Halfway there...

It was too late to back out; he was already in her dream, and she hadn't noticed him yet, his only consolation. This gave him enough time to assume another form. If she saw him in his real form, he certainly wouldn't want to talk to him. She would wake up, and the mission would be over before it even began. The hunter avoided her dreams as long as possible, didn't look into the minds of people he knew, afraid he wouldn't be able to maintain his indifference. That she would point him to what he believed was the right path, and that path might not be true at all. Well, he couldn't back out now.

She sat in a dark corner, hidden somewhere in the darkness of the night, alone, dressed in blood, that's how he always saw her. He had to play it off somehow. He sat down next to her and, looking straight ahead, began to say

, "Let me tell you a story."

Once upon a time, there was a family. It wasn't perfect, nor was it bad, just the most ordinary, normal family you could imagine. A mother, a father, and two brothers. They all led a quiet life. Then came a time when the brothers began to grow up, entering adulthood. And you know what? One of them fell in love; you probably know the feeling. So, he was dating a certain girl. Did she love him? She thought so. As is often the case, after some time, they got married. Yes, you're right, this fairy tale doesn't end well," the Hunter laughed, seeing her reaction to his last words. "So, I ended up getting married." Around the same time, the younger brother realized that he was not indifferent to his sister-in-law. He liked watching her, talking to her. Did I mention they understood each other perfectly? I think they were even friends. But back to the point, as I mentioned, the younger brother began to take an interest in her. At first, he explained it to himself that he was finally lonely, and she was, after all, an attractive woman. To drive away these feelings, he began to forcefully seek a partner. He even lasted a record-breaking three weeks with one. No wonder, they could never compare to his sister-in-law's image; they usually gave up on their own, and he didn't stop them. He fought the growing feeling, but the more he resisted, the deeper he sank into it. That's Love, insidious and malicious. Don't look at me like that; I know her personally, one of the most stubborn Powers, just like an old donkey. I've asked her so many times to forgive someone, do you think she wanted to listen to me? The hunter realized his listener didn't understand what he was saying at all. Well, she lived in another world. "Never mind," he muttered. "Getting back to the story, the younger brother fell madly in love." He was fighting with himself, wanting to be right with his brother and at the same time be with his beloved. He didn't know what to do, raging in despair, searching for a way out. He decided to remain loyal to his brother. In the end, no one knew about his feelings; he suffered silently, observing their happiness. He was a good man, but Love is an evil power, seeing that this was not the way to go, decided to play a different game... One day, she caught the perpetrator of all this misfortune in her claws and directed her attention to her brother-in-law. To cut a long story short, after some time, they both confessed their love. What did it bring them? More suffering, for they were good people. They loved each other, but they didn't want to hurt the person at the center of this story, her husband and his brother. Years passed, and they remained frozen. Did they betray each other even once? I don't know; it's not important. The time came when the older brother died. Well, he was already an elderly man, just like our heroes; they were no longer the youngest; in fact, they were stooped old men. They still loved each other, so they decided to live out their days together. There was just one problem,At a certain age, one can no longer enjoy love. They moved in together, lived out their days happily, I'd say, but what was the point? That's the end of the story.

"Why did you tell me this?" she asked, trying to appear indifferent.

"So you could extract a few truths from it. Don't you see them? Well, let me break them down for you: first, family is the most important thing; second, love is deceitful; third, if you give up something in its name, you're making a big mistake. Jesus, girl, why the hell am I even trying to explain this to you by beating around the bush? Don't you see you're hurting yourself? You're a truly beautiful woman, but tell me, how much time do you think your beauty has left? Ten, maybe twenty years. Not every story ends like this one. In a few years, you'll realize that this feeling was an illusion, but by then it will be too late to find a new one with someone else. If that's how you want to live it, fine, just ask yourself why you bother? So you could have at least a glimmer of a chance, but you don't. And don't tell me you're waiting for your sister to die. You love and respect her too much to even entertain such a thought." Although if you care so much about this feeling, it's actually a good idea; you have to take care of your sister...

"Stop it, what are you talking about? I never wanted to kill her for even a moment. It wouldn't have occurred to me. It's just that I don't know what to do... I don't have the strength anymore...

" "Calm down, it's okay, I'll help you." Saying this, he took her hand, pouring a bit of peace into her; after all, she needed it so badly.

"We'll get through this soon, find a solution, and then you'll know which path to take. Okay?" She looked at him, an incredulous, ironic smile crossing her face.

"Do you really know Love personally?"

"Of course," the Hunter replied, "but you know, we don't like each other; it just worked out that way. You see, she's neither evil nor good, but she has this surprising trait of usually appearing at very inconvenient times and places. That's her nature; you can't blame her for that." Let's think better about a solution to your case. Do you have an idea? It doesn't start today, after all. You must have thought through millions of scenarios, so tell me the best ones.

"Actually, I've never come up with anything sensible. Only one, in fact, looked more or less like the ending of your fairy tale.

" "Yes, it's not fun, to tell the truth, I don't have many ideas either. I could try to force Love out of you, but you're not strong enough to defend yourself against it when it attacks again. Besides, it's probably too deeply ingrained in you. Perhaps you could try talking to your sister; there's a slim chance she'll understand, that she'll back down. Then only one person will suffer instead of two...

" "Has anyone ever told you you have no heart?" she asked. The hunter was perfectly aware of this. Besides, the heart has little say in the matter, and everything is ruled by the Powers, and he was independent of them.

"Yes, I know, but you have enough for both of us, so I'm not despairing. I see you're rejecting my next idea. What do you have to forgive me? I can't help you. The most I can do is guarantee you a peaceful night's sleep, do you want that?

" "Really? Can you? I'd love to...

" "Well, you'll find peace tonight. Before I leave, remember my last warning: life isn't the story of Tristian and Isolde, it's not a story whose ending we can write ourselves... I wish you happiness someday. There's nothing more I can do for you. Goodbye..." The Hunter left her sleep, but not before, as promised, he had filled it with peace. He rose from the ground and set off. After a moment, Despair caught up with him.

"You lost, how could you? You didn't even try to fight properly. What happened, Hunter?

" "Leave, the game isn't over yet," he said, continuing his march. His face was devoid of emotion. He was going to complete his mission. Despair decided to follow his advice and leave. The Hunter followed the familiar streets, sniffing and listening. Finally, he reached his destination. He stood in front of a pretty tenement house; he remembered it from the days when he could still see it. He began to wonder: was the facade still white, or had it already turned gray? It didn't matter in the slightest; it only helped shorten the wait. Morning was already rising, and he knew a man would soon emerge from the doorway. He hadn't been mistaken. The silenced weapon made no sound, save for the soft click of the firing pin against the primer... The Hunter felt the corpse slowly cooling. He turned and headed toward the house. The suffering that comes from Death lasts much shorter than that caused by Love, and he didn't like to see people suffer...

Death and Hope watched the Hunter's latest mission from afar. Both looked at him sadly

. "Has the time come yet?" "Hope asked.

"No, not yet, but it's close to the end." Death looked at her companion as she said this

. "My poor thing, you know you're not for him. Destiny long ago decreed that there's no Hope for the Hunter, just as there's no Death for him.

" "But why? Can't it end another way?"

"I don't know, it's not for us to interfere in Destiny's affairs. It writes our history, too. It paved a path for the Hunter that we can't follow...

" "Yes, I only know that... Why this way?"