The wind moved softly across the high plains as the sun slowly sank behind the distant mountains. The sky burned with colors of deep orange and fading gold, yet the beauty of the evening could not soften the heaviness that lingered in the air.
Lucas stood alone at the edge of a rocky hill, his dark cloak swaying quietly with the wind. The purple aura surrounding his body flickered faintly, almost as if it were breathing with him. His gaze stretched toward the horizon, but his thoughts were far from the quiet landscape before him.
He could still feel it.
The Sin Energy.
It lingered everywhere now subtle, like dust carried by the wind, yet heavy enough to press against the soul.
And somewhere out there… Samir was moving.
Behind him, the sound of footsteps approached slowly. Lucas did not turn immediately. He already knew who it was.
"Lucas."
The voice was calm and deep.
Lucas finally glanced over his shoulder.
Samir stood several steps behind him, his cream-colored cloak moving gently in the evening wind. The faint white aura around his body glowed softly, like moonlight resting on still water. There was no hostility in his expression—only a quiet certainty that never seemed to waver.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The silence between them carried years of history.
Lucas turned back toward the horizon.
"You've been busy," he said quietly.
Samir stepped forward until he stood beside him.
"Busy?" Samir replied.
Lucas exhaled slowly.
"Villages losing their anger. Cities where people no longer cry. Entire places where grief disappears overnight."
Lucas finally turned to face him.
"That's your doing, isn't it?"
Samir did not deny it.
Instead, he looked out across the fading sunlight.
"They are free," Samir said calmly.
Lucas frowned.
"Free?"
"Yes."
Samir's voice carried no hesitation.
"Free from hatred. Free from despair. Free from the impulses that have driven humanity toward violence for centuries."
Lucas shook his head slightly.
"You're not freeing them."
His voice hardened.
"You're taking something away."
Samir finally looked at him.
"What exactly do you think I'm taking?"
Lucas stared at him for a long moment.
"Their humanity."
The wind blew harder for a moment, lifting the edges of their cloaks.
Samir's expression remained composed.
"Humanity," he repeated quietly.
Then he smiled faintly.
"That word has always fascinated me."
Lucas crossed his arms.
"Don't twist it."
"I'm not twisting anything," Samir replied. "I'm questioning it."
He stepped closer to the edge of the hill.
"Tell me something, Lucas. What do humans do with their emotions?"
Lucas did not answer.
Samir continued.
"They love… and then they betray."
"They dream… and then they destroy."
"They fear… and then they kill."
His voice remained calm, almost reflective.
"For centuries, Sin Energy has grown stronger because of those emotions."
Lucas clenched his fist.
"That doesn't mean they're worthless."
Samir turned slightly toward him.
"Doesn't it?"
Lucas stepped forward.
"Pain matters."
Samir raised an eyebrow.
"Pain?"
"Yes."
Lucas' voice carried more weight now.
"Pain teaches people. Loss makes them stronger. Regret makes them change."
Samir tilted his head slightly.
"And yet the world continues repeating the same mistakes."
Lucas fell silent.
Samir's eyes narrowed slightly—not in anger, but in curiosity.
"You believe suffering has meaning."
Lucas nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Samir looked back toward the horizon.
"I used to believe that too."
Lucas blinked.
"What?"
Samir remained quiet for several seconds.
"When I was a child," he began slowly, "I believed suffering would eventually create wisdom."
His gaze darkened slightly.
"I believed the world would learn."
Lucas felt something tighten in his chest.
"But it didn't," Samir continued.
"Every generation repeated the same cruelty."
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"War. Greed. Betrayal."
Lucas watched him carefully.
"You're trying to fix that."
Samir nodded.
"Yes."
Lucas spoke quietly.
"By erasing what makes people human?"
Samir turned back toward him.
"I'm not erasing humanity."
His voice grew slightly firmer.
"I'm removing the poison that keeps destroying it."
Lucas shook his head again.
"You don't get to decide that."
Samir's expression hardened slightly.
"Someone has to."
Lucas' eyes narrowed.
"And you think that someone is you?"
Samir did not hesitate.
