The hot wind with flames blew away the white fog in front of Olga.
When Olga was hesitating whether to go into the white fog to find Julius and the others, the hot wind blew away everything in front of him.
What appeared in front of Olga was a burning village.
After the hot wind blew away the fog, what appeared above Olga's head was a night filled with stars. And in such a night, the flames were even brighter … … and even hotter.
Olga could feel the sparks coming to his face. The sparks fell on his clothes and then extinguished.
The land had been scorched and the houses in the village had turned into fuel in the raging fire.
Olga stood outside the village and watched the scene of destruction.
He didn't know what was going on. If this was an illusion, then it was too real.
The fire that seemed to be able to burn people's faces didn't reach Olga who was at the outermost edge, but the temperature was enough to make people feel suffocated.
Everything in front of Olga was strange yet familiar.
He couldn't help but walk towards the burning village and into the fire.
The houses that collapsed because of the fire, the wood that was burned and crackling, these were all things in Olga's memory. But these things were memories from a long time ago. Now, why did they appear in front of him again?
Walking in the burning village, Olga didn't find the existence of anyone, and there were no corpses.
It was as if no one had ever existed here. It was just an uninhabited village that was burned down.
It seemed very unreasonable, and Olga didn't believe that it was real.
But whether it was the temperature or the sound in his ears, it made it hard for him to believe that it was fake.
If this was a stage, then this stage could be said to be perfect.
The most realistic stage would always make people deeply immersed in it, but they could clearly recognize that it was all fake.
Olga vaguely heard people's voices.
Those voices made his heart tighten and beat fiercely.
He couldn't hear those voices clearly, but they were things that existed in his memory, so he understood what those voices were saying.
There were pleas for mercy, screams, and countless shouts.
That was the most primitive and pure reaction a person could make when facing death.
He could hear the voices, but he couldn't see the people who were making them.
In his vision, there was only the burning village and the endless flames. It was as if the entire world was only left with flames.
This feeling did not last long. Olga saw something new.
It was a flame with the silhouette of a human running past his eyes.
There weren't many of them, and from the looks of it, they seemed to be avoiding something. Some of them even fell to the ground. Before they could get up, they seemed to have been hit by something. Their entire body of flames exploded and dissipated in the air.
Olga remembered everything that was happening in front of him.
It was the appearance of the fleeing villagers. They were in a panic and did not know where to go. Some of them were too flustered and fell to the ground, never having the chance to stand up again.
Because the people who destroyed their village were right behind them, wanting to exterminate them.
Even though it was just a flame with the silhouette of a human, it was very real to Olga.
Or in other words, it was because of the flame that it felt ridiculous and clear at the same time.
The humanoid flames kept running past his eyes, and it seemed like there was no end to them.
Olga didn't think a village could have so many people. Was everything that was happening in front of him a cycle?
He didn't know either.
In this strange world, too many things were unknown, so he couldn't tell if everything was real or not.
Among the running and falling figures, one figure stood in front of Olga.
It didn't look at Olga, instead, it looked in the opposite direction of where the fleeing figures were and stopped.
It raised a similar rod-like object in its hand and went against the flow of people, charging forward in front of Olga.
Then, it was sent flying by an invisible force and fell to the ground in front of Olga.
Olga saw the face of the humanoid that stood out from the rest. Unlike the flat faces of the other figures, this one had a more detailed silhouette.
It looked like a young man. When Olga thought so, the silhouette of the humanoid's face became clearer.
It looked very much like Julius — or rather, it should be said that Julius looked very much like this human figure.
Olga still remembered this face, but it was decades ago, so this face didn't belong to Julius and was slightly different from Julius.
The humanoid that fell on the ground tried to stand up again, but it failed.
Its back was penetrated by something, and after falling down, it didn't stand up again and dissipated into sparks.
Olga closed his eyes.
Everything that happened before his eyes felt like it was yesterday, the memories in his heart were dug out and placed in front of him, asking him to see it again — and in such a strange and absurd way.
It was not a pleasant thing to have someone pry into one's heart, but Olga wasn't angry. Instead, his heart was filled with sorrow.
"This is the crime you once committed" a voice rang out beside Olga's ear.
When Olga opened his eyes, he saw a humanoid figure standing before him.
This humanoid figure had his own silhouette and appearance, but it looked younger.
"You, who have killed countless people, can be forgiven because of the awareness and regret of your old age?
I don't think so "
"Who are you?" Olga asked, reaching for the sword at his waist.
His sword was there, and when his hand gripped the hilt, the abnormally high temperature felt like it was going to cook his palm.
But Olga didn't let go, allowing the heat to spread through his palm.
"You shouldn't ask such a question" the humanoid figure said. "I am you, you are me.
It's such a simple and direct thing. You should understand it yourself. "
"I am not you, and you are not me" Olga said.
The humanoid figure didn't seem to intend to continue arguing with Olga on this issue. He just shrugged. "Of course, you can think of it that way, and it is reasonable. The past me is not the present you, and the old me is certainly not the young me."
The humanoid figure's appearance became clearer. The face was indeed Olga's, but it looked more spirited, younger, and … more barbaric and evil.
The humanoid figure continued, "Doesn't this place make you nostalgic?
Even though it happened decades ago, in a remote village, and there was nothing special about it … But you still remember so many details, and those voices … That young man.
This surprises me. "
"It's not just here."
Olga said, "Such scenes, such memories, there seem to be countless … Every memory is a crime I committed."
The humanoid figure shook his head. "It's not as many as you think, old man. You are just drowning in guilt, that's why you have such an illusion … But this young man here is the one who left the deepest impression on you."
Beside the humanoid figure, another humanoid figure with an appearance similar to Julius appeared.
Then, more and more humanoid figures appeared beside Olga.
They surrounded Olga, shouting and roaring, but Olga could no longer hear their voices. It looked like a silent mime.
In Olga's memory, he had never heard the words of these victims. There were only screams, wails, and cries.
These humanoid figures didn't seem to intend to just surround Olga.
"I don't think things like crimes can be washed away so easily, even with time."
The humanoid figure with Olga's appearance continued. He shook his head as if he was sighing. "You shouldn't have realized how you spent the first half of your life when you became an old man. What kind of rotten person you are.
Your guilt and uneasy conscience can't bring the dead back to life. It's just adding to your troubles.
Look at this. Your worthless conscience is like a rock that has finally hit your own feet.
You've already ruined so many people's lives. Why do you want to mess up your own life because of something like this?
Because of regret and guilt, you want to protect those young people when you are about to die of old age? "
The humanoid figure spread out his hands with a helpless look. "What kind of experience would it be to die in the hands of your own memories?"
The flaming humanoid figures tightened the circle again. They approached Olga step by step.
Olga closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and released his hand from the sword hilt.
"No matter how I die, I can't wash away the crimes I have committed.
But there are some things that I can only do while I'm alive. "
Olga opened his eyes and looked at the humanoid figures around him.
There were some people whose faces he had already forgotten, but there were some whose faces were still clear in his memory.
"I can't die here … at least not now."
The humanoid figures rushed towards Olga.