The air was thick, almost suffocating, as Joshua stood in the shadows of the dimly lit room. His skin crawled from the scent—burnt incense, blood, and something metallic that lingered in the air, sharp and acrid. Every breath felt like it cut deeper into his chest, his mind racing.
Saponu Sebastian's words reverberated in the stillness.
"David is helping me with something far greater than you can understand."
Joshua's stomach dropped.
David. The boy who had once been his closest friend, the one who had laughed beside him through the dark days of their childhood—how had he become a part of this? Joshua's gaze flickered over to Baba, who hung limply in the chair, unconscious and battered. His skin was bruised and bloody, twisted in the grotesque way of someone who had been tortured for too long.
Joshua's gaze dropped to Baba. Still tied to the chair. Still unconscious. His face swollen and broken, dried blood crusted around his mouth.
Now, Baba was nothing more than another pawn—his life held in the hands of Saponu and whatever dark forces he had aligned himself with.
Joshua's stomach churned.
This isn't happening. This can't be happening.
"Why is David doing this?" Joshua forced the question out, his voice barely above a whisper, thick with disbelief.
Saponu's voice was a calm, chilling whisper in response.
"David chose his path. Now, you must choose yours."
Joshua stepped back, his chest tight, the weight of the decision pressing down on him.
"Join him?" His words felt foreign on his tongue.
Saponu's cold smile deepened. "Yes. You can walk away, forget what you saw… or you can take your place beside him."
Joshua's hands clenched into fists. He fought the urge to scream, to lash out, but his mind was screaming for clarity.
This isn't my choice. Not like this.
"You're manipulating him," Joshua spat, voice rising in anger. "You've twisted him."
"No," Saponu replied, unmoved. "I gave him the truth. Power is the only thing that matters in this world, Joshua. David understands that now."
Joshua's heart thudded painfully in his chest.
Power.
David had always wanted to control his life, to escape the bullying, the scorn, the endless struggle. And now, it seemed, he'd found a way—at what cost?
The image of Baba, broken and helpless, made Joshua's anger surge.
This wasn't power. This wasn't the answer. It was control, manipulation—slavery.
Joshua felt his mind unraveling, memories flashing back to the times when he and David had been younger, more innocent. The games, the quiet promises of what they would become. The world had never been kind to them, but they had made each other a promise: they would rise above it.
And now?
Now, David was part of this darkness. The one person who had stood beside him through it all was slipping into the very thing they had both once vowed to fight against.
"I have to find him," Joshua said suddenly, voice hoarse. "Where is David?"
Saponu tilted his head, his eyes glinting like shards of ice.
"Come. But remember, some choices—once made—cannot be undone."
He turned, moving toward the narrow hall, and Joshua followed without hesitation.
The corridor felt endless, the walls seeming to close in with every step, covered in markings that pulsed faintly in the dim light. The scent of incense thickened with each breath, and Joshua's thoughts swirled like a storm he couldn't stop.
They came to a heavy door, carved with symbols that seemed to shift in the candlelight. Saponu pushed it open, and they stepped into a room that felt even colder.
Inside, the room was dim, lit by candles flickering in a wide ring. In the center of the room was a stone pedestal, and standing before it, with his back to them, was David.
Joshua's breath caught.
The figure was unmistakable—David—but not the David he knew. The boy who had once smiled so easily, who had once shared so many dreams with him, was gone. The man who stood there now was rigid, his posture stiff, and his back as straight as a rod. The energy in the room had changed—there was a heaviness, an expectation hanging in the air. It was suffocating.
Saponu's voice cut through the tension.
"David, your friend has come."
David didn't turn. He didn't even flinch. The silence stretched, pulling tighter and tighter, until finally—slowly—David spoke.
"…I knew you would come."
Joshua's pulse quickened. His throat was tight.
"David… what's happening? This isn't you. You wanted to be an ancestor. You said you would fight for it. But now…" His words faltered. "Why are you doing this?"
David turned then, slowly, his eyes dark and distant—nothing like the boy Joshua had grown up beside.
"This," David said, his voice low, cold, "is the only way. The world… it doesn't care about us, Joshua. You know that. It never did."
David's gaze hardened, and Joshua felt the words hit him like a blow.
"I was thrown away, forgotten. My family, my future—gone. The world turned its back on me, and I was left to bleed. He"—David gestured toward Saponu—"gave me the strength to stop being powerless. To stop being weak."
Joshua's heart thudded in his chest, each beat a drum of dread.
"This… This isn't strength, David. This is a cage. A prison."
David's lips curled, a twisted smile.
"No. This is freedom. You can't see it, but I'm not the same person anymore. I'm not the boy who used to dream with you. I'm the man who's survived."
Joshua's chest tightened as realization hit like a wave.
I can't save him.
And suddenly, the thought hit him like a punch:
I need to get out. I need to escape before I'm trapped here, too.
David's voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.
"It's too late for me. You can join me, or you can leave. But I'm not going back. Not for you, not for anyone."
Joshua's eyes locked onto David's, and for the briefest moment, he saw the boy he had known—the boy he had once called a brother. But it was fleeting, like a flicker of light before the darkness swallowed it whole.
His body tensed. The walls seemed to press in.
I need to decide.
With that, Joshua took a single step forward, his heart racing.
But before he could say a word, the door slammed shut behind him.