On the other side of the city, where the night's breath met the calm of lit rooms,
LOUVNA sat on the balcony of her room. MONA stood before her, eyes full of a flood of questions.
In LOUVNA's hands was a faded blue envelope, as if it carried an omen from another world.
MONA, anxious: "Why are you waiting? The letter has been with you for days, and you act as if you fear what's inside."
LOUVNA slowly lifted her head, her eyes studying the black sky where stars were scattering like diamonds on silk.
Softly, with a hidden worry in her voice, she said:
"Because some letters require the silence of night to be understood."
She reached out gently; her fingers trembled as she opened the envelope.
There was a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, as if she stood on the edge of a fate.
LOUVNA: "I tried to ignore it… But some voices cannot be silenced."
She drew the paper out.
It was white and pristine, but the words it bore were heavy as mountains.
She read silently; her hand trembled slightly.
The paper slipped from her lap as if carrying a weight she could no longer bear.
She whispered, choking: "It seems the time has come…"
Her whisper carried neither joy nor welcome — it carried resignation to some inevitable destiny.
She knew the quiet life she had lived was only borrowed time before the storm.
She rose from her seat and stepped to the balcony's edge.
The cold wind toyed with her hair, as if carrying the moans of spirits from the past.
Addressing the wind, LOUVNA said: "I thought I could run… but the past chases us like a shadow that never leaves."
She closed her eyes and breathed the cold night air.
She knew the game had begun, and the princess they had tried to hide would finally have to face her fate.
In that moment, as stars multiplied across the sky, it felt as though the whole world held its breath.
****************
In the mansion,
SOLIMON stood alone on a balcony, looking to the horizon with heavy eyes.
All that filled his mind was MOHITO's features — the face he had never seen before.
"The Demon Wolf," SOLIMON whispered as if addressing a ghost.
SHOUTNA appeared silently behind him, his shadow stretching across the marble.
"Seems tonight has been longer than usual," he said.
SOLIMON turned slowly; the traces of sleeplessness were clear on his face.
"Sleep? That ally that betrayed us all.
And you — when did you start to grow lax with those rare hours of rest?" SOLIMON teased.
SHOUTNA stepped to stand beside him, looking at the glowing horizon.
"Rest is a luxury we do not possess in this world."
SOLIMON suddenly faced SHOUTNA with determination burning in his eyes.
"Enough! What is the connection between MOHITO and the Demon Wolf? Who is this monster imitating his style with such devilish precision?"
SHOUTNA exhaled a heavy breath as if releasing a demon trapped in his chest.
"The Demon Wolf… that was MOHITO's codename in his dark days with the Organisation.
The name that terrorised their enemies was the perfect embodiment of an unfeeling, merciless killer."
SOLIMON's voice rose, shocked: "What are you trying to say?"
ADEL appeared suddenly from the entrance, pale, laptop in hand.
"What if MOHITO is reverting to his old self?
What if MORASAMI restored his memory and reprogrammed him?"
SHOUTNA and SOLIMON both turned to him at once.
"That…" SOLIMON said, looking at the ground, face drained.
"I don't think that," MESNAS said as he stepped forward.
"You don't think so either, SHOUTNA, right?" MESNAS fixed his gaze on SHOUTNA.
The others looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"
SHOUTNA looked over the waking city, his gaze sombre.
"What if… what if this is the Organisation's project to clone their lost perfection,
and they're trying to create a new version of MOHITO… one more obedient, more lethal."
SOLIMON's eyes widened. "Cloning?! That's madness."
"All of this is only possibilities — nothing confirmed," SHOUTNA answered calmly.
"And it seems the Organisation's next target is the princess," MESNAS said, looking at them all.
"We are on the verge of a new clash with them," ADEL said, face pale.
SHOUTNA stared toward the horizon without speaking, while the sun rose in a silence that hung over them.
Meanwhile, MOHITO sat on a nearby rooftop, listening to them unnoticed.
