The Innocent Sinners

[The Main Training Grounds]

In the training grounds of Lazarus, the steady rasp of breathing was the only permitted music. The trainees stood in orderly rows, drenched in sweat, their ragged breaths filling the empty space with a monotonous sound that spoke of exhaustion pushed to its limit.

From the balcony overlooking the yard, Jude leaned his forearms against the metal railing. His leather coat draped down with rough dignity, and the scar that ran from his ear to his collarbone told tales of wars the books never recorded. He watched the crowd below with narrowed eyes that swept the space coldly. Beside him stood his deputy, Eden, whose gaze tracked the trainees' movements with the focus of a surgeon dissecting a corpse.

"Are these the new recruits?" Jude spat his words with contempt. "I see nothing before me but a pile of scum."

His eyes did not move from a girl standing in the third row. His gaze was fixed on her with noticeable sharpness, as if she were the only target in that entire yard. Eden, standing behind him, noticed this prolonged focus. He stepped closer and said, "Her name is Eve."

Jude turned sharply toward him, his features twisting as if the name had touched a bare nerve. "I did not ask for her name!"

Jude turned and left the balcony with heavy, furious steps, leaving the echo of his boots resounding in the empty corridor like the beat of war drums heralding something yet to come.

[The Laws and the Ranks]

Eden descended into the yard after Jude's departure. He stood before the trainees with a calm smile, but it was a precisely drawn smile that never reached his cold eyes.

"Welcome, future of Lazarus," Eden said as he walked slowly between the rows. "Let me clarify the rules here. We are nothing but tools for executing the will of the Master. Beneath the Master, there are four Commanders, each responsible for an entire squad."

One of the trainees hesitantly raised his hand. Eden gestured toward him with his chin. "Ask."

"Where do we stand in all of this?" the young man asked, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to steady his exhausted feet.

Eden stopped and clasped his hands behind his back. "The system here is strictly hierarchical. SSS-rank is reserved for the four Commanders alone. Below them comes the SS-rank, the deputies. Then there is the S-rank, like myself; my role is to assist the deputies and manage squad affairs. Administration and control begin at S-rank. As for you..."

Eden paused and regarded them coldly, then continued, "You are currently at C-rank. You do not belong to any squad yet. You must prove yourselves so that one of the squads selects you. If your skills are weak, you will become B-rank—mere pawns in the squad. But if you show high competence, you will be promoted to A-rank; only then will you receive orders, carry out missions, and participate in planning."

Eve stared at the massive metal Lazarus emblem hanging on the far wall, feeling its coldness seep into her depths as she whispered to herself: (Who are we, really? And why were we brought here?)

[The Commander's Presence]

Suddenly, the massive iron door swung open, and an absolute silence fell over the hall, so complete that the trainees' breaths stopped in their chests. William entered with measured steps, and beside him walked Alex like his silent shadow.

"Our new recruits..." William said with a tone that carried a terrifying gentleness, making the hall feel as if it had suddenly been drained of all oxygen.

Eden bowed immediately and sharply gestured to the trainees, "Bow!"

William ordered Eden to raise his head with a simple nod, while the trainees remained bowed like bodies without heads. Eden said to them in a serious voice, "This is Commander William, one of the four Commanders."

William took several steps forward, examining the bowed faces before him coldly. "It seems Eden explained the system to you, but he forgot one small detail," William said, smiling with an excessive softness that did not match the cruelty of his words at all. "My squad is responsible for those who deserve to carry the name of Lazarus."

Suddenly, with an unseen, lightning-fast movement, the fingers of one of the trainees in the first row began to move against his will. His arms trembled as he fought it, his muscles tensing in a war against his own will, and then his fingers began to clench slowly, terrifyingly, around his own throat. Eve heard the sound of his nails digging into his skin and saw his eyes bulging with a stupor that preceded death. The young man was not fighting an enemy; he was fighting his own hands, which had become the property of another.

William continued speaking with utter coldness as the young man fell to the ground, gasping his last breath, choking himself until his body went completely still.

William looked at the cold corpse, then finished, "Those who fail... we dispose of them."

William turned and left with Alex in the same calm with which he had entered. Eve did not blink. She remained staring at the lifeless corpse, but her fingers clenched around her training clothes until her knuckles turned white. This had been the first lesson: in Lazarus, your will is not your own.

— End of Chapter One.

Thank you so much for reading. This is my first original novel, and I would truly love to hear your honest thoughts. What do you feel about the world so far? About Eve? About William? Any guesses about what might happen next? Please share your impressions in the comments — they mean more to me than you know. 🤍