The wind moved softly across the glass bridge.
Mumin was walking beside President Morgan Cross.
Behind them stood soldiers. Ahead of them stretched the long transparent bridge that connected the palace to the private tower.
Below—only the abyss.
Deep. Silent. Endless.
For a moment, everything felt calm.
Too calm.
The president suddenly stopped walking.
"Wait."
Mumin looked at him.
The president slowly turned around and looked back toward the soldiers who were escorting Mahim, Rokeya Begum, and Zakia away from the bridge.
Then he said quietly,
"Why are we in such a hurry?"
No one answered.
The wind grew stronger.
The president smiled slowly.
A strange smile.
"Let's play a game."
Something inside Mumin's chest tightened.
He didn't like the way the president said that.
Not at all.
Mumin said carefully, "What game?"
The president looked at the soldiers and raised his hand.
"Bring them back."
Mumin's eyes widened.
"What are you doing?"
Within seconds the soldiers stopped Mahim and the others. They turned them around and forced them back onto the bridge.
Zakia was confused.
"Uncle… why are we coming back?"
Mahim's face suddenly went pale.
He understood something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Mumin stepped forward. "You promised to let them go."
The president tilted his head slightly.
"Did I?"
The air became heavy.
Rokeya Begum whispered, "Ya Allah…"
The soldiers suddenly grabbed Mahim.
Then Rokeya Begum.
Then Zakia.
Ropes appeared.
Hands were tied.
Feet were tied.
Everything happened too fast.
Mumin shouted, "STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Two soldiers immediately held Mumin back.
The president walked slowly in front of Mahim.
Very slowly.
Like someone enjoying a show.
"You see, Mumin… the world runs on power. Not promises."
Mahim looked at him with trembling eyes.
"You gave your word."
The president smiled wider.
"I gave a performance."
Zakia started crying.
"Uncle! Uncle!"
Mumin struggled violently.
"LET THEM GO!"
The president suddenly raised one finger.
Silence.
Then he said calmly,
"First round."
A soldier lifted a rifle.
Mahim looked at Mumin.
In his eyes there was no anger.
Only sadness.
And pride.
He said quietly,
"Stay strong… son."
The gun fired.
The sound echoed across the entire bridge.
Zakia screamed.
Rokeya Begum screamed.
Mumin's heart shattered inside his chest.
Mahim's body collapsed.
For a moment the world stopped.
The soldiers dragged his body to the edge of the glass bridge.
And threw him down.
Far below—
darkness swallowed him.
Zakia screamed again.
"ABBBAAAAA!"
Mumin's voice broke.
"YOU MONSTER!"
The president laughed softly.
Like someone amused.
"Second round."
Rokeya Begum was shaking.
Her tears wouldn't stop.
She looked at Zakia one last time.
"Allah will protect you, my child…"
Another gunshot.
Her body fell.
Another throw.
Another disappearance into the abyss.
Mumin could barely breathe.
Everything was spinning.
The president watched calmly.
Like this was entertainment.
Then he looked at the little girl.
Zakia.
She was trembling.
Her small hands tied.
Her face full of tears.
"I want my mother…"
The president crouched down in front of her.
"Do you know something?"
She didn't respond.
"I was once a general."
The soldiers stayed silent.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
The president continued speaking slowly.
"Years ago… there was another president here. A good man. People loved him."
He smiled.
A terrible smile.
"But I wanted his chair."
Zakia didn't understand.
But Mumin did.
The president's voice turned colder.
"So one night… I killed him."
Silence.
"And his family."
Mumin froze.
The president stood up again.
"And that's how I became the president of Imolodia."
Then he laughed.
A horrifying laugh.
Like a monster.
Zakia cried louder.
"Uncle… please…"
Mumin was shaking.
His eyes filled with tears.
"Please… she's just a child…"
For a moment—
just a tiny moment—
the president looked at the girl.
Then he waved his hand.
The soldiers lifted her.
She screamed.
"UNCLE!"
They tied her legs tighter.
Then—
they threw her.
Her scream echoed while she fell into the endless darkness below.
Mumin broke.
Completely.
"No…"
His voice cracked.
"No… no… no…"
Tears streamed down his face.
His body felt empty.
The president walked slowly behind him.
"You see, Mumin… this is reality."
Then suddenly—
a sharp pain exploded in Mumin's back.
A knife.
Driven deep.
Mumin gasped.
His breath vanished.
Warm blood spread across his clothes.
He looked down slowly.
His body shaking.
The president whispered near his ear,
"You believed faith could save people."
Then—
he pushed him.
Mumin's body went over the glass railing.
For a moment—
time stopped.
The sky above.
The bridge shrinking.
The president standing there.
Laughing.
That monstrous laughter echoing through the air.
Mumin was falling.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Wind screaming in his ears.
Tears floating away.
His last whisper escaped his lips—
"Ya Allah…"
Above, on the bridge, President Morgan Cross stopped laughing.
The soldiers stood silently.
The bridge was empty now.
Bodies gone.
Voices gone.
Only the wind remained.
But the president did not leave.
He looked toward the dark horizon.
As if waiting.
Waiting for someone.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
And he said quietly,
"Now… let's see when you arrive."