As the saying goes, people need to learn to think from others' perspectives. But Tende finds this extremely difficult. For example, as a detective, it would be extremely challenging for him to think from the perspective of a fool. It's like he can't understand why the White Priest would throw himself into the fire, just as he can't understand why Favrini thinks it's easy to leave this place. However, if he simply changes his perspective to think about things, Tende thinks it's relatively simple. After all, changing perspectives is a little less difficult than changing positions.
Alright, let's start thinking now. Since Favrini, who came out of the fire, can see the so-called path, does this mean that if he becomes a "fire person" for a moment, he can also see the path? No, no, this seems very dangerous. Looking at the flames on a square in front of him, Tende hesitates a bit. He is not the fearless type of person, to be honest, he's quite afraid of death. Of course, he's not that afraid of death either. What he fears is a "certain death" situation, like jumping off a hundred-story building or cutting his own artery. He can handle situations where there is a possibility of dying, like facing a monster, because he may not necessarily die, so there's no need to be afraid. But running into a fire like this, and getting burned several times – no matter how you think about it, it looks like someone will die. "If I scream because I'm getting burned, remember to pull me out," Tende instructs Favrini as he looks back. "Go on, you're really cowardly," Favrini says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. After taking a deep breath, Tende jumps into the fire pit. One second before being swallowed by the flames, he was still thinking about why the White Priest created this nine-grid puzzle, was it just for aesthetics? Then he didn't have the energy to continue pondering the question. The flames wrapped around him and gradually turned into gold. The fire extended outwardly, covering his pupils. Countless images flew towards Tende like broken glass fragments. He heard voices he shouldn't have heard, and these voices came from the past. "Mr. Tende, you let the serial arsonist go." "Is saving lives a higher priority? Indeed, it should be, but Mr. Tende... with your abilities, you must have had a better plan at that time, right?" "I know you're not a perfect person, but back then... did you really not think of anything else?" "So, you caught the arsonist along with the group behind them." "Before being caught by you, those people burned fourteen others to death." "Isn't it absurd that there are so many people who find pleasure in burning others?" "Mr. Tende, catching so many criminals, are you proud of yourself?" The person talking to him was a young security officer. He doesn't remember... no, he remembers who it is. A piece of glass cuts Tende's face, bringing him back to reality. The flames burn him, scorching his soul. The White Priest is not an individual filled with violent impulses; its existence is similar to the legend – it's just meant to cleanse sins. These golden flames are the flames of purification. The nine grids of the puzzle represent different stages of Tende's life, where his life is divided into nine periods. The middle grid symbolizes the present. There are no flames in the middle grid, indicating that Tende has no sins at the moment. So, what do the occasional flames on the other grids represent? That remains unknown. The scenes he just remembered are not memories lost by Tende, because he actually remembers them, just not as clearly. In this wave of memories, he sees his own image and feels unfamiliar. Not at all dull, this is not right. Tende has always been self-aware; he knows he's usually quite dull, so seeing that shrewd version of himself surprises him. Wait a minute, did he also have such cool moments? "Idiot, what are you daydreaming about!" Favrini grabs the burning Tende and pulls him back to the middle grid.With black long hair, brown pupils, and a small mole below the corner of her eye, there was a girl named Favrini.
"Stunned by seeing how handsome I am," Tende said with a nostalgic tone.
"You're such a fool, besides solving cases, you're incapable of anything else," Favrini scolded angrily.
"No, you're mistaken. I can't even solve cases," Tende replied.
"But that doesn't matter, it doesn't prevent me from being a renowned detective and a senior member of The Vigilant," Tende said confidently.
After saying that, he suddenly looked in the direction that Favrini had pointed out earlier. He needed to confirm something.
"Let's go, let's leave this place," as expected, Tende couldn't see the wall blocking their way anymore; a path appeared before his eyes.
Favrini and Tende, seemingly forgot to let go of each other's hands, and continued holding hands.
However, neither of them felt it was awkward, and they felt that it was quite natural.
Tende, burned by golden flames, vaguely felt pain, but this pain couldn't affect him in any way.
"Your pupils have been burned and split," Favrini said to Tende, surprised.
"Don't say such creepy things," Tende got goosebumps from being scared.
What's wrong with this person? Suddenly telling horror stories, it's too much.
Pupils split open? This definitely wasn't a scene from a horror drama, right?
But what Tende didn't know was that Favrini was telling the truth.
His pupils were indeed split like a scorched field.
Holding Favrini's hand, he ran towards the possible exit.
In that instant, the White Priest finally had a change.
Its figure kept growing and expanding, completely enveloping the entire space.
Without the altar and the nine grids, all Tende could see was the figure of the White Priest.
The snow-white fur moved on its own, and the three-parted pupils of the White Priest were filled with a human radiance.
Tende, with Favrini, ran on the collapsing bridge, and behind them was the slow approaching figure of the White Priest.
When did the path become a bridge? Tende was no longer curious.
At this moment, all they needed to do was run, run, and run.
As for when they would stop running and where the finish line was, it wasn't something to think about at this moment.
In this nightmare world, the running figures of Tende and Favrini were reduced to silhouettes, and the White Priest appeared as the background.
The sound of melodious music echoed in their ears, similar music could probably be heard near the Itumila statue on weekends.
"Tende, are you happy now?" Favrini asked Tende, gasping for breath while they ran.
Tende glanced at Favrini and answered with his unique hoarse voice, "As long as I can get by, then it's considered happiness."
"Well, that's great," Favrini laughed sincerely and let go of his hand.
The destination ahead was the end of the nightmare, and also the exit.
