i was on the ground, dirt and blood all over me, it smelled bad, like death, like everything was gone, i looked at my hands they were shaking, i couldn't feel anything, not really, just cold, and empty

  my head hurt, everything was spinning, where was i, oh yeah, my castle, no, not my castle anymore, just rocks and broken stuff, and them, my wives, my kids, they were gone, all gone, because of that shadow guy, that smiling bastard

  i wanted to scream, i wanted to break everything more, but i couldn't, i was weak, he took it all, my power, my family, my everything, what was left, nothing, just me.

  takashi yamamoto, the loser again, just like before, before the truck, before all this shit

  i stood up, my legs were wobbly, like i would fall any second, but i didn't, i had to move, i had to do something, but what, what could i even do, i didn't have my skills anymore

  i walked around, looking at the bodies, they were really gone not sleepin. everything was a lie, he lied to me, he used me, for fun, for entertainment

  i kicked a rock, it hurt my foot, i forgot what pain felt like, it was real, this pain was real, unlike all that fake power stuff. i was really hurting now, inside and out, i wanted to cry, but no tears came out, i was too empty to even cry

  then i heard something, a noise, like someone was walking, i looked around, in the ruins, shadows everywhere, it was getting dark, the sun was going down, i was alone.

  "hello" a voice said, it was soft, like a gil, like someone who had been through stuff, i turned around slowly, holding my knife, the end knife, even if it was useless, it was all i had left

  standing there, in the shadows, was a girl, she was dirty, her clothes were ripped, she had long hair, bck hair, and her eyes, they were glowing, like cats eyes in the dark, she looked at me, not scared, not surprised, just looking

  "who are you" i asked, my voice was hoarse "what do you want"

  she didn't answer right away, she just kept looking at me, her glowing eyes fixed on mine, it was creepy.

  "you are Takashi" she said, finally, her voice was quiet, but i heard it "takashi yamamoto, the hero" she said hero like it was a bad word.

  "hero" i ughed "i'm no hero, i'm nothing, everything is gone, because of me, because i was stupid enough to believe him"

  "believe who?" she asked, she stepped closer, still not scared, still just watching me, like i was some kind of animal.

  "the shadow guy, the one who brought me here, he lied, he tricked me, he took everything" i said, my voice getting louder, angrier.

  "ah, him" she said, like she knew who i was talking about, like he was just some guy she knew "he does that, he likes to py games"

  "Games" i said "Was this all meaningless..."

  "something like that" she shrugged, like it was no big deal, like people having their lives ruined was just normal "he's bored, you see, beings like him, they need entertainment, and you were entertaining, for a while anyway"

  I stared at her, who was this girl, how did she know so much, and why wasn't she freaking out about all the dead bodies around us.

  "Who are you" i asked again, more firmly this time, "and how do you know about him"

  she smiled then, a small smile, not like that shadow guy's smile "my name is kana" she said, "and i know him because, well, let's just say i've pyed his games before"

  what did that mean, was she another victim?

  "what do you want" i asked, "if you're here to ugh at me, or to finish me off, just do it, i don't care anymore"

  She shook her head, "no, no ughing, and not finishing you off either. i'm here to help, maybe, if you want help"

  help, from her, a random girl, after everything that happened, could i even trust anyone anymore, especially someone who knew that shadow guy, but what choice did i have?

  "help with what? what kind of help can you give me now"

  "Revenge. revenge on him, on the shadow, on whoever he really is. we can make him pay, if you want to"

  Evenge. the only thing that could fill this empty hole in my chest, revenge on the bastard who took everything, revenge, maybe that was something worth living for, even now, even after all this.

  I looked at kana, her glowing eyes, her dirty face, her offer of revenge, it was crazy, it was probably stupid, it was maybe even another trap, but in that moment, it was the only thing that sounded even remotely like a pn, like a reason to take another breath.