Together with Ahmet, we lifted Kerem off the ground. We supported him by his shoulders and headed toward the stairs. Kerem was in a pitiful state. His feet barely touched the ground; he had completely let go of himself. Cengiz followed behind us, sniffling. A heavy silence had settled over us—both physical and emotional, like a crushing weight. Just when we thought we’d finally escaped those bastards, everything turned upside down in an instant. We descended the stairs and started moving toward the exit. No one uttered a single word. Then again, what good would words do in the situation we were in? They’d be utterly useless, of course. So, staying silent was the best option. What had happened shook us all, but it had shattered Kerem. A chapter he thought was closed had suddenly been flung back in his face.
We stepped out onto the streets. People turned to look at us, but their stares didn’t matter to us. We weren’t tired from carrying him; we were exhausted from what we’d been through. When we got home, we sat Kerem on the couch, and the rest of us collapsed onto the floor. A deep silence filled the room, until Cengiz broke it.
“So… what the hell are we going to do now, guys? We’re going to take revenge, right? What they did to Kerem can’t go unanswered. We have to get back at those bastards somehow. This can’t just end like this.”
Ahmet turned his eyes to Cengiz. With a bitter smile, he spoke.
“I’ve been thinking about revenge too, but I have no idea how we’d pull it off. Whether we face them one-on-one or as a group, it doesn’t matter—they’d wipe the floor with us. We don’t stand a chance against them. Honestly, Cengiz, it doesn’t seem like we have much of a shot at revenge. The only thing we can do is get the hell out of wherever we are the moment we see them and pray they don’t notice us.”
Hearing this, Cengiz shot up from where he was lying, about to snap back angrily, when Ta?k?n, staring blankly at a fixed point, began to speak.
His tone was different—cold and unfamiliar.
“We should kill those kids… Imagine it: cutting off their fingers one by one… ripping out their tongues… they’d beg us in agony, but we wouldn’t care… we’d just watch them suffer…”
At that moment, everyone fell silent. The words Cengiz was about to say got stuck in his throat as he looked at Ta?k?n with worried eyes. Ahmet grimaced but said nothing. Kerem, with one eye completely swollen shut from the beating and the other half-open, stared at Ta?k?n with that single eye. For a long time.
He shifted where he sat. Even in his heart-wrenching state, he still tried to smile. He spoke… but it sounded like every word hurt him.
“Ta?k?n… calm down… please don’t say things like that. What’s done is done.”
He turned his head to Ahmet.
“Ahmet, forget about revenge… You just said it yourself—what can we do against those guys? Forget about me; I’m already a wreck. The three of you don’t stand a chance against them. You know that.”
Cengiz shook his head side to side. He clearly didn’t like what he was hearing.
“Kerem, look at what they’ve done to you, and you’re still telling us to forget about revenge. What they did to you won’t go unpunished. Sure, we might not match them in physical strength, but we can use our heads. How hard could it be to find a metal pipe or a sharp weapon? We live in a dump anyway—cops don’t even come around here. If we wander the streets a bit and ask a few people, we could easily find a knife or something to buy.”
Kerem writhed in pain. He wanted to speak, but his tongue wouldn’t cooperate. When he’d first taken the beating, the adrenaline had numbed him, but now that was wearing off. His brain was slowly registering the severity of the beating and the damage it had left behind. Seeing this, Ahmet spoke on his behalf.
“Cengiz… I’m pissed off too, but metal pipes or sharp weapons… what are you saying? Are we going to kill them? You’re starting to sound like Ta?k?n.”
Ta?k?n was still staring at the same spot, his eyes vacant.
Ahmet continued.
“But look… you’re right about one thing. We can use our heads. Maybe… we could corner one of them alone. An empty street, a park at night… but just one. No more than that. And after we corner him, we get to that other point you mentioned…”
Cengiz raised his eyebrows, listening intently. Kerem clutched at the bruised parts of his body helplessly, hoping to ease the pain even slightly, though it was just a psychological comfort—his pain remained unchanged. Ahmet’s words must have caught Ta?k?n’s attention too, because he slowly shifted his gaze from that fixed point to Ahmet. Realizing all eyes were on him, Ahmet went on.
“We live in a shitty neighborhood, and like you said, even the cops barely show up here. So yeah… with a little money, we could get ourselves some blunt or crushing weapons. And we will—but no knives. Just sticks or pipes. Then, we beat the crap out of that bastard we corner until he’s worse off than Kerem. The only thing that matters is he doesn’t die. We’ll just… break him. Arms, legs, jaw—whatever we hit. But no blows to the head. If we kill him, it’ll blow up into something bigger. If it turns into a murder, those influential families won’t let it go.”
