Slowly, Dan opened his eyes and found himself bound hand and foot to a cold chair. In front of him was an old man, his hands strangely coldly placed behind his back.
Dan said in a trembling voice,
"Why am I here? And why am I bound?"
The old man answered softly and asked,
"Are you the killer who killed four men in an alleyway next to the Wonders Restaurant?"
Dan was confused, then shook his head.
"I didn't kill anyone..."
The old man took dark blood-stained coins from his pocket and placed them on the table in front of him.
"So, what is this?"
A heavy silence fell, then Dan lowered his head and said slowly,
"Yes... I killed them. But they killed me first... They killed my identity, my life, my happiness. I found myself trapped by them in a dark alleyway far from public view. For them, it was the wrong place... but for me, it was the right place. Anyone would have done the same... even you, old man?"
The old man looked coldly and said,
"No, you don't understand... We are not like other humans. We walk the path of absolute power, even if that path is paved with blood. If you possess that power, you will pay the price. Madness will take over you with every death, blood will become your medicine, and you will become a heartless tyrant."
Dan raised his eyes defiantly.
"Then answer me... If you were in my place, would you do the same?"
The old man was silent for a moment, then, his voice filled with memories, he said,
"I've been through more. I died fourteen times in ways your mind cannot imagine. I lost my loved ones one by one... like a tree shedding its leaves in autumn. If you think you're alone, you're mistaken..."
The old man approached, looked at Dan sternly, and said,
"Now your crime is proven. Your punishment is death. But... if you back to life again، it means that fate gave you a chance. But if you return to being an animal... I will kill you with my own hand, and your suffering will end."
He pulled a black gun from his coat, pointed it at Dan's head, and pulled the trigger.
I died again... but this time I deserved it. I crossed all boundaries, becoming a murderer without realizing when or how. Is this the price of the curse? To pay with your life each time, until you lose yourself little by little?
But now, I must get out of here... before they discover my presence.
Dan took hesitant steps, unable to believe his prison hadn't been locked. His silence was broken by a faltering voice behind him: "Congratulations... You've escaped punishment."
Dan turned around, startled, to find Old celion smiling faintly, as if he were seeing something he shouldn't. Dan whispered to himself,
"How... How could he see me?..."
Celion leaned closer, his voice clear.
"Ghosts see each other, Dan. I can see you, now and in any form in your new body. But I can see you in your real body. But ordinary people? They don't see your true identity. That's the cruelest curse you can bear. To be dead in the eyes of your loved ones... while you're alive. You see their grief first, then their struggle... then their forgetfulness. Then you become just a memory, a fragment of a past that never returns."
Dan's heart trembled, but he felt something change. His body regained its strength, his spirit took on a new weight, and a mysterious power coursed through his veins. He walked out of the hall with Celion. The old man headed to his study, while Dan remained lost in thought.
Suddenly, he was interrupted by Liam's applause, Moron's intense gaze, Eleonora's swirling dance, and Cath's frozen silence. It was then that Dan realized the truth. He had lost one family... but gained another. A family united by blood and destiny. And one ending... death. Then death. And death again.