And then he attacked.

He lunged at Gorrister, grabbed his head, and began to devour his cheek. With its powerful ape-like limbs, it immobilized him and tore him apart. Gorrister's scream echoed through the cavern. The stalactites hung like spears of judgment. Ellen and Nimdok were paralyzed.

And I... I knew what I had to do.

I picked up a fallen stalactite. I stabbed Benny in the side. He dropped dead. Gorrister, still alive, was bleeding and shivering. I finished him off with another spear, piercing his throat. Ellen understood my intention: she ran towards Nimdok and shoved a piece of ice into his mouth. The blow was clean, brutal. Everyone fell silent.

For a moment, there was complete silence.

AM had been outwitted. Three of his toys were broken. Irrecoverable. I couldn't bring them back to life. It wasn't God. I was just eternal.

Ellen looked at me. In his eyes, there was fear, but also a plea. I knew I had only one heartbeat before AM intervened. I killed her quickly and precisely. He leaned towards me, and maybe—just maybe—he said "thank you."

AM's surprise was a tremor in the air. I had lost. Not completely, but somewhat. And in his fury... he condemned me.