14th July.

The day of the mercy killing, a century after the time where light overcame the great darkness. Light always triumphed. It was the law that governed the universe, the law that kept the world revolving about its axis. 

It is a day where several from the shadow people are chosen to be killed in the city square. "Mercy killing" they called it. A reminder of their place, of how death was a much better option than their pathetic existence. A punishment for being born. They dragged a big man to the middle of the square, along with many others. Tied the noose around their necks. The rope was slack, waiting for more people to gather to watch. Suddenly a little boy's cries pierced through the upper-class slangs of the crowd. 

"APPA! NO! DON'T TAKE MY APPA!" the little boy with the ash-brown hair tried to shove his way through the crowd, his little stature barely comparable to the burly guards. "Daehyun no! Don't! Go home! Please! Appa loves you!" but it was too late. The little boy panicked as the guards grabbed him. He placed his hand on the guard's temple. The uniformed man dropped to the floor, cold, stale, dark like a shadow, like as if all the light had been drained from him. "THAT BOY IS UNTAGGED! KILL HIM!" the commander shouted, clearly distressed. A blunder like this should not have happened. How could they miss tagging a boy? With a dart to his neck, the boy collapsed, his pupils turning a bright white light before the guards carried him away. 

"NO! DON'T HURT HIM! DAEHYUN!" he struggled pointlessly against the restraints. The voice of the big man was muffled as the hangman pulled the black cloth over their heads. No one likes to look death in the eye. 

"And here comes the day of the mercy killings, where light will overcome the shadows. Never will we fear the dark again, for the lord will deliver us from evil. May god have mercy on your blackened souls." with that, the hangman pulled the lever. The 10 bodies hung limp off the ropes, now taut. The audiences clapped, slowly but with great pride at what was done. The bodies swung freely. No one knew their names. No one but their families, cluttered up in the Dwellings, praying that their children would not be next. 

But somewhere seated in the spectators stand, a little blonde-haired boy tried to cover both his eyes and his ears with his tiny palms and fingers. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. He ground his face into his palms, not wanting to see the 10 bodies, nor know what happened to the little boy who collapsed on the floor. "Son, open your eyes. Don't embarrass me. Watch." the king remarked fiercely to the blonde-haired boy, who could only pray hard that the boy with the ash-brown hair was still alive.