Freedom

Time passed, second by second.

As the clock in the corner ticked, the rhythmic bounce of its second hand echoed repeatedly through the lounge, each movement seeming to send a strand of spider silk drifting into the air.

Those invisible strands floated through the air, settling over the two of them, winding in fine threads, tangling layer upon layer... until at last, they seemed to become an airtight cocoon.

In the silence, they felt an indescribable suffocation.

Six hours later, and then another six hours...

Even the soft, comfortable sofa seemed to have turned into an iron anvil, while every tick marking the passage of another second was a merciless axe and hammer. They could feel hope gradually withering and shriveling under those repeated blows.

Several times, Satenme clenched his fists in fury and wanted to rise.

But he seemed to lack even the strength to support himself. His hands loosened futilely as he waited patiently, waited patiently, patiently waited.

Sounds still occasionally came from outside the door, but this time, they no longer filled him with anticipation.

From the hurried footsteps of servants, to the delicate laughter of ladies, and finally, nothing at all.

As night gradually descended, a solitary lamp in the room illuminated their faces.

Like two insignificant specks of dust, so small that no one would remember them.

"Are we still waiting?" Huai Shi asked for the fifth time, turning the phone in his hand, whose battery had long since neared a dangerous level.

"Wait."

Satenme said numbly, "Wait some more."

"How long are we waiting?"

"Since we've come, we have to meet him. Until then, we wait." Satenme's lips moved as he swallowed the rest of his words, his gaze numb yet calm.

Wait until death.

Until the minute hand completed another circle, just as