The alley behind the church reeked of damp stone and decay. Shadows pooled in the corners where the flickering lamplight barely reached. On the cold, wet ground, an old man groaned as fists and boots rained down on him. His robe was torn, blood mingling with the mud beneath him.
Priest (old man, rasping, bloodied):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9361Feo5lK
“You… you think I care about my life? I lived… these eighteen years only in guilt… ”
A figure lounged on a low wall, one leg crossed over the other, a faint glow of a cigar illuminating his calm, unreadable face. Smoke curled around him, moving like it had a life of its own.
Priest (spitting blood at him):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnp4uLdQJgZ
“Do… what you must. I… I am ready.”
Cigar Man (calm, detached):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xI2vPAVtW
“Don’t provoke me today. I am not in the mood to kill. But… next time, don’t think I will spare you.”
The cigar man flicked ash into a puddle, then tilted his head. A subtle motion of his hand was all it took—the attackers hesitated, then slowly withdrew. Boots and fists ceased their blows. One by one, they melted back into the shadows.
Priest (gasping, trembling):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJO5SwTwUL
“…You… spared me?”
Cigar Man (soft, almost bored):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkj3sr4OSc
“Your lesson is in the pain you’ve carried. That is enough.”
For a few long moments, the priest lay in silence, blood running from his mouth and staining his robe. Then the air shifted.
A figure stepped from the shadows, coat fluttering, aura sharp and commanding. Men flanked him, eyes glinting with menace.
Second Man (smirking, icy calm):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoyPOOnvft
“Looks like someone… almost finished this.”
Priest (weak, straining to speak):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItQ0tshPOY
“… I… I am…”
Second Man (cold, precise):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DULyASnXl
“Finish him.”
One of the men pressed a knife deeper into the priest’s side. He screamed, pain jagged and relentless.
Priest (choking, gasping):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLulshDsar7
“I… I am sorry… my lord… I… I destroyed… two lives…”
Second Man (smirking, indifferent):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIttoAv5R84
“Yes… and someone had to pay for it.”
The knife twisted further, and the priest’s knees buckled.
Priest (final words, weak, desperate):142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsmcykiC9A
“I AM SORRY, my lord… I destroyed two lives…”
A gunshot cracked through the alley. The priest jerked once and then lay still.
The second man smirked one last time before vanishing into the darkness with his men.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4ohzBHHJL
The alley returned to silence. Rain fell steadily, washing away the blood, but not the memory of the priest, nor the weight of the lives he had touched and destroyed.
and then Add to home screen.