𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐄 | нwang ᴊunнo

3

☐△◯

THE RAIN was falling harder, and only a few people were walking through the streets, disappearing into the shadows of the illuminated streetlights. The city seemed frozen in time, as if everything was about to change. My footsteps rang loudly on the wet cobblestones, as if they were echoing in the cold silence that surrounded the place. I felt relieved that for a moment I could take a break from the daily vigil, from being a guard, from being a part of this endless game. The votes of the other players had given us freedom, and this feeling - freedom, even for a moment - was rare.

I walked through the rain, not thinking much about the direction, until I saw it - the police station. Old, slightly neglected, but it looked like a shelter that could give me a moment of rest before the rain let up. And at that moment, something strange happened.

I bumped into a man who paid no attention to me. In his hand was a shining umbrella, which, as if he wanted to get rid of it, slipped from his grip. For a moment I watched it fall to the ground, but what really stopped me was the note that had fallen from it. I could tell it wasn't a coincidence. When I bent down to pick it up, my eyes fell on the symbols—a triangle, a circle, a square.

I knew them. The thought of it sent a cold current through me. These symbols were familiar to our game. Every player, every guard, knew what they meant. Symbols that indicated something important—a task, a mission, something that couldn't be ignored. And this man had it in his hand. So he must have known what it meant.

"Why do you have this?" I asked, picking up the note and looking at him. My voice was low but firm, because I knew I didn't have time for unnecessary questions. I had to know what was happening.

The man looked at me for just a moment, as if he was thinking. And before I could react, he started walking away me. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't let me. He moved on.

I grabbed his sleeve, pulling him towards me, forcing him to stop in the darkness of the alley. No emotion crossed the stranger's face - only a cold, dispassionate gaze. But the way he acted only further convinced me that this was no ordinary passerby.

"Why do you have them?"

The man looked at me, then started to walk away again, trying to wriggle out of my hands. No. I grabbed him tighter. I had had enough of this game. I was tired of waiting for answers. Time for action.

"I'm a guard." I said it calmly, but there must have been tension in my eyes. "I know what that means. So stop playing with me."

He stopped. He wanted to leave, but something in my words made him hesitate. He turned slowly, as if something had just clicked inside him. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes, or maybe just recognition – that I wasn't just another random player to be ignored.

"What?" he asked, looking at me intently. His tone wasn't as confident as before. It was cold, but not as carefree. "Guard." The word must have meant something to him.

I looked at him for a moment, not looking down. And in that silence, between us, something in the air changed. I saw his posture become more tense, as if assessing what to do next.

"I'm a guard," I repeated calmly, but there was already a clear threat in my eyes. "You know what this card means. I know it's not a coincidence. So now, either you tell me what it is, or we'll have a bigger problem."

The man didn't answer right away. Instead, his face briefly changed from cool indifference to something... slightly more apprehensive, as if he realized there was no escape route. Finally, he turned around.

"Wait..." he finally said, his voice sharp but confused. "Before you decide what to do with this, give me a moment. I have something to tell you."

He pulled me harder into the alleyway, where the sounds of the city no longer reached. The lighting was getting more and more dim. We stood in the shadows, and he turned to me, as if to make sure no one saw us.

"I'm one of them." His words were short, but they sounded like a confession. "One of the guards."

I was frozen for a moment. I couldn't believe what he was saying. Was he a guard too? But something in his eyes told me that it wasn't entirely true. He didn't fit in with the rest. There was something in his voice that betrayed that there was more to what he was saying.

"But I'm not here to stop you." He continued, looking me in the eye. "I have a reason." He was starting to sound more sincere, as if his whole posture was changing, revealing something more. "I'm looking for my brother."

I froze. Brother? At first I didn't understand. What he said seemed so out of place in this whole game that for a moment I felt like I had fallen into a completely different world.

"I've been looking for him for some time..." – he continued, lowering his gaze. "And I know there's something in this game that I don't understand. As a guard, I have access to many things, but what I know about my brother is just a trace. I don't know where he is. I only know that he disappeared, as if someone had... taken him."

I looked at him for a moment, trying to understand. I had the impression that this man was telling the truth. There was something in his voice that couldn't be faked – desperation. There was something more than just the usual cold calculation in his eyes. He was talking about something personal. I couldn't ignore him. He was one of us too, but his goal was different. There seemed to be truth in what he was saying. And even though I had no idea how this all tied into the game, I knew something was changing in it.

I swallowed hard, still analyzing the situation. On the one hand, I had the feeling that something about this game was starting to go wrong, but on the other hand, I couldn't just turn around and walk away, especially when the man had finally opened up to me.

"I don't know what to tell you.. I'm not sure if it's safe for me to help you. I'm sorry" I replied, trying to sound like what he just said didn't affect me.