The forest was eerily still; even the sound of the wind seemed to be watching them in heavy silence.
Kai crouched, examining the ground carefully, then said in a low, confused voice:
"Leon... there are footprints here."
Leon slowly turned to him, his eyes narrowing with cautious focus:
"Footprints? On an island we know nothing about? That's... impossible."
Zeldris remained silent for a moment, then spoke in a decisive tone:
"I will go with Frank to bury Lloyd. You two stay here and keep watch."
Leon nodded silently, as Zeldris and Frank took the body and walked away with heavy steps.
Only minutes passed before the air around them shifted, as if something unseen was crawling in the shadows.
Suddenly...
An unknown person appeared before Leon and Kai.
His face was pale, his eyes wide as if he hadn't slept in days, his breathing ragged, and his voice came out trembling between fear and confusion:
"Please... I've lost my way. I was going to the Vault... with some people."
Leon took a step back, gently reaching for his weapon without drawing it, and said in a firm voice:
"Calm down. Who are you? How did you get here? How long have you been stranded on this island?"
The man lifted his trembling eyes towards him and said in a broken voice:
"I... my name is Zac."
Leon froze in place, surprise etched on his features. The name was not ordinary... as if he had heard it before.
But before he could say anything, Zac continued in a shaky tone:
"I've been here for about two days. We were a group... six people besides me. The first is a boy named Jack, the second Mira, the third Millie, the fourth Yoon, the fifth Clara, and the sixth Kaito..."
His voice trembled, as if the very words pained him to recall.
"We started searching immediately. We were very scared. But we found strange carvings... pointing to a place called the Vault.
We thought it was the exit. We decided to go there."
Zac paused for a moment, his voice starting to shake more:
"But then... I saw a creature that was not human... it was made of a living shadow, moving without sound, without features.
It approached me and asked... Do you love evil?
I told it no... I don't love it.
It told me: An honest answer. Then it disappeared... just as it appeared."
Kai gasped softly, while he and Leon exchanged confused glances.
Zac continued, placing his hand on his stomach as if still feeling the old pain:
"But moments later... Kaito came from behind me... and stabbed me.
I didn't understand anything.
I saw my blood spill on the ground, then everything went black.
And when I opened my eyes... I was here."
A strange silence fell.
Even their breaths became heavy, as if they feared someone nonexistent might hear them.
Leon was about to speak, but before he could utter a word, Zeldris and Frank returned from the trees, their faces covered in dirt and sweat.
Zeldris said in a tired tone:
"We finished burying Lloyd."
But as soon as his eyes fell on Zac, he stopped completely...
His eyes widened as if seeing a ghost emerging from the depths of an old nightmare.
At the same instant, Zac also froze, his gaze a mixture of anger, horror, and shock.
His hand slowly extended forward, pointing at Zeldris with trembling fingers, and he shouted in a voice that pierced the forest's silence:
"You... traitor!"
Everything stopped.
Even the trees seemed to be suffocated by the shock.
Zeldris's look was cryptic, holding neither fear nor regret... only the shadows of something incomprehensible.
As for Lloyd...
His eyes widened until they looked like mirrors reflecting a deep-seated shock, and his breath hitched when he saw Clara entering the room.
His heart couldn't bear the sight; tears began to stream down his face uncontrollably, hot tears mixed with shock, longing, and anguish.
But Clara didn't see him, nor did she pay him any mind. Instead, she rushed towards the door and slammed it shut, then said in a breathless, nearly broken voice:
"My God... three people chased me because of that damned mission!"
She quickly pulled a file from her bag and handed it with a trembling hand to Jack:
"Here is the file, Jack..."
Zac noticed the tremor in Lloyd's shoulders and the glint of tears in his eyes, so he approached him slightly and asked in a faint tone:
"What's wrong, Lloyd?"
Lloyd quickly wiped his face, trying to hide his distress:
"No... nothing. Just a slight headache."
But the truth was far beyond pain...
His sister was before him, alive, a stranger to him, not remembering him...
As if time had snatched her away and made her into a new person.
Suddenly, Jack slammed his hand on the table and said in an angry tone:
"Damn it... this isn't the research file on the System Point!"
Mira blinked coolly, anger etched on her features:
"Curses... they exposed us again."
Lloyd hesitated a step back, his voice coming out disjointed:
"I... I don't understand you.
One moment you say you want to free people from the System Point...
The next, you say you're protecting the System Point.
What exactly is your goal?"
Yoon looked at him coldly, as if his eyes were pieces of ice that knew no mercy, and said in a frigid voice:
"Lloyd...
I can understand that you're still a child, even though you look like an adult...
But it's clear you're a useless, ignorant fool who understands nothing.
If you had an ounce of awareness, you would have understood our words from the beginning."
He stepped closer, his voice dripping with contempt:
"And even your reaction when you saw Clara...
Indicates that you know her.
And that you still remember your life before entering the island.
And even though you're... special, as Zac said,
You behave like a child crying for no reason."
Then he pointed his finger at him as if dismissing a beast:
"So... please, we don't need faint-hearts on the battlefield.
You will stay here tonight, and tomorrow... leave.
We don't need a child trembling in the middle of a war."
Millie smiled with cold sarcasm:
"I completely agree.
We don't want anyone crying or hiding when the fight ignites."
Clara, however, stared at him with a face devoid of any emotion, and said in a voice cold as a knife:
"I don't know you.
Nor do I remember ever meeting you.
But... if you are indeed someone I know?
I would be ashamed to have known you."
Her words were crueler than any physical wound.
Lloyd felt the ground sway beneath him...
As if everything within him was silently collapsing.
Jack stepped forward to explain, seemingly oblivious to the heartbreak tearing Lloyd apart:
"We are protecting the System Point from creatures and people who seek to control it.
