The next morning was quiet…
an unsettling kind of quiet,
as if the world itself were catching its breath before an incoming blow.
Nir woke slowly,
his eyes still heavy with pain.
The first thing he saw…
was Kim.
Sitting nearby,
silent,
like a shadow that refused to leave.
Nir said in a faint voice:
"Didn't you sleep?"
Kim looked at him.
In his eyes there was something that didn't resemble exhaustion…
but vigilance.
He said calmly:
"No."
Then added without hesitation:
"I stayed beside you all night.
I wanted to be here."
Kim hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Is… is there something wrong with that?"
Nir smiled slightly—
a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"No.
I just wanted you to get some rest…
after all these consecutive hardships."
Kim let out a short laugh
and said while looking away:
"Don't worry about me.
I don't rest in the first place."
He fell silent for a moment,
then continued in a low voice:
"I haven't slept a single night…
since the incident that changed my life."
Nir tried to sit up and said anxiously:
"Why don't you sleep?"
Kim replied indifferently:
"No need to worry.
I can sleep whenever I want."
Then he paused.
And his voice changed.
"But…
how could I sleep
when my family's screams are still in my ears?
Rising… from the pain they felt,
like burning flames that never go out."
Kim stood up
and moved toward the door.
He said as he walked away:
"No need for you to know these trivial things.
The good part is…
that you're fine, Nir."
Nir wanted to ask him…
to understand…
but Kim kept walking without another word.
Some time later,
Kim was wandering through the city.
Until he saw him.
Biath.
He was sitting alone by the riverbank,
his face pale,
his gaze sunk into the water.
Questions piled up in Kim's mind.
Does Biath know about the Hunter?
About the Rulers?
About the truth?
But Kim stopped himself.
Everyone carries their own secrets.
And so far…
Biath hadn't stood in his way.
He approached silently
until he was right behind him.
He stayed quiet for a moment.
Then Biath suddenly spoke, without turning around:
"Why don't you doubt me, Kim?"
Kim answered calmly:
"Each of us has our secrets.
What matters to me is what you do now.
And as long as you don't block my path…
you're free."
Biath took a deep breath.
Then he pulled out a weapon.
Kim tensed slightly.
But Biath didn't attack.
He asked:
"Why do we make weapons, Kim?"
Kim considered the question.
Then said simply:
"To protect ourselves."
Biath replied quickly:
"From whom?
From what created us?"
Kim said:
"From Adam and Eve."
Biath smiled a faint smile
and said:
"If we were created from two beings who had no hostility between them…
how did life end up like this for us?"
He finally turned toward him.
And his eyes were burning.
"Why does life weigh us down?
Why do we become mad, thirsty for power?
It doesn't matter what you lose for it…
even if you lose your family…
or those you love."
Kim sat down behind him.
Biath said in a broken voice:
"Power is an irresistible craving…
and I don't want it…
but I want to understand."
His voice trembled,
even though he kept his face turned away.
"What does life want from me?
What does it want?"
Kim understood.
A voice like that doesn't lie.
Biath cried.
"I don't know how to protect Nir…
he's the last of my old friends.
I don't want to lose him."
He fell silent for a moment.
Then whispered:
"Why were our lives written with a faded pen?"
Kim said with lethal calm:
"Perhaps it's part of perfection."
Biath suddenly shouted:
"Don't mock me!
Fate has never been our ally…
nor anyone's!
We all suffered!"
Kim suddenly stood up,
grabbed Biath,
and threw him into the river.
He said loudly, decisively:
"Listen to me, Biath!
Life is one chance.
If it's good—make it two chances.
And if it's bad…
make it a double hell for everyone."
He moved closer,
water dripping from Biath's body.
"I walked this path once.
And if time returned a thousand times…
I'd walk it again, every single time."
He looked straight into his eyes.
"Life is a game.
Some think it's a strategy game…
but the truth is it's just a dice game,
and fate cheats on every roll."
Biath said, stunned:
"What are you saying?
You're mocking me, right?"
Kim laughed.
A dark laugh.
"No.
I'm warning you."
Then he said slowly:
"Don't place your bet on hope.
Hope is the crack pain slips through."
"In this game…
we don't collect points.
We collect scars.
And whoever owns the ugliest scars in the end…
is the winner."
He stepped closer
and whispered:
"It's a dirty game.
Everyone in it is a pawn.
The only difference between me and you…
is that I know whose hand moves me.
And I'm planning to cut its fingers."
Then he said coldly:
"I stopped trying to win people's hearts.
Now…
I just want to shatter the game board."
He snapped his fingers.
And Biath found himself standing right in front of him.
"I'm not the hero who will save the world.
I'm a player who realized the ending is:
Game Over.
So I decided to make my journey to hell…
loud."
He laughed.
A long laugh…
mad.
Then he said:
"Stand with me.
Be a dagger in my hand…
a blade that doesn't ask why."
Then he added coldly:
"Or be a stone beneath my feet…
silent,
forgotten,
trampled without anyone noticing."
"Choose."
Biath was silent.
Then he grabbed Kim's arm.
Through clenched teeth, he said:
"In your hand.
I want to be in your hand."
Kim looked at him with blazing eyes
and whispered terrifyingly:
"You will be a puppet."
Biath replied instantly:
"It doesn't matter.
If I were asked a thousand times…
I'd choose the same answer."
Kim fell silent.
Then he said:
"And if it's not you…
will it be Nir?"
Biath's eyes widened.
Kim took a breath and finally said:
"Calm down.
I don't enslave my friends."
Then he turned around.
But when he raised his hand behind him…
he froze.
Nir was standing behind him.
Kim looked at him
and said in a cold voice:
"Choose now, Nir.
Seats in hell are limited…
and I don't reserve a place
except for those who deserve to burn beside me…
not those who burn because of me."