1,000 Tragedies

1,000 Tragedies (1000の悲劇, 1000 no higeki) is the first chapter in the second volume of the D.Gray-man: Reverse novels. It is written in a storybook format and follows the Millennium Earl on his search for people to turn into akuma.

Plot
While walking through a town and searching for potential victims, the Millennium Earl finds a boy who has lost his mother. Deciding he has no other choice, the Earl takes out a jump rope and secures the boy to his back before continuing on his way.

As the Earl heads to the East, he finds a woman grieving the death of her husband. He tells her that he can be resurrected by merely speaking the man's name. Deciding to give her time to think on this and certain that she will agree, the Earl promises to return later. The boy he had found watches with wide eyes.

They then travel to a gold-mining town in the West. A man mourns the death of his child and he makes a deal with the Earl. He calls the boy's name and his soul is placed into a dark matter skeleton, which forces itself into the body of the father, killing him. The boy sleeps peacefully on the Earl's back.

In the South, the Earl visits a newly-made akuma. Knowing he must help an akuma grow, he encourages it to kill an elderly couple. On his back, the child begins to stir.

The Earl returns home to rest, where he meets Road. She asks him if he plans to eat the boy he carries and when he says no, she asks if she can, once again receiving a negative. She asks the Earl to play, but he responds that he is busy and leaves. The boy snuffles lightly.

The Earl returns to the town in the North where he met the boy. He finds the boy's parents, both crying and the boy rushes into their arms. The mother thanks the Earl for bringing him to them and the Earl comments that he will grow up to have many people that he loves. He walks away, whispering a quiet request for the boy to make a wonderful akuma.