"Your picture is being shared now by Lolita111. So, you're actually in danger. Look at the demands for you…"

Below that, many users had started to fill in their fantasies and some had started a price for those who could kidnap him. Kirill doesn’t want to see what they had written but his eyes can’t missed reading the words ‘rape’, ‘burn’, ‘bleed’ and ‘choke’. 

"What the fuck?" Andre muttered. 

Stepan clicks his tongue and displays his displeasure. "If they lay a finger on Kirill, they'll burn," he said.

Alberto sighed before saying; "We can still hope for the best for now. Especially since the stalkers had resurfaced and they are now targeting Kirill, we might be able to catch them and find out what happened to Kliment."

Kirill didn't know how to respond. He refused to see more. He felt sick enough for the day. He had been silent the whole time. He is confused for a moment. It was like he wasn’t in the same world anymore. He is suddenly in a foreign land and all the other people are no longer humans. They had all become monsters.

"Are you okay, Kirill?" Alberto asked as he realised that Kirill had become uncomfortably quiet.

Kirill's eyes are still fixed on the screen for some reason but the words and images are all blurry. "No need," he suddenly mumbled out softly. 

"What?" Alberto asked, perplexed by the discrepancy between the situation and his words.

The four boys were confused. "What are you saying?" Andre asked.

"No need,” he mumbled again. And then he lifts up his head from the screen of the laptop to look at the faces of the four boys in the room. These boys… he was suspicious of them in the beginning. But now… “No need to find Kliment alive,” he spoke resolutely. He doesn’t want to be engulfed in guilt. He already knew what happened to Kliment. Even though he doesn’t know who did it, this can’t go on. These boys deserved to know the truth. Yes, he had promised Stepan to keep it a secret. But he can’t do it. “He's already dead," Kirill confessed.

With that being said, Stanley flipped to his aggressive side the moment he could comprehend it. "What the fuck are you saying, Kirill?! What did you just say?!" Stanley moved towards Kirill in an attempt to grab him by the collar but he was pushed back by Stepan in time.

Kirill didn’t look like he felt intimidated at all. He looked straight into Stanley’s eyes. He didn’t mind, in fact, if he was punched by Stanley. This is because he knew how devastating it would be for them. Because now, he finally sees that they actually really cared about Kliment. So, they deserve to know the truth. "He's dead, Stanley. I 'felt' it."

Stanley tried to process the information. All sorts of emotions passed through him. He knew deep in him that there was a possibility for him to never see Kliment again in this life. But he never dared to embrace the idea. So, he always denied that possibility. But he also knew of the twins’ connection with each other. If Kirill said he ‘felt’ it then he must’ve ‘felt’ it. It must’ve been painful for Kirill too. He didn’t know where to vent. In the end, he only shouted angrily and kicked the coffee table. He then strode out of Stepan’s house hiding the tears hanging in his eyes.

The rest of the boys were caught in a moment of stagnation before Alberto finally snapped himself out of it. "I'll talk to him," he said as he got up from the sofa. 

Stepan held Alberto by the shoulder to stop him from going. "No. Let him calm down on his own," he said. He knew them well. If Alberto was to go to Stanley right now, he might just as well come back with a black eye.

Andre was looking down to the ground the whole time. He hesitated before he lifted his head up and said; "I'm sorry for your loss, Kirill.” There’s sincerity and sadness in his voice. It was as if he was also grieving from the news.

"Yeah. I'm sorry too," Alberto said.

Kirill looks at them and realises that these boys are genuinely sad and sorry for Kliment’s death. He is filled with guilt for the fact that he had suspected and resented them in the beginning. "You guys are not gonna ask me how it happened? You guys will just simply believe me?"

Andre sighed and spoke; "We know about that 'connection' you had with him.” He then became curious; “Was he killed?"

"Yes," Kirill confirmed Andre’s suspicion and he wondered if in any minute from now, the boys are going to ask him in detail about how Kliment died. He doesn’t know how he will be able to tell them. He had told Stepan before and that was only in the heat of the moment. If he was to tell again, he might not be strong enough to do it.

"Then we will find whoever that killed him," Alberto spoke resolutely. They didn’t question him further about it and that was somehow a relief for Kirill.

Kirill forces a smile on his face before saying; "Thanks."

"Hmm?" Alberto looked back at him in askance.

"Thanks for trying to find him. Thank you," Kirill thanked them again. He never felt so much gratitude and thankfulness in his quest of finding Kliment. He finally knows that he is not alone.

"It's okay," Alberto said awkwardly. This is the first time that he heard Kirill speak softly to them. It’s almost unbelievable that they had progressed to this stage. 

"We should leave first. Even though we won't find him alive like we had hoped, Lolita111 is still a suspect. I'm going to find Emanuel, that basketballer, and force him to spill whatever he knows about the stalkers," Alberto informed.

"Leave it to us for that, will you?" Stepan asked for permission from Kirill as he held one of his hands.

"Okay," Kirill agreed.

Stepan kissed Kirill’s hand and smiled at him before he let go. "You go and rest. I'll keep you updated" he said. Kirill nodded, not knowing how else to respond to such tenderness.

The three boys left. He heard the sound of the cars leaving outside one by one.  Kirill was left alone in the big house. He went upstairs and laid on Stepan’s bed for a moment before taking a look at his backpack which was thrown by him at the side of the bed when he first came into this room yesterday. He picks it up and takes Kliment’s journal out of it. He feels numb. But also determined. At this rate, he can’t be bothered anymore by people’s fantasies of him. He had seen a lot already. Even if this time, it’s Kliment’s. His beloved twin brother. He had to bear with it. He must know the truth.

It’s time for him to face Kliment’s demons.

He tremblingly flips the journal open page by page, entering the mind of evil he never knew existed.

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Next update: 2022/07/18

*Author’s Note: I’m updating once every two weeks now since I’m busy with my work. I don’t have time to write. There are so many deadlines to meet this month. Thanks for reading my work. -K