Final Chapter : Execution of Fate

The entire floor had an overwhelmingly dreadful smell and atmosphere. Joe and Oliver weren’t feeling well. Judging by the faint light in the surroundings, it was clear that there was nothing here. The place was filled only with old, worn-out furniture. They got back into the elevator. Just as they stepped inside, all the elevator buttons started glowing, and at that moment, a sound resembling a lullaby came from the speaker. The sound was extremely irritating, and suddenly, Joe threw himself to the ground. Oliver had no idea what was happening. Joe clutched his head with his hands and screamed, “Make it stop!” Oliver, in a panic, pressed all the buttons. Suddenly, the elevator started moving both up and down at the same time. Oliver stopped trying to control the elevator and instead attempted to calm Joe down, but it was useless. Joe was screaming at the top of his lungs.

The elevator kept moving. Strange cracking noises were coming from it, and soon, those sounds turned into snapping noises. The elevator cables snapped one by one, and the elevator plunged downwards. As it fell, Oliver and Joe realized they had reached the end of the line. When the elevator crashed into the ground, they both hit the ceiling of the cabin. Due to the impact, Oliver cut the back of his head. Joe tore a piece from his t-shirt and wrapped it around Oliver’s head to stop the bleeding. However, there was an even bigger problem. When the elevator crashed, their weapons also hit the ground hard, and the handles of two axes broke off. Now, all they had left was the handgun Oliver carried and the flamethrower in Joe’s possession.

Joe knew they had to get out of the elevator. Somehow, they forced the broken doors open and stepped outside. At that moment, Oliver noticed something unusual. The duration of their fall had been too long. This made him suspicious.

“This floor wasn’t listed in the elevator,”  Oliver said calmly.

“What do you mean?”  Joe asked, confused.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but the elevator descended way too quickly to the lower floor. But while falling, we were in the air for a solid 15 to 20 seconds. This is another floor. It might be a hidden one,”  Oliver said cautiously.

“Well, that works in our favor then. Let’s finish this,”  Joe said.

The floor they had arrived at was much cleaner and more complete compared to the others. The surroundings looked like something out of a space station, and right in front of them was a staircase leading upwards. As soon as Joe saw the staircase, he felt a deep fear inside him. The confidence and courage that had carried him this far seemed to have completely vanished. He was afraid, yet it felt as if this fear didn’t even belong to him. He convinced himself and took the first step toward the stairs. Seeing him move, Oliver followed suit.

They began climbing the staircase. It was narrow and completely dark, giving the unsettling impression that it would never end. When they finally reached the top, they hesitated before opening the door, wary of the possibility that Mark might be on the other side. Joe readied his flamethrower, and Oliver kept his gun steady in one hand. Oliver lunged forward to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. It seemed like it needed more force. As Oliver struggled with the door, he suddenly heard a noise coming from below the staircase. In fear, he turned around, only for Joe to strike him on the nape with the flamethrower, knocking him unconscious.

When Oliver opened his eyes, he found himself strapped upright to a wooden board. The room was filled with large tubes, the contents of which he could not identify. These massive tubes stretched nearly to the ceiling and were the size of two people. As he looked more carefully, he realized there were people inside them. Most likely, he was in Mark’s experiment room, and he was in a completely helpless situation.

At that moment, he saw the figure lying on the large table in the center of the room. His vision was only just beginning to clear, which was why he hadn’t noticed it earlier. But now, as he looked carefully, he saw Joe—tied down by his hands and feet. And in that instant, he tried to remember how he had gotten here. Joe had knocked him out. How was that possible? The thought of Joe betraying him had never even been a consideration. Then he recalled the noises coming from the staircase. It was Mark who had made Joe do this.

As he fully regained consciousness, Oliver started struggling against the ropes binding his hands. He desperately searched for a way to escape, but before Mark himself arrived, his cruel laughter echoed through the room. When Mark finally stepped inside, he was holding Henry’s severed head. Oliver was in shock.

