My silent friend…
It's strange to realize you feel nothing.
It's as if you're watching yourself from afar, doing what you thought you'd never do, without batting an eye.
The next night, I sat before the patch again.
It glowed softly, as if it were breathing slowly.
I said to it,
"There are people like him… many. Why don't we clear the city of them?"
"A beautiful wish, Silver," the patch said in its quiet voice.
"But remember, every time you touch a stone, something in you disappears."
"Many have already disappeared."
"And what's left?"
I fell silent. I had no answer.
---
Now I stand before another man—an arms dealer who smiles as if he doesn't see the blood he's made.
I enter his presence stealthily.
When he raises his head toward me, I say quietly,
"Do you know Richard Green?"
His face darkens.
"I heard he disappeared."
"Disappeared? No, he just can't see, hear, or feel anymore."
"Who are you, really—"
I don't finish. I pull the black fortress from my pocket and place it on the table.
The patch whispers in my head:
"This piece drops all of the target's defenses… literally."
I touch it.
The man starts to back away.
The air around him grows heavy, the walls close in as if crushing him.
His screams fade before they reach my ears.
When everything stops, there's only an eerie silence.
His body lies stretched out on the floor, no blood, no trace.
"It's over," I say in a low voice.
The patch replies:
"I see you've become quieter these days."
"Why does it feel so normal?"
"Because you've stopped feeling, Silver. You've begun to let go of fear and pity. You no longer see them as people… as stones."
I sit on the chair opposite, staring at the dead man's face.
His face means nothing to me.
I check my hands—no trembling, no sweating, no emotion.
---
Days later, I find myself in another alley.
A man is assaulting a woman, yelling at her.
I walk over to him calmly.
"Leave her alone."
He turns to me:
"Go away, kid. This doesn't concern you."
"It all means the patch."
"What?"
I reach for a small stone in my pocket—Red Elephant
When I touch it, a cold heat runs through my veins.
The patch whispers:
"The elephant swallows the noise, silences the world before the target falls."
I point at it, and suddenly it falls to the ground.
No sound.
The woman screams, but I hear nothing.
It's as if the sound itself has died.
I watch her run away, then smile involuntarily.
I whisper:
"Everything is quiet."
---
The next night, I was in my room.
I looked in the mirror.
The face in front of me didn't resemble me much.
The eyes were blank, my features cold.
I said to the patch:
"Am I still human?"
"You're more than human now."
"I don't feel that way."
"Because feeling is no longer a part of you. First you lost fear, then compassion, and now longing. What's left will end with the next stone."
I sighed.
"Can I stop?"
"No one stops once they start, Silver."
I laughed a little, a meaningless laugh.
"I thought I was avenging my uncle. Now I don't even remember his voice."
"That's how the patch works. It fills the void left by feelings with force."
"And when does that force end?"
"When you forget your last reason."
My silent friend…
I've become a killer, moving like a player on a chessboard.
Every move is calculated, every victim just the next step.
But I fear only one thing—that the day will come when I can no longer distinguish between those I kill… and those I once wanted to save.