Four days.
For four days, Iren sat beneath the same tree.
He did not move.
He did not sleep.
He did not think—
or at least, he tried not to.
Leaves kept falling.
The wind kept passing.
But none of it reached his ears.
Because before any sound could arrive—
he already knew—
Someone was watching.
Suddenly—
A black screen appeared before his eyes.
No light.
No frame.
Only words.
Souls Collected: 5
Iren closed his eyes.
The screen did not disappear.
The Doll has deepened your darkness.
Something shifted inside his chest.
Not pain.
Not fear.
A hollow feeling—
as if something had been taken from him,
and he couldn't quite grasp
what it was.
A new line appeared.
The Doll wants more.
Doll.
That word no longer meant a being.
It was a desire.
A hunger.
Bring souls.
You will be rewarded.
Iren slowly lifted his gaze.
The tree's shadow had grown longer.
The shadows were… a little too long.
Another line formed.
The Doll is watching you. Always.
His hand trembled as he read it.
He understood—
For the first time—
The Doll was not giving him anything.
The Doll was only reminding him
that he was not alone.
Do not disappoint.
I dislike dull points in a story.
Iren did not smile.
He did not cry.
He only felt—
This was not a command.
It was a warning.
The screen vanished.
The world returned to normal.
The tree.
The dirt.
The silence.
But the silence was different now.
It was no longer empty.
It was full.
Iren stood up.
His legs moved a moment late—
as if his body and his will
were no longer synchronized.
He walked.
As he walked,
a thought tried to form in his mind—
Why am I doing this—
The thought stopped halfway.
Because he knew—
He no longer had the right
to ask that question.
In the distance,
the city lights flickered.
Where there were people.
Fear.
Greed.
Souls.
Iren stopped.
For a brief moment,
he wondered—
What if I don't go?
At that moment—
No screen appeared.
No voice spoke.
But—
A pressure pressed behind his eyes.
As if someone behind him
tightened their gaze.
He understood.
The Doll was not speaking.
The Doll was waiting.
And waiting
was the cruelest punishment of all.
Iren walked again.
This time, faster.
His eyes slowly darkened—
Not black.
Something deeper.
Behind him,
the tree shrank into nothing.
The silent place faded away.
Ahead—
A new night was waiting.
And somewhere—
Within the darkness—
The Doll smiles at nothing.