In one of the abandoned factories of BAYADNA PORT…
where the industrial past meets today's silence,
The place resembled a graveyard for machines.
Darkness wrapped every corner,
coldness seeped into the bones as if trying to freeze hope itself.
The smell of rust and humidity filled the air—
a foul mixture reminding one of everything long forgotten.
Under a single flickering bulb…
dangling from a decayed ceiling,
casting a dim circle of light in the gloom,
SHOUTNA sat tied to a metal chair.
His hands bound behind him,
Yet his eyes carried a spark that refused to die.
The sound of deliberate footsteps echoed…
intertwined with water droplets falling from above,
each drop ticking like the hand of a clock
counting down to silence.
Each drop reminded SHOUTNA that time was running out.
The JOKER stepped forward slowly…
His shadow stretched and trembled across the cracked walls,
like a living thing searching for its prey.
TAK… TAK… TAK.
He leaned toward SHOUTNA,
closer… closer than he should—
as if he wasn't whispering a secret,
but planting something deep inside him.
"You know…
people believe pain comes all at once."
He raised a finger… very slowly.
TAK… TAK… TAK.
"But the truth is…
pain doesn't like noise."
His voice dropped—quieter… deadlier.
"It prefers silence…
to slip into you…
slowly…
like a polite guest…
that never leaves."
SHOUTNA lifted his head,
his eyes steady—cold as ice.
"Seems like you've been enjoying this role a little too much."
The Joker laughed—
not madness…
something worse.
A warm laugh…
filled with sick pleasure.
"A role?
No… no… no…"
He tilted his head slightly,
almost as if he pitied him.
"I'm not acting.
Everyone here wears masks…
but me…"
He leaned even closer,
their breaths almost colliding.
"I just… take them off."
He circled the chair slowly,
his fingers gliding over the chains—
gently…
as if playing a funeral melody.
"But you, SHOUTNA…"
He stopped right behind him.
"The wolf… who bites in silence…"
A brief silence—
then a whisper:
"I've missed you."
He leaned in again—deliberately slow.
"All these years…
I've been thinking about you."
SHOUTNA raised his eyes toward him.
"Thinking… about how I should kill you."
The Joker's smile widened—
inhuman.
"Do you know why?"
TAK… TAK… TAK.
"Because you… unlike the others…"
His voice grew deeper…
heavier…
"You understand…
that this world doesn't need a reason to burn."
SHOUTNA smiled—
cold… sharp as a blade.
"So…
You don't work for the Organization."
He met his gaze without hesitation.
"You just work…
to watch the world burn."
The Joker froze—
slowly tilted his head,
his eyes lighting up like a child who found his favorite toy.
"Exactly…"
He whispered.
"You make it sound like poetry…
and I… adore poetry."
Then—
His voice cut off.
When it returned… it was different.
Calm.
Cold.
Deadly.
A muffled laugh trembled in his chest.
"You know,
My dear…
the beauty of chaos…"
He slowly spread his arms.
"is that it needs no plan."
His voice became something darker—almost a shadow.
"It spreads…
like fire…"
He lowered it further:
"burning everything…
without reason…
without mercy."
Then suddenly—he looked straight at him.
"I gave you everything… SHOUTNA."
Silence.
"Time…
opportunity…
and this team."
He leaned slightly forward.
"But look at yourself…"
His tone sharpened—like blades.
"You're still in the same place."
His fingers brushed the chains softly.
"Bound…"
He moved closer.
"Because you refuse…
to accept your truth."
A pause… then a whisper:
"Our truth."
A laugh burst out—
but it wasn't loud…
It was suffocating.
As if it came from somewhere very dark.
"Looks like your gamble failed this time…"
He leaned in even closer,
his voice right above his ear:
"big bad wolf."
SHOUTNA stared at him…
then slowly smiled—
a smile that couldn't be read.
The Joker stepped back, laughing.
"Ha… ha… ha…"
A quiet laugh.
"You're… truly entertaining."
He lifted his head steadily.
"I'll enjoy cutting you into pieces…"
A brief pause—
"But for now…"
A strange look flickered in his eyes.
"There's someone who wants to meet you."
The JOKER retreated into the darkness.
New footsteps echoed—
heavier… deeper… stronger.
From the shadows, another man emerged,
his silhouette swallowing what little light remained.
SHOUTNA raised his head,
his eyes locking onto the newcomer.
"I knew you were behind all this…"
SHOUTNA whispered.
At that moment…
a drop of water fell onto his forehead—
like a final tear before the storm
************
Meanwhile — On the Road Leaving TZARIA
The night still blanketed TZARIA with its heavy cloak,
but the road to the airport glowed under the tired breaths of the truck's engines.
Everyone's faces were stiff—
not from fear,
but from that silent layer of exhaustion words cannot capture.
MOHITO sat in the front seat, eyes half-lidded,
but inside them… a storm raged.
SOLIMON sat beside him,
his face still carrying traces of anger—
but also something else: worry.
SAMA sat among THE HOUNDS
watching them quietly,
as if trying to memorise each of their faces.
The tyres hummed along the mountain roads leading to the airport,
and the silence was the kind that comes right before takeoff into the unknown.
OBASO finally broke the silence,
in a tone he tried to make neutral:
"Once we arrive… everything will move fast.
No stopping.
No thinking.
We do what must be done and leave."
CLAY exhaled loudly with a grin:
"I still can't believe we're getting on a private jet.
Thought that kind of luxury was reserved for company CEOs who do absolutely nothing."
A small laugh rippled—brief,
but enough to add a little air to their lungs.
SOLIMON quietly added:
"True luxury…
is returning with all of us alive."
The words made everyone glance at MOHITO…
But he said nothing.
He only raised his eyes toward the black sky.
*************
At the Airport
The gates were nearly empty.
The guards lifted their guns as the convoy approached—
But the moment OBASO uttered the phrase:
"From MAYNO's side."
—everything changed.
Weapons lowered.
Tension vanished.
The path cleared.
One guard even bowed slightly:
"We have been expecting you. The aircraft is ready."
The walkway to the plane was dimly lit with yellow lights,
and the cold wind slapped their faces as if warning:
Time is running out.
The aircraft was white, simple on the outside—
But once the doors opened,
they found luxurious seats and a silence like the silence of a tomb—
no voices… no hesitation.
SAMA froze before boarding,
touching the metal frame of the door
as if confirming she wasn't dreaming.
Before boarding, SOLIMON turned to MOHITO:
"Before we face what awaits us…
We need to set our conflict aside."
MOHITO finally lifted his gaze:
"It wasn't a conflict.
It was a decision."
A long, heavy look passed between them.
No winner.
No loser.
Only an unspoken agreement to continue.
SOLIMON inhaled deeply:
"Very well… then let this be our journey."
He stepped inside.
Seatbelts clicked.
Doors shut.
The automated announcement echoed:
"Prepare for takeoff."
OBASO smiled as he tightened his belt:
"To BAYADNA PORT…
Let's bring the wolves home."
SAMA looked out the window,
watching TZARYA disappear beneath them.
MOHITO held the hilt of his sword—
not tightly...
As if confirming he was still there.
The world below shrank.
The sky ahead expanded.
The journey had begun.
But the real battle…
…had not yet started.