Everything that was happening… was because of that strange book.
And the contract too.
Lucas raised his gaze toward Antonio.
Antonio smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder:
"I liked it… but I didn't approve it."
He shrugged carelessly:
"Who cares? It's just Bait."
He started laughing.
He stepped back, grabbed his shovel, and said:
"Come on… let's finish this."
Lucas bent down toward his shovel with difficulty.
His body was exhausted… all he wanted was to lie down, even for a moment.
Harry threw Stephen's body into the grave.
And they began covering it with dirt.
Lucas stood there, watching…
Stephen's body slowly being buried…
his eyes still open.
He didn't even try to close them.
After a short while… it was over.
Harry sighed, leaning on his shovel just to stay standing.
He hadn't eaten anything since he woke up… not even drugs.
(I want to eat… anything…)
Suddenly, he remembered the new pills… still in the fridge.
A small spark of excitement lit inside him.
He wiped his sweat and looked at Antonio…
then remembered the promise he had made.
He knew well…
this was his last chance.
The excitement faded.
He moved slowly toward the water bottle.
As soon as the water entered his body…
he felt like life returned to him again.
Antonio clapped twice:
"Let's go… we need to leave."
Lucas walked behind them, dragging his shovel on the ground.
He didn't lift his head… he only stared at the ground.
He got into the car and sat in the back.
He looked at the seat beside him…
the place where Bait used to sit.
The sound…
the sound of his skull cracking… still echoed in his ears.
He swallowed hard.
Every time he remembered… he fought the urge to vomit.
Antonio started the engine.
He looked in the mirror… where Lucas's pale face was reflected.
He smiled at him.
Lucas leaned back and closed his eyes.
He opened them…
He was in a dark forest.
He exhaled slowly:
(This place… again.)
The silence was suffocating…
a terrifying stillness that swallowed everything.
Then—
A sound.
From ahead.
A strange sound… like something alive being torn apart.
Krrshh… kraaah…
He walked forward slowly…
each step heavier than the last.
Until he saw—
A body lying on the ground.
He focused his gaze.
"Bait…"
A black frog…
sitting on Bait's stomach.
Its sharp teeth sank into his body… tearing flesh slowly.
The sound… was real.
Suddenly—
It stopped.
The frog turned toward him…
A smile.
Its teeth were covered in blood and flesh.
And it spoke… in a familiar voice:
"Hello… Arthur."
Lucas's eyes shot open.
A dream… again.
"We're here."
Antonio turned off the engine.
Lucas looked out the window…
they were in front of the headquarters.
Four hours had passed…
but to him, it felt like a moment.
He stepped out of the car silently…
and moved inside.
"Lucas."
He stopped.
Turned quickly toward the voice.
It was Antonio… smiling at him.
"Where are you going?
Go home… get some rest.
It's been a long day."
It was the hardest day of Lucas's life.
His partner—whom he relied on—died before his eyes.
He killed a man in a brutal way.
And tasted death… three times.
And no one knew about this madness… except him.
He wanted to ask Antonio…
but he had no energy left.
He just nodded and headed home.
Harry went toward the headquarters, starving, just wanting a shower.
"Harry."
He turned.
"Don't forget to tell Carlos."
Antonio winked at him, then got into his car.
Lucas stood in front of his house.
He remembered the smell…
the rotten smell waiting for him.
The state of the house.
This morning…
there were two people sleeping beside him.
Now…
he would sleep alone.
He opened the door.
"Hello… Arthur."
He froze.
He raised his head quickly—he had heard his real name.
He looked around the room… no one.
Then again—
"Arthur…"
He remembered.
The same voice…
the one he heard in the hotel room.
"Down… Arthur… look down."
He slowly lowered his head.
Between his feet…
there was a book.
Red.
With yellow letters: MONICA.
He bent down and picked it up.
Looked around again.
"The voice isn't outside, Arthur…
the voice is inside."
He stopped.
Then—
He started laughing.
A short… tired laugh.
He understood.
All this time…
the voice was in his head.
Not from the book…
not from anywhere else.
Only him… hearing it.
He sighed:
"You're the one who brought me back from death?"
Fear crept in.
He was talking to something… that didn't exist.
