"If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
—Friedrich Nietzsche
Drip... drip...
"Ugh, not rain... Just a stupid leak. And worse, it woke me up."
That was the first thing the boy thought before opening his eyes to a big leak dripping through the rotten wooden ceiling.
"Great. I guess I'm fixing that today," he muttered, already annoyed.
He got up off the creaky floor—if you could call that half-rotten mess a floor. It was part of the place he called home, even if it was just a half-collapsed shack. His gait was unsteady, limping. His crimson eyes stood out under deep, tired bags. Black, unkempt hair framed a face that hadn't seen soap in a while.
"What the hell is that smell...? Oh. Right. Me again. Getting used to smelling like a corpse..."
He stepped outside, greeted by a striking rural view from atop a hill near a quiet village in Sendai. The sky was blooming with morning colors, peaceful... until the trees whispered. A hiss like steam escaped through the foliage, paired with soft, metallic footfalls.
The boy squinted at the bushes.
"Chuff. I know you're there. Get out before you hurt yourself!"
From the underbrush emerged a bizarre creature, vaguely dachshund-shaped, but made of metal tubes and steam vents. It let off soft puffs of vapor with every step. The boy wasn't alarmed. Instead, he walked over, patted the mechanical dog's head, and turned to head back. Chuff followed loyally.
CRUNCH. that horrible sound of metal pieces falling of that creature were the only sound on the area.
"I NEED TO FEED."
That thing was comformed by multiple metal pieces, gears and strange metal plates, that were colored by a really disgusting mustard yellow, that had a consistency similar to the blood.
The creature crawled from the shadows, dragging itself through the quiet town of Sendai.
At the next day a Birdsong filled the village air, and the sun blazed overhead. It was the kind of heat that would make a desert camel pass out—but the birds sang on. The peaceful melody broke only with the sound of hammering. The boy was up on the roof, fixing the leak. His sweat dripped down his chin, black hair sticking to his face.
Beside him, Puff held wooden planks in his jaws, eyes curious as he watched.
"That should do... at least for today," the boy sighed, wiping his forehead.
He picked up the dog in his arms. "At least I've got you, huh?"
But the sky was darkening. He'd spent too long on the roof. He descended the wooden ladder quickly, carried Puff inside, and slammed more boards across the windows and doors. The moon was rising.
And when the moon rises... "they" hunt.
That night, he couldn't sleep. Puff was curled next to him.
"Is this it? Is this really all my life is going to be...?"
He turned and noticed the dog watching him. A small smile crossed his face.
"I don't remember if I ever told you this... We've lived together for six years, but... I feel like I need to say it again. I feel alone sometimes. I mean, who'd want the son of a murderer? Because that's what I am, right?"
Puff barked once, gently.
"I miss my mom too. They say she was sick. Cancer, or something. I never met her..."
Before Puff could react, a dreadful sound came from outside. Metallic. Hungry. Puff tensed, tail flicking wildly. The boy hugged him.
"You know what else? My parents left me some paper with weird markings. I tried reading it, but I barely understood a word. Nobody in town will help me. It's kind of funny, huh?"
Still no calm in the dog's eyes.
"Buff... I know we're gonna die someday. We've got nothing. No food. But I have one big dream. I want someone to need me. Just once. I want to be the hero in someone's story. I want to look up at the sky one day and say: 'I'm awesome.'"
The sounds outside grew louder. He hugged Puff tighter.
"Get some rest, Buff."
That yellowish fluid appeared again, —almost bloodlike—gushed out.
That creature crawled into the bushes, hiding from whatever had ripped it apart. It let out a piercing scream and tore a thick cable from its body with its jagged teeth. Then, it spotted a bird's nest.
The morning song was gone.
All that remained was a puddle of blood and bones, shredded remains of what was once a beautiful bird.
Morning returned, but no birds sang. Something felt wrong. The villagers whispered about something crawling through the area. Some said the Committee was losing control. Others blamed lazy monsters.
But one thing was true: a thick trail of oil had been found.
Tetsu walked through the village alone. Puff couldn't come down—too dangerous.
"Just two days of supplies," he told himself.
But then the village madman, old Yuzuke, was ranting again.
"I saw it! I saw that demon climbing the hill!"