“YOU MONSTROUS BASTARD! YOU CAN’T GO THIS FAR!”  Oliver shouted.

“There you go again, playing the hero, kid,”  Mark said calmly as he walked toward Oliver. “You and your dear friend, the most valuable piece of my plan, have done a wonderful job. You helped me erase the parts of my past I couldn’t interfere with myself.”

“The death of that ‘wrong’ creature, Evan, was a great relief to me.”

“Do you even realize how many lives you’ve destroyed?! YOU are the real monster, Mark!”  Oliver yelled furiously.

“Yes, I am a monster. But there’s one difference between us, Oliver—you will die here today and become a part of my energy source,”  Mark said, before grabbing a piece of tape and pressing it over Oliver’s mouth. “Now that you’re about to die, let me tell you a few things.”

Mark continued, his voice disturbingly casual. “I’ve been following Joe ever since I came to this city. He was the only test subject who showed complete resistance to all of Eternum’s side effects. But, as you know, I had to operate under a false identity and mission, which caused some... complications. Eventually, though, I was able to lure him to this city by manipulating his sister…”

“…Of course, the only real problem in this story was Henry. He was the only one who could have stood in my way. So, to handle that, I kidnapped Lucas. Oh, and by the way, the Lucas you killed? Along with those other kids? They weren’t real. At least, not real people. Did you know that Eternum is evolving every day? And as it evolves, so does my control over it. For instance, I can now clone those who possess Eternum. Just like I cloned your dear friend.”  Mark said this with an infuriating smirk, looking directly at Oliver.

Upon hearing this, Oliver started to cry. All this time—throughout this entire journey—had the person he thought was his best friend never even been real? Before he could fully process this crushing revelation, Mark continued his speech.

“When I kidnapped Lucas, I could feel Joe’s clone body. Of course, a body that could resist all of Eternum’s effects also resisted my control over it. But eventually, I managed to take control—though it wasn’t easy. Then, thanks to that idiot Henry’s greed and arrogance, you both fell right into my hands. And for that, I thank you. There’s one sad little fact you’ve been unaware of—I control every corner of this city. I’ve been watching you all along.”

Mark continued rambling, but Oliver was no longer paying full attention. Instead, he was trying to keep Mark’s focus on him—because something unseen was happening.

As Mark spoke, something, or someone, cut through the ropes binding Joe. Joe silently got up from the table and, without hesitation, drove his fist into the back of Mark’s head. Mark collapsed, his skull smacking against the floor, leaving a gash on his head. He was unconscious.

Joe, his face completely void of emotion, turned and untied Oliver’s restraints. Oliver ripped the tape from his mouth and immediately threw his arms around Joe, his voice shaking with emotion as he tried to speak.

“Are you okay, Joe? You… you saved my life, buddy! Let’s get out of here now,”  Oliver said urgently.

“I don’t know you,”  Joe replied.

“What? What are you talking about, Joe?”  Oliver couldn’t make sense of what he was hearing.

At that moment, his eyes drifted to one of the large tubes in the room. Inside it, he saw Joe’s real body. His feet moved on their own as he stumbled toward it. When he reached the tube and saw Joe’s original body floating inside, he broke down into tears. Meanwhile, Joe stood still, motionless, showing no reaction.

As Oliver cried, whispers filled his ears. “You have to get out of here… Run… Run…”

He turned around just in time to see Mark charging at him, a syringe clutched in his hand.

Oliver immediately dashed toward the table in the center of the room, where the flamethrower lay. He had always intended to keep his handgun as a last resort. Mark made his first strike, but he failed to inject the syringe into Oliver. Instead, he tossed it onto the table and grabbed a cleaver from beside one of the tubes. Joe remained still, watching everything unfold.

Oliver and Mark chased each other around the room. Oliver finally reached the flamethrower and grabbed it, ready to fire—only for Mark to lunge at him, snatch the weapon from his hands, and hurl it toward the door. Desperately, Oliver tried to retrieve it, but before he could, Mark swung the cleaver once more—this time, slicing through Oliver’s arm.