A groan escaped through Kerem’s teeth as he breathed. Ahmet’s plan hit the silence and echoed through the room.
Ta?k?n just… stared. Blankly, soullessly. Something entirely different was swirling in his mind.
A long silence followed. Then, a pained sigh rose from Kerem’s chest. Clutching his shoulder, he sat up slightly, his lips cracked, his voice trembling.
“If you’ve set your minds on this revenge thing… (his breath hitched for a moment, and he squinted) fine… but there are still a lot of details and risks… and it’s not that simple. Those bastards come around here sometimes… but they usually hang out in the rich parts of the city… (he let out a deep sigh) They only come here to score drugs or other crap. Because if they did that where they live, their precious families might find out that their little angels are actually worthless pieces of shit. Plus, they usually move in groups, and… they won’t let go of this attack you’re planning—well, that you guys are planning. The family of the guy you beat might not care too much. If we catch him, it’ll be in our area, and… everyone knows what kind of place this is. (He paused for a few seconds, swallowing hard) There’s a slim chance they’d just say, ‘You shouldn’t have gone there,’ and brush it off, but we can’t be sure of that. Maybe his family will pursue it to the end. Let’s say they don’t care. His friends, though—they won’t let it slide that easily. They’ve got a lot of connections around here, and… if they find out we did it, we’re screwed. They wouldn’t even need proof—they’d suspect us right away because this attack would happen right after they beat me up. (He coughed) So, they might come after us immediately. They could even hire someone to kill us… (He tried to take a deep breath, but it was like someone was squeezing his lungs. His ‘Hhh—’ sigh cut off midway) There are plenty of messed-up guys around here who’d kill for a little cash and some drugs… Honestly, this plan has way too many risks. It falls apart no matter how you look at it…”
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Another deep silence settled in.
Cengiz broke it with a sharp, frustrated breath. He was clearly angry.
“So what, Kerem? Are we just going to do nothing? I’ve been listening to you this whole time, thinking, ‘Maybe he’s got an idea,’ but apparently not. Look at you—you can barely talk through the pain. If I were in your shoes, I’d have come up with a dozen plans to get revenge on those bastards by now.”
Ahmet took a deep breath and spoke.
“Hold on, Cengiz. Don’t jump down his throat. Kerem’s right. It was never going to be that easy. We need to think this through carefully and come up with a solid plan.”
Ta?k?n had fixed his gaze on a spot again, just sitting there.
The conversation sounded like a dull hum to him—he wasn’t really processing it. Because he wasn’t interested.
..
Ta?k?n… I guess your friends are confused. What are you going to do? How are you going to act?
I want to kill them…
h???????????a????????h???????a???????? Yes, I know… I can help you… if you want, of course…
…
I think it’s time I told you some things…
Ta?k?n slowly turned his head side to side, trying to make sense of what Milaz was saying. What did that mean? Was there still something he hadn’t told him?
What are you talking about, Milaz…? Didn’t you tell me everything? Are you still hiding things from me?
It’s not about trust. I was just waiting for the right moment, that’s all… Besides, even if I did lie to you… could you really be mad at me? Do you think I’m a good entity, Ta?k?n…?
I think you’re a good entity… because you’re helping me. That’s enough for me. The rest doesn’t matter…
h?????a??????h??????a????????? I’m starting to like you more and more.
So, if the symbol on my hand doesn’t belong to the Gods of Destruction, then whose is it?
It belongs to a sorceress named Serah. The symbol on your hand is called “SERAHMOT.” In the old tongue, it translates to “Serah’s seal,” or her sign, symbol, or mark.
A sorceress…? Aren’t people like that just charlatans?
..You’re really smart for your age, you know that, right?
…
She’s no charlatan. If she were, could you have killed Elif’s father? Could you have tracked Hasan’s car? How did you see the faint, patchy tire marks in the dirt? It’s all because of that symbol.
Okay, but… where is this sorceress?
Not in this world… She lives where I come from… Normally, that symbol glows with an orangish light when it comes into contact with blood, but—
But it didn’t?
S?t?o?p? ?i?n?t?e?r?r?u?p?t?i?n?g? ?m?e? ?o?r? ?I? ?w?o?n?’?t? ?e?x?p?l?a?i?n?!?!?
