Chapter 1 – Prologue

  I will tell you a story.

  A story about someone who once had everything — and then lost everything.

  A story some will find tragic, and others will call justified.

  This is a story of a beginning.

  And of an end.

  ---

  His name was **Elias**.

  It was an ordinary day. Elias was walking home from work, surrounded by the noise of the city — voices, laughter, fragments of conversations, the distant hum of traffic. Visible joy mixed with exhaustion, irritation, and quiet despair. He noticed things others ignored.

  He knew he perceived reality differently than most.

  On his way to the bus stop, a coworker caught up to him.

  “Elias! Aren’t you coming for a beer with us? One cold drink after work is always a good idea.”

  Elias smiled politely and shook his head.

  “Not today.”

  He kept walking, longing only to lock himself in his room and escape the world — if only in his thoughts.

  ---

  That evening, he lay in bed, scrolling through the news without interest. Every day showed the same image: wars, famine, greed, envy, the endless hunger for power and money. To him, goodness felt weak — temporary — if it even still existed at all.

  He put the phone aside and stared at the ceiling, drifting into memories.

  Back to the days when his parents were still alive.

  Back to childhood, when he didn’t feel alone.

  Back to a time when he didn’t understand the world well enough to hate it.

  He had no friends. He lived by a simple belief:

  *better intelligent solitude than fake company.*

  Not because he thought himself superior.

  But because he saw falsehood everywhere — in coworkers, acquaintances, even family. He knew no one he could truly call honest or sincere.

  Fatigue eventually took him.

  “I should sleep. I have work in the morning,” he whispered.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  ---

  He woke up with an unsettling feeling — as if someone was watching him. The room was empty.

  He made coffee, prepared food for work, and left his apartment.

  The cycle repeated.

  The same city. The same atmosphere.

  But the feeling of being observed followed him throughout the day.

  That night, he lay in bed again and opened the news despite his reluctance. He knew it was poison — yet a fragile hope lingered that he might find at least one good piece of news.

  He didn’t.

  *If I ever had the chance to change this world,* he thought,

  *I would take it without hesitation.*

  ---

  The next morning was the same.

  The same coffee.

  The same breakfast.

  The same road to work.

  And yet, something was different.

  The sensation of being watched intensified. Elias slowed his steps, uncertainty creeping in.

  “I have nothing. I am no one. And now I’m starting to doubt my own sanity?” he thought bitterly.

  Then the world stopped.

  The wind fell silent.

  The city’s noise vanished.

  Time itself seemed to freeze.

  Elias stood alone on the sidewalk, wrapped in absolute silence. Exhausted by life, confused, afraid.

  “Am I dreaming?” he whispered. “Or am I dead?”

  That was when the voice spoke.

  ---

  “I have been watching you for some time.”

  The voice was calm — yet omnipresent.

  “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is **Aethron**. I am the steward of the world you live in.”

  Elias struggled to respond.

  “I have heard your thoughts,” the voice continued. “The ones in which you wish to change this world. I have the power to grant that wish.”

  “Why me?” Elias finally asked.

  “Because you possess hidden empathy,” Aethron replied. “You do not show it outwardly, but you absorb the emotions of others and suffocate beneath their weight. You want those around you to be happy — even at the cost of your own suffering.”

  The voice paused.

  “I offer you a way out. A way to make people happy without suffering yourself. If you refuse, everything will return to normal, and you will forget this conversation ever happened. The choice is yours.”

  Elias didn’t hesitate.

  “I have nothing left to lose. If such a chance exists… I accept.”

  ---

  Aethron was pleased.

  “You have just abandoned your humanity,” he said. “From this moment on, you are no longer human. You are my servant — a messenger of death.”

  Aethron explained the rules.

  “I will mark those who are evil. You need only approach them. A few meters are enough. They will fall ill, descend into despair, and die within hours or days. There are many servants like you, but you will never meet them. Evil is abundant.”

  Elias listened. He understood — yet felt nothing.

  “That is natural,” Aethron continued. “You are no longer human. You have lost the ability to feel. Emotions, exhaustion, pain — you will remember them, but you will never experience them again.”

  The voice carried a hint of amusement.

  “You have also gained longevity. You will not die of old age. And one more thing — you will travel to the marked through shadows. Whether you wish to or not.”

  “You are my silent death.”

  ---

  **Narrator:**

  And so Elias took his first step — the step that changed everything.

  A step he would one day regret…

  or remember as the only correct choice.

  This is his story.

  And we will follow it — step by step — until the end itself.

  ---