Tetsu ignored him. Or tried to. But the old man spotted him.
"DEMON BOY!! I KNOW YOU HIDE THAT THING IN YOUR SHITTY CABIN!! YOU!! YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!!"
People turned to stare. Tetsu froze.
"I don't hide any demons! You know that!"
But the old man grabbed him by the shirt.
"YOU DO! AND I'LL FIND IT! AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF A MURDERER'S SON HARBORS MONSTERS!"
Tetsu looked away.
A second later, his fist met the old man's face, dropping him in front of the crowd.
"Don't talk about my father! Maybe he was a bastard, fine... but I'm not him. I'm going to be better. You hear me? BETTER."
After hit that old man, Tetsu walked again to his cabin, well, What any thing he could do after all?.
When he was close to the cabin he saw that trash can,
-Aleluya!! exclaimed the boy!!,
He started to urge in the trash and!!!, Bingo!!, a bread piece was in there
-Here is the dinner!!, maybe Buff would be happy if I eat it with him.
Back at the cabin, the sun was almost gone. He slammed the door behind him—not realizing it was off its hinges.
"Buff? You here? I brought dinner."
No reply. But Buff often wandered off and came back.
He sat, tears falling as he chewed the stale bread.
He didn't see the thing in the shadows.
Metallic footsteps echoed.
"Buff? That you?"
But something was off. Buff's steps had a signature sound: a puff.
This wasn't him.
He tried to crawl away. A pair of glowing white eyes stared from the darkness.
He touched the floor.
Sticky. Yellow.
The beast emerged—a metal creature, its frame stained in mustard-colored oil and blood. Missing a leg. Sharp teeth like a wild animal. Steel plates covered its body, but black flesh pulsed beneath.
"Got ya," it said, voice like metal and static. Its mouth didn't move.
Tetsu didn't resist. He just remembered the conversation with Buff.
He wanted to go back to that night. The one where everything was okay.
The creature growled:
"BOY... A FEW DAYS AGO I WAS TORN APART BY HUMANS LIKE YOU! AS COMPENSATION, LET ME CHEW YOUR BONES AND REBUILD MYSELF. THEN I CAN KILL EVERYONE IN THIS MISERABLE VILLAGE."
No scream. Just silence.
The creature licked its lips. The boy lay motionless. Legs visible. Eyes filled with resignation.
Then came that sound.
"Buff. Buff."
He turned. His friend had returned.
The metal dog approached, and for the first time, it spoke:
"Live, Tetsu... live. You were the first person who made me feel loved. Thank you... for everything."
"I am one of them too. But I can't let you die. Not yet. I give you my core. Be the hero someone needs. Keep going. Don't think about me... just promise me you'll be the greatest hero to the ones you're destined to meet."
"That's right... I forgot my name was Tetsu."
Morning came again.
No birds. No sound. Just silence.
The creature lay in pieces. Oil spilled across the floor. It wasn't even that grotesque. Just metal and ruin.
And the village... it was completely destroyed, the old village was just a fantasy that gone few of hours ago.
Then: buff, buff. Followed by heavy metallic steps.
Tetsu was no longer human.
A beast made of metal, barely humanoid. Arms like gauntlets with claws. Cables linking joints. A blade protruding from his right wrist. His head was all metal, teeth like knives, shaped like the front of a steam locomotive. His back puffed steam from twin turbines.
He breathed out. Only vapor came.
All was in silence, a horrible silence, that was interrupted by a strange sound, it was a group of unknoun group of people with a strange formal suit, but one person in that group was stooing out, a man with a gas mask that cover all his face, just his forehead and his dull yellow hair where visible
"The townsfolk called in a panic... and I see now they were right," he said in a foreign accent.
He looked down at the beast's corpse.
"So you kill that fallen, huh?"
Tetsu didn't speak. Just panted.
"You still have a humanoid form. You were human I guess. But... you're an Errant now, Sorry, kid... we arrive so late, but tht dosen't matter now, now I couldn't leave you go.. so you will come with us. Undersant?."
He tilted his head.
"Gute Nacht, Dampfjunge."
A massive blade pierced Tetsu before he could react.
Not fatal. But enough.
The last thing he heard was:
"Take him."
Then, blackness.