Diamond fell asleep strangely, as if exhaustion had weighed too heavily on him. Some time later, he awoke to the sound of the doorbell. Still drowsy, he got up with difficulty, getting out of bed with slow, clumsy movements. As he approached the door, he saw Change's familiar figure through the window. Carefully, he slowly opened the door.
"Diamond? Why is it locked? Has something happened...?" Change asked, but his voice trailed off when he saw him. Diamond's gaze, his disheveled physical condition, the dirt on his clothes, the fear reflected in his eyes, stopped Change's words.
Without hesitation, Change immediately knelt down, placing one knee on the floor, and firmly grasped Diamond's shoulders, gently pulling him closer.
"Diamond?" he called again, this time with palpable concern in his voice. "What happened?"
Diamond wiped his face with his arm, trying to control the tears and the trembling in his body
"I'm sorry... the library thing didn't go well," he confessed in a low, hesitant voice.
Change shook his head quickly, trying to calm him down.
"That doesn't matter now..." he said, but then his face tightened, his teeth clenched. "Did the librarian do something to you?"
The tension grew in the air as Change imagined the worst.
"No, no..." Diamond denied quickly. "He's a very kind man... but when we agreed it wasn't my place, I asked him for a book. Since he had to give me a lot of change, he gave it to me in a big bag. It didn't seem like a big deal, but on my way home, someone hit me from behind... and took my coins, most of them," he explained, his voice trembling.
Change tensed even more. He tried to control his expression so as not to frighten Diamond, but the anger was evident on his face. Without a word, he picked him up and carried him toward the bathroom. On the way, he placed the book Diamond was still holding on a table in the hallway
Carefully, she turned the lukewarm water to a medium temperature. When it was ready, she knelt in front of Diamond to remove his clothes.
"I can do it myself," Diamond insisted weakly.
"I need to check if you're hurt," Change replied gently as she began to undress him.
Her fingers traced Diamond's waist, touching the plush fur. There were no visible tears. Cloth dolls like Diamond withstood blows better than ceramic ones, like Change, who were more fragile and susceptible to damage. However, the pain was still there, lurking.
After making sure there were no serious injuries, Change lifted Diamond and lowered him into the water. He handed him a sponge, soap, and everything else he needed to clean himself. Then, he went to the closet, opened the door, and took out clean clothes, which he carefully placed on a table next to the bathtub.
"When you're finished, you can put these on," he said softly.
Diamond nodded, feeling a little more at ease. Change left the room, and as soon as he closed the door, his face darkened. With long, purposeful strides, he walked quickly toward the front door
Change left the house with quick, determined steps. His mind seethed with suppressed rage. He knew—or at least thought he knew—who might be responsible: a small group of thieves who prowled the area. They weren't true citizens of the town; they came and went, moving between different regions, but they often took refuge there to rest between their misdeeds. Perhaps Change was jumping to conclusions... perhaps it wasn't them. But, deep down, he didn't care. Someone had to pay, and they would. By hook or by crook.
That attack on Diamond hadn't been the straw that broke the camel's back, but the entire torrent that made it burst.
He knew exactly where they usually hid: a cave on the outskirts of town, near the forest. So he headed in that direction, without stopping
He walked through the main streets, and the people who saw him coming instinctively moved aside or pretended not to see him. Change was a respected man, even admired, but also... feared. Seeing him angry was rare, and that's what made it so unsettling. It wasn't an explosive or chaotic fury; it was a cold, silent rage that seeped into the air and chilled you to the bone.
Every step he took resonated with a purpose: justice... or revenge.
In just a few minutes, Change reached the cave. He didn't stop for a second; one kick was all it took to knock down the wooden door that guarded the entrance. The crash resounded inside like thunder, echoing off the damp walls.
Inside, three men jumped. Until that moment, there had been murmurs and laughter: they were celebrating the day's haul, perhaps the best of the week... or the year. But when the door fell and they saw Change standing before them, the noise stopped abruptly
The silence grew thick. Change watched them one by one, with a tense calm, letting fear do its work. Around him, the air felt heavy, still. Then, his gaze stopped on a bag full of coins resting on a table. He clenched his fists tightly. He took a single step forward.
That simple gesture was enough to make the three men stand up and back away awkwardly. It was natural: Change was much larger than them, his figure imposing, his presence almost inhuman. He was a being of ancient ceramic, a relic of another time, intelligent and powerful. Everyone knew his reputation.
"What are you doing standing?" he asked in a grave voice.
He snapped his fingers.
Instantly, two of them knelt without thinking. The third, however, hesitated for barely a second... or perhaps he didn't understand the warning. He didn't have time to. An icy blade sliced through the air with a short hiss, cutting him in the chest. His ceramic heart shattered into a thousand pieces with a dry sound, and his body crumbled amidst scraps of fur, cotton, and fragments of plastic and porcelain.
Change watched him in silence. He didn't absorb the heart; he let it slowly dissolve into the air, as if the punishment had already been carried out
"No...!" cried one of the two remaining, his voice breaking with terror.
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