"Didn't I tell you? You are nothing but a burden… and because of you, everyone will share the same fate," a voice inside MOHITO laughed and whispered.
MOHITO gripped his head in pain, then glanced at his phone.
There was a message from LOUVNA: "Can we meet?"
The morning sun no longer seemed warm; it felt like a large eye watching a stage where a tragedy was about to begin.
*******************
MOHITO sat on the bed's edge, holding his phone in a trembling hand.
His eyes fixed on LOUVNA's message: "Can we meet?"
The inner voice mocked: "Look at them over there… conspiring against you. In the end, everyone will turn on you."
MOHITO pressed his forehead in pain. "Shut up…"
The twisted internal voice hissed: "Go to her. Maybe she, too, wants to get rid of you."
He stood suddenly, headed to the wardrobe, opened it and pulled out his black coat.
His movements were hurried, nervous.
He stepped out of his room, trying to slip out quietly.
Suddenly, SOLIMON appeared at the corridor's end. "Where are you going?" he asked.
MOHITO froze for a moment, then turned slowly. "Out of the mansion."
SOLIMON took a few steps forward, studying MOHITO's face.
"At this hour? After everything that happened?"
MOHITO avoided direct eye contact. "It's LOUVNA. She wants to meet me."
SOLIMON looked at him suspiciously. "Do you think this is an appropriate time for meetings? The Organisation is moving…"
MOHITO interrupted him, as if whispering: "I don't need your permission!"
A heavy silence settled in the corridor.
MOHITO passed SOLIMON,
but SOLIMON grabbed his arm at the last moment.
MOHITO looked at him for the first time.
Neither backed down.
From behind, SHOUTNA cut in: "Stop this."
SOLIMON released his arm hesitantly, letting MOHITO continue without turning back.
MOHITO reached the main gate and paused to look at the empty street.
The inner voice: "Finally… freedom from all these lies. From all these doubts."
He took out his phone and typed a message: "Let's meet at the usual café AT 10 AM."
He looked up toward the balcony window and saw MESNAS and ADEL watching him.
He whispered to himself: "I must go… I must…"
Inner voice: "Yes… go. Let's see who will be the next victim."
MOHITO walked down the empty street, his shadow stretching tall behind him.
From the door, SOLIMON and SHOUTNA watched his departure.
SOLIMON: "Was it wise to let him go?"
SHOUTNA, still watching MOHITO fade into the street:
"Sometimes… you must unleash the wolf to see if it returns to the pack."
SULIMON: "And if it doesn't?"
SHOUTNA looked at him gravely:
"Then we will know the Demon Wolf has truly returned."
**********************
Narrator is LOUVNA
I sat on the edge of the bed, phone in my trembling hand. My eyes followed the short message: "Let's meet at the usual café AT 10 AM."
I set the phone aside and walked slowly to the window.
I stood for a long time, staring at the horizon.
"Finally… after all this waiting," I whispered to myself.
I sat back down and opened my old conversations with MOHITO.
My fingers trembled as they scrolled through the few scattered messages.
I remembered his rare smile.
That day in the café… when he smiled. I thought the walls were beginning to collapse.
I touched the screen as if touching his face.
But every time I get closer, he steps away.
He is like a maze: whenever I think I've found the exit, I find a more complicated maze.
I stood suddenly and approached the mirror to study my reflection.
I placed my hand over my heart. I feel like I'm walking toward the edge of a cliff
This meeting will change everything.
I sat on the floor, back against the bed, and closed my eyes.
Maybe if… maybe if I don't go, I'll preserve his image as I know it — the quiet boy who saved me.
I opened my eyes; tears pooled.
How can I live when I don't know? How can I keep waiting when I don't understand?
I rose slowly and opened my wardrobe.
My fingers brushed clothing until I stopped at a white shirt.
The day he defended me… I was wearing white.
I hesitated, then picked up the shirt.
Maybe… maybe he will remember.
Back at the mirror, holding the shirt before me, I looked into my reflected eyes.
