Ryan opened his eyes.
The ceiling of his room greeted him in silence.
For a few seconds, he didn't move.
He couldn't remember exactly how long he had slept. He only knew that his body could still feel every second of the fight from the previous night.
He tried to sit up.
Pain hit him all at once.
—Shit…
Ryan gritted his teeth.
His entire body hurt. His muscles were stiff. His ribs protested with every breath, and there were several places on his body where even the slightest movement sent a sharp jolt of pain through him.
But his left hand was the worst.
Ryan carefully raised his arm.
His hand was swollen, purple, and barely responsive.
He slowly moved his fingers.
One.
Two.
Three.
The fourth barely reacted.
Ryan slowly exhaled through his teeth.
—That's going to take a while.
He tried to close his hand.
Pain shot from his fingers all the way up to his shoulder.
He immediately opened it again.
—Definitely going to take a while.
He let himself fall back onto the pillow.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling.
The fight came rushing back into his mind.
Justin.
Jack.
The Entity.
Dark fire.
Lightning.
The illusions.
And finally, that voice.
We'll meet again.
Ryan closed his eyes.
—Yeah… I know.
Then he remembered the original Clown.
The phone call.
The purple particles.
That supposed gift.
Ryan opened his eyes again.
—And you're not trustworthy either.
A small smile appeared on his face.
—Although I already knew that.
He tried to get up again.
This time, he succeeded.
He sat on the edge of the bed and remained there for several seconds, waiting for the dizziness to disappear.
Then he stood.
Every step was uncomfortable.
Every movement reminded him of the battle.
But he kept walking.
—First, I recover.
He looked at his left hand.
—Then, everything else.
For now, there was nothing he could do.
He needed to rest.
---
Elsewhere in Morris County…
Vivian and Brittany arrived together at Madeleine's house.
Ana was already there.
The four of them sat in the living room.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The atmosphere was strange.
They had all heard the Clown's laughter the night before.
They all knew he had won.
But none of them knew exactly what had happened.
Finally, Vivian pulled out four five-dollar bills and placed them on the table.
—The Clown sent twenty dollars last night —she said calmly—. He said it was five dollars for each of us.
Madeleine raised an eyebrow.
—Twenty dollars? Seriously?
Ana picked up one of the bills and looked at it.
—After everything that happened… this is what he pays us?
Brittany shrugged.
—At least he paid.
Madeleine let out a small laugh.
—That's the least he could do.
Vivian put her own bill away.
—It's not about the money.
The other three looked at her.
Vivian continued:
—It's the message.
She paused.
—He's reminding us that we're still working for him.
The atmosphere became serious again.
Madeleine crossed her arms.
—And that he can find us whenever he wants.
Ana lowered her gaze.
—I still don't know how I feel about all of this.
Brittany looked out the window.
—Neither do I.
For several seconds, the only sound was the noise of the street.
Then Brittany spoke again.
—But one thing is clear.
The others looked at her.
—It's not over.
Vivian slowly nodded.
None of them said it out loud, but they were all thinking the same thing.
The Clown was using them.
And none of them knew how to get out.
For now, all they could do was wait.
---
Meanwhile…
Ryan left the bathroom after washing his face.
He looked at himself in the mirror once more before returning to his room.
The bruises were visible.
He had several scratches.
His face clearly showed his exhaustion.
And his left hand looked like it had been through a boxing match.
—Great…
Ryan returned to his room.
He walked over to the desk and sat in front of the computer.
He turned on the screen.
The Nexum dashboard appeared.
Ryan stared at it in silence.
Users.
Activity.
New registrations.
Data.
Everything was still moving forward.
Slowly.
But it was moving.
Ryan scanned the statistics with his eyes.
It wasn't the growth he wanted.
It was still far from that.
But it was enough to know that the project was working.
He leaned back in his chair.
—I can't put this aside.
Nexum wasn't simply another project.
It was the beginning.
The first brick of something much bigger.
His empire.
Ryan knew he still had a tremendous amount of work ahead of him.
And now he had another problem.
A supernatural entity that would return someday.
An enemy that still hadn't shown its true power.
Ryan stared at the screen for a few more seconds.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
—First, I recover.
He closed the computer.
—Then I keep building.
Ryan slowly stood up.
He turned off the light.
The room fell into darkness.
He returned to the bed and collapsed onto it.
This time, he didn't even try to fight the exhaustion.
His body was begging him to rest.
Ryan closed his eyes.
—For now…
He took a deep breath.
—Let's rest.
The room became completely silent.
And for the first time in a long time…
the silence didn't feel empty.
It simply felt necessary.