The silence was so heavy that the sound of Kim's trembling breath seemed like the only thing left in the world.
He was still staring at the shadow… at his true face. Or perhaps… at the thing he was destined to become from the very beginning.
As for the sky… it was slowly cracking above them, as if the world itself could no longer bear his existence.
But Kim… did not look at the sky. Instead, he looked at his hands.
His hands, which had carried blood… warmth… pain… and the people he had tried to hold onto, only to lose them all.
His fingers quivered slightly. Then, a weak, exhausted laugh escaped him—the kind of laugh a human lets out when they finally understand that everything has been in vain.
> "Strange…"
>
He whispered in a raspy voice.
> "I thought I was used to the pain."
>
He slowly raised his eyes… but this time, he wasn't looking at anyone. He was looking at something very far away… perhaps at his childhood. At those fleeting moments he had spent so long trying to forget.
> "I remember…"
>
He flashed a faint smile.
> "When my mother used to hold my hand…"
> "I used to think the world was a warm place."
>
An image manifested within his memories… a small child sitting near an old window… and a woman laughing as she brushed his hair. Her voice… it was warm. Real.
> "I used to run to her whenever I was afraid…"
> "And I thought… that having just one person who loves you… was enough to save you from the world."
>
His lips trembled. Then, his voice dropped even lower.
> "If only happiness could last…"
>
Silence. But his tears began to fall once more. Slowly… as if escaping from a soul entirely worn out by time.
> "If only beautiful moments knew they wouldn't stay…"
> "So we could hold them closer before they die."
>
Even the shadow fell silent this time.
As for Kim… he closed his eyes for a moment. Then, he continued in a shattered voice:
> "Everything beautiful in my life…"
> "Was short-lived."
> "So short that it sometimes made me doubt if it had ever really happened."
>
The air trembled around him as he completed:
> "Every time I found a reason to stay…"
> "It was taken from me."
>
He slowly brought his hand toward his chest.
> "And every time I tried to become better…"
>
He laughed softly.
> "The world reminded me of what I am."
>
Silence reigned. Then, the woman from the Children of Light took a step forward, her eyes pooling with sorrow.
> "Kim…"
>
But Kim cut her off, without even looking at her.
> "Do you know what hurts me the most?"
>
Silence. Then, he smiled a hollow smile.
> "That I was actually happy… for a little while."
>
Everyone's breath hitched. As for him… he raised his head toward the fracturing sky.
> "I thought I could change."
> "That I could escape the end."
> "That love… might defeat what is inside me."
>
He closed his eyes tightly. Then, he whispered:
> "But it seems some things… are born dead, no matter how hard you try to live."
>
Amon's heart shuddered violently, and he immediately stepped forward.
> "Don't say that—"
>
But one of the angels placed a hand out to stop him, his own eyes trembling. Because they could all feel it. The chaos inside Kim… was waking up further. Slowly… but steadily.
The woman drew closer once more. Then, she spoke in an agonizing voice:
> "Kim…"
> "If this continues…"
>
She paused for a heartbeat, as if the words were choking her. Then, she whispered:
> "Nothing will be left."
>
Silence fell. As for Kim… he smiled. A smile that was terrifyingly calm.
> "Then kill me."
>
Amon's eyes widened.
> "Kim!"
>
But Kim did not turn to look at him. He only looked at the angels.
> "Isn't this what you wanted from the very beginning?"
> "The end."
>
Silence. Then, he completed in a faint voice:
> "I am tired of running."
>
The woman trembled.
> "If we kill you… absolute oblivion might be unleashed."
>
Kim let out a low laugh.
> "And if you leave me alive… I will become it one day."
>
Then, he looked at his hands again.
> "In every path… I am the end."
>
Silence fell once more. An agonizing silence… because no one could deny his words.
Then… suddenly. Kim raised his head. But something had changed within his eyes. Something resembling despair… laced with defiance.
> "But I…"
>
His voice shook.
> "I do not want this end."
>
Everyone's breath caught. As for him… the tears began to fall anew. But this time… they were not just tears of brokenness. It was rage. The rage of a child whose life was stolen before he could even understand it.
> "I did not choose this."
> "I did not choose to be born this way."
> "I did not choose to be a cage for something I don't understand."
>
The darkness began to shake violently around him, yet his words pressed on.
> "All I wanted…"
>
His breath fractured.
> "Was a small life."
> "A mother…"
> "A home…"
> "And someone to tell me that I am not a monster."
>
Then, he laughed… a completely broken laugh.
> "Even that… was too much for me."
>
The heavens shook with even greater violence. As for the shadow behind him… it watched him in silence, as if something within it was beginning to crack as well.
Kim raised his tearful eyes toward the angels. Then, he spoke in a painful… honest voice… a voice like the final cry of a dying soul:
> "I will not accept a destiny…"
> "That holds no place where I can be happy."
>
And the moment he said it… the darkness exploded around him.