The room was white.
Too white.
No windows.
No clocks.
Only silence—heavy and intentional.
The girl sat on a simple chair, her feet not even touching the floor. Around her stood figures dressed in black, faces hidden, movements slow and deliberate.
Kurayami stood a few steps away.
Not angry.
Not shouting.
Calm.
That calm was worse.
---
The Interrogation
"No one is going to hurt you," Kurayami said quietly.
She looked up at him, confused.
That wasn't what she had been taught to expect.
"But lies," he continued,
"have consequences."
One of the operatives placed a cold metal weight on the table near her hand.
It wasn't a weapon.
It was a warning.
A symbol.
"Fear doesn't come from pain," Kurayami said.
"It comes from the expectation of it."
Her breathing quickened.
---
Truth Without Blood
Kurayami crouched slightly to her level.
"You've been told your country is perfect," he said.
"That your people are happy."
He paused.
"Have you ever walked alone outside the palace?"
Silence.
"Have you ever seen a family smile without cameras?"
Her eyes shifted.
"That's not your fault," Kurayami added.
"But it becomes your responsibility… if you inherit the throne."
The operatives did nothing.
That was the point.
---
The Real Weapon
Kurayami stood and turned away.
"We don't need your secrets," he said.
"The system exposes itself."
He tapped his communicator once.
"Begin."
---
The World Stops Breathing
Across North Korea—
Television screens flickered.
State broadcasts froze.
For the first time in decades, the same face did not appear.
Instead—
Kurayami.
Standing under an open sky.
No mask.
No distortion.
Just truth.
---
The Broadcast
"People of this land," his voice echoed through every home, every street, every guarded facility.
"You were taught to survive—not to live."
Screens showed frozen citizens staring in disbelief.
"You were told your country is heaven," Kurayami continued.
"But heaven does not forbid thought."
"Heaven does not punish questions."
He looked directly into the camera.
"You are not prisoners anymore."
A pause.
"I am not here to rule you."
"I am here to give you a choice."
---
A New Culture
"Prepare yourselves," Kurayami said.
"Not for war."
"But for a new culture."
"One where children are not born owing loyalty."
"One where marriage is not permission."
"One where no portrait decides who lives."
His voice hardened—not with anger, but certainty.
"You were told you are weak without your rulers."
"That was the lie."
---
The Offer
"I will not force you," he concluded.
"I will open the door."
"If you walk through it—
the future is yours."
The screen went black.
---
Aftermath
In the white room, the girl sat in silence.
Kurayami looked at her one last time.
"No one will touch you," he said.
"But remember this moment."
"Because someday…
you will choose what kind of leader you become."
He turned and walked away.
---
Ending
Across the country, people didn't cheer.
They didn't protest.
They did something far more dangerous.
They thought.
And somewhere deep inside the palace, a ruler understood:
Fear had just met its first rival.
Choice.