My silent friend…
I never thought I'd reach this point so quickly.
Today, the board opened a new stone for me… the Black King.
Just looking at it made my breath catch, as if the air itself feared its presence.
---
The Black King… a stone that doesn't move much, but when it does, it ends the game.
Its power isn't like a pawn, a bishop, or a knight… it's something else entirely.
It doesn't just kill… it erases.
---
The board speaks to me in its quiet voice, which is beginning to take on a more serious tone:
> "Silver… the Black King is only used when your anger exceeds your limits. It's the Endgame; whoever touches it becomes… nothing."
I look at it closely:
"You mean it dies?"
> "It's erased, Silver. Erases from existence, as if it never existed."
A shiver runs down my spine.
I close my grip on the stone.
"Who's next?"
Only a single dot appears before me, in the heart of the city, a huge name filling the screen in a dim red light:
Roger Davis—a board member of a major pharmaceutical company, who sold thousands of lives for money.
---
I stand before the gleaming glass building, see my reflection in the door, and smile lifelessly.
My silent friend… this isn't a new crime, this is the end of an era.
I place the black king on the board in my hand and breathe deeply.
The air around me grows heavy, the light dims, the streets quiet, and time seems to stand still.
I lift the stone and say softly,
"The king… moves."
Suddenly, there's a faint black flash, silent and unseen.
The next moment…
Everything freezes.
Roger Davis, who was in his office on the twentieth floor, vanishes.
No explosion, no blood, no trace.
As if someone had erased him from the city's memory.
---
The next morning, the city was buzzing with questions.
A man of that size vanishes without a trace?
No cameras, no witnesses, not a single digital record.
Detective Madiot bursts into the office, his face pale, his eyes sunken from lack of sleep.
He slams his hand on the table, shouting,
"Unbelievable! This is impossible! How can someone disappear without a trace?"
He starts sifting through old files, trying to piece them together.
All the previous crimes had a twisted logic, but at least they were tangible…
But this one? Nothing.
No body, no blood, no crime scene.
Madiot sits down in his chair, clutching his head, saying in a low voice,
"It's like… he's been erased from the world…"
One of his colleagues whispers fearfully,
"Do you think the Owl Killer is behind this too?"
Madiot replies nervously,
"This isn't a killer anymore, this is… something else."
---
My Silent Friend…
I feel something strange after using the Black King.
It's as if a part of me vanishes with the victim.
Every time I use a new stone, I lose another part of myself.
But the board whispers to me again:
> "Every power has a price, Silver… You're nearing the end, but you still have a long way to go."
I breathe slowly, place the stone on the board, look at the black spot in the center, and say:
"The Black King… crushed the target."
The city is quiet tonight.
But Madiot is restless.
Sitting in his office has become almost mad.
He's started writing on the walls, drawing maps, circles, crossword puzzles,
trying to find a pattern, an explanation, logic… but logic died the moment the Black King moved.
---
My Silent Friend…
Everything is changing now.
The board is expanding, the rules are becoming harsher.
I no longer see people as they once did, and I no longer feel anything but a black emptiness like this stone. Perhaps the end is near… But before I reach it, I must see how far the game might take.
The king moved,
and the whole city trembled.