But what if he has changed? What if the stranger I sometimes see in his eyes is the real one?
I shook my head and wiped my tears.
No… I must be brave.
I put on the shirt; my hands trembled as I buttoned it.
I took a deep breath and whispered:
I'll go. To know… to understand… or to confirm.
There was a gentle knock on the door — MONA entered to find me standing before the mirror with a resolute look.
"So, you decided to go," she said.
I turned with a sad smile. "Yes. I must face the truth, whatever it is."
She replied: "If you feel anything strange… anything… You leave immediately.
I'll call every half hour to make sure you're fine."
I smiled to reassure her. "Okay."
I walked to the door; my legs trembled, but my eyes held a firm decision.
I knew a storm awaited me — but I wanted to know the truth.
***************
At the café, I sat at our old table in the quiet corner by the window.
Everything was as it had been:
the faded wooden tables, the dim golden lights, and even the smell of coffee and pastries that always comforted me.
But something had changed…
The golden light was no longer warm; it felt like a cold lamp shining on my face.
The murmurs of the few patrons had become suspicious whispers.
Even the soft background music felt like the score of a horror film.
The waiter who always served us seemed different today — quick glances and nervous. Shadows in the café's corners felt longer and deeper, as if hiding something.
I wondered:
Had the café changed? Or had I changed?
Or had the whole world become different since MOHITO entered my life?
I watched the door; my heart jumped every time it opened.
But the faces that entered were not his.
I felt the walls closing in, the clock on the wall deliberately slowing, as if everyone could read my anxious secret.
Then… the door opened.
He entered cautiously, as if prepared to run at any moment.
His gaze swept the place before settling on me.
He walked toward me with heavy steps, as if carrying mountains on his shoulders.
"Hi." His first word came cold, lacking the warmth I had grown used to.
I tried to smile, but my lips trembled. "Hi… MOHITO."
He sat across from me, showing none of the usual kindness.
His silence suffocated me.
"You still order milk coffee?" he remembered — but his voice lacked the nostalgia I expected.
I watched him order his black coffee, remembering the days he used to order milk coffee with me.
I felt like I was speaking to a stranger.
"I thought you wouldn't come," I confessed, showing my weakness.
He glanced at the window nervously. "I thought so too."
Silence settled between us. I hesitated to continue, but then, with a trembling voice, I began: "MOHITO…"
He looked at me.
"I'm leaving the institute; I'll go study abroad," I told him.
He stared at me for a moment, his eyes showing something like surprise.
"I've been afraid these months…" I continued; my fingers clenched nervously.
"I fear failure, the weight of responsibility, that I might not be enough."
He was silent for a long moment, then said quietly:
"Fear doesn't disappear. We learn only to walk despite it."
His words carried a strange weight, as if he spoke from bitter experience.
"But what if I can't?" I asked, needing any word of encouragement.
"What if the responsibility is bigger than me?"
He looked out the window, then back at me:
"Surrender is the real failure. Responsibility is heavy for everyone."
"Even for you?" I asked fearfully.
His eyes narrowed as if the question hurt him. "Especially for me."
"But you're always strong…" I murmured.
He shook his head bitterly. "Strength… is just an illusion we make to continue."
His eyes were tired; I had a sudden urge to take his hand and ease some of the burden he carried.
"I wish I could help you as you helped me," I whispered.
He looked at me long, with a mix of sorrow and gratitude in his eyes — a glimmer of the boy I once knew that vanished quickly.
"You will succeed," he said finally, with a firm tone.
I murmured his name, "MOHITO…"
"I must go." He stood, trying to leave.
Then suddenly… he froze, eyes widening as he stared out the window.
I saw him stiffen, his hands clenching on the chair's back until his knuckles went white.
"Don't move." He whispered in a hoarse voice. "Stay where you are."
I looked through the window, trying to see what terrified him, but I only saw ordinary passersby.
"What is it?" I asked, trembling.
