Caladrius Blue 

A puppeteer traveling from country to country. The puppets he controls sing and dance as if brought to life, captivating people wherever he goes. As a result, his name and his art became the talk of the town in every region.

There were also strange, unverified rumors circulating about him. It was said that he could “cure any illness instantly.” Some among the powerful believed these rumors and even sent messengers to seek him out.

“…Are you Lord Caladrius?”
There stood the puppeteer, having just finished his performance on the street, and a man who had approached him.

I was led by a man claiming to be an envoy to a large mansion in a certain town.

“I am the lord of this land.”
The lord lay in bed, speaking to me. His complexion was far from healthy, and it was clear he was pushing himself even now.

“I hear you can cure any illness.”
“…That is generally correct.”
“Then cure my illness right now.”
“Understood. Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
I opened my eyes wide and stared into his. A few seconds later, having seen everything, I let out a small sigh and told him.

“…I’m sorry, but it seems you are not worth saving.”
“What are you saying… Ugh… Guh…”
The lord clutched his chest and began to writhe in pain. Witnessing the scene, his family and servants began to panic and fall into confusion. Glancing at them, I left the mansion.

“Will I get better?”

Spoke a boy, who had been bedridden with illness. He looked back and forth between his father (a well-known merchant) and me, whom he was meeting for the first time.

“Yes, that’s right. Your illness will be cured.”

Ignoring his father, who spoke optimistically without knowing anything, I looked into the boy’s eyes. And then, his life…

“Wait, that child shouldn’t be carrying any burdens.”

Turning toward the voice, I saw Alice, the doll I was traveling with. The boy and his father were stunned that the doll had moved on its own and stood frozen in place.

“This isn’t your place to be.”

Hearing those words, I reluctantly stepped away from the boy, and Alice, having confirmed the situation, began to sing. It was a song of such fleeting beauty that the boy and his father were completely captivated by the melody.

After the song ended, the boy cried out in amazement at the miracle that had occurred.

“Dad! It doesn’t hurt! It doesn’t hurt anymore!”

Hearing those words, the father’s eyes widened, and soon, large tears began to stream down his face.

After witnessing the boy’s full recovery at the wealthy merchant’s mansion, we headed back to the inn in town, where we had a room.

The moment we entered the room, I confronted Alice.

“Do you realize just how dangerous it is to let people see you like that?”

Alice isn’t just a doll. She has self-awareness and can act independently. However, since revealing this could lead us to trouble, I had asked her to refrain from acting alone.

“You were trying to use your power on that child, weren’t you?”

Besides Alice’s true identity, we had another secret, related to our supernatural powers. I possessed the power to take human lives, and Alice possessed the power to heal people’s illnesses. With these powers that were polar opposites, we were on a journey to take and collect the lives of others for a specific purpose.

“Are you planning to break the rules?”
“…I’m sorry. But this is for your own good.”

Upon hearing my words, Alice said nothing more.

There is a hero in this country. He fought valiantly in the great war of old, earning the praise of the people as a hero and being granted the rank of general by the nation. Even after that, he devoted himself body and soul to the country and its people, until eventually he fell gravely ill.

“My apologies, guest. Could you wait a moment?”

We were meeting with the retired old hero. His appearance had deteriorated so much that it was hard to believe he was a man once called a hero.

“I used to run across the battlefield all by myself, but now, well, look at me.”

I stared intently at him as he said this and laughed innocently.

While we waited for him, I quietly spoke to Alice.

“We’re going to take his life.”
“But… he’s a hero beloved by the people. I don’t think he’s burdened with that much guilt.”
“It sounds good to call him a hero, but at his core, he’s a killer. …The karma of taking a human life doesn’t fade so easily.”

And the next day, news of the hero’s death spread throughout the country, and those who heard it are said to have mourned his passing.

“The town’s pretty noisy today.”
“Of course it is. The nation’s hero has died.”
“Oh, right.”
“But I never thought I’d end up using my powers on a hero.”
“You didn’t break the rules.”
“…I know that.”

Alice had established two rules regarding taking human lives. One was to “limit the targets to those afflicted with illness,” and the other was to “observe the target’s karma and decide whether to erase their illness or take their life.”
Since I could see a person’s karma with my supernatural powers, I could follow these rules.

