In the middle of pitch-black darkness, towering black trees stretched endlessly in every direction.
It was a scene seen through Lucas's eyes… yet it felt as if he had no body.
(What is this place…? What's wrong with it?)
Ahead of him, a frog hopped closer.
(I knew it… it would appear again.)
The frog stopped in front of him, smiling—revealing sharp white teeth that gleamed in the darkness.
— "Hello, Arthur."
Lucas froze for a moment, then replied coldly:
— "What kind of animal are you?"
The frog finally spoke, its voice strange… unsettling.
— "This is not a dream… this is a place. Your world… between life and death."
It stepped closer.
— "Your body hasn't formed yet… you're still in the easy stage."
Lucas looked down and noticed it… yet he felt no fear.
Complete calm… an eerie inner peace.
He liked that feeling.
— "A world between life and death… I see. Then who are you?"
But his consciousness began to fade…
The frog's voice became distorted… unclear.
— "Ask… wha—"
At the restaurant—
Lucas fell off his chair, his shoulder slamming into the ground.
He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, his hands gripping his throat tightly…
As if trying to hold his soul inside before it escaped.
Poison spread through his body…
A sharp, unbearable pain.
He writhed on the floor.
People nearby stood up in fear, not understanding what was happening.
All they saw… was a man who had been sitting calmly, suddenly turning into something terrifying.
Slowly… Lucas began to calm down.
(I… came back from the dead.)
He sat up with difficulty, catching his breath, and looked around.
Everyone was staring at him.
He covered his face with his hand.
(So… I'm back here.)
He stood, adjusted his clothes, then looked at the table.
His phone was on the ground… soaked in coffee.
— "No…!"
He grabbed it quickly, trying to clean it.
He knew well… it wasn't water-resistant.
After several desperate attempts—
As expected… it didn't work.
He clenched his teeth in anger, raised the phone, and smashed it against the ground with all his strength.
— "Damn it!"
It shattered completely.
Rage boiled inside him…
That important recording he had been editing—for Antonio—was gone with it.
The restaurant manager approached, pointing toward the door.
His tone was sharp, with a hint of threat, his expression tense.
He was asking him to leave… politely, but firmly.
Lucas didn't notice that everyone around him was afraid.
He walked out calmly… indifferent.
He knew well… no one understood what he was going through.
Outside—
He placed his hands on his waist, trying to organize his thoughts.
(What happened at Antonio's house?)
Then suddenly, he remembered.
— "Tell me… voice. You said Antonio switched his drink with mine."
The reply came calmly:
— "Yes… he did."
Lucas raised his eyes, thinking.
— "How did you know? Don't you only see what I see?"
Silence.
— "When did I tell you that?"
He slowly wiped his lips… trying to remember.
But… no.
He never said it.
A horrifying image flashed before his eyes—
Antonio dragging his sister's corpse.
Lucas swallowed hard.
(A monster…)
The voice laughed.
— "She wanted to poison him… but he discovered it. To be sure… he switched the drink with yours."
The pieces began to fall into place.
Yesterday… he discovered that Casimiro was planning to kill Antonio.
The GPS led him to Antonio's house.
Then—
The little girl already knew he was coming.
Antonio had told her.
Then he remembered…
When Maria handed Antonio the juice, and he pointed at Lucas:
— "What is he, a statue? Where's his drink?"
(So… he knew.)
Lucas exhaled slowly, slipping his hand into his pocket.
— "Maria wanted to use the situation… if I died poisoned, I'd take the blame."
He let out a quiet laugh.
— "The last person who drank with him… was me."
Then he paused.
(But…)
A faint smile appeared.
— "Antonio knew I was coming… and told his sister to give me a drink… but he didn't specify which one."
He sighed.
(How did he know she wanted to kill him…? And how did he know I was coming?)
He got into a taxi, heading toward the headquarters.
In the back seat, he was lost in thought.
(What happened… and why?
And now… what next?)
He had returned from death…
And this time… none of it had happened yet.
(How do I use this to my advantage?)
He chuckled bitterly.
(Too many questions… and this damn voice isn't helping.)
— "I'm here to help you, Arthur."
Lucas smiled faintly.
— "Really?"
— "Why not? We're on the same team."
— "You're mocking me again…"
He didn't realize he had spoken out loud.
The driver glanced at him through the mirror.
— "Are you alright, sir?"
Lucas sighed, turning his gaze toward the window.
— "Yeah… just thinking out loud."
He remembered how many times he had done that in front of others…
How insane it must have made him look.
He let out a small laugh.