Death bells were ringing for Oliver now.

Joe, still unmoving, continued to watch. But then, suddenly, he started hearing voices too. It was Evan’s voice.

In fact, it was more than just a voice—Joe could see him. Evan stood there before him, crying, terrified, begging him to save Oliver.

In that instant, Joe snapped back to his old self. He knew he had to act.

Mark, wanting to savor the moment, was deliberately taking his time.

As Mark slowly approached Oliver, Joe formulated a plan. He spotted the syringe filled with Eternum on the table. If he could inject it into Oliver, his severed arm might regenerate.

Joe swiftly grabbed the syringe and focused on stopping Mark’s next move. First, he banged against the wall to draw Mark’s attention. As soon as Mark realized what Joe was up to, he swung the cleaver at him as well. But Joe had anticipated this—he dodged forward, landing next to Oliver, and plunged the syringe into his body.

Instantly, Oliver’s arm was restored. Without hesitation, they bolted for the door.

Mark, however, regained control over Joe.

The moment Joe fell back under Mark’s influence, he turned against Oliver and attacked him. Oliver, having reached the door, grabbed the flamethrower from the ground and struck Joe with it, stunning him. Then, Oliver turned the weapon toward the room and cranked the fire output to maximum.

“This is your execution, Mark,”  he declared.

Oliver pulled the trigger. Flames engulfed the entire room.

Mark let out bloodcurdling, inhuman screams as he burned.

Oliver grabbed Joe and dragged him away. As they reached a safe distance, he turned back one last time—just in time to see Mark disintegrating into ashes.

A few moments later, they heard an explosion. Most likely, the entire room had been obliterated.

This was the end.

A little further ahead, they found an emergency exit elevator. They took it to the surface, emerging from another building’s exit. Oliver, utterly drained, collapsed to the ground. Joe, on the other hand, started coughing up blood. Oliver, tears streaming down his face, watched helplessly as Joe lay dying before him. Joe looked up at Oliver. The fire had left Oliver so shaken that he couldn’t even form words.

And then Joe… smiled at him. One last time.

And with that smile, he took his final breath. Oliver knew. Joe was gone. He couldn’t react. He couldn’t move. All he could do was stare at the remains of the burning house in front of him.

The sound of the explosion immediately drew the police to the scene. They found Oliver and Joe’s lifeless body. Oliver was rushed to the hospital. His family arrived as soon as they heard the news. Drained and mentally shattered, Oliver reunited with them, but he couldn’t speak. He was too devastated to form words. A detective approached him, asking what had happened. Oliver said nothing at first. Then, in a hollow voice, he stated that he had simply been passing by when the explosion occurred, that he had been injured because of it, and that Joe had died there. Taking Oliver’s age into account, the detective didn’t press him further.

—

The next day, a funeral was held for Joe.

Oliver wanted to see Zoe, but the crushing weight of guilt wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t even bring himself to attend the funeral. Instead, he spent the entire day at the park where he and Joe had first met. Sitting on the bench where they had always spent time together, he tried to gather the courage to visit Joe’s grave. Once the ceremony was over and everyone had left, he finally made up his mind. He stood at Joe’s grave, unable to erase the thoughts in his mind, unable to forget a single moment. And he knew—he would never be able to forget. He also knew one more thing: he couldn’t live with the truth and the secrets he carried.

At that moment, his fingers brushed against something at his waist. His gun. He had never taken it off. Slowly, he pulled it out, feeling the weight of it in his hands.

This was the end.

Just as he raised the gun to his temple, movement in the trees caught his eye. Three figures stood among the graves. One of them was Evan. Then, he felt a hand on the back of his neck. He was too afraid to turn around. A voice spoke.

“I’ve been waiting for you, my dearest friend…”

And with that, Oliver pulled the trigger. Right then and there, all the secrets ended.

There were no winners. Only the lives that the monster had destroyed.