Betrayal… It wounds terribly. It burns the soul away. After the soul is consumed, only ash remains of it. And don’t believe those who say that ash is good fertilizer. Supposedly, on soil fertilized with ash, a new crop will grow better. Nonsense! On fertile land… Yes! On land burned to the ground… Nothing will ever grow! That’s what young Arkady understood—the boy who was first used and then betrayed by the people he trusted. Betrayed once again. What could possibly grow in the burned-out soul of a young man who has been left with nothing but an outer shell? Only the Universe knows the answer…