The room was heavy with silence, the air thick with the weight of despair. Isaac's voice, usually soft and comforting, now crackled with raw, desperate anger.

"You cannot give up, Hidayat!" he said, the words cutting through the stillness like a blade. "Not after everything they've done. Not after your own father... your own people..." His voice broke, the betrayal of Nahil still fresh, an open wound that refused to heal. "They hunted you, treated you like a monster! You can't let them win."

Hidayat leaned against the crumbling stone wall, his body slack with defeat. His amber eyes, usually alive with emotion, stared vacantly at the distorted horizon outside. "What is there left to fight for, Isaac?" he murmured, his voice barely audible above the wind howling through the shattered windows. "I am the cause of all this destruction. My existence is a curse on this world."

Isaac dropped to his knees beside him, the rage simmering in his chest softening into something gentler. He reached for Hidayat's hand, gripping it tightly as if willing his friend to hold on. "Don't you see? That's exactly what they want you to believe. They want you to think you're the monster, that there's no way out except to give up. But you're not a monster, Hidayat. You're my friend—the kindest, most brilliant person I've ever known. There has to be another way."

Across the room, Kalim stood, his arms crossed and his face a mask of conflicting emotions. His gaze flitted between Isaac, whose words burned with conviction, and Hidayat, broken and defeated. Kalim's mind raced. Could Isaac be right? Could there truly be another way? Or was he clinging to a doomed hope, blinded by his affection for a brother who had brought the world to the brink of ruin?

"There has to be another way," Isaac repeated, his voice stronger now, insistent. "The Labyrinth—it holds the answers. We can fix this. We can save you, Hidayat, and this world too."

Hidayat's hollow gaze didn't waver. "Isaac," he said, his voice cracked and lifeless, "it's too late. The damage is done. I've destroyed everything—everyone I cared about. My father is gone because of me."

Isaac's grip tightened. "Don't you dare say that. You didn't ask for this power. You didn't ask for any of it. But you've survived despite everything. And if you can survive, then we can find a way to make this right." His voice dropped, his tone urgent. "We'll go back to the Labyrinth. We'll find the answers. You're the key, Hidayat. You can fix this broken world."

A hollow, bitter laugh escaped Hidayat's lips. "The Luminthrels? Those creatures spoke only of despair and the end of all things. They sang of annihilation, Isaac, not salvation."

"They spoke of you," Isaac countered. "You're the only one who can stop this."

Hidayat turned his head slowly to meet Isaac's gaze, his eyes brimming with sadness. "And Marinov? What about him? The healer, the ally, the man who betrayed us? He chose his survival over us. What makes you think anyone can be trusted—not even ourselves?"

Isaac flinched at the mention of Marinov, the betrayal still a fresh wound. "Marinov made a terrible mistake," he said, his voice strained. "But he wasn't evil. He was lost. He brought me to you, didn't he? He wanted to make it right."

Hidayat's face hardened. "Lost or not, he sacrificed us for his own safety. And it wasn't just him. Yocha manipulated us all."

The mention of Yocha sent a shiver through the room. Kalim, silent until now, shifted uncomfortably, his brows furrowed.

"Yocha?" Isaac echoed, his confusion evident.

"She's the one behind all of this," Hidayat said, his voice trembling with suppressed rage. "She whispered lies into Yorymh ears, twisted Marinov's will, and orchestrated everything. She's the puppet master, pulling the strings."

Isaac clenched his fists, the veins standing out on his arms. "Why?" he demanded. "Why us? What does she want?"

"She wants me dead," Hidayat whispered, the words heavy with resignation. "She believes I'm a threat to the natural order, an anomaly that must be erased."

Isaac's voice rose in defiance. "But you're not just an anomaly. You're a miracle! You defied death itself!"

"And what has that defiance brought?" Hidayat retorted, his voice shaking. "The Labyrinth bleeds into our world. Shadows twist and distort everything they touch. My existence has done nothing but fracture reality."

Isaac knelt before him, his eyes brimming with determination. "We can fix it. Together. You've survived against impossible odds. That means you're meant to be here."

Hidayat's lip trembled, the weight of his guilt warring with the flicker of hope Isaac's words ignited. "What if Yocha is right?" he whispered. "What if the only way to save this world is for me to disappear?"

"No," Isaac said firmly. "You're not a problem to be erased. You're the solution. And we'll find the way—together."

Hidayat's gaze softened, a faint spark returning to his eyes. For the first time in days, the suffocating weight of despair lifted slightly. "Together," he repeated, his voice a fragile whisper.

Kalim watched them, his own turmoil still raging. He didn't trust this hope, but for now, he couldn't bring himself to crush it. With a heavy sigh, he stepped forward, his hand resting lightly on Hidayat's shoulder.

"We'll figure it out," Kalim said, his voice low but resolute. "But we'll do it as a family."

For the first time, a flicker of unity bound them in the fractured world. The path ahead was shrouded in darkness, but they would walk it together.