The System Point is limitless energy...
And whoever controls it... can achieve the impossible."
He continued with a somber face:
"The First Order organization controls it now,
And they are using it for evil, experiments, and forbidden things.
We are fighting to reclaim it...
And to free all the island's inhabitants."
Then he added in a bleak tone:
"And know this...
If you die here, you will truly die.
There is no resurrection... no return."
Mira said, crossing her arms:
"You really brought someone stupid, Zac."
Zac was flustered, raising his hands slightly as if in defense:
"He's just scared... new to the island... he's—"
Jack interrupted him with a long sigh:
"We will discuss your situation later, Lloyd."
Millie shouted angrily:
"But—"
Jack sharply raised his hand:
"Silence.
When Kaito returns, we will decide this boy's fate."
Then he pointed to the hallway:
"Go to my room, Lloyd.
And if anyone tries to provoke or insult you...
Tell me."
Lloyd nodded almost inaudibly:
"Okay..."
And he left.
The hallway was narrow, crossed by faint white lights as if breathing with a strange soul.
The strange thing was that his feet knew the way...
As if he had been to this place before,
Or as if the shadows themselves were guiding him.
He stood before Jack's room, slowly opened the door, and entered.
He closed it behind him... and silence reigned.
But something was... wrong.
A clammy, cold feeling crawled up his back.
He was sure someone was watching him.
He turned to the right... no one.
To the left... and the void smiled in silence.
The room swallowed his breath.
Then—
A sound echoed behind him...
A rough, distorted voice, as if emerging from the depth of a forgotten grave, penetrating to the bone:
"Lloyd...
Oh, Lloyd..."
The blood froze in his veins.
He couldn't turn around.
As if the air itself had vanished.
The voice got closer...
Closer...
Until he felt its cold breath on his neck.
In that moment... Lloyd turned around very slowly, as if the air had solidified around him. And there... in the dark shadows of the room, stood that entity? The creature? No... that nameless catastrophe. The Shadow was smiling; the same black smile that was unlike a human's smile, a savage look extending from the void, and a cold aura that made the bones tremble.
Lloyd said in a choked voice, staring at it with fear gnawing at his chest:
"What do you want from me? Why are you chasing me?"
The Shadow took a step closer... its smile widening until it looked like an open wound in the face of the night, then it said in a voice cold as graves:
"I have a question... what will you do if you meet Zeldris again?"
Lloyd swallowed, his voice trembling:
"I will try... to justify myself to him."
The Shadow let out a terrifying cackle, like iron dragging over a stone floor:
"Very nice... I'm looking forward to seeing that. I want to see you suffer... psychologically."
Lloyd screamed, his heart frozen in his ribs:
"Tell me! Who are you? What are you? You gave me your power... and because of that Zeldris killed me! So who are you? Tell me!"
Silence reigned for a moment... then the Shadow said in a low voice as if coming from the mouth of a tomb:
"I... I truly don't know who I am. Perhaps I'll think of an answer later. But you can call me the Shadow. I am merely a shadow... that saw something very special in you, but I won't tell you what it is."
Lloyd trembled, saying mixed with anger and fear:
"What do you mean? And why don't I have a superpower like the others?"
The Shadow smiled disdainfully:
"Firstly... perhaps because you are truly worthless.
Secondly... I'm only here to enjoy watching you suffer, and watching all the island's inhabitants suffer. You told me you hate evil... I'm starting to truly believe you. I'm bored... so I wanted to play a game with you."
Despite the insult, Lloyd had no choice but to agree, so he said nervously:
"Okay... I'll play."
The Shadow raised its hand, and some of its smile faded to reveal the shape of a frightening children's game:
"Simply... you represent the Prince, and I represent the King. We'll play rock-paper-scissors... and see who wins the other."
Lloyd was surprised by the absurdity of the game in the face of the horrifying situation, but he said:
"Okay."
The game began...
❖ The first time: Lloyd won.
❖ The second time: Lloyd won again.
❖ The third time: The Shadow won.
Lloyd said:
"Let's play a fourth time."
But the Shadow raised its hand to stop him and regained its blade-like smile:
"No... we won't continue. I have already won."
Lloyd shouted angrily:
"That's cheating!"
The Shadow laughed and said:
"No. You were the Prince... and I was the King."
Then it stepped closer to him and said in a voice that seemed to penetrate the soul:
"See you later..."
And suddenly it vanished. No trace of it remained, as if it had never existed.
...
As for Leon...
He, Kai, and Frank were still in shock, as if the air around them had become heavy.
Leon said in a disturbed voice:
"Zeldris... were you on this island before us?"
Zac suddenly screamed, a scream full of malice:
"Yes! He was here! His name was Kaito, not Zeldris!"
Zeldris looked at them with a coldness that cut short the discussion:
"I don't care what you say. I never betrayed you. You came out of nowhere and accused me of betrayal. I was with my group the whole time."
Frank felt something strange... a sense of unease towards Zac, so he said:
"We won't trust you. Zeldris has been with us from the start. But you... suddenly appeared out of nowhere and claim you were part of a group?"
Leon said, remembering something important:
"I remember the audio recording... Zac knew the location of the Vault. But you... you say you're looking for it. That means you are not Zac... but a copy of him."
Silence fell suddenly.
Then...
Zac began to laugh.
A non-human laugh.
A laugh that sounded like a tear in reality.
He said in a distorted voice:
"You're smart... no, you're exceptionally smart. I didn't expect my truth to be uncovered so easily."
Then he added in a low, murderous voice:
"But since you know... I won't let you reach the Vault."
And suddenly...
Demonic horns appeared on his head, his eyes turned crimson red, and his hand extended and transformed into a massive weapon-like tentacle.
And before anyone could move...
He lunged towards the group—
And killed them all easily.