For most of his life, Nihil had carried the oppressive sensation of a rope tightening around his neck.A metaphor that had become so familiar that he only truly understood its real weight now, when the rope stopped being an inner phantom and turned into a tangible reality pulling at his trachea.
Although it was only for a brief moment, he came to believe that things would actually get better.However, now that there was no turning back, he couldn't stop wondering whether the decision he had made had been the right one.He knew he couldn't afford to do nothing, but the truth was that he no longer knew what he should do—or even where to begin.
…
Despite having no other alternative, the reality was that there he was, in an unfamiliar city, with no money, no food, no home, no job, and no one to turn to.Just what he had on him and his phone.
Now that he stopped to think about it carefully, he had never had to think so much about absolutely anything.He simply watched the world go by from the comfort of his own inaction, completely sedated to everything around him.
'I wish I could go back and stay in that moment forever,' he thought to himself.
But what if didn't exist, and there was no point in imagining what could have been.At that moment, the only thing left for him was to keep moving forward in that headlong escape.
BRRRRR BRRRR BRRRRR BRRRR
-Hmmmm?
Nihil was pulled out of his thoughts by the sudden vibration in his pocket. It was his phone—more specifically, notifications showing he had received several messages all at once.
'Looks like the signal came back,' Nihil thought as he pulled the phone out of his pocket to check it.
'Message from Laplace'
-I don't know what you're planning to do in "Helltown," and I don't really care.
-But after more than 10 years of talking, I know something must have happened for you to decide to run away overnight.
-Meh.
-Do whatever you want. You always do whatever the hell you feel like anyway.
"Heh," Nihil let out to himself as he read the messages—not because they were particularly funny, but because Laplace had dragged him back to reality.
'Reply from Nihil'
-It's not like I had many options.
-Besides, when I arrived, I was greeted by a lovely sign that said "lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate".
-Very welcoming.
Nihil was about to lock his phone and put it away, but surprisingly, he received a reply almost immediately.
'Message from Laplace'
-Well, you know what you're doing.
-Bye, I'm going to sleep.
Now that Laplace mentioned it, Nihil hadn't slept in days. But if he wanted to get a place to sleep or something to eat, the first thing he needed was money—since everything he had went into the bus ticket to get there.
However, there weren't many places where he could get enough money. In fact, there was only one place where he could obtain it immediately, and Nihil was fully aware of where he needed to go.
-…Well, to the bank it is.
A sigh escaped him, heavy with a fatigue that went far beyond the physical.The idea of applying for a loan rose as the only path forward—a one-way road straight into the abyss.
Nihil understood perfectly well that it wasn't his only option to survive, but he felt so… tired. Tired of trying and trying, only for everything to end the same way again and again and again.
'Survive in long-term misery, or live in relative comfort for a brief instant.'Clearly, Nihil had already chosen his answer.
The bus station was, in short, a chaos of noise and movement flowing in every direction.Like a fish swimming against the current, Nihil barely managed to force his way through until he finally caught sight of the exit.
But the outside wasn't much different from the inside of the station. The street was an extension of the same chaos—a tide of bodies and sounds crashing into his senses.
Once outside, the next step was to find the address of the city's bank. However, without mobile data, his phone was nothing more than a useless brick, and the last of what he had left went into his brief conversation with Laplace.
Almost reflexively, he raised his arm and stopped the first silhouette that passed by his side.
-Excuse me, I'm a bit disoriented, and I was wondering if by any chance you might know… how do I get to the city bank?
The creature turned around.
Where a face should have been, there was a single giant eye—wet and expressionless.
Nihil held his breath, bracing himself for no response at all. Instead, a calm voice, clear as a thread of icy water, resonated directly inside his skull.
-…just follow this main avenue, and after walking four blocks, turn right. The bank is huge and stands out above everything else, so you'll immediately know which building it is.
-Thank you very much.
The eye-creature turned away without "saying" anything else and dissolved into the crowd, leaving Nihil alone once more.
-Okay… that "conversation" was weird, but also incredibly helpful.
The advice from the eye-being had been clear: four blocks, then right. Simple.
There was a bit of everything here—demons in office suits, creatures that looked like pets pulled straight out of a genetic nightmare, ghosts floating above the rest.
'The scenery is definitely very different from my hometown,' Nihil thought with a hint of humor.
-…My hometown.
Sigh *
-Right now, I don't want to remember any of that…
Nihil forced himself to change the subject in his mind and forget what had just crossed it.
Instead, here—although at first glance it looked like chaos—everything followed a strange kind of order.
A creature shaped like a massive, unsettling worm passed by him. Its skin was a shiny black carapace, dragging an impeccable leather briefcase behind it. Its head, a smooth, featureless stone mask, turned toward him.
Nihil simply ignored it and kept walking.
'I doubt an anxious, futureless skeleton is anything interesting.'
Ironically, that thought was the closest thing to peace he had felt in days. He wasn't welcome—but at least here, his misfortune wasn't unique. It was anonymous. It was, perhaps, the least painful starting point he had left.
When he turned the corner, the air grew colder and heavier.
And then he saw it.
The bank wasn't just a building—it was more like a cliff of metal and glass. A structure that didn't rise toward the sky, but instead seemed to sink its foundations deep into the city itself.
The windows, long and narrow, resembled the bars of a massive cell, yet curiously, nothing could be seen inside.
A silent, varied line snaked out from its main entrance—a queue waiting for a turn.
Nihil stopped.
The eye-man hadn't lied. Recognizing it hadn't been difficult—but feeling it in the air, in the weight now pressing down on his body, was something else entirely.
Nihil observed the line, that slow river flowing into the monster's mouth.
There was no courage in his expression.
Only resignation.