At that moment, I caught a strange thing in his eyes — a fleeting red flash, like a fire exploding inside him for an instant.
It was not a reflection of light but something from within — something feral.
"MOHITO?" I called again; he no longer heard me.
His eyes no longer looked at me; they tracked something unseen in the street.
I watched his terror morph into something else — a violent inner struggle.
It was as if two forces pulled at him:
one that wanted to stay and protect me, another that urged him to chase a phantom I could not see.
Then, suddenly, he bolted like the wind and dashed out of the café with astonishing speed, leaving a cold gust and heavy silence behind him.
I stayed seated, paralysed, eyes fixed on the door he had left through.
That red flash in his eyes was etched in my memory.
He was not the MOHITO I knew… he was something else, something terrifying.
Events had unfolded so fast, but I had already made my decision.
I stood up and chased after him, ignoring everyone's stares.
********************
Narrator is MOHITO
"I will leave the institute… I will go study abroad."
LOUVNA said it, and the words shrank in my chest like a cold dagger.
Then laughter erupted in my head:
Hahaha… Didn't I tell you? Everyone will abandon you in the end.
Whispers flooded inside me like a beast awakening from slumber.
But LOUVNA's voice cut through the darkness: "I was afraid these months…"
Her voice was fragile, almost breaking.
Her clasped hands reminded me how fragile I am… how much I have hidden behind my silence.
Something in her eyes — gentle yet firm — quieted the voices for a moment.
She was afraid, yes… but she faced her fear.
And me? I'm still a slave to my whispers.
I clenched the torn photo in my pocket until its edges cut my skin.
I should be her support… at least this time.
I wanted to stay there longer, but the voice in my head became stronger.
And before I could leave, I felt that look… the look that makes the ground swallow me.
I turned to the window.
He stood there.
In broad daylight.
Brazenly.
As if the world could not see him… except me.
He emerged from the crowd like a nightmare made flesh — standing steady beneath the umbrella of the café across the way.
A demonic monkey mask hid his face, but that gaze… I know it.
I know it as I know the tremor in my own chest.
He wore a long black coat that covered his body, but his lithe frame could not be concealed.
His long fingers pressed the hilt of a hidden sword.
His stance was that of a fighter preparing to pounce.
Why now? Why here? Had he been waiting for me? Or was he amused by chasing me?
I whispered to LOUVNA: "Don't move."
My fear in that voice was more than I wanted her to hear. "Stay here."
Then the chase began.
He retreated among the crowds, melting into them like a living shadow.
The whispers returned: You won't escape… You will never escape.
I followed, my steps igniting a fire in my chest.
He led me toward the bridge.
I knew it was a trap… but there was no other choice.
"Stop!" I shouted as he turned slowly.
A gun was in his hand.
The demonic mask's smile spread wider than the face could allow.
I stood at the bridge's entrance, breathless. "Who are you? Why are you following me?"
He answered in a cold voice:
"Following you…? It seems you really have changed."
The noises lashed my head like whips: Kill him… kill him now… give me more…
He looked at the passing cars below the bridge, then back at me.
"But there is one thing you got wrong…"
His tone shifted into deadly mockery.
"I wasn't hunting you. I found you by chance."
Chance?
The word struck my skull.
But I was certain… this was not a chance.
The two times I'd felt him… the same common factor…
And when the truth thundered down, I heard a voice tear my chest in two:
"MOHITO???"
It was LOUVNA.
She had followed me. She followed me to the bridge. To the wolf.
And I, the fool… did not stop her.
Then the gun rose toward her.
I stepped forward, shouting: "No! Don't come closer!"
But it was too late. Too late.
She had been the target… from the beginning.
His muzzle levelled slowly at her. Everything around me slowed, choking. Even the air froze.
The final whisper struck my ear: "Didn't I tell you… You cannot protect anyone?"
Then—
The gunshot echoed.
Above the hum of cars beneath the bridge, above the whispers, above consciousness itself.
Blood scattered onto the ground as if the world itself bled.