…
The reason it didn’t glow… is because you didn’t offer that soul to Serah before killing him. Or dedicate the kill to her.
That bastard’s soul isn’t worth a damn. What would Serah do with it?
…The ways of sorcerers are beyond comprehension, Ta?k?n. But let’s keep it simple. If you offer every soul you take to Serah, she’ll start to take a liking to you over time. And that… is a good thing. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll get to speak to her face-to-face. Maybe you’ll hear from her own mouth what she does with those souls. But there’s something you need to be careful about. You have to give her a lot of souls—not just a few, but far more. Where I come from, almost everyone has Serah’s symbol. Because it’s one of the easiest to obtain.
It’s going to take me a long time to process all this… Right now, I feel like I’m trapped between two massive worlds. On one hand, there’s everything you’re telling me, and on the other, the kids who beat up Kerem. These two things are so far apart and unrelated that I don’t even know what to think…
Ta?k?n… Kerem, those kids who beat him up… they’re all as insignificant as a drop of water melting in the middle of the ocean. Trust me, compared to what I’m telling you, they’re not even worth mentioning.
…
So how is this symbol so easy to get?
You dedicate the soul of the person you kill to Serah, and the symbol appears randomly somewhere on your body. It showed up on your left hand. You have to say certain words while dedicating it—a small ritual, of sorts. When you were dying in that grave, I did it for you. Remember when I told you to just accept the deal?
Yeah…
So… does that mean Serah is the weakest sorceress or something? You said her symbols are the weakest, so that must mean she’s weak too, right?
h???????????a????????h???????a????????h???????????a????????
…Sometimes I think you’re not a kid but a man carrying centuries of knowledge inside you.
But unfortunately… you’re wrong, Ta?k?n. On the contrary, her power comes from how accessible she is. Every bearer dedicates more souls to her, strengthening both themselves and her. Gaining a new symbol is much harder. Not every symbol can be obtained as easily as Serah’s. That’s why those who carry her symbol focus on strengthening the one they already have instead of seeking new ones.
Milaz… you always talk so vaguely… You said ‘she lives where I come from,’ but you didn’t tell me where that is…
Ta?k?n, didn’t you just say you need time to process all this? And yet you still want more information. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you when the time is right.
Besides, I think your friends want to talk to you…
Ta?k?n
Ta?k?n!
TA?KIN!
It was Ahmet calling out. Ta?k?n had been so lost in his conversation with Milaz that the voices of his three friends talking in the background had sounded like muffled noise to him. But now, with Ahmet’s loud shout, he snapped back to reality.
“Yes, Ahmet…? Sorry, I zoned out. My bad.”
The three of them exchanged glances but didn’t dwell on it.
Cengiz shook his head. “Ta?k?n, we’ve been talking about the plan for minutes now—weren’t you listening at all?”
A coughing, pained laugh escaped Kerem’s bloody lips. “T- Ta?k?n… I’ve been watching you for a while, and honestly, for a moment I thought your heart had stopped or something… You were so still and quiet, like a statue… It makes me laugh, but… I’m also worried about you. Are you okay?”
I placed my hands on either side of me, palms down, and lifted myself slightly to turn toward the three of them. I didn’t want them to suspect anything.
“I’m fine, Kerem, don’t worry. It’s just… what happened to you… it really pissed me off and shook me up. I feel like this is all my fault. I was the one who insisted we go to the amusement park. If we hadn’t gone, maybe none of this would’ve happened.”
“Oh, come on,” Ahmet groaned, rolling his eyes.
“Ta?k?n, I’ve told you before—this isn’t your fault. It was bound to happen, and it did. Stop blaming yourself already.”
Kerem nodded, agreeing. “Yeah, Ta?k?n, don’t blame yourself… There’s nothing we can do… Those scumbags were already roaming around here… (he sighed) If it wasn’t today, it might’ve happened some other day…”
“How much longer are we going to talk about this?”
We all turned our eyes to Cengiz. He’d jumped into the conversation out of nowhere. Noticing he had our attention, he sat up and continued.
“Let’s stop talking about who’s to blame and focus on the plan.”
Ahmet stretched backward. “Yeah… you’re right.”
He leaned back on his hands for support and spoke.
“Ta?k?n, while you were zoned out, we pretty much finalized the plan. I’m going to explain it to you now, but no spacing out this time, okay? Pay attention.”
I gave a small smile. He must’ve taken it as a yes, because he started explaining.
“Here’s what we’re going to do…”
