Topi frowns.
"That doesn't change anything."
He lunges.
One leap.
A perfect push-off.
Except—
His foot slips.
His body twists in midair, off-balance.
He hits the ground face-first, right at Fortuna's feet.
She towers over him now.
Her tone is acid.
"The one who loses the game… loses the fight."
Panic flashes in his eyes.
He scrambles back up, staggering, slipping again. He brings his guard up anyway, clinging à une dignité déjà morte.
Then his gaze flicks past Fortuna. Toward me.
His lips move in a half-whisper, like he's trying to console himself.
"No problem. I can still capture him…"
He hurls himself in my direction.
But he doesn't get close.
A fist crashes into his jaw halfway there.
Fortuna. Fast. Clean. Merciless.
Topi's body is sent flying, this time in the opposite direction from Mato.
One to the left.
One to the right.
The field is clear.
They've split them apart.
I'm alone with him now.
The man with the cigar.
Still standing in the same place.
Hasn't taken a single step.
And now…
He's finally looking at me.
Nora is still tied up behind him. Breath ragged.
Her eyes search for me, frantic, desperate.
"Y-you're with the government, right? Please… help me… I never hurt anyone. I didn't do anything illegal. I swear…"
She still believes.
She believes we're here to save her.
I look away.
My gaze darkens.
I can't lie to her.
I can't reach out a hand.
Not yet.
Not until she awakens her Word.
And suddenly, this "task"… this "mission"… crushes my shoulders.
It's not a test.
It's a sentence.
I have to push her to the edge. Break her from the inside… just to give her a chance to live.
Or watch her burn.
The man with the cigar looks at her.
Calm. Detached.
Like he's examining livestock before the slaughterhouse.
He lights his cigar.
The crackle is dry, almost filthy.
He takes a long drag.
Exhales a cloud of smoke to the side, without even blinking.
Then his voice rises.
Rough. Tired.
A voice made of ash.
"Don't fool yourself, kid. Either we use you… or we erase you. The government isn't here to help. It's here to wipe you out. And we're here to squeeze you dry before that happens."
He walks forward. Slowly.
His silhouette eats the space between us.
"You get to choose between plague and cholera. Your fate's already sealed."
Nora trembles.
She folds in on herself, as far as her ropes allow.
And me, I clench my teeth.
I bite down on my lip until it hurts.
Because what he says… is true.
Cold. Brutal.
But true.
She's like me.
Like us.
An anomaly.
And if she's not useful… she ends up in a pit.
The only difference is that I had the luck to understand my Word.
She's still blind.
I have to force her eyes open.
Even if it means hurting her.
Even if it means becoming a monster myself.
I take a slow breath.
Then I move.
He moves too.
We meet halfway, at that border where words stop and the fight begins.
The man spits on the ground.
"Name's Cygue. My Word is 'Cigar.' Every drag I take… boosts my power. And since I've been smoking from the moment I first saw you…"
He smirks, revealing a row of strong, stained teeth behind the cigar.
"…this fight's already been going on for a while, kid."
I let a cold smile creep onto my face.
"Name's Heyo. And you'd better keep smoking."
I raise my fists.
"Because you're going to need every last puff… if you want any chance of capturing me, you bastard."
The Dead Zone holds its breath.
Nora trembles, the rope biting into her wrists.
Fortuna stands at the edge of her battlefield, eyes glittering with cruel luck.
Aris rolls his shoulders, gaze fixed on the distant bulk of Mato, ready for the next exchange.
And me…
I face a man whose power grows with every breath of poison he drags into his lungs.
Behind him, a girl waits between life and death.
If she doesn't awaken…
she's done.
And somewhere, deep in my chest, behind my six sealed doors, something stirs.
Not for Cygue.
For her.
Because I know exactly what it feels like to be tied to a pillar and told that your existence depends on how "useful" you become to a system that never wanted you alive in the first place.
I tighten my stance.
Unbound hums under my skin, impatient.
This time… I won't lose control.
This time… I'll decide who gets erased.
And who gets to keep breathing.