When the proposal was made, I protested, saying, “We need to gather as many lives as possible, so these rules are nothing but a hindrance.” However, Alice refused to listen to my objections, so in the end, I accepted these rules.

Why did she create such rules? I still don’t know. Perhaps she regrets witnessing people’s deaths, or perhaps she regrets traveling with me.

We had accepted a request to treat a king who had fallen ill with a plague and had come to his private chambers within the palace.
And now, before me lay the king’s corpse.

“You! What have you done to His Majesty?!!”
The nobleman who shouted that was about to draw his sword.
“I did nothing.”
“Don’t lie! People don’t die so easily from that disease!”
“Then perhaps it was simply his time?”
“Shut up!”

The nobleman drew his sword and thrust it straight through my chest. I never expected him to draw his sword in the king’s private chambers, and I was completely caught off guard. But…

“…I can’t believe you’d draw your sword in front of the king without permission. Isn’t this a crime of treason?”

With a blank expression, as if nothing had happened, I pulled the sword out of my chest.

“Wha…! I’m sure I pierced your heart!?”

Taking advantage of the moment when the people around me were shaken by my actions, I grabbed Alice and hurriedly left the scene.

“…Are you really okay?”
Alice looked at the wound on my chest with concern.
“Yeah, it’s nothing serious.”

That’s right. It’s nothing serious. My heart stopped beating long ago.

Alice and I are dead. Because of that, no matter what wounds our bodies sustain, we cannot die. However, our circumstances are polar opposites.

I have a body but no soul. Because of this, I lack human qualities and emotions, and it takes me a long time to understand what others are thinking.
Conversely, Alice has a soul but no body. Currently, she uses a girl-shaped doll as a temporary body, but since it isn’t a human body, she cannot even feel human body heat.

Having lost our soul and body respectively, we set out on a journey to reclaim them, and then…

“It seems we’ve finally gathered enough life to open the door.”
“Really!?”

We were about to reach the end.

We arrive at a church that was abandoned long ago and is never visited now. This was the place where our journey began, and it is also where it would end.

“I wonder how many lives we’ve taken so far…”

Alice murmurs as she sits on a church pew.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”
“…Huh?”

Alice is kind. That’s precisely why she must have felt guilty about taking others’ lives for our sake.

“But I… I couldn’t realize that…”
“No! That’s not it!!”

My confession is cut short by her cry.

“I made you bear the sin of taking human lives all by yourself.
I couldn’t forgive myself for that.”
“…”
“Those rules were the same. I created them so you wouldn’t have to bear any more guilt… but it didn’t work…”

She spoke those words, then bowed her head and repeated, “I’m sorry.” I gently embraced her, as if to comfort her.

Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman. Guided by a mysterious voice, they came to a certain church, but it was a cunning trap set by God.
They were burned by God’s flames; the man lost his soul, and the woman lost her body. God told them, “If you wish to reclaim what you have lost, challenge me and prove your victory.”

We stepped into the catacombs beneath the ruined church and arrived before an eerie door deep within. The door was firmly shut.

“It’s been a long journey.”
“Yes.”

As I touched the door, I released the lives I had gathered so far. The door absorbed the lives of the people, and eventually, as if satisfied, it opened.

A stiflingly hot breeze flowed in through the door opened by the lives of others.

“We’ve finally made it this far, haven’t we…”
“Yeah, I guess so.”

Beyond the door, a flight of stairs stretched endlessly downward. Presumably, at the bottom of these stairs, the god who cast us into the depths of despair awaits.

“I’m sure there’s no hope ahead of us, is there?”
“There hasn’t been any hope up until now, either.”

Gazing down at the stairs, Alice murmured. Hearing her, I recalled our journey so far and replied.

“…Heh, you’re right about that.”

Alice laughed brightly and cheerfully, in a hard way to believe she was about to face a hopeless battle.

And so, we slowly made our way down the stairs.

To reclaim everything.

• The caladrius is a mythical bird from Medieval Europe that is said to cure the illnesses of people by looking into their faces.

• As for Alice being the name of the doll… their song’s artist is Rokugen Alice, duh.