"Yes."
The answer hung heavily in the air.
Lucas exhaled sharply.
"You're playing god."
Samir's gaze remained steady.
"No."
He paused briefly.
"I'm doing what gods refused to do."
Lucas stared at him.
The wind continued sweeping across the plains, carrying the cold scent of approaching night.
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Finally Lucas spoke again.
"What happens after you absorb all the Sin Energy?"
Samir answered without hesitation.
"Peace."
Lucas frowned.
"That's not an answer."
"It is."
Lucas stepped closer.
"No anger. No hatred. No despair."
He gestured toward the world below.
"That means no passion either."
Samir said nothing.
Lucas continued.
"No ambition."
"No love."
"No dreams."
Samir's expression remained unreadable.
Lucas' voice lowered.
"You're not saving humanity."
He looked directly into Samir's eyes.
"You're ending it."
Samir held his gaze calmly.
"Perhaps."
Lucas blinked.
The word struck him harder than he expected.
"Perhaps?" he repeated.
Samir's voice remained steady.
"Perhaps what humans call 'humanity' is the very thing preventing them from evolving."
Lucas shook his head slowly.
"That's not evolution."
Samir raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
Lucas' voice became quiet again.
"That's extinction."
For the first time, a faint shadow crossed Samir's expression.
But it vanished quickly.
"Extinction," Samir repeated thoughtfully.
"Or transformation."
Lucas felt the tension in the air grow heavier.
"You're gambling with the entire world."
Samir replied calmly.
"The world has been gambling with itself for thousands of years."
Lucas opened his mouth to respond..
—but stopped.
Because suddenly…
Samir's gaze shifted.
Not toward Lucas.
But toward the distant mountains.
Lucas noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
Samir remained silent.
The wind shifted direction.
Then Lucas felt it too.
A surge.
Not Sin Energy.
Something darker.
Something violent.
Samir narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Interesting."
Lucas frowned.
"You recognize it?"
Samir nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Lucas' voice lowered.
"Who is it?"
Samir answered quietly.
"Someone who refuses to let the world change."
Lucas felt a chill run through him.
"Gatto."
Samir did not confirm it directly.
But he did not deny it either.
The wind grew stronger, carrying distant thunder across the horizon.
Samir turned away from Lucas.
"It seems our discussion will have to wait."
Lucas grabbed his arm.
"You're not running away."
Samir glanced down at Lucas' hand.
"I'm not running."
He gently removed Lucas' grip.
"I'm observing."
Lucas clenched his teeth.
"You think you can just walk away after saying all that?"
Samir looked back at him calmly.
"This conversation isn't over, Lucas."
Lucas' purple aura flickered brighter.
"You're right."
His voice hardened.
"It's not."
Samir studied him for a moment.
Then he smiled faintly.
"You've grown stronger."
Lucas said nothing.
Samir continued.
"But strength alone won't answer the question we're facing."
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
"And what question is that?"
Samir's gaze drifted back toward the distant mountains.
"Whether humanity deserves to survive as it is."
Lucas stepped forward again.
"It does."
Samir looked back at him.
"Then prove it."
The wind roared across the plains.
For several seconds, they stood facing each other in silence.
Two paths.
Two futures.
Finally Samir turned away.
His cloak moved like pale mist in the evening wind.
"Until next time, Lucas."
Lucas watched him carefully.
"Next time," he repeated.
Samir stopped walking.
Without turning around, he spoke one final sentence.
"If you truly believe humanity should remain unchanged…"
His white aura flared softly.
"…then you'll have to stop me."
The light around him suddenly condensed and in the next moment, Samir vanished.
The hill fell silent again.
Lucas stood alone as night slowly descended over the plains.
The wind carried the distant rumble of thunder from the mountains.
Lucas looked toward that direction.
Gatto.
Another storm approaching.
Lucas slowly tightened his fist.
The purple aura around him burned brighter against the darkness.
"This world isn't yours to rewrite, Samir."
His voice was quiet.
But filled with determination.
And somewhere beyond the mountains…
the first sparks of a much greater conflict were already beginning to rise.