"I see… that's a good piece of information to hear."
The voice wasn't one of ours.
Instantly, all three of us turned. Adrenaline spiked. Kara stepped in front of me, her hand reaching subtly toward her jacket. Selene stiffened, eyes darting to the exit. My hand twitched near the mic stand in case I needed to use it as a weapon.
There, standing calmly by the corner of the sliding door—where none of us had noticed anyone moments ago—was a man. Tall, lean, maybe in his mid-thirties. No expression on his face. He looked at us like someone watching fish swim in a bowl. Quiet, detached… almost bored.
"How long have you been there?" I asked cautiously.
He shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Long enough. Don't worry. I'm not an enemy."
"Right," I replied sharply. "And we're just supposed to trust that?"
He smirked faintly and muttered, "Who cares anyway."
Without hesitation, he reached into his coat pocket and tossed something toward us.
It landed with a light slap on the karaoke table.
A card.
I stepped forward cautiously and picked it up, examining the front.
It was grayish—not like the others. Muted, dull, almost like old steel. The symbol on it was jagged, abstract, like a broken mirror fracturing in four directions. And beneath it, printed clearly in sharp serif font:
PENANCE
"Takes 1 life of any person you choose if you are killed or voted out."
The room fell into a strange silence. Even the cheap pop music leaking from the next room seemed to go quiet.
I stared at the card, then back at him.
"That's a suicide trigger…" Kara whispered behind me.
"A retaliation card," Selene murmured.
He smiled faintly. "I'm pretty much useless unless someone threatens me. But the moment they do—"
He dragged his thumb across his throat, mockingly.
Kara raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling us this?"
He leaned against the wall. "Because I'm bored. And you three seem… interesting."
I didn't lower my guard, even slightly. My mind was already analyzing him. Memorizing his face, his posture, his tone. Everything.
In my thoughts:
He's dangerous not because he attacks… but because he doesn't have to. He's the kind of player that shifts the entire voting dynamic. No one wants to touch him, not unless they're confident he won't pick them. He's a deterrent.
Which also makes him a pawn or a ticking time bomb for either side.
Useful and unpredictable.
Kara crossed her arms. "So what now?"
He smiled again, and simply took the card back. "Now? Nothing. I just wanted to say hello."
He paused, then tilted his head with a dry chuckle.
"Oh, and by the way—" he gestured lazily toward the cramped room, "I saw the three of you gathered in one place. At this hour. Alone." His voice dipped into something unreadable. "Who wouldn't find that a little suspicious?" and he laughed back
We stiffened again.
He gave no further explanation—just that same vague, amused smirk—and turned toward the door.
"Try not to die before this end, I'm rooting for the three of you" he said casually.
Then, without another word, he stepped out and disappeared behind the curtain.
The room was silent for a while. Selene sat back down first, muttering under her breath.
"Well… that was terrifying."
Kara shook her head. "That man's existence alone shifts the weight of this game."
I sat down slowly, eyes still fixed on the door.
We didn't say it out loud. But all three of us were thinking the same thing.
If we make the wrong move, we might not die from a killer's hands…
We might die just for making the wrong enemy.
"Thankfully he said he's not an enemy," I muttered under my breath, still staring at the spot where the Penance had stood. "But a Penance... who would've thought something like that exists?"
My mind reeled, threading together what little I understood of that role. Penance… a role designed for retaliation. Something made to punish—no, to remind others that consequences come even in death. Did something happen in his past? Was he... maybe a suicide watch patient? Or someone who's been pushed too far, too often?
What makes someone embrace a role where death isn't just expected—it's a weapon?
The thought haunted me. Penance wasn't like the others. His ability was a double-edged sword; it didn't care if the death was justified, it only cared that death happened. In every outcome, blood would be spilled. No wonder he's fearless. He's a loaded gun aimed at whoever dares to pull the trigger.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned to the doctor beside me. "Who are you going to protect this time?"
She looked uncertain for the first time in hours. "I… still don't know," she confessed, fidgeting with her sleeve. "I'm absolutely lost. If I choose someone random, I could protect one of them… a mafia. That would expose me, and it'll all be for nothing."
That response made my chest tighten.
And then… it clicked.
"Wait."
I straightened, my voice firmer now. "The more I think about it, the more it makes sense."
Kara and the doctor looked at me, curious.
"We're more powerful than the mafia."
They blinked in unison. I kept going.
"I mean, we've been seeing them like monsters because they can kill—but that's all they can do. Yes, it's terrifying. But we... we have something stronger. We have information. Clues. We observe, we connect. We have roles like yours," I nodded at the doctor, "and hers," I added, gesturing at Kara. "Hell, we even have someone who can destroy from beyond the grave."
I let that linger in the air.
"There has to be a cop," I added. "A detective, or someone like it. It's logical. Since in the old game there always has to be a powerful informant in the civilian team. If the mafia has brute force, we have subtlety. Knowledge. Strategy. The civilians weren't made to fight back with fists we're meant to outthink them."
The doctor tilted her head. "And what are you, then?"
I gave a faint smile.
"A piece on the board, a pawn you could say, that sees a little too much."
Kara looked between us. "Then what's the plan?"
I took a breath. "We must try to find the main source of information in our team and that's when you come in." He looked at Selene
She said "Okay, so my job is to find who is the cop or the detective of the civilian team."
I nodded and added. "As for you Kara I think for now go to the penance this night, I don't know why but I had a gut feeling."
She hesitated for a moment but nodded afterwards.
They both fell into silence, absorbing it.
And thought to myself maybe… just maybe… that's how we'll win. To find the main source of the power of the civilian team.