Chapter 33: Prison of a Thousand Memories
Prison of a Thousand Memories
“I knew you’d come eventually.” Wardak began, his voice was steady as a still sea. “For heroes who are supposed to defend the planet, your friends were laughably weak. Let’s see if you can at least put up a fight.” He cradled a fistful of soil, his eyes distant. “It’s a fine day, isn’t it? Perfect for purging this world of human filth.”
William remained composed. “A quiet guy like you getting chatty? Strange day indeed.”
Staring at the desolate city, my insides twisted. I wanted to cut him down right then, but a burning question held me back.
“Why have you done this?” I asked him. “You’ve slaughtered innocent women, children—”
“Do you know the world’s biggest lie?” Wardak cut me off. “It’s that people do good out of the kindness of their hearts. No one is innocent. Not one soul. I’ve lived long enough to see it: those who suffer and those who watch doing nothing are equally guilty.”
“You surrounded yourself with the wrong people,” I shot back. “You can’t judge everyone by the same scale. You didn’t know them—what did these people you’ve killed do to deserve this? Who are you to decide who deserves to live or die!?”
He suddenly fell into laughter. “Cipher Silver—a delusional boy who thinks he’s fighting for a greater purpose. You run over here to kill me, right? How did you decide that?”
“That’s different!” I snapped, horrified by his atrocities.
Hospitals full of the sick, the elderly, women, newborns—his carnage defied reason. Maybe he was psychotic; otherwise, my faith in humanity’s goodness began to blur.
“What you’re doing is inhuman! We’re here to stop you. If death is the only way, so be it!”
“Exactly!” His grin was ice. “Death is the only way. Deciding who lives and who dies—that’s the burden of the strong. It’s my truth against yours, and I won’t stop until every last person falls by my hand.”