Yet that thing… brought him back from death.
A power like that…
could do anything.
He closed the door behind him.
Sat down.
Placed the book in front of him… staring at it, waiting for an answer.
"I'm not the one.
The book brought you back.
I'm just… a guardian."
"A guardian?"
"Yes… the guardian of the book."
Lucas stayed silent for a moment.
Then—
"Open the book."
Lucas opened it slowly…
with curiosity… and fear.
He was waiting for answers.
On the first page, it read:
[Easy Stage]
[Mission Begins: 24 Hours]
[Tool: Gun]
The rest of the pages…
empty.
Completely.
He remembered the contract…
and the words "easy stage."
He raised his head:
"What does this mean? Explain."
This time, the voice came clearly…
no longer whispering.
"You have the right to know."
"Do you remember the contract?
When you were in the hotel… desperate…
wishing for something to save you?
A book… a miracle… anything?"
Lucas got angry.
He bit his lip:
"Just explain."
"When you made the deal…
you took the power of this book."
Silence.
His heart began to beat slowly.
"And what is it?"
"Returning from death."
He froze.
"Why me?"
The voice replied calmly:
"Will you keep asking that?
Why me… why me…"
It paused for a moment, then continued:
"All of this happened because of me.
And if you start blaming yourself…
you'll only end up with worse thoughts."
Lucas smiled faintly as he remembered the same sentence…
the one he heard in the cell.
"So… it was you."
"The book spent five years… searching for someone worthy of its power.
Until it found you… the most desperate person on Earth."
"You were crying… suffering…
wishing not to die… refusing to die."
The voice sighed, then added in a strange tone:
"The book loves you, Arthur…
and it wants to help you."
He didn't care.
He had many questions…
but one mattered more than anything.
He raised his head slightly.
"What is this mission? 24 hours… and the gun… what does it mean?"
The voice laughed—this time with clear excitement:
"There are stages… easy, medium, and hard.
And you chose… the easy one."
It paused briefly, then continued:
"And you took the weakest ability in the book…
returning from death."
Lucas's eyes widened.
"Weakest…?"
"But everything has a price, Arthur."
A short silence… almost intentional.
"Every time you die three times…
you must complete a mission."
A tight feeling gripped his chest.
"What do you mean?"
The voice delayed its answer…
as if enjoying his tension.
"The cost is simple."
"For every three times you die…
you must take someone else's life."
Lucas's body trembled.
His voice came out weak:
"I… don't understand…"
The voice chuckled softly.
"No… you do."
"Every three deaths…
you're given a mission.
You have 24 hours… to kill a human being."
Lucas froze.
"And you're given a tool to complete it…
in your case… a gun."
The book slipped from his hand.
Kill… a human?
All the scenes from today came rushing back—
blood… screams… lifeless eyes.
"Impossible… I won't do it… I don't want this!"
The voice responded instantly, without hesitation:
"Fine."
Silence.
"If you don't…
someone from your family will take their place."
His breath stopped.
"And I'm not talking about a random person…
but someone you know."
The voice grew heavier:
"Your mother…
your father…
your wife… even if you no longer love her…
and your little daughter…"
"Anyone… who means something in your life."
Lucas screamed:
"Impossible! That's a lie! You wouldn't do that!"
The voice laughed.
"Want to bet?"
"Don't complete the mission…
wait 24 hours…
and we'll see who loses."
Silence.
Then the voice added:
"And this… is only the easy stage."
"In the medium stage…
your ability evolves."
"But…
the price becomes worse."
"And so on…
until you reach the hard stage."
Lucas stood there silently.
He began to understand…
Killing someone…
was only the easy stage.
And every three times he dies…
he must kill.
And if he doesn't use the given tool…
the mission won't count.
(This thing… isn't lying…)
He staggered slightly.
His body was exhausted…
his mind sinking.
He took out his phone.
Midnight.
He walked out of the house… dragging his feet.
"Where are you going, Arthur?"
His face was empty of life.
He answered in a calm… terrifying voice:
"If I have to kill…
then this is the perfect time."
The voice started laughing.
"Now you understand, Arthur…
sadness won't save you."
He kept walking.
Head lowered…
The road was long…
And dark.
And he was heading toward the headquarters.