while the boy he 'd inherited , the boy who had watched his parents perish in a fire for which he , warthrop , had supplied the metaphorical match , stood in half-swoon close by , ever the faithful , indispensable companion , feet like ice in blood-flecked shoes on a cold stone floor ... and little by little that boy 's soul , his human animus , growing cold , going numb , atrophying ... wer mit ungeheuern kampft , mag zusehn , dass er nicht dabei zum ungeheuer wird .