Then suddenly, the voice said:
— "You're the one who wants it."
Lucas froze.
— "What do you mean?"
— "You don't need to raise your voice…"
He frowned slightly.
— "You're talking to me… I can hear you from inside, just like you can hear me from inside."
He twisted his lips, blinking slowly.
Memories surfaced—how many times had he spoken in his mind… and something had answered?
Yet he had never noticed.
He leaned his head against the window.
(You're such a bastard…)
The voice replied calmly:
— "You never asked, Arthur."
Lucas let out a quiet sigh.
— "Alright… I have a question for you."
The voice laughed before he could even finish.
— "Go ahead."
Lucas spoke slowly:
— "Every time I see a black frog with sharp teeth… what is it?"
Silence.
A strange… unsettling silence.
Lucas lifted his head from the glass, his curiosity growing.
— "What's wrong? Where did you go?"
The voice finally replied, its tone uncertain:
— "You… can see it now?"
Excitement flickered in Lucas's eyes.
— "Yeah. I've seen it several times… it even talked to me. Said things I didn't understand."
Another silence… but this one felt different.
Then the voice spoke again, stranger than ever before:
— "I didn't know… it liked you this much."
The car stopped.
The driver turned around.
— "We're here, sir."
Lucas didn't respond. He was staring down.
— "Alright… that black frog… is your book."
He swallowed, pressing his fingers into the seat.
A faint smile formed on his lips.
— "So… the book takes the form of an animal?"
— "Sir, we've arrived."
Lucas lifted his head, glanced at the driver, then outside.
He paid him and stepped out quickly.
— "No, Arthur… it doesn't take a form. That is its true form. Monica… a black frog."
The voice continued:
— "You're only seeing it now because you're in the Easy Stage… and it's the one who decides that."
Lucas rubbed his chin, closing his eyes slightly.
— "Will this actually benefit me in any way?"
The voice laughed.
— "Of course. It holds all the answers… and it decides when you move to the next level."
Lucas slipped his hands into his pockets confidently.
— "Good… that's useful."
The voice laughed again—this time, darker… almost intoxicated with something unseen.
— "Arthur… didn't you forget something?"
Lucas froze for a second—
Then suddenly bolted toward a house near the headquarters.
He rushed inside, searching frantically.
He found it.
Pulling it out from beneath his clothes, he opened it with trembling hands.
Flipping to the last page—
He closed his eyes slowly… refusing to see.
Then opened them.
[Stage: Easy]
[Mission: Kill a human]
[Time Limit: 23 hours]
[Tool: Chainsaw]
He froze.
(No… impossible…)
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
(Why…? Why do I have to kill someone? And with a chainsaw? What's the purpose? What do I gain from this?)
He closed the book slowly and placed it on the ground.
— "Please… just this once… ignore it."
— "No."
Lucas stiffened.
The voice struck like thunder.
— "If you don't… one of your family members will die. Just a reminder."
He stood there in silence.
(I'm such an idiot…)
(I forgot… you're not human. Why would you care?)
Anger burned across his face… but it was directed more at himself than anything else.
He kicked the book, sending it crashing into the wall.
Then walked out of the house.
— "I'll kill someone… but first, I need to meet Antonio."
The voice laughed mockingly, clearly enjoying this.
— "I hope you stay this brave… when the time comes."
He arrived at the headquarters.
Entered—
The same scene.
Harry taking money from Miguel.
— "Damn… Lucas."
Miguel turned.
But Lucas… didn't care.
He walked past them without even looking, as if they were ghosts.
He already knew the outcome.
But…
Something stopped him.
Carl's tears…
Years of suffering…
The money she had saved to pay off her debt…
(All of it… was a lie.)
He had been there when Harry told her.
And who knows… maybe that was the moment everything broke inside him.
(There's no escape.)
Lucas slowly turned back.
Tension filled the air.
He walked toward Harry… step by step.
Harry swallowed hard… but didn't move.
Lucas got closer… until he whispered in his ear.
Miguel couldn't hear a thing.
Then Lucas stepped back.
Miguel laughed nervously:
— "I know he doesn't interfere in other people's business, but—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Harry suddenly handed all the money back.
In a low voice… barely audible:
— "I don't want it anymore… I don't need it."
He sat down on the couch, watching TV as if nothing had happened.
Miguel froze.
(What just happened?)
(He whispered something… and everything changed?)
(Impossible… Harry's an addict… there's no way he'd just stop like that.)
But those words…
They carried weight.
Heavy… crushing weight—
— "Tell me… who's going to take care of your sister after you die?"