“Michael,” William said, his voice suddenly rising with manic excitement, “the first four were nothing more than appetizers.”He spread his arms wide, his posture exaggerated and theatrical, like a conductor stepping onto the stage before a grand performance.“Now comes the real finale, your true graduation play.”His burning gaze locked onto Michael.“Please, take your seat, my protagonist.” He pointed to the empty chair opposite Cynthia. “Let us recreate the most classic scene from The Joker’s Monologue.”His voice was thick with temptation, every word carefully chosen to strike Michael’s nerves.“The protagonist persuades the final ‘sinner’ to willingly accept ‘purification.’”William’s eyes shifted to Cynthia. She was bound tightly to the chair, trembling so hard that the ropes creaked. Terror filled her wide eyes as tears streamed down her face. William looked at her with a warped kind of pity.“And she,” he said softly, “is the last, and most innocent, sacrifice in our grand dr

Cynthia caught the signal.For a split second, everything around her blurred, the walls, the scattered books, the cold industrial space they were trapped in. Dawn’s garbled voice still rang in her ears, but fear had already taken hold. Her eyes, wet with panic, suddenly flared with a desperate, determined light.She moved.Summoning every ounce of strength she had been holding back, Cynthia released it all at once.The sharp crash exploded through the abandoned maintenance platform beneath the old California rail yard. She kicked her feet back violently, throwing her weight into the chair behind her as she fell in a reckless, desperate motion.The wooden chair screeched harshly against the rough concrete before slamming onto the ground.The noise was loud, loud enough to snap William’s attention instantly.It was pure instinct. His head turned toward the sound before his mind could even process what was happening.In that razor-thin instant, Michael moved. He didn’t lean back. He didn

Michael answered the phone but said nothing at first.“Are you okay?” Ashley’s voice came through the line. She sounded tired, bone-deep tired, and there were complicated emotions underneath that she couldn’t quite hide.“I’m fine,” Michael replied evenly. No emotion. No ripples.There was a brief silence on the other end.“William… lost his mind,” Ashley said quietly. “In the interrogation room, he refused to say anything. He just kept repeating one sentence.”She paused.“Director… how was my acting?”Michael’s expression didn’t change.He had expected that outcome.When a man’s faith is shattered by the very god he worships, madness is the only place left to go.“We searched his apartment,” Ashley continued, her tone growing more serious. “One entire wall was covered with your photos. Movie posters. Detailed analysis reports of every role you’ve ever played. He worshipped you like a god.”Michael listened in silence.“We also found a list,” she said.“Seven names. Cynthia was only

The command center of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Major Crimes Division was thick with a suffocating gloom, heavy enough to feel almost physical.On the massive digital wall, high-resolution images from the crime scene played on a continuous loop, captured from every possible angle. The statue, executed, stared back at every officer in the room, its damaged eyes an unspoken accusation.“Check it again!” Lorenzo’s voice thundered across the room. “Citywide surveillance. From ten last night to six this morning. Every intersection leading in and out of Central Plaza, nothing gets missed!”His eyes were bloodshot. Cigarettes burned one after another between his fingers, and the ashtrays on the table had overflowed into small gray mounds.But his fury was met only with helpless headshakes.“Captain Wang… it’s no use,” said the head of the Technical Analysis Unit, his voice strained. “The suspect completely avoided all standard surveillance routes. We’ve been combining footage for t

Michael’s body trembled slightly in the chair. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and slid down his pale cheeks.His teeth were clenched so tightly that his gums began to bleed, the metallic taste of rust filling his mouth.He was using physical pain to fight the mental corrosion.Trying to hold on to the last piece of territory that still belonged to Michael, to the part of himself that was still human.But he failed. In the face of absolute faith, emotions and mortal resistance were unbearably fragile.He felt his final line of defense being swallowed whole by an overwhelming tide.Darkness came.He didn’t know how long it lasted.Maybe a century.Maybe only a second.The silence in the study was eventually broken by the slow, steady sound of breathing.Michael opened his eyes.The calm detachment he once had was gone.So were the emotional fluctuations that made him human.What remained was frozen stillness, Dead ice.When he looked at people… at objects… it was the same gaze o