The rain beat against the clock tower. The hands ticked like a funeral drum, counting down to betrayal—or loyalty.
Ethan leaned against a stone pillar, gun heavy in his palm like an unexploded confession.
In the hall, neon light fractured through broken glass, twisting shadows across the floor. The air reeked of rust and burnt souls—nightmare energy lingering like smoke.
"Tell me," came his partner Vick's voice, low and sardonic, "at this point, who the hell can you still trust?"
Ethan turned. Vick limped forward, bleeding, but his eyes were sharp. Not doubtful—just cold, like a man at the edge of collapse.
"You suspect me," Ethan said, smiling like steel dropped into water.
"Suspect you? No." Vick shook his head, laying his gun on the ground. The motion was slow, deliberate, final."I suspect the entire damn world."
The bulb overhead flickered, agreeing with him.
—An hour ago, they were chasing a traitor.—Three minutes ago, they debated killing their nightmare-tainted Director.Now, they had only each other.
Ethan didn't lower his weapon. He only stared, thinking: The last trust is always the stupidest gamble.
"Listen, Ethan." Vick's voice rose, as if addressing the whole tower."Maybe we'll never escape manipulation. The Director, the government, the ancient ones—they all use us like spare parts. But I refuse to go down still being their tool."
He grinned, bloody teeth flashing like a gambler out of chips."So I'll pick one fool... to die with me."
Ethan blinked, then laughed. The sound shattered across the tower like broken bottles.
"Then you picked the right fool." He tossed his gun aside and stepped forward, hand outstretched.
Time froze. Even the nightmares seemed to pause.
Vick hesitated only a moment before gripping it. Their hands locked like two lunatics about to dive into the abyss together.
Thunder rolled. The clock struck midnight.
"To hell with the world," Ethan whispered."At least we've got each other," Vick replied.
The doors burst open. Traitors and shadows flooded in. Gunfire, flames, screams—it was the final act of a grotesque theater.
But Ethan and Vick stood back-to-back, unyielding. Death itself had no room between them.
And that was the black joke of it all:They knew this trust would only earn them a pair of corpses, lying side by side.But still, they chose to believe.
Because in a world utterly absurd, only absurd trust remained real.