Part 15: The Choice Before Dawn
At the top floor of the tower.
There sat the once-radiant “ruler” in a chair.
His name was Damian Stone.
Though he had become a force that shook the world, now his eyes were more fragile and lonely than anyone’s.
I quietly stood before him.
Before I could speak, he opened his mouth.
“If… I could start over again,
I wish I could have remained invisible, like you.”
His fingers were trembling.
Behind him lay a map detailing an escape route,
and piles of “gifts”—
a cursed wealth, earned in exchange for his freedom.
I spoke.
“No matter how deep you’ve walked with the darkness,
the eyes of those you once loved are still watching you.”
His face contorted in pain.
“I haven’t come to judge you.
I’ve only come to show you a choice.”
I held out the scroll.
He took it, closed his eyes—
and at that moment, light shone in through the tower window.
It felt like the arrival of dawn after the end of a long night.
What future he chose—
is still unknown.
But there is one thing we can say for certain:
“Truth, even when buried, continues to breathe in the light.”
And I left the tower.
Far in the distance, I felt one strand of the spider’s web
silently snap.
(End) 15/15
2025.4.14 OliveR
★OliveR's Dream Journal★ 