nothing at all, I'm fin
e. The work outside was tough, but don't worry—I'll regain my energy once I eat."
Sky Sword sat beside Zane and stared at him for a moment before asking in a calm tone:
"Zane… you look exhausted. Is everything okay?"
Zane replied without looking at him, his voice low and hesitant:
"It's nothing important… I'm just tired."
Sky Sword was silent for a moment, then said:
"Tired physically… or on the inside?"
Zane let out a short, lifeless laugh:
"What's the difference? Both lead to the same end."
Sky Sword continued gently:
"You didn't seem like yourself when you came in. Your face was pale, your eyes unfocused… I saw you holding your stomach like you were in pain."
Zane sighed slowly and said:
"I was vomiting the whole time… not just from the smell, but from everything I saw. I didn't think it would get to me, but…"
He paused for a few seconds, then added:
"Something inside me broke. And I'm not sure if it'll ever go back to the way it was."